Sequence and Expression of the Genes for HPr (ptsH) and Enzyme I (ptsI) of the Phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent Phosphotransferase Transport System from Streptococcus Mutans

We report the sequencing of a 2,242-bp region of the Streptococcus mutants NG5 genome containing the genes for ptsH and ptsI, which encode HPr and enzyme I (EI), respectively, of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase transport system. The sequence was obtained from two cloned overlapping genomic fragments; one expresses HPr and a truncated EI, while the other expresses a full-length EI in Escherichia coli, as determined by Western immunoblotting. The ptsI gene appeared to be expressed from a region located in the ptsH gene. The S. mutans NG5 pts operon does not appear to be linked to other phosphotransferase transport system proteins as has been found in other bacteria. A positive fermentation pattern on MacConkey-glucose plates by an E. coli ptsI mutant harboring the S. mutans NG5 ptsI gene on a plasmid indicated that the S. mutans NG5 EI can complement a defect in the E. coli gene. This was confirmed by protein phosphorylation experiments with 32P-labeled phosphoenolpyruvate indicating phosphotransfer from the S. mutans NG5 EI to the E. coli HPr. Two forms of the cloned EI, both truncated to varying degrees in the C-terminal region, were inefficiently phosphorylated and unable to complement fully the ptsI defect in the E. coli mutant. The deduced amino acid sequence of HPr shows a high degree of homology, particularly around the active site, to the same protein from other gram-positive bacteria, notably, S. salivarius, and to a lesser extent with those of gram-negative bacteria. The deduced amino acid sequence of S. mutans NG5 EI also shares several regions of homology with other sequenced EIs, notably, with the region around the active site, a region that contains the only conserved cystidyl residue among the various proteins and which may be involved in substrate binding.