Genoscope uses a soil bacterium called
Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 as a model of bacterial metabolism (Barbe
et al., 2004 ; LABGEM and LGBM).
To complement our toolbox for the study of the metabolism of this bacterium (de Berardinis et al., 2008), the ORFeome is currently being constructed using a version of the “high-throughput” cloning platform which also includes the sequencing of the clones.
Since our objective is the study of metabolism, only the non-membrane-associated enzymes and genes predicted as such (about 1400 enzymes/potential enzymes) as well as genes with unknown function (about 800 genes) are being cloned at present.
Composition of the ORFeome of A. baylyi ADP1
Number of genes cloned from the main categories of enzymes/putative enzymes.
Next, screening based on the main types of enzymatic reactions (phosphatases, dehydrogenases, decarboxylases, etc.) should make it possible to infer new functions for these enzymes experimentally. For example, preliminary tests on some genes of unknown function have permitted the detection of 4 proteins with phosphatase activity on a generic substrate.
