Disease relevance of malS

• Molecular characterization of the MalT-dependent periplasmic alpha-amylase of Escherichia coli encoded by malS [1].

High impact information on malS

• At the position 219 base pairs upstream of malS, we found a divergently transcribed gene, bax, which has been recognized previously [1].
• We sequenced the DNA region encoding malS and its control elements. malS consists of an open reading frame of 2,028 base pairs encoding a protein of 676 amino acids with a deduced molecular weight of 75,664 including a typical amino-terminal signal sequence of 17 amino acids [1].
• The deduced amino acid sequence of malS was compared with that of other proteins [1].
• The nucleotide sequence of the control region of malS revealed MalT binding sites correctly spaced for the start of the malS transcript [1].
• malS, the gene encoding the periplasmic alpha-amylase, is under the regulatory control of the MalT protein, the gene activator of the Escherichia coli maltose system [1].

Associations of malS with chemical compounds

• In contrast, maeA, malS, and mleA had distinct roles in malate utilization for which they could compensate one another [2].
• YtsJ activity, in contrast, was 70-fold higher with NADP+ than with NAD+, with Km values of 0.055 and 2.8 mM, respectively. lacZ fusions revealed strong transcription of ytsJ, twofold higher in malate than in glucose medium, but weak transcription of malS and mleA [2].

Other interactions of malS

• An extreme case is the four putative malic enzyme genes maeA, malS, ytsJ, and mleA. maeA was demonstrated to encode malic enzyme activity, to be inducible by malate, but also to be dispensable for growth on malate [2].

References