Recombinant Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B Glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (plsY)
Description
Enzyme Function and Biological Role
PlsY is a membrane-associated enzyme critical for phospholipid biosynthesis. It catalyzes the first step in glycerolipid formation, converting glycerol-3-phosphate and acyl-phosphate to lysophosphatidic acid, a precursor for membrane lipids . In N. meningitidis, phospholipids are essential for maintaining membrane integrity and facilitating interactions with host cells during infection.
Recombinant Production and Applications
Recombinant PlsY from serogroups A and C is produced in E. coli with an N-terminal His tag for purification. Key characteristics include:
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Expression: High-yield soluble expression under optimized conditions .
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Functionality: Retains enzymatic activity in vitro, confirmed by acyltransferase assays .
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Potential Use: Serves as a tool for studying lipid metabolism in Neisseria and screening antimicrobial agents targeting membrane biosynthesis.
Notably, MenB’s lipid metabolism relies on alternative pathways, possibly involving exogenous fatty acid uptake or non-PlsY acyltransferases .
Research Implications and Gaps
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MenB-Specific Challenges: The apparent absence of plsY in MenB raises questions about compensatory mechanisms for phospholipid synthesis. This gap highlights the need for deeper genomic and proteomic analyses of MenB strains .
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Vaccine Development: While PlsY is not a component of current MenB vaccines (e.g., Bexsero, Trumenba), understanding lipid biosynthesis could inform novel therapeutic strategies .
Future Directions
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Functional Studies: Heterologous expression of MenB homologs (if identified) in E. coli to confirm enzymatic activity.
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Structural Biology: Cryo-EM or X-ray crystallography to resolve PlsY’s catalytic mechanism across serogroups.
Product Specs
Note: While we prioritize shipping the format currently in stock, please specify your format preference during order placement for customized preparation.
Note: All proteins are shipped with standard blue ice packs. Dry ice shipping requires prior arrangement and incurs additional charges.
The specific tag type is determined during production. If you require a specific tag, please inform us, and we will prioritize its development.
Target Background
This enzyme catalyzes the transfer of an acyl group from acyl-phosphate (acyl-PO4) to glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P), resulting in the formation of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). While it utilizes acyl-phosphate as the fatty acyl donor, it does not utilize acyl-CoA or acyl-ACP.
KEGG: nme:NMB1062
STRING: 122586.NMB1062
