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Bettridge K, Harris FE, Yehya N, Xiao J. RNAP Promoter Search and Transcription Kinetics in Live E. coli Cells. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:3816-3828. [PMID: 37098218 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c09142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial transcription has been studied extensively in vitro, which has provided detailed molecular mechanisms of transcription. The in vivo cellular environment, however, may impose different rules on transcription than the homogeneous and well-controlled in vitro environment. How an RNA polymerase (RNAP) molecule searches rapidly through vast nonspecific chromosomal DNA in the three-dimensional nucleoid space and identifies a specific promoter sequence remains elusive. Transcription kinetics in vivo could also be impacted by specific cellular environments including nucleoid organization and nutrient availability. In this work, we investigated the promoter search dynamics and transcription kinetics of RNAP in live E. coli cells. Using single-molecule tracking (SMT) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) across different genetic, drug inhibition, and growth conditions, we observed that RNAP's promoter search is facilitated by nonspecific DNA interactions and is largely independent of nucleoid organization, growth condition, transcription activity, or promoter class. RNAP's transcription kinetics, however, are sensitive to these conditions and mainly modulated at the levels of actively engaged RNAP and the promoter escape rate. Our work establishes a foundation for further mechanistic studies of bacterial transcription in live cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelsey Bettridge
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287-0010, United States
| | - Frances E Harris
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287-0010, United States
| | - Nicolás Yehya
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287-0010, United States
| | - Jie Xiao
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287-0010, United States
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2
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Vishwakarma RK, Brodolin K. The σ Subunit-Remodeling Factors: An Emerging Paradigms of Transcription Regulation. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:1798. [PMID: 32849409 PMCID: PMC7403470 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcription initiation is a key checkpoint and highly regulated step of gene expression. The sigma (σ) subunit of RNA polymerase (RNAP) controls all transcription initiation steps, from recognition of the -10/-35 promoter elements, upon formation of the closed promoter complex (RPc), to stabilization of the open promoter complex (RPo) and stimulation of the primary steps in RNA synthesis. The canonical mechanism to regulate σ activity upon transcription initiation relies on activators that recognize specific DNA motifs and recruit RNAP to promoters. This mini-review describes an emerging group of transcriptional regulators that form a complex with σ or/and RNAP prior to promoter binding, remodel the σ subunit conformation, and thus modify RNAP activity. Such strategy is widely used by bacteriophages to appropriate the host RNAP. Recent findings on RNAP-binding protein A (RbpA) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Crl from Escherichia coli suggest that activator-driven changes in σ conformation can be a widespread regulatory mechanism in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rishi Kishore Vishwakarma
- Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Konstantin Brodolin
- Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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3
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Spatial organization of RNA polymerase and its relationship with transcription in Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:20115-20123. [PMID: 31527272 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1903968116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that RNA polymerase (RNAP) is organized into distinct clusters in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis cells. Spatially organized molecular components in prokaryotic systems imply compartmentalization without the use of membranes, which may offer insights into unique functions and regulations. It has been proposed that the formation of RNAP clusters is driven by active ribosomal RNA (rRNA) transcription and that RNAP clusters function as factories for highly efficient transcription. In this work, we examined these hypotheses by investigating the spatial organization and transcription activity of RNAP in E. coli cells using quantitative superresolution imaging coupled with genetic and biochemical assays. We observed that RNAP formed distinct clusters that were engaged in active rRNA synthesis under a rich medium growth condition. Surprisingly, a large fraction of RNAP clusters persisted in the absence of high rRNA transcription activities or when the housekeeping σ70 was sequestered, and was only significantly diminished when all RNA transcription was inhibited globally. In contrast, the cellular distribution of RNAP closely followed the morphology of the underlying nucleoid under all conditions tested irrespective of the corresponding transcription activity, and RNAP redistributed into dispersed, smaller clusters when the supercoiling state of the nucleoid was perturbed. These results suggest that RNAP was organized into active transcription centers under the rich medium growth condition; its spatial arrangement at the cellular level, however, was not dependent on rRNA synthesis activity and was likely organized by the underlying nucleoid.
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4
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Hook-Barnard IG, Hinton DM. Transcription Initiation by Mix and Match Elements: Flexibility for Polymerase Binding to Bacterial Promoters. GENE REGULATION AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/117762500700100020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Bacterial RNA polymerase is composed of a core of subunits (β β′, α1, α2, ω), which have RNA synthesizing activity, and a specificity factor (σ), which identifies the start of transcription by recognizing and binding to sequence elements within promoter DNA. Four core promoter consensus sequences, the –10 element, the extended –10 (TGn) element, the –35 element, and the UP elements, have been known for many years; the importance of a nontemplate G at position -5 has been recognized more recently. However, the functions of these elements are not the same. The AT-rich UP elements, the –35 elements (–35TTGACA–30), and the extended –10 (15TGn–13) are recognized as double-stranded binding elements, whereas the –5 nontemplate G is recognized in the context of single-stranded DNA at the transcription bubble. Furthermore, the –10 element (–12TATAAT–7) is recognized as both double-stranded DNA for the T:A bp at position –12 and as nontemplate, single-stranded DNA from positions –11 to –7. The single-stranded sequences at positions –11 to –7 as well as the –5 contribute to later steps in transcription initiation that involve isomerization of polymerase and separation of the promoter DNA around the transcription start site. Recent work has demonstrated that the double-stranded elements may be used in various combinations to yield an effective promoter. Thus, while some minimal number of contacts is required for promoter function, polymerase allows the elements to be mixed and matched. Interestingly, which particular elements are used does not appear to fundamentally alter the transcription bubble generated in the stable complex. In this review, we discuss the multiple steps involved in forming a transcriptionally competent polymerase/promoter complex, and we examine what is known about polymerase recognition of core promoter elements. We suggest that considering promoter elements according to their involvement in early (polymerase binding) or later (polymerase isomerization) steps in transcription initiation rather than simply from their match to conventional promoter consensus sequences is a more instructive form of promoter classification.
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Affiliation(s)
- India G. Hook-Barnard
- Gene Expression and Regulation Section, Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 8 Room 2A-13, Bethesda, MD 20892-0830
| | - Deborah M. Hinton
- Gene Expression and Regulation Section, Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 8 Room 2A-13, Bethesda, MD 20892-0830
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5
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Shen L, Macnaughtan MA, Frohlich KM, Cong Y, Goodwin OY, Chou CW, LeCour L, Krup K, Luo M, Worthylake DK. Multipart Chaperone-Effector Recognition in the Type III Secretion System of Chlamydia trachomatis. J Biol Chem 2015; 290:28141-28155. [PMID: 26438824 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m115.670232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Secretion of effector proteins into the eukaryotic host cell is required for Chlamydia trachomatis virulence. In the infection process, Scc1 and Scc4, two chaperones of the type III secretion (T3S) system, facilitate secretion of the important effector and plug protein, CopN, but little is known about the details of this event. Here we use biochemistry, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and genetic analyses to characterize this trimolecular event. We find that Scc4 complexes with Scc1 and CopN in situ at the late developmental cycle of C. trachomatis. We show that Scc4 and Scc1 undergo dynamic interactions as part of the unique bacterial developmental cycle. Using alanine substitutions, we identify several amino acid residues in Scc4 that are critical for the Scc4-Scc1 interaction, which is required for forming the Scc4·Scc1·CopN ternary complex. These results, combined with our previous findings that Scc4 plays a role in transcription (Rao, X., Deighan, P., Hua, Z., Hu, X., Wang, J., Luo, M., Wang, J., Liang, Y., Zhong, G., Hochschild, A., and Shen, L. (2009) Genes Dev. 23, 1818-1829), reveal that the T3S process is linked to bacterial transcriptional events, all of which are mediated by Scc4 and its interacting proteins. A model describing how the T3S process may affect gene expression is proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Shen
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology.
| | - Megan A Macnaughtan
- Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Range, Louisiana 70803
| | | | - Yanguang Cong
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology
| | - Octavia Y Goodwin
- Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Range, Louisiana 70803
| | - Chau-Wen Chou
- Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602
| | - Louis LeCour
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
| | - Kristen Krup
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology
| | - Miao Luo
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology
| | - David K Worthylake
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
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Severinov K, Minakhin L, Sekine SI, Lopatina A, Yokoyama S. Molecular basis of RNA polymerase promoter specificity switch revealed through studies of Thermus bacteriophage transcription regulator. BACTERIOPHAGE 2014; 4:e29399. [PMID: 25105059 PMCID: PMC4124052 DOI: 10.4161/bact.29399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2014] [Revised: 05/29/2014] [Accepted: 05/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Transcription initiation is the central point of gene expression regulation. Understanding of molecular mechanism of transcription regulation requires, ultimately, the structural understanding of consequences of transcription factors binding to DNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RNAP), the enzyme of transcription. We recently determined a structure of a complex between transcription factor gp39 encoded by a Thermus bacteriophage and Thermus RNAP holoenzyme. In this addendum to the original publication, we highlight structural insights that explain the ability of gp39 to act as an RNAP specificity switch which inhibits transcription initiation from a major class of bacterial promoters, while allowing transcription from a minor promoter class to continue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantin Severinov
- Waksman Institute; Rutgers; The State University of New Jersey; Piscataway, NJ USA ; St. Petersburg Polytechnical State University; St. Petersburg, Russia ; Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology; Skolkovo, Russia
| | - Leonid Minakhin
- Waksman Institute; Rutgers; The State University of New Jersey; Piscataway, NJ USA
| | - Shun-Ichi Sekine
- RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center; Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama Japan ; Division of Structural and Synthetic Biology; RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies; Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama Japan
| | - Anna Lopatina
- St. Petersburg Polytechnical State University; St. Petersburg, Russia ; Institutes of Gene Biology and Molecular Genetics; Russian Academy of Sciences; Moscow, Russia
| | - Shigeyuki Yokoyama
- RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center; Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama Japan ; RIKEN Structural Biology Laboratory; Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama Japan
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Tagami S, Sekine SI, Minakhin L, Esyunina D, Akasaka R, Shirouzu M, Kulbachinskiy A, Severinov K, Yokoyama S. Structural basis for promoter specificity switching of RNA polymerase by a phage factor. Genes Dev 2014; 28:521-31. [PMID: 24589779 PMCID: PMC3950348 DOI: 10.1101/gad.233916.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Transcription of DNA to RNA by DNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RNAP) is the first step of gene expression and a major regulation point. Bacteriophages hijack their host's transcription machinery and direct it to serve their needs. The gp39 protein encoded by Thermus thermophilus phage P23-45 binds the host's RNAP and inhibits transcription initiation from its major "-10/-35" class promoters. Phage promoters belonging to the minor "extended -10" class are minimally inhibited. We report the crystal structure of the T. thermophilus RNAP holoenzyme complexed with gp39, which explains the mechanism for RNAP promoter specificity switching. gp39 simultaneously binds to the RNAP β-flap domain and the C-terminal domain of the σ subunit (region 4 of the σ subunit [σ4]), thus relocating the β-flap tip and σ4. The ~45 Å displacement of σ4 is incompatible with its binding to the -35 promoter consensus element, thus accounting for the inhibition of transcription from -10/-35 class promoters. In contrast, this conformational change is compatible with the recognition of extended -10 class promoters. These results provide the structural bases for the conformational modulation of the host's RNAP promoter specificity to switch gene expression toward supporting phage development for gp39 and, potentially, other phage proteins, such as T4 AsiA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunsuke Tagami
- RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan
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8
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Hsieh ML, James TD, Knipling L, Waddell MB, White S, Hinton DM. Architecture of the bacteriophage T4 activator MotA/promoter DNA interaction during sigma appropriation. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:27607-27618. [PMID: 23902794 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m113.475434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene expression can be regulated through factors that direct RNA polymerase to the correct promoter sequence at the correct time. Bacteriophage T4 controls its development in this way using phage proteins that interact with host RNA polymerase. Using a process called σ appropriation, the T4 co-activator AsiA structurally remodels the σ(70) subunit of host RNA polymerase, while a T4 activator, MotA, engages the C terminus of σ(70) and binds to a DNA promoter element, the MotA box. Structures for the N-terminal (NTD) and C-terminal (CTD) domains of MotA are available, but no structure exists for MotA with or without DNA. We report the first molecular map of the MotA/DNA interaction within the σ-appropriated complex, which we obtained by using the cleaving reagent, iron bromoacetamidobenzyl-EDTA (FeBABE). We conjugated surface-exposed, single cysteines in MotA with FeBABE and performed cleavage reactions in the context of stable transcription complexes. The DNA cleavage sites were analyzed using ICM Molsoft software and three-dimensional physical models of MotA(NTD), MotA(CTD), and the DNA to investigate shape complementarity between the protein and the DNA and to position MotA on the DNA. We found that the unusual "double wing" motif present within MotA(CTD) resides in the major groove of the MotA box. In addition, we have used surface plasmon resonance to show that MotA alone is in a very dynamic equilibrium with the MotA element. Our results demonstrate the utility of fine resolution FeBABE mapping to determine the architecture of protein-DNA complexes that have been recalcitrant to traditional structure analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Lun Hsieh
- Gene Expression and Regulation Section, Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
| | - Tamara D James
- Gene Expression and Regulation Section, Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892; Structural Biology Program, Sackler Institute, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, New York 10016
| | - Leslie Knipling
- Gene Expression and Regulation Section, Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892
| | | | - Stephen White
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105
| | - Deborah M Hinton
- Gene Expression and Regulation Section, Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Biology, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
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9
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Iron regulates expression of Bacillus cereus hemolysin II via global regulator Fur. J Bacteriol 2012; 194:3327-35. [PMID: 22522892 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00199-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The capacity of pathogens to respond to environmental signals, such as iron concentration, is key to bacterial survival and establishment of a successful infection. Bacillus cereus is a widely distributed bacterium with distinct pathogenic properties. Hemolysin II (HlyII) is one of its pore-forming cytotoxins and has been shown to be involved in bacterial pathogenicity in a number of cell and animal models. Unlike many other B. cereus pathogenicity factors, HlyII is not regulated by pleiotropic transcriptional regulator PlcR but is controlled by its own regulator, HlyIIR. Using a combination of in vivo and in vitro techniques, we show that hlyII expression is also negatively regulated by iron by the global regulator Fur via direct interaction with the hlyII promoter. DNase I footprinting and in vitro transcription experiments indicate that Fur prevents RNA polymerase binding to the hlyII promoter. HlyII expression profiles demonstrate that both HlyIIR and Fur regulate HlyII expression in a concerted fashion, with the effect of Fur being maximal in the early stages of bacterial growth. In sum, these results show that Fur serves as a transcriptional repressor for hlyII expression.
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Hinton DM. Transcriptional control in the prereplicative phase of T4 development. Virol J 2010; 7:289. [PMID: 21029433 PMCID: PMC2988021 DOI: 10.1186/1743-422x-7-289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2010] [Accepted: 10/28/2010] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Control of transcription is crucial for correct gene expression and orderly development. For many years, bacteriophage T4 has provided a simple model system to investigate mechanisms that regulate this process. Development of T4 requires the transcription of early, middle and late RNAs. Because T4 does not encode its own RNA polymerase, it must redirect the polymerase of its host, E. coli, to the correct class of genes at the correct time. T4 accomplishes this through the action of phage-encoded factors. Here I review recent studies investigating the transcription of T4 prereplicative genes, which are expressed as early and middle transcripts. Early RNAs are generated immediately after infection from T4 promoters that contain excellent recognition sequences for host polymerase. Consequently, the early promoters compete extremely well with host promoters for the available polymerase. T4 early promoter activity is further enhanced by the action of the T4 Alt protein, a component of the phage head that is injected into E. coli along with the phage DNA. Alt modifies Arg265 on one of the two α subunits of RNA polymerase. Although work with host promoters predicts that this modification should decrease promoter activity, transcription from some T4 early promoters increases when RNA polymerase is modified by Alt. Transcription of T4 middle genes begins about 1 minute after infection and proceeds by two pathways: 1) extension of early transcripts into downstream middle genes and 2) activation of T4 middle promoters through a process called sigma appropriation. In this activation, the T4 co-activator AsiA binds to Region 4 of σ⁷⁰, the specificity subunit of RNA polymerase. This binding dramatically remodels this portion of σ⁷⁰, which then allows the T4 activator MotA to also interact with σ⁷⁰. In addition, AsiA restructuring of σ⁷⁰ prevents Region 4 from forming its normal contacts with the -35 region of promoter DNA, which in turn allows MotA to interact with its DNA binding site, a MotA box, centered at the -30 region of middle promoter DNA. T4 sigma appropriation reveals how a specific domain within RNA polymerase can be remolded and then exploited to alter promoter specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah M Hinton
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Building 8, Room 2A-13, Bethesda, MD 20892-0830, USA.
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11
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A mutation within the β subunit of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase impairs transcription from bacteriophage T4 middle promoters. J Bacteriol 2010; 192:5580-7. [PMID: 20729353 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00338-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
During infection of Escherichia coli, bacteriophage T4 usurps the host transcriptional machinery, redirecting it to the expression of early, middle, and late phage genes. Middle genes, whose expression begins about 1 min postinfection, are transcribed both from the extension of early RNA into middle genes and by the activation of T4 middle promoters. Middle-promoter activation requires the T4 transcriptional activator MotA and coactivator AsiA, which are known to interact with σ(70), the specificity subunit of RNA polymerase. T4 motA amber [motA(Am)] or asiA(Am) phage grows poorly in wild-type E. coli. However, previous work has found that T4 motA(Am)does not grow in the E. coli mutant strain TabG. We show here that the RNA polymerase in TabG contains two mutations within its β-subunit gene: rpoB(E835K) and rpoB(G1249D). We find that the G1249D mutation is responsible for restricting the growth of either T4 motA(Am)or asiA(Am) and for impairing transcription from MotA/AsiA-activated middle promoters in vivo. With one exception, transcription from tested T4 early promoters is either unaffected or, in some cases, even increases, and there is no significant growth phenotype for the rpoB(E835K G1249D) strain in the absence of T4 infection. In reported structures of thermophilic RNA polymerase, the G1249 residue is located immediately adjacent to a hydrophobic pocket, called the switch 3 loop. This loop is thought to aid in the separation of the RNA from the DNA-RNA hybrid as RNA enters the RNA exit channel. Our results suggest that the presence of MotA and AsiA may impair the function of this loop or that this portion of the β subunit may influence interactions among MotA, AsiA, and RNA polymerase.
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12
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Abstract
Gene transcription is a fundamental cellular process carried out by RNA polymerase (RNAP) enzymes and is highly regulated through the action of gene regulatory complexes. Important mechanistic insights have been gained from structural studies on multisubunit RNAP from bacteria, yeast and archaea, although the initiation process that involves the conversion of the inactive transcription complex to an active one has yet to be fully understood. RNAPs are unambiguously closely related in structure and function across all kingdoms of life and have conserved mechanisms. In bacteria, sigma (sigma) factors direct RNAP to specific promoter sites and the RNAP/sigma holoenzyme can either form a stable closed complex that is incompetent for transcription (as in the case of sigma(54)) or can spontaneously proceed to an open complex that is competent for transcription (as in the case of sigma(70)). The conversion of the RNAP/sigma(54) closed complex to an open complex requires ATP hydrolysis by enhancer-binding proteins, hence providing an ideal model system for studying the initiation process biochemically and structurally. In this review, we present recent structural studies of the two major bacterial RNAP holoenzymes and focus on mechanistic advances in the transcription initiation process via enhancer-binding proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamaswati Ghosh
- Department of Life Sciences, Centre for Structural Biology, Division of Molecular Biosciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
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13
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Yuan AH, Hochschild A. Direct activator/co-activator interaction is essential for bacteriophage T4 middle gene expression. Mol Microbiol 2009; 74:1018-30. [PMID: 19843221 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2009.06916.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The bacteriophage T4 AsiA protein is a bifunctional regulator that inhibits transcription from the major class of bacterial promoters and also serves as an essential co-activator of transcription from T4 middle promoters. AsiA binds the primary s factor in Escherichia coli, sigma(70), and modifies the promoter recognition properties of the sigma(70)-containing RNA polymerase(RNAP) holoenzyme. In its role as co-activator, AsiA directs RNAP to T4 middle promoters in the presence of the T4-encoded activator MotA. According to the current model for T4 middle promoter activation, AsiA plays an indirect role in stabilizing the activation complex by facilitating interaction between DNA-bound MotA and sigma(70). Here we show that AsiA also plays a direct role in T4 middle promoter activation by contacting the MotA activation domain. Furthermore,we show that interaction between AsiA and the beta-flap domain of RNAP is important for co-activation. Based on our findings, we propose a revised model for T4 middle promoter activation, with AsiA organizing the activation complex via three distinct protein-protein interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andy H Yuan
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave., D1, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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14
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Licht A, Brantl S. The transcriptional repressor CcpN from Bacillus subtilis uses different repression mechanisms at different promoters. J Biol Chem 2009; 284:30032-8. [PMID: 19726675 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m109.033076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
CcpN, a transcriptional repressor from Bacillus subtilis that is responsible for the carbon catabolite repression of three genes, has been characterized in detail in the past 4 years. However, nothing is known about the actual repression mechanism as yet. Here, we present a detailed study on how CcpN exerts its repression effect at its three known target promoters of the genes sr1, pckA, and gapB. Using gel shift assays under non-repressive and repressive conditions, we showed that CcpN and RNA polymerase can bind simultaneously and that CcpN does not prevent RNA polymerase (RNAP) binding to the promoter. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of CcpN on open complex formation and demonstrate that CcpN also does not act at this step of transcription initiation at the sr1 and pckA and presumably at the gapB promoter. Investigation of abortive transcript synthesis revealed that CcpN acts differently at the three promoters: At the sr1 and pckA promoter, promoter clearance is impeded by CcpN, whereas synthesis of abortive transcripts is repressed at the gapB promoter. Eventually, we demonstrated with Far Western blots and co-elution experiments that CcpN is able to interact with the RNAP alpha-subunit, which completes the picture of the requirements for the repressive action of CcpN. On the basis of the presented results, we propose a new working model for CcpN action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Licht
- Arbeitsgruppe Bakteriengenetik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, 07743 Jena, Germany.
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15
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Rao X, Deighan P, Hua Z, Hu X, Wang J, Luo M, Wang J, Liang Y, Zhong G, Hochschild A, Shen L. A regulator from Chlamydia trachomatis modulates the activity of RNA polymerase through direct interaction with the beta subunit and the primary sigma subunit. Genes Dev 2009; 23:1818-29. [PMID: 19651989 DOI: 10.1101/gad.1784009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The obligate intracellular human pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis undergoes a complex developmental program involving transition between two forms: the infectious elementary body (EB), and the rapidly dividing reticulate body (RB). However, the regulators controlling this development have not been identified. To uncover potential regulators of transcription in C. trachomatis, we screened a C. trachomatis genomic library for sequences encoding proteins that interact with RNA polymerase (RNAP). We report the identification of one such protein, CT663, which interacts with the beta and sigma subunits of RNAP. Specifically, we show that CT663 interacts with the flap domain of the beta subunit (beta-flap) and conserved region 4 of the primary sigma subunit (sigma(66) in C. trachomatis). We find that CT663 inhibits sigma(66)-dependent (but not sigma(28)-dependent) transcription in vitro, and we present evidence that CT663 exerts this effect as a component of the RNAP holoenzyme. The analysis of C. trachomatis-infected cells reveals that CT663 begins to accumulate at the commencement of the RB-to-EB transition. Our findings suggest that CT663 functions as a negative regulator of sigma(66)-dependent transcription, facilitating a global change in gene expression. The strategy used here is generally applicable in cases where genetic tools are unavailable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiancai Rao
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112, USA
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16
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Inhibition of transcription in Staphylococcus aureus by a primary sigma factor-binding polypeptide from phage G1. J Bacteriol 2009; 191:3763-71. [PMID: 19376864 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00241-09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The primary sigma factor of Staphylococcus aureus, sigma(SA), regulates the transcription of many genes, including several essential genes, in this bacterium via specific recognition of exponential growth phase promoters. In this study, we report the existence of a novel staphylococcal phage G1-derived growth inhibitory polypeptide, referred to as G1ORF67, that interacts with sigma(SA) both in vivo and in vitro and regulates its activity. Delineation of the minimal domain of sigma(SA) that is required for its interaction with G1ORF67 as amino acids 294 to 360 near the carboxy terminus suggests that the G1 phage-encoded anti-sigma factor may occlude the -35 element recognition domain of sigma(SA). As would be predicted by this hypothesis, the G1ORF67 polypeptide abolished both RNA polymerase core-dependent binding of sigma(SA) to DNA and sigma(SA)-dependent transcription in vitro. While G1ORF67 profoundly inhibits transcription when expressed in S. aureus cells in mode of action studies, our finding that G1ORF67 was unable to inhibit transcription when expressed in Escherichia coli concurs with its inability to inhibit transcription by the E. coli holoenzyme in vitro. These features demonstrate the selectivity of G1ORF67 for S. aureus RNA polymerase. We predict that G1ORF67 is one of the central polypeptides in the phage G1 strategy to appropriate host RNA polymerase and redirect it to phage reproduction.
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17
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The bacteriophage T4 AsiA protein contacts the beta-flap domain of RNA polymerase. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2009; 106:6597-602. [PMID: 19366670 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0812832106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To initiate transcription from specific promoters, the bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) core enzyme must associate with the initiation factor sigma, which contains determinants that allow sequence-specific interactions with promoter DNA. Most bacteria contain several sigma factors, each of which directs recognition of a distinct set of promoters. A large and diverse family of proteins known as "anti-sigma factors" regulates promoter utilization by targeting specific sigma factors. The founding member of this family is the AsiA protein of bacteriophage T4. AsiA specifically targets the primary sigma factor in Escherichia coli, sigma(70), and inhibits transcription from the major class of sigma(70)-dependent promoters. AsiA-dependent transcription inhibition has been attributed to a well-documented interaction between AsiA and conserved region 4 of sigma(70). Here, we establish that efficient AsiA-dependent transcription inhibition also requires direct protein-protein contact between AsiA and the RNAP core. In particular, we demonstrate that AsiA contacts the flap domain of the RNAP beta-subunit (the beta-flap). Our findings support the emerging view that the beta-flap is a target site for regulatory proteins that affect RNAP function during all stages of the transcription cycle.
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18
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Ross W, Gourse RL. Analysis of RNA polymerase-promoter complex formation. Methods 2008; 47:13-24. [PMID: 18952176 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2008.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2008] [Revised: 10/16/2008] [Accepted: 10/17/2008] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial promoter identification and characterization is not as straightforward as one might presume. Promoters vary widely in their similarity to the consensus recognition element sequences, in their activities, and in their utilization of transcription factors, and multiple approaches often must be used to provide a framework for understanding promoter regulation. Characterization of RNA polymerase-promoter complex formation in the absence of additional regulatory factors (basal promoter function) can provide a basis for understanding the steps in transcription initiation that are ultimately targeted by nutritional or environmental factors. Promoters can be localized using genetic approaches in vivo, but the detailed properties of the RNAP-promoter complex are studied most productively in vitro. We first describe approaches for identification of bacterial promoters and transcription start sites in vivo, including promoter-reporter fusions and primer-extension. We then describe a number of methods for characterization of RNAP-promoter complexes in vitro, including in vitro transcription, gel mobility shift assays, footprinting, and filter binding. Utilization of these methods can result in determination of not only basal promoter strength but also the rates of transcription initiation complex formation and decay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilma Ross
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1550 Linden Dr., Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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19
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Bonocora RP, Caignan G, Woodrell C, Werner MH, Hinton DM. A basic/hydrophobic cleft of the T4 activator MotA interacts with the C-terminus of E.coli sigma70 to activate middle gene transcription. Mol Microbiol 2008; 69:331-43. [PMID: 18485078 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2008.06276.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Transcriptional activation often employs a direct interaction between an activator and RNA polymerase. For activation of its middle genes, bacteriophage T4 appropriates Escherichia coli RNA polymerase through the action of two phage-encoded proteins, MotA and AsiA. Alone, AsiA inhibits transcription from a large class of host promoters by structurally remodelling region 4 of sigma(70), the primary specificity subunit of E. coli RNA polymerase. MotA interacts both with sigma(70) region 4 and with a DNA element present in T4 middle promoters. AsiA-induced remodelling is proposed to make the far C-terminus of sigma(70) region 4 accessible for MotA binding. Here, NMR chemical shift analysis indicates that MotA uses a 'basic/hydrophobic' cleft to interact with the C-terminus of AsiA-remodelled sigma(70), but MotA does not interact with AsiA itself. Mutations within this cleft, at residues K3, K28 and Q76, both impair the interaction of MotA with sigma(70) region 4 and MotA-dependent activation. Furthermore, mutations at these residues greatly decrease phage viability. Most previously described activators that target sigma(70) directly use acidic residues to engage a basic surface of region 4. Our work supports accumulated evidence indicating that 'sigma appropriation' by MotA and AsiA uses a fundamentally different mechanism to activate transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard P Bonocora
- Gene Expression and Regulation Section, Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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20
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Functional identification of an anti-sigmaE factor from Thermus thermophilus HB8. Gene 2008; 423:153-9. [PMID: 18682280 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2008.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2008] [Revised: 07/05/2008] [Accepted: 07/11/2008] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The TTHB212 gene from extremely thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus HB8 forms an operon with the upstream sigE gene encoding an extracytoplasmic function sigma factor, sigma(E), the sole alternative sigma factor of this strain, on megaplasmid pTT27. The TTHB212 gene encodes a poorly conserved protein, which has been predicted to be a transmembrane one with N-terminal intracellular and C-terminal extracytoplasmic domains. The N-terminal domain of TTHB212 protein (TTHB212N) prevented sigma(E) from binding to RNA polymerase (RNAP) core enzyme in vitro, and TTHB212N bound sigma(E) in a molar ratio of 1:1 when both proteins were co-expressed in Escherichia coli. Furthermore, TTHB212N inhibited the transcription activity of RNAP-sigma(E) holoenzyme, but not that of the RNAP-sigma(A) one, in vitro. The expression of several genes that are under the control of sigma(E) was increased in a TTHB212 gene-disruptant strain. Thus, TTHB212 protein was identified as an anti-sigma(E) factor. These findings indicate that T. thermophilus HB8 has a regulatory system involving sigma(E) and anti-sigma(E) factors.
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21
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Campbell EA, Westblade LF, Darst SA. Regulation of bacterial RNA polymerase sigma factor activity: a structural perspective. Curr Opin Microbiol 2008; 11:121-7. [PMID: 18375176 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2008.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2008] [Revised: 02/14/2008] [Accepted: 02/21/2008] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In bacteria, sigma factors are essential for the promoter DNA-binding specificity of RNA polymerase. The sigma factors themselves are regulated by anti-sigma factors that bind and inhibit their cognate sigma factor, and 'appropriators' that deploy a particular sigma-associated RNA polymerase to a specific promoter class. Adding to the complexity is the regulation of anti-sigma factors by both anti-anti-sigma factors, which turn on sigma factor activity, and co-anti-sigma factors that act in concert with their partner anti-sigma factor to inhibit or redirect sigma activity. While sigma factor structure and function are highly conserved, recent results highlight the diversity of structures and mechanisms that bacteria use to regulate sigma factor activity, reflecting the diversity of environmental cues that the bacterial transcription system has evolved to respond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Campbell
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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22
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Westblade LF, Minakhin L, Kuznedelov K, Tackett AJ, Chang EJ, Mooney RA, Vvedenskaya I, Wang QJ, Fenyö D, Rout MP, Landick R, Chait BT, Severinov K, Darst SA. Rapid isolation and identification of bacteriophage T4-encoded modifications of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase: a generic method to study bacteriophage/host interactions. J Proteome Res 2008; 7:1244-50. [PMID: 18271525 DOI: 10.1021/pr070451j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Bacteriophages are bacterial viruses that infect bacterial cells, and they have developed ingenious mechanisms to modify the bacterial RNA polymerase. Using a rapid, specific, single-step affinity isolation procedure to purify Escherichia coli RNA polymerase from bacteriophage T4-infected cells, we have identified bacteriophage T4-dependent modifications of the host RNA polymerase. We suggest that this methodology is broadly applicable for the identification of bacteriophage-dependent alterations of the host synthesis machinery.
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23
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Severinov KV. Interaction of bacterial DNA-dependent RNA polymerase with promoters. Mol Biol 2007. [DOI: 10.1134/s0026893307030041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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24
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Stoskiene G, Truncaite L, Zajanckauskaite A, Nivinskas R. Middle promoters constitute the most abundant and diverse class of promoters in bacteriophage T4. Mol Microbiol 2007; 64:421-34. [PMID: 17371501 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2007.05659.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The temporally regulated transcription program of bacteriophage T4 relies upon the sequential utilization of three classes of promoters: early, middle and late. Here we show that middle promoters constitute perhaps the largest and the most diverse class of T4 promoters. In addition to 45 T4 middle promoters known to date, we mapped 13 new promoters, 10 of which deviate from the consensus MotA box, with some of them having no obvious match to it. So, 30 promoters of 58 identified now deviate from the consensus sequence deduced previously. In spite of the differences in their sequences, the in vivo activities of these T4 middle promoters were demonstrated to be dependent on both activators, MotA and AsiA. Traditionally, the MotA box was restricted to a 9 bp sequence with the highly conserved motif TGCTT. New logo based on the sequences of currently known middle promoters supports the conclusion that the consensus MotA box is comprised of 10 bp with the highly conserved central motif GCT. However, some apparently good matches to the consensus of middle promoters do not produce transcripts either in vivo or in vitro, indicating that the consensus sequence alone does not fully define a middle promoter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giedre Stoskiene
- Department of Gene Engineering, Institute of Biochemistry, Mokslininku 12, 08662 Vilnius, Lithuania
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25
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Baxter K, Lee J, Minakhin L, Severinov K, Hinton DM. Mutational analysis of sigma70 region 4 needed for appropriation by the bacteriophage T4 transcription factors AsiA and MotA. J Mol Biol 2006; 363:931-44. [PMID: 16996538 PMCID: PMC1698951 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2006.08.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2006] [Revised: 08/24/2006] [Accepted: 08/25/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Transcriptional activation of bacteriophage T4 middle promoters requires sigma70-containing Escherichia coli RNA polymerase, the T4 activator MotA, and the T4 co-activator AsiA. T4 middle promoters contain the sigma70 -10 DNA element. However, these promoters lack the sigma70 -35 element, having instead a MotA box centered at -30, which is bound by MotA. Previous work has indicated that AsiA and MotA interact with region 4 of sigma70, the C-terminal portion that normally contacts -35 DNA and the beta-flap structure in core. AsiA binding prevents the sigma70/beta-flap and sigma70/-35 DNA interactions, inhibiting transcription from promoters that require a -35 element. To test the importance of residues within sigma70 region 4 for MotA and AsiA function, we investigated how sigma70 region 4 mutants interact with AsiA, MotA, and the beta-flap and function in transcription assays in vitro. We find that alanine substitutions at residues 584-588 (region 4.2) do not impair the interaction of region 4 with the beta-flap or MotA, but they eliminate the interaction with AsiA and prevent AsiA inhibition and MotA/AsiA activation. In contrast, alanine substitutions at 551-552, 554-555 (region 4.1) eliminate the region 4/beta-flap interaction, significantly impair the AsiA/sigma70 interaction, and eliminate AsiA inhibition. However, the 4.1 mutant sigma70 is still fully competent for activation if both MotA and AsiA are present. A previous NMR structure shows AsiA binding to sigma70 region 4, dramatically distorting regions 4.1 and 4.2 and indirectly changing the conformation of the MotA interaction site at the sigma70 C terminus. Our analyses provide biochemical relevance for the sigma70 residues identified in the structure, indicate that the interaction of AsiA with sigma70 region 4.2 is crucial for activation, and support the idea that AsiA binding facilitates an interaction between MotA and the far C terminus of sigma70.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly Baxter
- Gene Expression and Regulation Section, Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-0830, USA
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26
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Nechaev S, Geiduschek EP. The role of an upstream promoter interaction in initiation of bacterial transcription. EMBO J 2006; 25:1700-9. [PMID: 16601684 PMCID: PMC1440836 DOI: 10.1038/sj.emboj.7601069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2006] [Accepted: 03/09/2006] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) recognizes promoters through sequence-specific contacts of its promoter-specificity components (sigma) with two DNA sequence motifs. Contacts with the upstream ('-35') promoter motif are made by sigma domain 4 attached to the flap domain of the RNAP beta subunit. Bacteriophage T4 late promoters consist solely of an extended downstream ('-10') motif specifically recognized by the T4 gene 55 protein (gp55). Low level basal transcription is sustained by gp55-RNAP holoenzyme. The late transcription coactivator gp33 binds to the beta flap and represses this basal transcription. Gp33 can also repress transcription by Escherichia coli sigma70-RNAP holoenzyme mutated to allow gp33 access to the beta flap. We propose that repression is due to gp33 blocking an upstream sequence-independent DNA-binding site on RNAP (as sigma70 domain 4 does) but, unlike sigma70 domain 4, providing no new DNA interaction. We show that this upstream interaction is essential only at an early step of transcription initiation, and discuss the role of this interaction in promoter recognition and transcriptional regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergei Nechaev
- Division of Biological Sciences and Center for Molecular Genetics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0634, USA.
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27
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Hinton DM, Vuthoori S, Mulamba R. The bacteriophage T4 inhibitor and coactivator AsiA inhibits Escherichia coli RNA Polymerase more rapidly in the absence of sigma70 region 1.1: evidence that region 1.1 stabilizes the interaction between sigma70 and core. J Bacteriol 2006; 188:1279-85. [PMID: 16452409 PMCID: PMC1367253 DOI: 10.1128/jb.188.4.1279-1285.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The N-terminal region (region 1.1) of sigma70, the primary sigma subunit of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase, is a negatively charged domain that affects the DNA binding properties of sigma70 regions 2 and 4. Region 1.1 prevents the interaction of free sigma70 with DNA and modulates the formation of stable (open) polymerase/promoter complexes at certain promoters. The bacteriophage T4 AsiA protein is an inhibitor of sigma70-dependent transcription from promoters that require an interaction between sigma70 region 4 and the -35 DNA element and is the coactivator of transcription at T4 MotA-dependent promoters. Like AsiA, the T4 activator MotA also interacts with sigma70 region 4. We have investigated the effect of region 1.1 on AsiA inhibition and MotA/AsiA activation. We show that sigma70 region 1.1 is not required for MotA/AsiA activation at the T4 middle promoter P(uvsX). However, the rate of AsiA inhibition and of MotA/AsiA activation of polymerase is significantly increased when region 1.1 is missing. We also find that RNA polymerase reconstituted with sigma70 that lacks region 1.1 is less stable than polymerase with full-length sigma70. Our previous work has demonstrated that the AsiA-inhibited polymerase is formed when AsiA binds to region 4 of free sigma70 and then the AsiA/sigma70 complex binds to core. Our results suggest that in the absence of region 1.1, there is a shift in the dynamic equilibrium between polymerase holoenzyme and free sigma70 plus core, yielding more free sigma70 at any given time. Thus, the rate of AsiA inhibition and AsiA/MotA activation increases when RNA polymerase lacks region 1.1 because of the increased availability of free sigma70. Previous work has argued both for and against a direct interaction between regions 1.1 and 4. Using an E. coli two-hybrid assay, we do not detect an interaction between these regions. This result supports the idea that the ability of region 1.1 to prevent DNA binding by free sigma70 arises through an indirect effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah M Hinton
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bldg. 8 Room 2A-13, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0830, USA.
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28
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Sharma UK, Chatterji D. Both regions 4.1 and 4.2 of E. coli sigma(70) are together required for binding to bacteriophage T4 AsiA in vivo. Gene 2006; 376:133-43. [PMID: 16545925 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2006.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2005] [Revised: 02/10/2006] [Accepted: 02/11/2006] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The T4 AsiA is an anti-sigma factor encoded by one of the early genes of Bacteriophage T4. It has been shown that AsiA inhibits transcription from promoters containing -10 and -35 consensus sequence by binding to sigma(70) of E. coli. Binding of AsiA to sigma(70) in vivo, in E. coli, leads to inhibition of transcription of essential genes resulting in killing of the organism. By using various in vitro methods, the region of sigma(70) binding to AsiA have been mapped to domain 4.2. Additionally, mutational analysis of sigma(70) has also identified amino acid residues in domain 4.1 which are critical for interaction with AsiA. Based on NMR studies it has been suggested that either of these regions can bind to AsiA, a conclusion which was supported by high degree of amino acid homology between domain 4.1 and 4.2. However, it is not clear whether under in vivo conditions, AsiA exerts its transcription inhibitory effect by binding to one of these regions or both the regions together. In order to understand the mechanism of AsiA mediated inhibition of E. coli transcription in vivo, in terms of specific binding requirements to region 4.1 and/or 4.2, we have studied the interaction of these sub-domains with AsiA by Yeast two hybrid system as well as by co-expressing and affinity purification of the interacting partners in vivo in E. coli. It was observed that minimum fragment of sigma(70) showing observable binding to AsiA, must possess sub-domains 4.1 and 4.2 together. No binding could be detected in sigma(70) fragments lacking a part of either domain 4.1 or 4.2, in any of the assays. This data was also supported by in vitro binding studies wherein only sigma(70) fragments carrying both region 4.1 and 4.2 showed binding to AsiA. Co-expression of region 4.1 and 4.2 fragments together also did not show any interaction with AsiA. The results presented here suggest that binding of AsiA to sigma(70), in vivo, requires the presence of both sub-domains of region 4 of sigma(70).
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Affiliation(s)
- Umender K Sharma
- AstraZeneca R & D, Bellary Road, Hebbal, Bangalore, India; Molecular Biophysics Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
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29
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Phadtare S, Severinov K. Extended -10 motif is critical for activity of the cspA promoter but does not contribute to low-temperature transcription. J Bacteriol 2005; 187:6584-9. [PMID: 16159795 PMCID: PMC1236650 DOI: 10.1128/jb.187.18.6584-6589.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial promoters belonging to the extended -10 class contain a conserved TGn motif upstream of the -10 promoter consensus element. Open promoter complexes can be formed on some extended -10 Escherichia coli promoters at temperatures as low as 6 degrees C, when complexes on most promoters are closed. The promoter of cspA, a gene that codes for the major cold shock protein CspA of E. coli, contains an extended -10 motif. CspA is dramatically induced upon temperature downshift from 37 to 15 degrees C, and its cold shock induction has been attributed to transcription, translation, and mRNA stabilization effects. Here, we show that though the extended -10 motif is critical for high-level expression of cspA, it does not contribute to low-temperature expression. In fact, transcription from the wild-type cspA promoter is cold sensitive in vitro and in vivo. Thus, transcription appears to play little or no role in low-temperature induction of cspA expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangita Phadtare
- Department of Biochemistry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 675 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
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30
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Gregory BD, Deighan P, Hochschild A. An artificial activator that contacts a normally occluded surface of the RNA polymerase holoenzyme. J Mol Biol 2005; 353:497-506. [PMID: 16185714 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2005.08.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2005] [Revised: 08/16/2005] [Accepted: 08/18/2005] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Many activators of transcription are sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins that stimulate transcription initiation through interaction with RNA polymerase (RNAP). Such activators can be constructed artificially by fusing a DNA-binding protein to a protein domain that can interact with an accessible surface of RNAP. In these cases, the artificial activator is directed to a target promoter bearing a recognition site for the DNA-binding protein. Here we describe an artificial activator that functions by contacting a normally occluded surface of promoter-bound RNAP holoenzyme. This artificial activator consists of a DNA-binding protein fused to the bacteriophage T4-encoded transcription regulator AsiA. On its own, AsiA inhibits transcription by Escherichia coli RNAP because it remodels the holoenzyme, disrupting an intersubunit interaction that is required for recognition of the major class of bacterial promoters. However, when tethered to the DNA via a DNA-binding protein, AsiA can exert a strong stimulatory effect on transcription by disrupting the same intersubunit interaction, contacting an otherwise occluded surface of the holoenzyme. We show that mutations that affect the intersubunit interaction targeted by AsiA modulate the stimulatory effect of this artificial activator. Our results thus demonstrate that changes in the accessibility of a normally occluded surface of the RNAP holoenzyme can modulate the activity of a gene-specific regulator of transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D Gregory
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA
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31
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Hinton DM, Pande S, Wais N, Johnson XB, Vuthoori M, Makela A, Hook-Barnard I. Transcriptional takeover by σ appropriation: remodelling of the σ 70 subunit of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase by the bacteriophage T4 activator MotA and co-activator AsiA. Microbiology (Reading) 2005; 151:1729-1740. [PMID: 15941982 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.27972-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Activation of bacteriophage T4 middle promoters, which occurs about 1 min after infection, uses two phage-encoded factors that change the promoter specificity of the host RNA polymerase. These phage factors, the MotA activator and the AsiA co-activator, interact with theσ70specificity subunit ofEscherichia coliRNA polymerase, which normally contacts the −10 and −35 regions of host promoter DNA. Like host promoters, T4 middle promoters have a good match to the canonicalσ70DNA element located in the −10 region. However, instead of theσ70DNA recognition element in the promoter's −35 region, they have a 9 bp sequence (a MotA box) centred at −30, which is bound by MotA. Recent work has begun to provide information about the MotA/AsiA system at a detailed molecular level. Accumulated evidence suggests that the presence of MotA and AsiA reconfigures protein–DNA contacts in the upstream promoter sequences, without significantly affecting the contacts ofσ70with the −10 region. This type of activation, which is called ‘σappropriation’, is fundamentally different from other well-characterized models of prokaryotic activation in which an activator frequently serves to forceσ70to contact a less than ideal −35 DNA element. This review summarizes the interactions of AsiA and MotA withσ70, and discusses how these interactions accomplish the switch to T4 middle promoters by inhibiting the typical contacts of the C-terminal region ofσ70, region 4, with the host −35 DNA element and with other subunits of polymerase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah M Hinton
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Suchira Pande
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Neelowfar Wais
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Xanthia B Johnson
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Madhavi Vuthoori
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Anna Makela
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - India Hook-Barnard
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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32
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Minakhin L, Severinov K. Transcription regulation by bacteriophage T4 AsiA. Protein Expr Purif 2005; 41:1-8. [PMID: 15802215 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2004.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2004] [Revised: 09/29/2004] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Bacteriophage T4 AsiA, a strong inhibitor of bacterial RNA polymerase, was the first antisigma protein to be discovered. Recent advances that made it possible to purify large amounts of this highly toxic protein led to an increased understanding of AsiA function and structure. In this review, we discuss how the small 10-KDa AsiA protein plays a key role in T4 development through its ability to both inhibit and activate bacterial RNA polymerase transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonid Minakhin
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States
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33
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Budarina ZI, Nikitin DV, Zenkin N, Zakharova M, Semenova E, Shlyapnikov MG, Rodikova EA, Masyukova S, Ogarkov O, Baida GE, Solonin AS, Severinov K. A new Bacillus cereus DNA-binding protein, HlyIIR, negatively regulates expression of B. cereus haemolysin II. MICROBIOLOGY-SGM 2005; 150:3691-3701. [PMID: 15528656 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.27142-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Haemolysin II, HlyII, is one of several cytotoxic proteins produced by Bacillus cereus, an opportunistic human pathogen that causes food poisoning. The hlyII gene confers haemolytic activity to Escherichia coli cells. Here a new B. cereus gene, hlyIIR, which is located immediately downstream of hlyII and regulates hlyII expression, is reported. The deduced amino acid sequence of HlyIIR is similar to prokaryotic DNA-binding transcriptional regulators of the TetR/AcrA family. Measurements of haemolytic activity levels and of hlyII promoter activity levels using gene fusions and primer-extension assays demonstrated that, in E. coli, hlyII transcription decreased in the presence of hlyIIR. Recombinant HlyIIR binds to a 22 bp inverted DNA repeat centred 48 bp upstream of the hlyII promoter transcription initiation point. In vitro transcription studies showed that HlyIIR inhibits transcription from the hlyII promoter by binding to the 22 bp repeat and RNA polymerase, and by decreasing the formation of the catalytically competent open promoter complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhanna I Budarina
- The Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Micro-organisms, Nauki Avenue, 5, Pushchino, 142292 Russia
| | - Dmitri V Nikitin
- The Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Micro-organisms, Nauki Avenue, 5, Pushchino, 142292 Russia
| | - Nikolay Zenkin
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Marina Zakharova
- The Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Micro-organisms, Nauki Avenue, 5, Pushchino, 142292 Russia
| | - Ekaterina Semenova
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Michael G Shlyapnikov
- The Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Micro-organisms, Nauki Avenue, 5, Pushchino, 142292 Russia
| | | | - Svetlana Masyukova
- The Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Micro-organisms, Nauki Avenue, 5, Pushchino, 142292 Russia
| | - Oleg Ogarkov
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Gleb E Baida
- The Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Micro-organisms, Nauki Avenue, 5, Pushchino, 142292 Russia
| | - Alexander S Solonin
- The Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Micro-organisms, Nauki Avenue, 5, Pushchino, 142292 Russia
| | - Konstantin Severinov
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 190 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
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34
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Gregory BD, Nickels BE, Darst SA, Hochschild A. An altered-specificity DNA-binding mutant of Escherichia coliσ70 facilitates the analysis of σ70 function in vivo. Mol Microbiol 2005; 56:1208-19. [PMID: 15882415 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2005.04624.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The sigma subunit of bacterial RNA polymerase is strictly required for promoter recognition. The primary (housekeeping) sigma factor of Escherichia coli, sigma(70), is responsible for most of the gene expression in exponentially growing cells. The fact that sigma(70) is an essential protein has complicated efforts to genetically dissect the functions of sigma(70). To facilitate the analysis of sigma(70) function in vivo, we isolated an altered-specificity DNA-binding mutant of sigma(70), sigma(70) R584A, which preferentially recognizes a mutant promoter that is not efficiently recognized by wild-type sigma(70). Exploiting this sigma(70) mutant as a genetic tool, we establish an in vivo assay for the inhibitory effect of the bacteriophage T4-encoded anti-sigma factor AsiA on sigma(70)-dependent transcription. Our results demonstrate the utility of this altered-specificity system for genetically dissecting sigma(70) and its interactions with transcription regulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D Gregory
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA
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35
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Pineda M, Gregory BD, Szczypinski B, Baxter KR, Hochschild A, Miller ES, Hinton DM. A family of anti-sigma70 proteins in T4-type phages and bacteria that are similar to AsiA, a Transcription inhibitor and co-activator of bacteriophage T4. J Mol Biol 2005; 344:1183-97. [PMID: 15561138 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2004.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2004] [Revised: 09/30/2004] [Accepted: 10/05/2004] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Anti-sigma70 factors interact with sigma70 proteins, the specificity subunits of prokaryotic RNA polymerase. The bacteriophage T4 anti-sigma70 protein, AsiA, binds tightly to regions 4.1 and 4.2 of the sigma70 subunit of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase and inhibits transcription from sigma70 promoters that require recognition of the canonical sigma70 -35 DNA sequence. In the presence of the T4 transcription activator MotA, AsiA also functions as a co-activator of transcription from T4 middle promoters, which retain the canonical sigma70 -10 consensus sequence but have a MotA box sequence centered at -30 rather than the sigma70 -35 sequence. The E.coli anti-sigma70 protein Rsd also interacts with region 4.2 of sigma70 and inhibits transcription from sigma70 promoters. Our sequence comparisons of T4 AsiA with Rsd, with the predicted AsiA orthologs of the T4-type phages RB69, 44RR, KVP40, and Aeh1, and with AlgQ, a regulator of alginate production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa indicate that these proteins share conserved amino acid residues at positions known to be important for the binding of T4 AsiA to sigma70 region 4. We show that, like T4 AsiA, Rsd binds to sigma70 in a native protein gel and, as with T4 AsiA, a L18S substitution in Rsd disrupts this complex. Previous work has assigned sigma70 amino acid F563, within region 4.1, as a critical determinant for AsiA binding. This residue is also involved in the binding of sigma70 to the beta-flap of core, suggesting that AsiA inhibits transcription by disrupting the interaction between sigma70 region 4.1 and the beta-flap. We find that as with T4 AsiA, the interaction of KVP40 AsiA, Rsd, or AlgQ with sigma70 region 4 is diminished by the substitution F563Y. We also demonstrate that like T4 AsiA and Rsd, KVP40 AsiA inhibits transcription from sigma70-dependent promoters. We speculate that the phage AsiA orthologs, Rsd, and AlgQ are members of a related family in T4-type phage and bacteria, which interact similarly with primary sigma factors. In addition, we show that even though a clear MotA ortholog has not been identified in the KVP40 genome and the phage genome appears to lack typical middle promoter sequences, KVP40 AsiA activates transcription from T4 middle promoters in the presence of T4 MotA. We speculate that KVP40 encodes a protein that is dissimilar in sequence, but functionally equivalent, to T4 MotA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Pineda
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Building 8, Room 2A-13, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-0830, USA
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36
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Orsini G, Igonet S, Pène C, Sclavi B, Buckle M, Uzan M, Kolb A. Phage T4 early promoters are resistant to inhibition by the anti-sigma factor AsiA. Mol Microbiol 2004; 52:1013-28. [PMID: 15130121 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2004.04038.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Phage T4 early promoters are transcribed in vivo and in vitro by the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase holoenzyme Esigma(70). We studied in vitro the effects of the T4 anti-sigma(70) factor AsiA on the activity of several T4 early promoters. In single-round transcription, promoters motB, denV, mrh.2, motA wild type and UP element-deleted motA are strongly resistant to inhibition by AsiA. The alpha-C-terminal domain of Esigma(70) is crucial to this resistance. DNase I footprinting of Esigma(70) and Esigma(70)AsiA on motA and mrh.2 shows extended contacts between the holoenzyme with or without AsiA and upstream regions of these promoters. A TG --> TC mutation of the extended -10 motif in the motA UP element-deleted promoter strongly increases susceptibility to inhibition by AsiA, but has no effect on the motA wild-type promoter: either the UP element or the extended -10 site confers resistance to AsiA. Potassium permanganate reactivity shows that the two structure elements are not equivalent: with AsiA, the motA UP element-deleted promoter opens more slowly whereas the motA TC promoter opens like the wild type. Changes in UV laser photoreactivity at position +4 on variants of motA reveal an analogous distinction in the roles of the extended -10 and UP promoter elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilbert Orsini
- Unité des Régulations Transcriptionnelles, Département de Microbiologie Fondamentale et Médicale, URA 2185 du CNRS, Institut Pasteur, F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France
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37
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Anthony JR, Newman JD, Donohue TJ. Interactions between the Rhodobacter sphaeroides ECF sigma factor, sigma(E), and its anti-sigma factor, ChrR. J Mol Biol 2004; 341:345-60. [PMID: 15276828 PMCID: PMC2796631 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2004.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2004] [Revised: 06/09/2004] [Accepted: 06/10/2004] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides sigma(E) is a member of the extra cytoplasmic function sigma factor (ECF) family, whose members have been shown to regulate gene expression in response to a variety of signals. The functions of ECF family members are commonly regulated by a specific, reversible interaction with a cognate anti-sigma factor. In R.sphaeroides, sigma(E) activity is inhibited by ChrR, a member of a newly discovered family of zinc containing anti-sigma factors. We used gel filtration chromatography to gain insight into the mechanism by which ChrR inhibits sigma(E) activity. We found that formation of the sigma(E):ChrR complex inhibits the ability of sigma(E) to form a stable complex with core RNA polymerase. Since the sigma(E):ChrR complex inhibits the ability of the sigma factor to bind RNA polymerase, we sought to identify amino acid substitutions in sigma(E) that altered the sensitivity of this sigma factor to inhibition by ChrR. This analysis identified single amino acid changes in conserved region 2.1 of sigma(E) that either increased or decreased the sensitivity of sigma(E) for inhibition by ChrR. Many of the amino acid residues that alter the sensitivity of sigma(E) to ChrR are located within regions known to be important for interacting with core RNA polymerase in other members of the sigma(70) superfamily. Our results suggest a model where solvent-exposed residues with region 2.1 of sigma(E) interact with ChrR to sterically occlude this sigma factor from binding core RNA polymerase and to inhibit target gene expression.
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38
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Lambert LJ, Wei Y, Schirf V, Demeler B, Werner MH. T4 AsiA blocks DNA recognition by remodeling sigma70 region 4. EMBO J 2004; 23:2952-62. [PMID: 15257291 PMCID: PMC514929 DOI: 10.1038/sj.emboj.7600312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2004] [Accepted: 06/16/2004] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophage T4 AsiA is a versatile transcription factor capable of inhibiting host gene expression as an 'anti-sigma' factor while simultaneously promoting gene-specific expression of T4 middle genes in conjunction with T4 MotA. To accomplish this task, AsiA engages conserved region 4 of Eschericia coli sigma70, blocking recognition of most host promoters by sequestering the DNA-binding surface at the AsiA/sigma70 interface. The three-dimensional structure of an AsiA/region 4 complex reveals that the C-terminal alpha helix of region 4 is unstructured, while four other helices adopt a completely different conformation relative to the canonical structure of unbound region 4. That AsiA induces, rather than merely stabilizes, this rearrangement can be realized by comparison to the homologous structures of region 4 solved in a variety of contexts, including the structure of Thermotoga maritima sigmaA region 4 described herein. AsiA simultaneously occupies the surface of region 4 that ordinarily contacts core RNA polymerase (RNAP), suggesting that an AsiA-bound sigma70 may also undergo conformational changes in the context of the RNAP holoenzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lester J Lambert
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yufeng Wei
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Virgil Schirf
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Borries Demeler
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Milton H Werner
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, Box 42, New York, NY 10021, USA. Tel.: +1 212 327 7221; Fax: +1 212 327 7222; E-mail:
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39
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Phadtare S, Inouye M, Severinov K. The mechanism of nucleic acid melting by a CspA family protein. J Mol Biol 2004; 337:147-55. [PMID: 15001358 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2004.01.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2003] [Revised: 01/07/2004] [Accepted: 01/07/2004] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Cold-shock proteins of the CspA family help bacterial cells to acclimate to low temperatures. Some Csps bind single-stranded nucleic acids and destabilize nucleic acid secondary structures in vitro, and act as transcription antiterminators in vivo and in vitro. Nucleic acid melting by Escherichia coli CspE is critical for its ability to support low-temperature survival of the cell. Here, we explore the molecular mechanism of nucleic acid melting using CspE mutants harboring substitutions in surface-exposed residues critical for this function. Analysis of the mutants identifies two intermediates of the melting pathway and shows that CspE Phe17 and Phe30 act at the earliest stages of melting, while His32 acts later and is necessary for the propagation of melting. The results allow us to orient a CspE molecule relative to the melting substrate and to put forward a mechanistic model of nucleic acid melting by Csps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangita Phadtare
- Department of Biochemistry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 675 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
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40
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Gregory BD, Nickels BE, Garrity SJ, Severinova E, Minakhin L, Urbauer RJB, Urbauer JL, Heyduk T, Severinov K, Hochschild A. A regulator that inhibits transcription by targeting an intersubunit interaction of the RNA polymerase holoenzyme. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004; 101:4554-9. [PMID: 15070756 PMCID: PMC384785 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0400923101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The structures of the bacterial RNA polymerase holoenzyme have provided detailed information about the intersubunit interactions within the holoenzyme. Functional analysis indicates that one of these is critical in enabling the holoenzyme to recognize the major class of bacterial promoters. It has been suggested that this interaction, involving the flap domain of the beta subunit and conserved region 4 of the sigma subunit, is a potential target for regulation. Here we provide genetic and biochemical evidence that the sigma region 4/beta-flap interaction is targeted by the transcription factor AsiA. Specifically, we show that AsiA competes directly with the beta-flap for binding to sigma region 4, thereby inhibiting transcription initiation by disrupting the sigma region 4/beta-flap interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- B D Gregory
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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41
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Zenkin N, Severinov K. The role of RNA polymerase sigma subunit in promoter-independent initiation of transcription. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004; 101:4396-400. [PMID: 15070729 PMCID: PMC384758 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0400886101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In bacteria, initiation of transcription depends on the RNA polymerase sigma subunit, which brings catalytically proficient RNA polymerase core to promoters by binding to specific DNA elements located upstream of the transcription start point. Here, we study sigma-dependent synthesis of a transcript that is used to prime replication of the single-stranded genome of bacteriophage M13. We show that, in this system, sigma plays no role in DNA recognition, which is accomplished solely through RNA polymerase core interaction with DNA downstream of the transcription start point. However, sigma is required for full-sized transcript synthesis by allowing RNA polymerase core to escape into productive elongation. RNA polymerase sigma may play a similar role during replication primer synthesis in other bacterial mobile elements whose life cycle involves a single-stranded DNA stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolay Zenkin
- The Waksman Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
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42
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Abstract
Bacteriophages have developed an impressive array of ingenious mechanisms to modify bacterial host RNA polymerase to make it serve viral needs. In this review we summarize the current knowledge about two types of host RNA polymerase modifications induced by double-stranded DNA phages: covalent modifications and modifications through RNA polymerase-binding proteins. We interpret the biochemical and genetic data within the framework of a structure-function model of bacterial RNA polymerase and viral biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergei Nechaev
- Center for Molecular Genetics, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, California 92093-0634, USA.
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43
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Miller ES, Heidelberg JF, Eisen JA, Nelson WC, Durkin AS, Ciecko A, Feldblyum TV, White O, Paulsen IT, Nierman WC, Lee J, Szczypinski B, Fraser CM. Complete genome sequence of the broad-host-range vibriophage KVP40: comparative genomics of a T4-related bacteriophage. J Bacteriol 2003; 185:5220-33. [PMID: 12923095 PMCID: PMC180978 DOI: 10.1128/jb.185.17.5220-5233.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 193] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2003] [Accepted: 04/30/2003] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The complete genome sequence of the T4-like, broad-host-range vibriophage KVP40 has been determined. The genome sequence is 244,835 bp, with an overall G+C content of 42.6%. It encodes 386 putative protein-encoding open reading frames (CDSs), 30 tRNAs, 33 T4-like late promoters, and 57 potential rho-independent terminators. Overall, 92.1% of the KVP40 genome is coding, with an average CDS size of 587 bp. While 65% of the CDSs were unique to KVP40 and had no known function, the genome sequence and organization show specific regions of extensive conservation with phage T4. At least 99 KVP40 CDSs have homologs in the T4 genome (Blast alignments of 45 to 68% amino acid similarity). The shared CDSs represent 36% of all T4 CDSs but only 26% of those from KVP40. There is extensive representation of the DNA replication, recombination, and repair enzymes as well as the viral capsid and tail structural genes. KVP40 lacks several T4 enzymes involved in host DNA degradation, appears not to synthesize the modified cytosine (hydroxymethyl glucose) present in T-even phages, and lacks group I introns. KVP40 likely utilizes the T4-type sigma-55 late transcription apparatus, but features of early- or middle-mode transcription were not identified. There are 26 CDSs that have no viral homolog, and many did not necessarily originate from Vibrio spp., suggesting an even broader host range for KVP40. From these latter CDSs, an NAD salvage pathway was inferred that appears to be unique among bacteriophages. Features of the KVP40 genome that distinguish it from T4 are presented, as well as those, such as the replication and virion gene clusters, that are substantially conserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric S Miller
- Department of Microbiology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7615, USA
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44
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Minakhin L, Severinov K. On the role of the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase sigma 70 region 4.2 and alpha-subunit C-terminal domains in promoter complex formation on the extended -10 galP1 promoter. J Biol Chem 2003; 278:29710-8. [PMID: 12801925 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m304906200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial promoters of the extended -10 class contain a single consensus element, and the DNA sequence upstream of this element is not critical for promoter activity. Open promoter complexes can be formed on an extended -10 Escherichia coli galP1 promoter at temperatures as low as 6 degrees C, when complexes on most promoters are closed. Here, we studied the contribution of upstream contacts to promoter complex formation using galP1 and its derivatives lacking the extended -10 motif and/or containing the -35 promoter consensus element. A panel of E. coli RNA polymerase holoenzymes containing two, one, or no alpha-subunit C-terminal domains (alpha CTD) and either wild-type sigma 70 subunit or sigma 70 lacking region 4.2 was assembled and tested for promoter complex formation. At 37 degrees C, alpha CTD and sigma 70 region 4.2 were individually dispensable for promoter complex formation on galP1 derivatives with extended -10 motif. However, no promoter complexes formed when both alpha CTD and sigma 70 region 4.2 were absent. Thus, in the context of an extended -10 promoter, alpha CTD and sigma 70 region 4.2 interactions with upstream DNA can functionally substitute for each other. In contrast, at low temperature, alpha CTD and sigma 70 region 4.2 interactions with upstream DNA were found to be functionally distinct, for sigma 70 region 4.2 but not alpha CTD was required for open promoter complex formation on galP1 derivatives with extended -10 motif. We propose a model involving sigma 70 region 4.2 interaction with the beta flap domain that explains these observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonid Minakhin
- Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
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45
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Simeonov MF, Bieber Urbauer RJ, Gilmore JM, Adelman K, Brody EN, Niedziela-Majka A, Minakhin L, Heyduk T, Urbauer JL. Characterization of the interactions between the bacteriophage T4 AsiA protein and RNA polymerase. Biochemistry 2003; 42:7717-26. [PMID: 12820881 DOI: 10.1021/bi0340797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The anti-sigma factor AsiA effects a change in promoter specificity of the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase via interactions with two conserved regions of the sigma(70) subunit, denoted 4.1 and 4.2. Free AsiA is a symmetrical homodimer. Here, we show that AsiA is monomeric when bound to sigma(70) and that a subset of the residues that contribute to the homodimer interface also contributes to the interface with sigma(70). AsiA interacts primarily with C-terminal sections of regions 4.1 and 4.2, which show remarkable sequence similarity. An AsiA monomer can simultaneously, and apparently cooperatively, bind both isolated regions 4.1 and 4.2 at preferred, distinct subsites, whereas region 4.1 alone or region 4.2 alone can interact with either subsite. These results suggest structural and functional plasticity in the interaction of AsiA with sigma(70) and support the notion of discrete roles for regions 4.1 and 4.2 in transcription regulation by AsiA. Furthermore, we show that AsiA inhibits recognition of the -35 consensus promoter element by region 4 of sigma(70) indirectly, as the residues on region 4 responsible for AsiA binding are distinct from those involved in DNA binding. Finally, we show that AsiA must directly disrupt the interaction of region 4 with the RNA polymerase beta subunit flap domain, resulting in a distance change between region 2 and region 4 of sigma(70). Thus, a new paradigm for transcription regulation by AsiA is emerging, whereby the distance between the DNA binding domains in sigma(70) is regulated, and promoter recognition specificity is modulated, by mediating the interactions of the sigma region 4 with the beta subunit flap domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario F Simeonov
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA
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46
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Campbell EA, Tupy JL, Gruber TM, Wang S, Sharp MM, Gross CA, Darst SA. Crystal structure of Escherichia coli sigmaE with the cytoplasmic domain of its anti-sigma RseA. Mol Cell 2003; 11:1067-78. [PMID: 12718891 DOI: 10.1016/s1097-2765(03)00148-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The sigma factors are the key regulators of bacterial transcription. ECF (extracytoplasmic function) sigma's are the largest and most divergent group of sigma(70) family members. ECF sigma's are normally sequestered in an inactive complex by their specific anti-sigma factor, which often spans the inner membrane. Here, we determined the 2 A resolution crystal structure of the Escherichia coli ECF sigma factor sigma(E) in an inhibitory complex with the cytoplasmic domain of its anti-sigma, RseA. Despite extensive sequence variability, the two major domains of sigma(E) are virtually identical in structure to the corresponding domains of other sigma(70) family members. In combination with a model of the sigma(E) holoenzyme and biochemical data, the structure reveals that RseA functions by sterically occluding the two primary binding determinants on sigma(E) for core RNA polymerase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth A Campbell
- Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021, USA
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Abstract
Bacterial sigma factors play a key role in promoter recognition, making direct contact with conserved promoter elements. Most sigma factors belong to the sigma70 family, named for the primary sigma factor in Escherichia coli. Members of the sigma70 family typically share four conserved regions and, here, we focus on region 4, which is directly involved in promoter recognition and serves as a target for a variety of regulators of transcription initiation. We review recent advances in the understanding of the mechanism of action of regulators that target region 4 of sigma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon L Dove
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Truncaite L, Piesiniene L, Kolesinskiene G, Zajanckauskaite A, Driukas A, Klausa V, Nivinskas R. Twelve new MotA-dependent middle promoters of bacteriophage T4: consensus sequence revised. J Mol Biol 2003; 327:335-46. [PMID: 12628241 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-2836(03)00125-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Bacteriophage T4 middle-mode transcription requires Escherichia coli RNA polymerase, phage-encoded transcriptional activator MotA and co-activator AsiA that form a complex at a middle promoter DNA. T4 middle promoters have been defined by a consensus sequence deduced from the list of 14 middle promoters identified in earlier studies. To date, 33 middle promoters have been mapped on the T4 genome. Of these, 12 contain differences even at the highly conserved positions of the consensus sequence. In the T4 prereplicative gene cluster between genes e and rpbA, we have identified 12 new middle promoters, most of which contain differences from the consensus sequence deduced previously. Analysis of base conservation in the different sequence positions of new middle promoters, as well as those identified previously, revealed some new features of middle T4 promoters. We propose to define these promoters by a MotA box (a/t)(a/t)(a/t)TGCTTtA centred at the position -30, the sequence TAtaAT centred at -10 relative to the transcriptional start site, and the spacer region of 12(+/-1) base-pairs between them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidija Truncaite
- Department of Gene Engineering, Institute of Biochemistry, Mokslininku 12, 2600 Vilnius, Lithuania
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49
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Miller ES, Kutter E, Mosig G, Arisaka F, Kunisawa T, Rüger W. Bacteriophage T4 genome. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2003; 67:86-156, table of contents. [PMID: 12626685 PMCID: PMC150520 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.67.1.86-156.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 551] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Phage T4 has provided countless contributions to the paradigms of genetics and biochemistry. Its complete genome sequence of 168,903 bp encodes about 300 gene products. T4 biology and its genomic sequence provide the best-understood model for modern functional genomics and proteomics. Variations on gene expression, including overlapping genes, internal translation initiation, spliced genes, translational bypassing, and RNA processing, alert us to the caveats of purely computational methods. The T4 transcriptional pattern reflects its dependence on the host RNA polymerase and the use of phage-encoded proteins that sequentially modify RNA polymerase; transcriptional activator proteins, a phage sigma factor, anti-sigma, and sigma decoy proteins also act to specify early, middle, and late promoter recognition. Posttranscriptional controls by T4 provide excellent systems for the study of RNA-dependent processes, particularly at the structural level. The redundancy of DNA replication and recombination systems of T4 reveals how phage and other genomes are stably replicated and repaired in different environments, providing insight into genome evolution and adaptations to new hosts and growth environments. Moreover, genomic sequence analysis has provided new insights into tail fiber variation, lysis, gene duplications, and membrane localization of proteins, while high-resolution structural determination of the "cell-puncturing device," combined with the three-dimensional image reconstruction of the baseplate, has revealed the mechanism of penetration during infection. Despite these advances, nearly 130 potential T4 genes remain uncharacterized. Current phage-sequencing initiatives are now revealing the similarities and differences among members of the T4 family, including those that infect bacteria other than Escherichia coli. T4 functional genomics will aid in the interpretation of these newly sequenced T4-related genomes and in broadening our understanding of the complex evolution and ecology of phages-the most abundant and among the most ancient biological entities on Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric S Miller
- Department of Microbiology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7615, USA.
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50
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Minakhin L, Niedziela-Majka A, Kuznedelov K, Adelman K, Urbauer JL, Heyduk T, Severinov K. Interaction of T4 AsiA with its target sites in the RNA polymerase sigma70 subunit leads to distinct and opposite effects on transcription. J Mol Biol 2003; 326:679-90. [PMID: 12581632 DOI: 10.1016/s0022-2836(02)01442-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Bacteriophage T4 AsiA is a homodimeric protein that orchestrates a switch from the host and early viral transcription to middle viral transcription by binding to the sigma(70) subunit of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase holoenzyme (Esigma(70)) and preventing promoter complex formation on most E.coli and early T4 promoters. In addition, Esigma(70)AsiA, but not Esigma(70), is a substrate of transcription activation by T4-encoded DNA-binding protein MotA, a co-activator of transcription from middle viral promoters. The molecular determinants of sigma(70)-AsiA interaction necessary for transcription inhibition reside in the sigma(70) conserved region 4.2, which recognizes the -35 promoter consensus element. The molecular determinants of sigma(70)-AsiA interaction necessary for MotA-dependent transcription activation have not been identified. Here, we show that in the absence of sigma(70) region 4.2, AsiA interacts with sigma(70) conserved region 4.1 and activates transcription in a MotA-independent manner. Further, we show that the AsiA dimer must dissociate to interact with either region 4.2 or region 4.1 of sigma(70). We propose that MotA may co-activate transcription by restricting AsiA binding to sigma(70) region 4.1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonid Minakhin
- Department of Genetics, Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
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