The Impacts of ProP Putative Interactors on the Localization and Activity of the Transporter ProP, and on Escherichia coli Phenotype

Abstract

Understanding the mechanism by which ProP (an osmosensing transporter in Escherichia coli) localizes to the poles of cells might uncover a valuable model of how protein function might relate to protein organization in bacteria. Evidence pointed to involvement of a ProP-protein interaction in its observed localization pattern. To further study if ProP protein interactors contribute to this phenomenon, ProP was tagged with a fluorescent protein, thereby supplementing the chemical labeling method previously used for visualization. Though an attempt was made to improve fusion protein stability, herein we show that prevalent degradation has altered the location of tagged ProP within cells. YdhP and YjbJ were identified as putative ProP interactors and were chosen for further study. Deletion of yjbJ did not alter culture growth or cell morphology. Elimination of YdhP or YjbJ expression did not affect ProP activity or localization, thus impact of these ProP-protein interactions was not evident.