No abstract

The adaptation to nutrient depletion in bacteria involves a highly organized series of intracellular events that enable them to adapt to starvation conditions. The regulatory effect of serine threonine protein kinase, PknL, from Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H 37 Rv was investigated under nutrient deprived conditions that simulate circumstances leading to latency. Recombinant PknL was expressed in Mycobacterium smegmatis strain mc 2 155 in its wild type and mutant forms. In vitro growth kinetics experiments revealed that clone expressing active PknL had a significant growth advantage under nutrient limiting conditions. Experiments were conducted to ascertain the in silico predictions of the involvement of PknL in regulating glutamine metabolism in mycobacteria. Furthermore, a role for PknL in cell wall biogenesis/cell division was shown by scanning electron microscopy.