Characterization of the histidine decarboxylase gene of Staphylococcus epidermidis TYH1 coded on the staphylococcal cassette chromosome

• Published in: Gene 2011-05, Vol.477 (1), p.32-41
• Main Authors: Yokoi, Ken-ji, Harada, Yasuyuki, Shozen, Kei-Ichi, Satomi, Masataka, Taketo, Akira, Kodaira, Ken-Ichi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Blotting, Western; Cassette chromosome recomobinase; chromosomes; DNA Transposable Elements - genetics; DNA, Bacterial - chemistry; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; fermented foods; food spoilage; genes; glucose; Histamine; Histamine - metabolism; histidine; Histidine decarboxylase; Histidine Decarboxylase - genetics; Histidine Decarboxylase - metabolism; Lactobacillus hilgardii; Molecular Sequence Data; Mutation; nucleotide sequences; oligonucleotides; plasmids; proteins; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Staphylococcal cassette chromosome; Staphylococcus epidermidis; Staphylococcus epidermidis - genetics; Staphylococcus epidermidis - metabolism; Staphylococcus warneri
• ISSN: 0378-1119; 1879-0038
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2011.01.003

Histamine production from histidine in fermented food results in food spoilage, and is harmful to consumers. From fish-miso, we have isolated a new bacterial strain Staphylococcus epidermidis TYH1, which produced histamine under acidic condition in the medium supplemented with glucose. Using oligonucleotides deduced from the histidine decarboxylase gene ( hdcA) of Lactobacillus hilgardii, about 14-kbp DNA region of the TYH1 genome was cloned and sequenced. This region contained two putative genes hdcA TYH1 and hdcP TYH1 encoding proteins HdcA TYH1 (310 amino acid residues) and HdcP TYH1 (495 residues), respectively. Nucleotide sequence around this hdc cluster showed similarity to SCC pbp4 region of S. epidermidis ATCC 12228. Downstream of the cluster, ccrA, ccrB (Type II, respectively) and pbp4 were located. The CcrA and CcrB proteins catalyzed excision of the hdc cluster from the TYH1 chromosome, upon introduction into the TYH1 strain via multicopy plasmid. When hdcA TYH1 was expressed in Staphylococcus warneri M, histamine was extracellularly accumulated in dependence on exogenous histidine. These results indicate that the gene encoding a histidine decarboxylase resides in a movable genetic element, SCC. This new element is designated as SCC hdc.