Part:BBa_K777121

yhjH

The product of this gene is a phosphodiesterase which is involved in regulating the levels of c-di-GMP, a bacterial signaling molecule. High levels of c-di-GMP promote biofilm synthesis and inhibit flagella by binding to YcgR which then acts as a "brake" on FliG and FliM. Levels of c-di-GMP are elevated and motility is reduced in yhjH-mutants.

Usage and Biology

Fig. 1: BL21 E. coli carrying different constructs on [http://2012.igem.org/Team:Goettingen/Project/Materials#Tryptone_swimming_agar Tryptone swimming agar] after 12h incubation at 33°C. Cells expressing yhjH in puc18 under the natural promoter travelled approximately 0.5cm (radius) whereas no swimming could be detected for the control plasmid carrying K777125.

The second messenger c-di-GMP influences motility and biofilm formation. By expressing yhjH in BL21 E. coli under its natural promoter we were able to enhance their motility. These strains started swimming earlier than our controls and other transformants. However, this effect seemed to occur preferrably on [http://2012.igem.org/Team:Goettingen/Project/Materials#Tryptone_swimming_agar Tryptone swimming agar] whereas it was less pronounced and reproducable on [http://2012.igem.org/Team:Goettingen/Project/Materials#M9_Swimming_Agar M9 minimal medium swimming agar]. These results show, that the expression of yhjH can indeed cause better motility in BL21 E. coli as we expected.

Sequence and Features

Assembly Compatibility:

• 10
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[10]
• 12
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[12]
• 21
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[21]
• 23
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[23]
• 25
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[25]
• 1000
  COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[1000]

Fig. 2: Plasmid map of K777121 in pSB1C3. You can also download it here