Difference between revisions of "Part:BBa K1470001"

Revision as of 21:07, 1 October 2014

puromycin N-acetyl-transferase

Puromycin is an antibodic derived from the bacteria Streptomyces alboniger. The substance affects the cell both in protein translation and mitochondrial protein import [1]. Due to this, it's toxic to many organisms such as bacteria, Trypanosoma and humans.
A small part of its structure resembles to aminoacetylated tRNA and is recognized by ribosomes. The nascent chain containing puromycin leads to a translational stop.
Streptomyces alboniger protects itself from puromycin with an acetyl transferase. It uses acetyl-CoA to bind the acetyl moiety to the amino group. In this state puromycin cannot be recognized by the ribosom anymore [2].
This enzyme is often used for selecting stable eucaryotic cell lines. Because of the blocked protein biosynthesis more than 99 % of uninfected cells will be dead within two days.

References

[1] NEUBERT, D. AND LEHNINGER, A. L.: The effect of oligomycin, gramicidin, and other antibiotics on reversal of mitochondrial swelling by adenosine triphosphate. Biochim. biophys. Acta 62: 556-565, 1962.
[2] DARKEN MA.: Puromycin inhibition of protein synthesis. Pharmacol Rev. 16:223-43,Sep 1964.
Sequence and Features