Heterogeneous Patterns of Acid Phosphatases Containing Low-Molecular-Mass Polypeptides in Members of the Family Enterobacteriaceae

We investigated expression of acid phosphatases containing low-molecular-mass (25 to 27-kDa) polypeptides (Lmmp-APs) similar to those described previously for Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium and Morganella morganii in strains that were representatives of 43 different enterobacterial species by using a zymogram technique developed for detection of Lmmp-AP activities and for analysis of some of the properties of these enzymes. Under conditions that were suitable for detection of the previously described Lmmp-APs, production of similar enzymes appeared to be widespread but not universal among enteric bacteria, and heterogeneous patterns of expression were found among strains belonging to different genera and, in some cases, among strains belonging to different species of the same genus. We found that class A Lmmp-APs (i.e., Lmmp-Aps similar to the Morganella morganii PhoC and Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium PhoN acid phosphatases) were also expressed in Cedecea spp., Enterobacter aerogenes, Hafnia alvei, Klebsiella spp., Providencia stuartii, Serratia plymuthica, and Yokenella regensburgei strains and that class B Lmmp-APs (i.e., Lmmp-APs similar to the Morganella morganii NapA and Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium NapII acid phosphatases) were also expressed in strains of Citrobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Escherichia. fergusonii, Hafnia alvei, Proteus mirabilis, Providencia spp., Salmonella enterica serovar typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, and Shigella flexneri. No Lmmp-AP activity was detected in strains of Enterobacter spp, other than Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia hermanii, Kluyvera ascorbata, Leclercia adecarboxylata, Leminorella grimontii, Moellerella wisconsensis, Proteus vulgaris, Proteus penneri, Serratia spp. other than Serratia plymuthica, and Yersinia spp. Because of the heterogeneous patterns of expression of Lmmp-APs, analysis of these enzymes could be useful for evolutionary studies of the enterobacterial genome and for precise phylogenetic positioning of enteric bacteria.