Cross-reactivity of phenylalanyl-transfer ribonucleic acid ligases from different microorganisms

The cross-reaction of phenylalanyl-transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) ligases from different microorganisms with antibodies raised against the purified enzyme from Escherichia coli has been investigated. The results of immunotitration and immunodiffusion experiments and of the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis of immunoprecipitates revealed: (i) a high degree of immunochemical identity of this enzyme only within the family Enterobacteriaceae; (ii) intermediate-to-weak cross-reaction with the phenylalanyl-tRNA ligases from Pseudomonadaceae, Rhodopseudomonas spheroides, and Bacillus stearothermophilus; (iii) no detectable cross-reaction (with the methods employed) with the enzymes from several gram-positive organisms, Euglena gracilis, and several fungi. As revealed by immunochemical analysis, a merodiploid strain of E. coli carrying an episome (F148) that covers the aroD region of the E. coli chromosome possesses at least twice the amount of phenylalanyl-tRNA ligase in comparison with its haploid parent strain. This suggests that the cistrons for both the alpha and beta polypeptides of this enzyme are mapping in this area.