Catalytic domain of bacterial Serine/Threonine kinases, PknB and similar proteins
STKs catalyze the transfer of the gamma-phosphoryl group from ATP to serine/threonine residues on protein substrates. This subfamily includes many bacterial eukaryotic-type STKs including Staphylococcus aureus PknB (also called PrkC or Stk1), Bacillus subtilis PrkC, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis Pkn proteins (PknB, PknD, PknE, PknF, PknL, and PknH), among others. S. aureus PknB is the only eukaryotic-type STK present in this species, although many microorganisms encode for several such proteins. It is important for the survival and pathogenesis of S. aureus as it is involved in the regulation of purine and pyrimidine biosynthesis, cell wall metabolism, autolysis, virulence, and antibiotic resistance. M. tuberculosis PknB is essential for growth and it acts on diverse substrates including proteins involved in peptidoglycan synthesis, cell division, transcription, stress responses, and metabolic regulation. B. subtilis PrkC is located at the inner membrane of endospores and functions to trigger spore germination. Bacterial STKs in this subfamily show varied domain architectures. The well-characterized members such as S. aureus and M. tuberculosis PknB, and B. subtilis PrkC, contain an N-terminal cytosolic kinase domain, a transmembrane (TM) segment, and mutliple C-terminal extracellular PASTA domains. The PknB subfamily is part of a larger superfamily that includes the catalytic domains of other protein STKs, protein tyrosine kinases, RIO kinases, aminoglycoside phosphotransferase, choline kinase, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase.