HR: 1340h
AN: B13A-1055    [Abstracts]
TI: Molecular study of a squalene cyclase homolog gene in Bacillus subtilis
AU: * Bosak, T
EM: tbosak@mcb.harvard.edu
AF: MCB, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cmabridge, MA 02138 United States
AU: Pearson, A
EM: pearson@eps.harvard.edu
AF: EPS, Harvard University, Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 United States
AU: Losick, R
EM: losick@mcb.harvard.edu
AF: MCB, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cmabridge, MA 02138 United States
AB: Polycyclic triterpenoids such as hopanes and steranes are formed by enzymatic cyclization of linear isoprenoid precursors by squalene cyclases and oxidosqualene cyclases. Due to their amazing preservation potential, polycyclic triterpenoids have been used to indicate the source of organic matter in oils and sediments for decades, although many cannot be attributed to known organisms and genes. To bridge the gap between the genomic database and the geochemical record, we are using molecular tools to study the expression, intracellular localization, and products of a squalene cyclase homolog found in Bacillus subtilis, a Gram-positive soil bacterium. We find that the gene is expressed during sporulation and is localized to the spore coat. Our results may help to understand the source of some previously unassigned natural products, and they may also provide clues to the physiological role of triterpenoids in the Bacillales.
DE: 0444 Evolutionary geobiology
DE: 0448 Geomicrobiology
DE: 0465 Microbiology: ecology, physiology and genomics (4840)
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005