MK did the epidemiological investigations of the study and edited the manuscript. MS designed the CBL0137 cost conjugation experiment and participated in drafting of the manuscript. AS obtained the funding, conceived the study, and edited the manuscript. All of the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.”
“Background GTP-binding proteins are found in all living organisms, and they play critical roles in fundamental processes such as cell proliferation, development, signal transduction and protein translation [1, 2]. In general, these proteins are hydrolase enzymes that convert GTP into

GDP, allowing transfer of the GTP terminal phosphate group to a target protein. As a consequence of this transfer, the highly conserved domains (G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5) of GTP-binding proteins undergo conformational changes that are detected by downstream effector proteins [3, 4], leading to specific outcomes. Comparison of bacterial Selleck Cilengitide genomes, across all taxa, has shown that at least eleven highly conserved GTP-binding proteins are present in selleck chemicals prokaryotes [5]. Among these,

the Obg/GTP1 subfamily of monomeric GTP binding proteins is of special significance, because these proteins exist not only in prokaryotes but also in eukaryotes [6]. The gene encoding Obg was first identified in Bacillus subtilis [7]. Obg orthologues were subsequently discovered in Streptomyces griseus [8], Streptomyces coelicolor [9], Caulobacter crescentus [10], Echerichia coli [11] and Vibrio harveyi [12]. While orthologues of Obg in C. crescentus and V. harveyi are known as CgtA, the orthologue of Obg in E. coli is called ObgE. Bacterial Obg display intrinsic GTPase activity and autophosphorylate with GTP, as does the eukaryotic signaling molecule Ras, which is a GTP-binding protein. Because of this, Obg has been considered to be a potential bacterial signaling molecule [8, 13]. Several published studies have attributed

diverse functions to Obg in different bacterial species. In B. subtilis, for example, Obg is necessary for the transition from vegetative growth to stage 0 or stage II of sporulation [14]. Sporulation is a complex process in this species and is controlled by multiple components including Nabilone phosphorelay. It appears that Obg is one of the components that modulate the sporulation-related phosphorelay by an undefined mechanism [15]. In addition to its activity in B. subtilis, Obg plays critical roles in developmental events in other bacteria, e.g. aerial mycelium formation and sporulation in Streptomyces griseus [8] and S. coelicolor [9]. In these two species, sporulation has a tight relationship with changes in the intracellular GTP-to-GDP ratio, and bacterial Obgs are considered to be stress sensors for intracellular GTP-GDP changes reflecting energy balance in the cells. It has been proposed that high levels of Obg-GTP maintain vegetative division of sporulating bacteria and prevent sporulation, while high levels of Obg-GDP promote sporulation [9].