Publications

• L-lysine catabolism is controlled by L-arginine and ArgR in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1.

  Chou H.T., Hegazy M., Lu C.D.

  In comparison to other pseudomonads, Pseudomonas aeruginosa grows poorly in L-lysine as a sole source of nutrient. In this study, the ldcA gene (lysine decarboxylase A; PA1818), previously identified as a member of the ArgR regulon of L-arginine metabolism, was found essential for L-lysine catabol ... >> More

  In comparison to other pseudomonads, Pseudomonas aeruginosa grows poorly in L-lysine as a sole source of nutrient. In this study, the ldcA gene (lysine decarboxylase A; PA1818), previously identified as a member of the ArgR regulon of L-arginine metabolism, was found essential for L-lysine catabolism in this organism. LdcA was purified to homogeneity from a recombinant strain of Escherichia coli, and the results of enzyme characterization revealed that this pyridoxal-5-phosphate-dependent decarboxylase takes L-lysine, but not L-arginine, as a substrate. At an optimal pH of 8.5, cooperative substrate activation by L-lysine was depicted from kinetics studies, with calculated K(m) and V(max) values of 0.73 mM and 2.2 μmole/mg/min, respectively. Contrarily, the ldcA promoter was induced by exogenous L-arginine but not by L-lysine in the wild-type strain PAO1, and the binding of ArgR to this promoter region was demonstrated by electromobility shift assays. This peculiar arginine control on lysine utilization was also noted from uptake experiments in which incorporation of radioactively labeled L-lysine was enhanced in cells grown in the presence of L-arginine but not L-lysine. Rapid growth on L-lysine was detected in a mutant devoid of the main arginine catabolic pathway and with a higher basal level of the intracellular L-arginine pool and hence elevated ArgR-responsive regulons, including ldcA. Growth on L-lysine as a nitrogen source can also be enhanced when the aruH gene encoding an arginine/lysine:pyruvate transaminase was expressed constitutively from plasmids; however, no growth of the ldcA mutant on L-lysine suggests a minor role of this transaminase in L-lysine catabolism. In summary, this study reveals a tight connection of lysine catabolism to the arginine regulatory network, and the lack of lysine-responsive control on lysine uptake and decarboxylation provides an explanation of L-lysine as a poor nutrient for P. aeruginosa. << Less

  J. Bacteriol. 192:5874-5880(2010) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• The Escherichia coli ldcC gene encodes another lysine decarboxylase, probably a constitutive enzyme.

  Yamamoto Y., Miwa Y., Miyoshi K., Furuyama J., Ohmori H.

  A gene (designated ldcC) mapped at 4.6 min on the Escherichia coli chromosome codes for a protein of 713 amino acids (aa) that shows strong similarities in both size and amino-acid sequence (69% identical residues and 85% conserved residues) to lysine decarboxylase (LDC) from E. coli (CadA, acid-i ... >> More

  A gene (designated ldcC) mapped at 4.6 min on the Escherichia coli chromosome codes for a protein of 713 amino acids (aa) that shows strong similarities in both size and amino-acid sequence (69% identical residues and 85% conserved residues) to lysine decarboxylase (LDC) from E. coli (CadA, acid-inducible LDC, 715 aa) or from Hafnia alvei (739 aa). A pUC18 derivative carrying the ldcC gene conferred high LDC activities on an E. coli strain devoid of the functional cadA gene, even when the bacteria were grown under non-inducing conditions at physiological pH. Thus, the gene encodes another lysine decarboxylase, probably a constitutively expressed enzyme, the presence of which was suggested from the previous observations that low LDC activities were detectable in cadA-mutant and non-induced wild-type cells. << Less

  Genes Genet. Syst. 72:167-172(1997) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Purification and physical properties of inducible Escherichia coli lysine decarboxylase.

  Sabo D.L., Boeker E.A., Byers B., Waron H., Fischer E.H.

  Biochemistry 13:662-670(1974) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]

• Crystalline lysine decarboxylase.

  Soda K., Moriguchi M.

  Biochem Biophys Res Commun 34:34-39(1969) [PubMed] [EuropePMC]