Mass spectrometry of the M. smegmatis proteome: protein expression levels correlate with function, operons, and codon bias

Temporal transcriptomic analysis as Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough transitions into stationary phase during electron donor depletion

Desulfovibrio vulgaris was cultivated in a defined medium, and biomass was sampled for approximately 70 h to characterize the shifts in gene expression as cells transitioned from the exponential to the stationary phase during electron donor depletion. In addition to temporal transcriptomics, total protein, carbohydrate, lactate, acetate, and sulfate levels were measured. The microarray data were examined for statistically significant expression changes, hierarchical cluster analysis, and promoter element prediction and were validated by quantitative PCR. As the cells transitioned from the exponential phase to the stationary phase, a majority of the down-expressed genes were involved in translation and transcription, and this trend continued at the remaining times. There were general increases in relative expression for intracellular trafficking and secretion, ion transport, and coenzyme metabolism as the cells entered the stationary phase. As expected, the DNA replication machinery was down-expressed, and the expression of genes involved in DNA repair increased during the stationary phase. Genes involved in amino acid acquisition, carbohydrate metabolism, energy production, and cell envelope biogenesis did not exhibit uniform transcriptional responses. Interestingly, most phage-related genes were up-expressed at the onset of the stationary phase. This result suggested that nutrient depletion may affect community dynamics and DNA transfer mechanisms of sulfate-reducing bacteria via the phage cycle. The putative feoAB system (in addition to other presumptive iron metabolism genes) was significantly up-expressed, and this suggested the possible importance of Fe2+ acquisition under metal-reducing conditions. The expression of a large subset of carbohydrate-related genes was altered, and the total cellular carbohydrate levels declined during the growth phase transition. Interestingly, the D. vulgaris genome does not contain a putative rpoS gene, a common attribute of the delta-Proteobacteria genomes sequenced to date, and the transcription profiles of other putative rpo genes were not significantly altered. Our results indicated that in addition to expected changes (e.g., energy conversion, protein turnover, translation, transcription, and DNA replication and repair), genes related to phage, stress response, carbohydrate flux, the outer envelope, and iron homeostasis played important roles as D. vulgaris cells experienced electron donor depletion.

The structure and computational analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein CitE suggest a novel enzymatic function

Fatty acid biosynthesis is essential for the survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) is an essential precursor in this pathway. We have determined the 3-D crystal structure of M. tuberculosis citrate lyase beta-subunit (CitE), which as annotated should cleave protein bound citryl-CoA to oxaloacetate and a protein-bound CoA derivative. The CitE structure has the (beta/alpha)(8) TIM barrel fold with an additional alpha-helix, and is trimeric. We have determined the ternary complex bound with oxaloacetate and magnesium, revealing some of the conserved residues involved in catalysis. While the bacterial citrate lyase is a complex with three subunits, the M. tuberculosis genome does not contain the alpha and gamma subunits of this complex, implying that M. tuberculosis CitE acts differently from other bacterial CitE proteins. The analysis of gene clusters containing the CitE protein from 168 fully sequenced organisms has led us to identify a grouping of functionally related genes preserved in M. tuberculosis, Rattus norvegicus, Homo sapiens, and Mus musculus. We propose a novel enzymatic function for M. tuberculosis CitE in fatty acid biosynthesis that is analogous to bacterial citrate lyase but producing acetyl-CoA rather than a protein-bound CoA derivative.

Salt stress in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough: an integrated genomics approach

The ability of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough to reduce, and therefore contain, toxic and radioactive metal waste has made all factors that affect the physiology of this organism of great interest. Increased salinity is an important and frequent fluctuation faced by D. vulgaris in its natural habitat. In liquid culture, exposure to excess salt resulted in striking elongation of D. vulgaris cells. Using data from transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolite assays, phospholipid fatty acid profiling, and electron microscopy, we used a systems approach to explore the effects of excess NaCl on D. vulgaris. In this study we demonstrated that import of osmoprotectants, such as glycine betaine and ectoine, is the primary mechanism used by D. vulgaris to counter hyperionic stress. Several efflux systems were also highly up-regulated, as was the ATP synthesis pathway. Increases in the levels of both RNA and DNA helicases suggested that salt stress affected the stability of nucleic acid base pairing. An overall increase in the level of branched fatty acids indicated that there were changes in cell wall fluidity. The immediate response to salt stress included up-regulation of chemotaxis genes, although flagellar biosynthesis was down-regulated. Other down-regulated systems included lactate uptake permeases and ABC transport systems. The results of an extensive NaCl stress analysis were compared with microarray data from a KCl stress analysis, and unlike many other bacteria, D. vulgaris responded similarly to the two stresses. Integration of data from multiple methods allowed us to develop a conceptual model for the salt stress response in D. vulgaris that can be compared to those in other microorganisms.

Global metabolic changes following loss of a feedback loop reveal dynamic steady states of the yeast metabolome

Metabolic enzymes control cellular metabolite concentrations dynamically in response to changing environmental and intracellular conditions. Such real-time feedback regulation suggests the global metabolome may sample distinct dynamic steady states, forming "basins of stability" in the energy landscape of possible metabolite concentrations and enzymatic activities. Using metabolite, protein and transcriptional profiling, we characterize three dynamic steady states of the yeast metabolome that form by perturbing synthesis of the universal methyl donor S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet). Conversion between these states is driven by replacement of serine with glycine+formate in the media, loss of feedback inhibition control by the metabolic enzyme Met13, or both. The latter causes hyperaccumulation of methionine and AdoMet, and dramatic global compensatory changes in the metabolome, including differences in amino acid and sugar metabolism, and possibly in the global nitrogen balance, ultimately leading to a G1/S phase cell cycle delay. Global metabolic changes are not necessarily accompanied by global transcriptional changes, and metabolite-controlled post-transcriptional regulation of metabolic enzymes is clearly evident.

Protein fragment domains identified using 2D gel electrophoresis/MALDI-TOF

We previously reported a protein expression profiling experiment conducted on human pancreatic tissues using 2D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Here, 18 spots that were identified in the gel at molecular weights more than 10 kDa lower than database values are characterized. The matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry coverage is sufficient to identify the protein region present in each spot. Most of the fragments correspond to processed chains and known structural or functional domains, which may result from limited proteolysis.

Mass Spectrometric Identification of Proteins in Complex Post-Genomic Projects

The rapidly developing proteomics technologies help to advance the global understanding of physiological and cellular processes. The lifestyle of a study organism determines the type and complexity of a given proteomic project. The complexity of this study is characterized by a broad collection of pathway-specific subproteomes, reflecting the metabolic versatility as well as the regulatory potential of the aromatic-degrading, denitrifying bacterium 'Aromatoleum' sp. strain EbN1. Differences in protein profiles were determined using a gel-based approach. Protein identification was based on a progressive application of MALDI-TOF-MS, MALDI-TOF-MS/MS and LC-ESI-MS/MS. This progression was result-driven and automated by software control. The identification rate was increased by the assembly of a project-specific list of background signals that was used for internal calibration of the MS spectra, and by the combination of two search engines using a dedicated MetaScoring algorithm. In total, intelligent bioinformatics could increase the identification yield from 53 to 70% of the analyzed 5,050 gel spots; a total of 556 different proteins were identified. MS identification was highly reproducible: most proteins were identified more than twice from parallel 2DE gels with an average sequence coverage of >50% and rather restrictive score thresholds (Mascot >or=95, ProFound >or=2.2, MetaScore >or=97). The MS technologies and bioinformatics tools that were implemented and integrated to handle this complex proteomic project are presented. In addition, we describe the basic principles and current developments of the applied technologies and provide an overview over the current state of microbial proteome research.