Two nucleoside receptors from Streptomyces coelicolor: Expression of the genes and characterization of the recombinant proteins

Streptomyces coelicolor is a soil-dwelling bacterium that undergoes an intricate, saprophytic lifecycle. The bacterium takes up exogenous nucleosides for nucleic acid synthesis or use as carbon and energy sources. However, nucleosides must pass through the membrane with the help of transporters. In the present work, the SCO4884 and SCO4885 genes were cloned into pCOLADuet-1 and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21. Each protein was monomeric. Using isothermal titration calorimetry, we determined that SCO4884 and SCO4885 are likely nucleoside receptors with affinity for adenosine and pyrimidine nucleosides. On the basis of bioinformatics analysis and the transporter classification system, we speculate that SCO4884-SCO4888 is an ABC-like transporter responsible for the uptake of adenosine and pyrimidine nucleosides.