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Ramesh V, Suwanmajo T, Krishnan J. Network regulation meets substrate modification chemistry. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20220510. [PMID: 36722169 PMCID: PMC9890324 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Biochemical networks are at the heart of cellular information processing. These networks contain distinct facets: (i) processing of information from the environment via cascades/pathways along with network regulation and (ii) modification of substrates in different ways, to confer protein functionality, stability and processing. While many studies focus on these factors individually, how they interact and the consequences for cellular systems behaviour are poorly understood. We develop a systems framework for this purpose by examining the interplay of network regulation (canonical feedback and feed-forward circuits) and multisite modification, as an exemplar of substrate modification. Using computational, analytical and semi-analytical approaches, we reveal distinct and unexpected ways in which the substrate modification and network levels combine and the emergent behaviour arising therefrom. This has important consequences for dissecting the behaviour of specific signalling networks, tracing the origins of systems behaviour, inference of networks from data, robustness/evolvability and multi-level engineering of biomolecular networks. Overall, we repeatedly demonstrate how focusing on only one level (say network regulation) can lead to profoundly misleading conclusions about all these aspects, and reveal a number of important consequences for experimental/theoretical/data-driven interrogations of cellular signalling systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaidhiswaran Ramesh
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sargent Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Thapanar Suwanmajo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sargent Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK,Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand,Center of Excellence in Materials Science and Technology, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
| | - J. Krishnan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Sargent Centre for Process Systems Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK,Institute for Systems and Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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Boël G, Danot O, de Lorenzo V, Danchin A. Omnipresent Maxwell's demons orchestrate information management in living cells. Microb Biotechnol 2019; 12:210-242. [PMID: 30806035 PMCID: PMC6389857 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of synthetic biology calls for accurate understanding of the critical functions that allow construction and operation of a living cell. Besides coding for ubiquitous structures, minimal genomes encode a wealth of functions that dissipate energy in an unanticipated way. Analysis of these functions shows that they are meant to manage information under conditions when discrimination of substrates in a noisy background is preferred over a simple recognition process. We show here that many of these functions, including transporters and the ribosome construction machinery, behave as would behave a material implementation of the information‐managing agent theorized by Maxwell almost 150 years ago and commonly known as Maxwell's demon (MxD). A core gene set encoding these functions belongs to the minimal genome required to allow the construction of an autonomous cell. These MxDs allow the cell to perform computations in an energy‐efficient way that is vastly better than our contemporary computers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grégory Boël
- UMR 8261 CNRS-University Paris Diderot, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Danot
- Institut Pasteur, 25-28 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724, Paris Cedex 15, France
| | - Victor de Lorenzo
- Molecular Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, Systems Biology Programme, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia, C/Darwin n° 3, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, España
| | - Antoine Danchin
- Institute of Cardiometabolism and Nutrition, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière, 47 Boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France.,The School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Kashing Faculty of Medicine, Hong Kong University, 21, Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, SAR Hong Kong
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Progressive loss of hybrid histidine kinase genes during the evolution of budding yeasts (Saccharomycotina). Curr Genet 2017; 64:841-851. [DOI: 10.1007/s00294-017-0797-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Revised: 11/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Grove A. Control of RNA polymerase II-transcribed genes by direct binding of TOR kinase. Curr Genet 2017; 64:131-135. [DOI: 10.1007/s00294-017-0738-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Revised: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/17/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Hagel JM, Facchini PJ. Tying the knot: occurrence and possible significance of gene fusions in plant metabolism and beyond. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2017; 68:4029-4043. [PMID: 28521055 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erx152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Gene fusions have recently attracted attention especially in the field of plant specialized metabolism. The occurrence of a gene fusion, in which originally separate gene products are combined into a single polypeptide, often corresponds to the functional association of individual components within a single metabolic pathway. Examples include gene fusions implicated in benzylisoquinoline alkaloid (BIA), terpenoid, and amino acid biosynthetic pathways, in which distinct domains within a fusion catalyze consecutive, yet independent reactions. Both genomic and transcriptional mechanisms result in the fusion of gene products, which can include partial or complete domain repeats and extensive domain shuffling as evident in the BIA biosynthetic enzyme norcoclaurine synthase. Artificial gene fusions are commonly deployed in attempts to engineer new or improved pathways in plants or microorganisms, based on the premise that fusions are advantageous. However, a survey of functionally characterized fusions in microbial systems shows that the functional impact of fused gene products is not straightforward. For example, whereas enzyme fusions might facilitate the metabolic channeling of unstable intermediates, this channeling can also occur between tightly associated independent enzymes. The frequent occurrence of both fused and unfused enzymes in plant and microbial metabolism adds additional complexity, in terms of both pathway functionality and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jillian M Hagel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr N.W., Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Peter J Facchini
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr N.W., Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
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Vega-Cabrera LA, Wood CD, Pardo-López L. Spo0M: structure and function beyond regulation of sporulation. Curr Genet 2017; 64:17-23. [PMID: 28577219 DOI: 10.1007/s00294-017-0718-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2017] [Revised: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In this mini-review, we present a perspective on the recent findings relating Spo0M structure and function that will stimulate and guide further studies in the characterization of this interesting protein. Cell division and sporulation constitute two of the best studied processes in the model organism Bacillus subtilis; however, there are many missing pieces in the giant regulatory puzzle that governs the independent and shared networks between them. Spo0M is a little studied protein that has been related to both, cell division and sporulation, but its biochemical function and its direct interactions have not been yet defined. Structural analysis of Spo0M revealed the presence of an arrestin-like domain and an FP domain (a dimerization domain present in proteasome elements), motifs more commonly found in eukaryotic proteins. The aim of this perspective is to present open questions regarding the functional and structural features of Spo0M that make this protein a good candidate for the ancestor of arrestins in bacteria and an important element in developmental and differentiation processes of Bacillus subtilis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luz Adriana Vega-Cabrera
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad #2001, Apdo. Postal 510-3, 62250, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Christopher D Wood
- Laboratorio Nacional de Microscopía Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad #2001, Apdo. Postal 510-3, 62250, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Liliana Pardo-López
- Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad #2001, Apdo. Postal 510-3, 62250, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
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Derouiche A, Shi L, Kalantari A, Mijakovic I. Substrate Specificity of the Bacillus subtilis BY-Kinase PtkA Is Controlled by Alternative Activators: TkmA and SalA. Front Microbiol 2016; 7:1525. [PMID: 27725816 PMCID: PMC5035731 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2016] [Accepted: 09/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial protein-tyrosine kinases (BY-kinases) are known to regulate different aspects of bacterial physiology, by phosphorylating cellular protein substrates. Physiological cues that trigger BY-kinases activity are largely unexplored. In Proteobacteria, BY-kinases contain a cytosol-exposed catalytic domain and a transmembrane activator domain in a single polypeptide chain. In Firmicutes, the BY-kinase catalytic domain and the transmembrane activator domain exist as separate polypeptides. We have previously speculated that this architecture might enable the Firmicutes BY-kinases to interact with alternative activators, and thus account for the observed ability of these kinases to phosphorylate several distinct classes of protein substrates. Here, we present experimental evidence that supports this hypothesis. We focus on the model Firmicute-type BY-kinase PtkA from Bacillus subtilis, known to phosphorylate several different protein substrates. We demonstrate that the transcriptional regulator SalA, hitherto known as a substrate of PtkA, can also act as a PtkA activator. In doing so, SalA competes with the canonical PtkA activator, TkmA. Our results suggest that the respective interactions of SalA and TkmA with PtkA favor phosphorylation of different protein substrates in vivo and in vitro. This observation may contribute to explaining how specificity is established in the seemingly promiscuous interactions of BY-kinases with their cellular substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abderahmane Derouiche
- Division of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Lei Shi
- Division of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Aida Kalantari
- Division of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ivan Mijakovic
- Division of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of TechnologyGothenburg, Sweden; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of DenmarkLyngby, Denmark
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Garcia-Garcia T, Poncet S, Derouiche A, Shi L, Mijakovic I, Noirot-Gros MF. Role of Protein Phosphorylation in the Regulation of Cell Cycle and DNA-Related Processes in Bacteria. Front Microbiol 2016; 7:184. [PMID: 26909079 PMCID: PMC4754617 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2015] [Accepted: 02/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In all living organisms, the phosphorylation of proteins modulates various aspects of their functionalities. In eukaryotes, protein phosphorylation plays a key role in cell signaling, gene expression, and differentiation. Protein phosphorylation is also involved in the global control of DNA replication during the cell cycle, as well as in the mechanisms that cope with stress-induced replication blocks. Similar to eukaryotes, bacteria use Hanks-type kinases and phosphatases for signal transduction, and protein phosphorylation is involved in numerous cellular processes. However, it remains unclear whether protein phosphorylation in bacteria can also regulate the activity of proteins involved in DNA-mediated processes such as DNA replication or repair. Accumulating evidence supported by functional and biochemical studies suggests that phospho-regulatory mechanisms also take place during the bacterial cell cycle. Recent phosphoproteomics and interactomics studies identified numerous phosphoproteins involved in various aspect of DNA metabolism strongly supporting the existence of such level of regulation in bacteria. Similar to eukaryotes, bacterial scaffolding-like proteins emerged as platforms for kinase activation and signaling. This review reports the current knowledge on the phosphorylation of proteins involved in the maintenance of genome integrity and the regulation of cell cycle in bacteria that reveals surprising similarities to eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sandrine Poncet
- Micalis Institute, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Abderahmane Derouiche
- Systems and Synthetic Biology, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Lei Shi
- Systems and Synthetic Biology, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ivan Mijakovic
- Systems and Synthetic Biology, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of TechnologyGothenburg, Sweden; Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of DenmarkHørsholm, Denmark
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Network-Thinking: Graphs to Analyze Microbial Complexity and Evolution. Trends Microbiol 2016; 24:224-237. [PMID: 26774999 PMCID: PMC4766943 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2015.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2015] [Revised: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 12/08/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The tree model and tree-based methods have played a major, fruitful role in evolutionary studies. However, with the increasing realization of the quantitative and qualitative importance of reticulate evolutionary processes, affecting all levels of biological organization, complementary network-based models and methods are now flourishing, inviting evolutionary biology to experience a network-thinking era. We show how relatively recent comers in this field of study, that is, sequence-similarity networks, genome networks, and gene families–genomes bipartite graphs, already allow for a significantly enhanced usage of molecular datasets in comparative studies. Analyses of these networks provide tools for tackling a multitude of complex phenomena, including the evolution of gene transfer, composite genes and genomes, evolutionary transitions, and holobionts. Introgressive processes shape the microbial world at all levels of organisation. This reticulated evolution is increasingly studied by sequence-similarity networks. They provide an inclusive accurate multilevel framework to study the web of life. Networks enhance analyses of microbial genes, genomes, communities, and of symbiosis.
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Kovács ÁT. Bacterial differentiation via gradual activation of global regulators. Curr Genet 2015; 62:125-8. [PMID: 26458398 DOI: 10.1007/s00294-015-0524-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2015] [Revised: 10/05/2015] [Accepted: 10/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Bacteria have evolved to adapt to various conditions and respond to certain stress conditions. The ability to sense and efficiently reply to these environmental effects involve versatile array of sensors and global or specific regulators. Interestingly, modulation of the levels of active global regulators enables bacteria to respond to diverse signals via a single central transcriptional regulator and to activate or repress certain differentiation pathways at a spatio-temporal manner. The Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis is an ideal bacterium to study how membrane bound and cytoplasmic sensor kinases affect the level of phosphorylated global regulator, Spo0A which in response activates genes related to sliding, biofilm formation, and sporulation. In addition, other global regulators, including the two-component system DegS-DegU, modulate overlapping and complementary genes in B. subtilis related to surface colonization and biofilm formation. The intertwinement of global regulatory systems also allows the accurate modulation of differentiation pathways. Studies in the last decade enable us to get a deeper insight into the role of global regulators on the smooth transition of developmental processes in B. subtilis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ákos T Kovács
- Terrestrial Biofilms Group, Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743, Jena, Germany.
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