Interaction of SCO2127 with BldKB and its possible connection to carbon catabolite regulation of morphological differentiation in Streptomyces coelicolor

In Streptomyces coelicolor, the sco2127 gene is located upstream of the gene encoding for glucose kinase. This region restores sensitivity to carbon catabolite repression (CCR) of Streptomyces peucetius var. caesius mutants, resistant to 2-deoxyglucose (DogR). In order to search for the possible mechanisms behind this effect, sco2127 was overexpressed and purified for protein–protein interaction studies. SCO2127 was detected during the late growth phase of S. coelicolor grown in a complex media supplemented with 100 mM glucose. Pull-down assays using crude extracts from S. coelicolor grown in the same media, followed by far-western blotting, allowed detection of two proteins bound to SCO2127. The proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as SCO5113 and SCO2582. SCO5113 (BldKB) is a lipoprotein ABC-type permease (∼66 kDa) involved in mycelium differentiation by allowing the transport of the morphogenic oligopeptide Bld261. SCO2582, is a putative membrane metalloendopeptidase (∼44 kDa) of unknown function. In agreement with the possible role of SCO2127 in mycelium differentiation, delayed aerial mycelium septation and sporulation was observed when S. coelicolor A3(2) was grown in the presence of elevated glucose concentrations (100 mM), an effect not seen in a Δ-sco2127 mutant derived from it. We speculate that SCO2127 might represent a key factor in CCR of mycelium differentiation by interacting with BldKB.