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Elston R, Mulligan C, Thomas GH. Flipping the switch: dynamic modulation of membrane transporter activity in bacteria. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2023; 169. [PMID: 37948297 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
The controlled entry and expulsion of small molecules across the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane is essential for efficient cell growth and cellular homeostasis. While much is known about the transcriptional regulation of genes encoding transporters, less is understood about how transporter activity is modulated once the protein is functional in the membrane, a potentially more rapid and dynamic level of control. In this review, we bring together literature from the bacterial transport community exemplifying the extensive and diverse mechanisms that have evolved to rapidly modulate transporter function, predominantly by switching activity off. This includes small molecule feedback, inhibition by interaction with small peptides, regulation through binding larger signal transduction proteins and, finally, the emerging area of controlled proteolysis. Many of these examples have been discovered in the context of metal transport, which has to finely balance active accumulation of elements that are essential for growth but can also quickly become toxic if intracellular homeostasis is not tightly controlled. Consistent with this, these transporters appear to be regulated at multiple levels. Finally, we find common regulatory themes, most often through the fusion of additional regulatory domains to transporters, which suggest the potential for even more widespread regulation of transporter activity in biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory Elston
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
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2
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Song H, Choi E, Lee EJ. Membrane-Bound Protease FtsH Protects PhoP from the Proteolysis by Cytoplasmic ClpAP Protease in Salmonella Typhimurium. J Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 33:1130-1140. [PMID: 37330414 PMCID: PMC10580885 DOI: 10.4014/jmb.2306.06016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Among the AAA+ proteases in bacteria, FtsH is a membrane-bound ATP-dependent metalloprotease, which is known to degrade many membrane proteins as well as some cytoplasmic proteins. In the intracellular pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, FtsH is responsible for the proteolysis of several proteins including MgtC virulence factor and MgtA/MgtB Mg2+ transporters, the transcription of which is controlled by the PhoP/PhoQ two-component regulatory system. Given that PhoP response regulator itself is a cytoplasmic protein and also degraded by the cytoplasmic ClpAP protease, it seems unlikely that FtsH affects PhoP protein levels. Here we report an unexpected role of the FtsH protease protecting PhoP proteolysis from cytoplasmic ClpAP protease. In FtsH-depleted condition, PhoP protein levels decrease by ClpAP proteolysis, lowering protein levels of PhoP-controlled genes. This suggests that FtsH is required for normal activation of PhoP transcription factor. FtsH does not degrade PhoP protein but directly binds to PhoP, thus sequestering PhoP from ClpAP-mediated proteolysis. FtsH's protective effect on PhoP can be overcome by providing excess ClpP. Because PhoP is required for Salmonella's survival inside macrophages and mouse virulence, these data implicate that FtsH's sequestration of PhoP from ClpAP-mediated proteolysis is a mechanism ensuring the amount of PhoP protein during Salmonella infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyungkeun Song
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Eunna Choi
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun-Jin Lee
- Department of Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
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3
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Pokorzynski ND, Groisman EA. How Bacterial Pathogens Coordinate Appetite with Virulence. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2023; 87:e0019822. [PMID: 37358444 PMCID: PMC10521370 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00198-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Cells adjust growth and metabolism to nutrient availability. Having access to a variety of carbon sources during infection of their animal hosts, facultative intracellular pathogens must efficiently prioritize carbon utilization. Here, we discuss how carbon source controls bacterial virulence, with an emphasis on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, which causes gastroenteritis in immunocompetent humans and a typhoid-like disease in mice, and propose that virulence factors can regulate carbon source prioritization by modifying cellular physiology. On the one hand, bacterial regulators of carbon metabolism control virulence programs, indicating that pathogenic traits appear in response to carbon source availability. On the other hand, signals controlling virulence regulators may impact carbon source utilization, suggesting that stimuli that bacterial pathogens experience within the host can directly impinge on carbon source prioritization. In addition, pathogen-triggered intestinal inflammation can disrupt the gut microbiota and thus the availability of carbon sources. By coordinating virulence factors with carbon utilization determinants, pathogens adopt metabolic pathways that may not be the most energy efficient because such pathways promote resistance to antimicrobial agents and also because host-imposed deprivation of specific nutrients may hinder the operation of certain pathways. We propose that metabolic prioritization by bacteria underlies the pathogenic outcome of an infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nick D. Pokorzynski
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Eduardo A. Groisman
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Yale Microbial Sciences Institute, West Haven, Connecticut, USA
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The LysR-Type Transcription Regulator YhjC Promotes the Systemic Infection of Salmonella Typhimurium in Mice. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24021302. [PMID: 36674819 PMCID: PMC9867438 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24021302] [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] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Salmonella Typhimurium is a Gram-negative intestinal pathogen that can infect humans and a variety of animals, causing gastroenteritis or serious systemic infection. Replication within host macrophages is essential for S. Typhimurium to cause systemic infection. By analyzing transcriptome data, the expression of yhjC gene, which encodes a putative regulator in S. Typhimurium, was found to be significantly up-regulated after the internalization of Salmonella by macrophages. Whether yhjC gene is involved in S. Typhimurium systemic infection and the related mechanisms were investigated in this study. The deletion of yhjC reduced the replication ability of S. Typhimurium in macrophages and decreased the colonization of S. Typhimurium in mouse systemic organs (liver and spleen), while increasing the survival rate of the infected mice, suggesting that YhjC protein promotes systemic infection by S. Typhimurium. Furthermore, by using transcriptome sequencing and RT-qPCR assay, the transcription of several virulence genes, including spvD, iroCDE and zraP, was found to be down-regulated after the deletion of yhjC. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that YhjC protein can directly bind to the promoter region of spvD and zraP to promote their transcription. These findings suggest that YhjC contributes to the systemic virulence of S. Typhimurium via the regulation of multiple virulence genes and YhjC could represent a promising target to control S. Typhimurium infection.
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Coordination of Phosphate and Magnesium Metabolism in Bacteria. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2022; 1362:135-150. [PMID: 35288878 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-91623-7_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The majority of cellular phosphate (PO4-3; Pi) exists as nucleoside triphosphates, mainly adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). ATP and rRNA are also the largest cytoplasmic reservoirs of magnesium (Mg2+), the most abundant divalent cation in living cells. The co-occurrence of these ionic species in the cytoplasm is not coincidental. Decades of work in the Pi and Mg2+ starvation responses of two model enteric bacteria, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica, have led to the realization that the metabolisms of Pi and Mg2+ are interconnected. Bacteria must acquire these nutrients in a coordinated manner to achieve balanced growth and avoid loss of viability. In this chapter, we will review how bacteria sense and respond to fluctuations in environmental and intracellular Pi and Mg2+ levels. We will also discuss how these two compounds are functionally linked, and how cells elicit physiological responses to maintain their homeostasis.
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6
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Salvail H, Choi J, Groisman EA. Differential synthesis of novel small protein times Salmonella virulence program. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010074. [PMID: 35245279 PMCID: PMC8896665 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Gene organization in operons enables concerted transcription of functionally related genes and efficient control of cellular processes. Typically, an operon is transcribed as a polycistronic mRNA that is translated into corresponding proteins. Here, we identify a bicistronic operon transcribed as two mRNAs, yet only one allows translation of both genes. We establish that the novel gene ugtS forms an operon with virulence gene ugtL, an activator of the master virulence regulatory system PhoP/PhoQ in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Only the longer ugtSugtL mRNA carries the ugtS ribosome binding site and therefore allows ugtS translation. Inside macrophages, the ugtSugtL mRNA species allowing translation of both genes is produced hours before that allowing translation solely of ugtL. The small protein UgtS controls the kinetics of PhoP phosphorylation by antagonizing UgtL activity, preventing premature activation of a critical virulence program. Moreover, S. enterica serovars that infect cold-blooded animals lack ugtS. Our results establish how foreign gene control of ancestral regulators enables pathogens to time their virulence programs. Pathogens must express their virulence genes at precisely the right time to cause disease. Here, we identify a novel small protein that governs a critical virulence program in the pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). We establish that the novel small protein UgtS prevents the virulence protein UgtL from activating the master virulence regulator PhoP inside macrophages. S. Typhimurium produces two ugtSugtL mRNAs, but only one of them allows ugtS translation. The absence of ugtS from S. enterica serovars that infect cold-blooded animals raises the possibility of UgtS playing a regulatory role during infection of warm-blooded animals. Our findings establish how a horizontally acquired bicistron enables pathogens to time their virulence programs by controlling ancestral regulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hubert Salvail
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Jeongjoon Choi
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Eduardo A. Groisman
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- Yale Microbial Sciences Institute, West Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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7
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Yadavalli SS, Yuan J. Bacterial Small Membrane Proteins: the Swiss Army Knife of Regulators at the Lipid Bilayer. J Bacteriol 2022; 204:e0034421. [PMID: 34516282 PMCID: PMC8765417 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00344-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Small membrane proteins represent a subset of recently discovered small proteins (≤100 amino acids), which are a ubiquitous class of emerging regulators underlying bacterial adaptation to environmental stressors. Until relatively recently, small open reading frames encoding these proteins were not designated genes in genome annotations. Therefore, our understanding of small protein biology was primarily limited to a few candidates associated with previously characterized larger partner proteins. Following the first systematic analyses of small proteins in Escherichia coli over a decade ago, numerous small proteins across different bacteria have been uncovered. An estimated one-third of these newly discovered proteins in E. coli are localized to the cell membrane, where they may interact with distinct groups of membrane proteins, such as signal receptors, transporters, and enzymes, and affect their activities. Recently, there has been considerable progress in functionally characterizing small membrane protein regulators aided by innovative tools adapted specifically to study small proteins. Our review covers prototypical proteins that modulate a broad range of cellular processes, such as transport, signal transduction, stress response, respiration, cell division, sporulation, and membrane stability. Thus, small membrane proteins represent a versatile group of physiology regulators at the membrane and the whole cell. Additionally, small membrane proteins have the potential for clinical applications, where some of the proteins may act as antibacterial agents themselves while others serve as alternative drug targets for the development of novel antimicrobials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srujana S. Yadavalli
- Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
| | - Jing Yuan
- Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Germany
- LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO), Marburg, Germany
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Abstract
Mg2+ is the most abundant divalent cation in living cells. It is essential for charge neutralization, macromolecule stabilization, and the assembly and activity of ribosomes and as a cofactor for enzymatic reactions. When experiencing low cytoplasmic Mg2+, bacteria adopt two main strategies: They increase the abundance and activity of Mg2+ importers and decrease the abundance of Mg2+-chelating ATP and rRNA. These changes reduce regulated proteolysis by ATP-dependent proteases and protein synthesis in a systemic fashion. In many bacterial species, the transcriptional regulator PhoP controls expression of proteins mediating these changes. The 5' leader region of some mRNAs responds to low cytoplasmic Mg2+ or to disruptions in translation of open reading frames in the leader regions by furthering expression of the associated coding regions, which specify proteins mediating survival when the cytoplasmic Mg2+ concentration is low. Microbial species often utilize similar adaptation strategies to cope with low cytoplasmic Mg2+ despite relying on different genes to do so.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo A Groisman
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06536, USA; .,Yale Microbial Sciences Institute, West Haven, Connecticut 06516, USA
| | - Carissa Chan
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06536, USA;
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Groisman EA, Duprey A, Choi J. How the PhoP/PhoQ System Controls Virulence and Mg 2+ Homeostasis: Lessons in Signal Transduction, Pathogenesis, Physiology, and Evolution. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2021; 85:e0017620. [PMID: 34191587 PMCID: PMC8483708 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00176-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The PhoP/PhoQ two-component system governs virulence, Mg2+ homeostasis, and resistance to a variety of antimicrobial agents, including acidic pH and cationic antimicrobial peptides, in several Gram-negative bacterial species. Best understood in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, the PhoP/PhoQ system consists o-regulated gene products alter PhoP-P amounts, even under constant inducing conditions. PhoP-P controls the abundance of hundreds of proteins both directly, by having transcriptional effects on the corresponding genes, and indirectly, by modifying the abundance, activity, or stability of other transcription factors, regulatory RNAs, protease regulators, and metabolites. The investigation of PhoP/PhoQ has uncovered novel forms of signal transduction and the physiological consequences of regulon evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo A. Groisman
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Yale Microbial Sciences Institute, West Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Alexandre Duprey
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jeongjoon Choi
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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Low Cytoplasmic Magnesium Increases the Specificity of the Lon and ClpAP Proteases. J Bacteriol 2021; 203:e0014321. [PMID: 33941609 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00143-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Proteolysis is a fundamental property of all living cells. In the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, the HspQ protein controls the specificities of the Lon and ClpAP proteases. Upon acetylation, HspQ stops being a Lon substrate and no longer enhances proteolysis of the Lon substrate Hha. The accumulated HspQ protein binds to the protease adaptor ClpS, hindering proteolysis of ClpS-dependent substrates of ClpAP, such as Oat, a promoter of antibiotic persistence. HspQ is acetylated by the protein acetyltransferase Pat from acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) bound to the acetyl-CoA binding protein Qad. We now report that low cytoplasmic Mg2+ promotes qad expression, which protects substrates of Lon and ClpSAP by increasing HspQ amounts. The qad promoter is activated by PhoP, a regulatory protein highly activated in low cytoplasmic Mg2+ that also represses clpS transcription. Both the qad gene and PhoP repression of the clpS promoter are necessary for antibiotic persistence. PhoP also promotes qad transcription in Escherichia coli, which shares a similar PhoP box in the qad promoter region with S. Typhimurium, Salmonella bongori, and Enterobacter cloacae. Our findings identify cytoplasmic Mg2+ and the PhoP protein as critical regulators of protease specificity in multiple enteric bacteria. IMPORTANCE The bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium narrows down the spectrum of substrates degraded by the proteases Lon and ClpAP in response to low cytoplasmic Mg2+, a condition that decreases protein synthesis. This control is exerted by PhoP, a transcriptional regulator activated in low cytoplasmic Mg2+ that governs proteostasis and is conserved in enteric bacteria. The uncovered mechanism enables bacteria to control the abundance of preexisting proteins.
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Blanc-Potard AB, Groisman EA. How Pathogens Feel and Overcome Magnesium Limitation When in Host Tissues. Trends Microbiol 2020; 29:98-106. [PMID: 32807623 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2020.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Host organisms utilize nutritional immunity to limit the availability of nutrients essential to an invading pathogen. Nutrients may include amino acids, nucleotide bases, and transition metals, the essentiality of which varies among pathogens. The mammalian macrophage protein Slc11a1 (previously Nramp1) mediates resistance to several intracellular pathogens. Slc11a1 is proposed to restrict growth of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in host tissues by causing magnesium deprivation. This is intriguing because magnesium is the most abundant divalent cation in all living cells. A pathogen's response to factors such as Slc11a1 that promote nutritional immunity may therefore reflect what the pathogen 'feels' in its cytoplasm, rather than the nutrient concentration in host cell compartments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Béatrice Blanc-Potard
- Laboratory of Pathogen Host Interactions, Université Montpellier, case 107, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier cedex 5, France; CNRS, UMR5235, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 05, France.
| | - Eduardo A Groisman
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, 295 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT 06536, USA; Yale Microbial Sciences Institute, P.O. Box 27389, West Haven, CT 06516, USA.
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Small proteins regulate Salmonella survival inside macrophages by controlling degradation of a magnesium transporter. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:20235-20243. [PMID: 32753384 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2006116117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
All cells require Mg2+ to replicate and proliferate. The macrophage protein Slc11a1 is proposed to protect mice from invading microbes by causing Mg2+ starvation in host tissues. However, the Mg2+ transporter MgtB enables the facultative intracellular pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to cause disease in mice harboring a functional Slc11a1 protein. Here, we report that, unexpectedly, the Salmonella small protein MgtR promotes MgtB degradation by the protease FtsH, which raises the question: How does Salmonella preserve MgtB to promote survival inside macrophages? We establish that the Salmonella small protein MgtU prevents MgtB proteolysis, even when MgtR is absent. Like MgtB, MgtU is necessary for survival in Slc11a1 +/+ macrophages, resistance to oxidative stress, and growth under Mg2+ limitation conditions. The Salmonella Mg2+ transporter MgtA is not protected by MgtU despite sharing 50% amino acid identity with MgtB and being degraded in an MgtR- and FtsH-dependent manner. Surprisingly, the mgtB, mgtR, and mgtU genes are part of the same transcript, providing a singular example of transcript-specifying proteins that promote and hinder degradation of the same target. Our findings demonstrate that small proteins can confer pathogen survival inside macrophages by altering the abundance of related transporters, thereby furthering homeostasis.
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Garai P, Blanc‐Potard A. Uncovering small membrane proteins in pathogenic bacteria: Regulatory functions and therapeutic potential. Mol Microbiol 2020; 114:710-720. [DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2020] [Revised: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Preeti Garai
- Laboratory of Pathogen‐Host Interactions Université de MontpellierCNRS‐UMR5235 Montpellier France
| | - Anne Blanc‐Potard
- Laboratory of Pathogen‐Host Interactions Université de MontpellierCNRS‐UMR5235 Montpellier France
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Orr MW, Mao Y, Storz G, Qian SB. Alternative ORFs and small ORFs: shedding light on the dark proteome. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:1029-1042. [PMID: 31504789 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 172] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 08/03/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Traditional annotation of protein-encoding genes relied on assumptions, such as one open reading frame (ORF) encodes one protein and minimal lengths for translated proteins. With the serendipitous discoveries of translated ORFs encoded upstream and downstream of annotated ORFs, from alternative start sites nested within annotated ORFs and from RNAs previously considered noncoding, it is becoming clear that these initial assumptions are incorrect. The findings have led to the realization that genetic information is more densely coded and that the proteome is more complex than previously anticipated. As such, interest in the identification and characterization of the previously ignored 'dark proteome' is increasing, though we note that research in eukaryotes and bacteria has largely progressed in isolation. To bridge this gap and illustrate exciting findings emerging from studies of the dark proteome, we highlight recent advances in both eukaryotic and bacterial cells. We discuss progress in the detection of alternative ORFs as well as in the understanding of functions and the regulation of their expression and posit questions for future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona Wu Orr
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Yuanhui Mao
- Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Gisela Storz
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Shu-Bing Qian
- Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
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15
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Park M, Kim H, Nam D, Kweon DH, Shin D. The mgtCBR mRNA Leader Secures Growth of Salmonella in Both Host and Non-host Environments. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2831. [PMID: 31866990 PMCID: PMC6908480 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Upon intracellular cues, bacterial mRNA leaders often form secondary structures that determine expression of a downstream protein-coding region(s), thereby providing bacteria with a mechanism to control the amounts of necessary proteins in the right locales. Here we describe a polycistronic mRNA leader that secures bacterial growth by preventing dysregulated expression of the protein-coding regions. In Salmonella, the mgtCBR mRNA encodes the virulence protein MgtC and the Mg2+ transporter MgtB. A mutant designed to produce leaderless mgtCBR mRNA induced MgtC and MgtB in conditions that promote mgtC transcription. The dysregulated expression of MgtC and MgtB impaired bacterial growth under all such non-host environments. While MgtC, but not MgtB, normally reduces ATP levels in a process requiring the F1F0 ATP synthase, dysregulated MgtC and MgtB reduced ATP levels independently of the F1F0 ATP synthase, which correlated with the mutant’s growth defect. The mutant showed dysregulated MgtC expression and attenuated survival inside macrophages. While MgtB normally does not affect the phenotype, MgtB impaired intramacrophage survival of the mutant in the presence of MgtC. We provide an example showing that a polycistronic mRNA leader prevents the dysregulated function of protein-coding regions to allow bacteria to proliferate across complex niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myungseo Park
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
| | - Hyunkeun Kim
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea
| | - Daesil Nam
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea
| | - Dae-Hyuk Kweon
- Department of Integrative Biotechnology, College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
| | - Dongwoo Shin
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea.,Samsung Medical Center, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
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Cunrath O, Bumann D. Host resistance factor SLC11A1 restrictsSalmonellagrowth through magnesium deprivation. Science 2019; 366:995-999. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aax7898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The pleiotropic host resistance factor SLC11A1 (NRAMP1) defends against diverse intracellular pathogens in mammals by yet-unknown mechanisms. We comparedSalmonellainfection of coisogenic mice with differentSLC11A1alleles. SLC11A1 reducedSalmonellareplication and triggered up-regulation of uptake systems for divalent metal cations but no other stress responses. SLC11A1 modestly diminished iron availability and acutely restrictedSalmonellaaccess to magnesium. Growth ofSalmonellacells in the presence of SLC11A1 was highly heterogeneous and inversely correlated with expression of the crucial magnesium transporter genemgtB. We observed superimposable single-cell patterns in mice lacking SLC11A1 when we restrictedSalmonellaaccess to magnesium by impairing its uptake. Together, these findings identify deprivation of the main group metal magnesium as the main resistance mechanism of SLC11A1 againstSalmonella.
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Synthetic hydrophobic peptides derived from MgtR weaken Salmonella pathogenicity and work with a different mode of action than endogenously produced peptides. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15253. [PMID: 31649255 PMCID: PMC6813294 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51760-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to the antibiotic resistance crisis, novel therapeutic strategies need to be developed against bacterial pathogens. Hydrophobic bacterial peptides (small proteins under 50 amino acids) have emerged as regulatory molecules that can interact with bacterial membrane proteins to modulate their activity and/or stability. Among them, the Salmonella MgtR peptide promotes the degradation of MgtC, a virulence factor involved in Salmonella intramacrophage replication, thus providing the basis for an antivirulence strategy. We demonstrate here that endogenous overproduction of MgtR reduced Salmonella replication inside macrophages and lowered MgtC protein level, whereas a peptide variant of MgtR (MgtR-S17I), which does not interact with MgtC, had no effect. We then used synthetic peptides to evaluate their action upon exogenous addition. Unexpectedly, upon addition of synthetic peptides, both MgtR and its variant MgtR-S17I reduced Salmonella intramacrophage replication and lowered MgtC and MgtB protein levels, suggesting a different mechanism of action of exogenously added peptides versus endogenously produced peptides. The synthetic peptides did not act by reducing bacterial viability. We next tested their effect on various recombinant proteins produced in Escherichia coli and showed that the level of several inner membrane proteins was strongly reduced upon addition of both peptides, whereas cytoplasmic or outer membrane proteins remained unaffected. Moreover, the α-helical structure of synthetic MgtR is important for its biological activity, whereas helix-helix interacting motif is dispensable. Cumulatively, these results provide perspectives for new antivirulence strategies with the use of peptides that act by reducing the level of inner membrane proteins, including virulence factors.
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Kalindamar S, Lu J, Abdelhamed H, Tekedar HC, Lawrence ML, Karsi A. Transposon mutagenesis and identification of mutated genes in growth-delayed Edwardsiella ictaluri. BMC Microbiol 2019; 19:55. [PMID: 30849940 PMCID: PMC6408766 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-019-1429-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Edwardsiella ictaluri is a Gram-negative facultative intracellular anaerobe and the etiologic agent of enteric septicemia of channel catfish (ESC). To the catfish industry, ESC is a devastating disease due to production losses and treatment costs. Identification of virulence mechanisms of E. ictaluri is critical to developing novel therapeutic approaches for the disease. Here, we report construction of a transposon insertion library and identification of mutated genes in growth-delayed E. ictaluri colonies. We also provide safety and efficacy of transposon insertion mutants in catfish. Results An E. ictaluri transposon insertion library with 45,000 transposants and saturating 30.92% of the TA locations present in the E. ictaluri genome was constructed. Transposon end mapping of 250 growth-delayed E. ictaluri colonies and bioinformatic analysis of sequences revealed 56 unique E. ictaluri genes interrupted by the MAR2xT7 transposon, which are involved in metabolic and cellular processes and mostly localized in the cytoplasm or cytoplasmic membrane. Of the 56 genes, 30 were associated with bacterial virulence. Safety and vaccine efficacy testing of 19 mutants showed that mutants containing transposon insertions in hypothetical protein (Eis::004), and Fe-S cluster assembly protein (IscX, Eis::039), sulfurtransferase (TusA, Eis::158), and universal stress protein A (UspA, Eis::194) were safe and provided significant protection (p < 0.05) against wild-type E. ictaluri. Conclusions The results indicate that random transposon mutagenesis causing growth-delayed phenotype results in identification bacterial virulence genes, and attenuated strains with transposon interrupted virulence genes could be used as vaccine to activate fish immune system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Safak Kalindamar
- Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | - Jingjun Lu
- Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | - Hossam Abdelhamed
- Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | - Hasan C Tekedar
- Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | - Mark L Lawrence
- Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | - Attila Karsi
- Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA.
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A Family of Small Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Involved in Flagellum-Dependent Motility in Salmonella enterica. J Bacteriol 2018; 201:JB.00415-18. [PMID: 30373755 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00415-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
By screening a collection of Salmonella mutants deleted for genes encoding small proteins of ≤60 amino acids, we identified three paralogous small genes (ymdF, STM14_1829, and yciG) required for wild-type flagellum-dependent swimming and swarming motility. The ymdF, STM14_1829, and yciG genes encode small proteins of 55, 60, and 60 amino acid residues, respectively. A bioinformatics analysis predicted that these small proteins are intrinsically disordered proteins, and circular dichroism analysis of purified recombinant proteins confirmed that all three proteins are unstructured in solution. A mutant deleted for STM14_1829 showed the most severe motility defect, indicating that among the three paralogs, STM14_1829 is a key protein required for wild-type motility. We determined that relative to the wild type, the expression of the flagellin protein FliC is lower in the ΔSTM14_1829 mutant due to the downregulation of the flhDC operon encoding the FlhDC master regulator. By comparing the gene expression profiles between the wild-type and ΔSTM14_1829 strains via RNA sequencing, we found that the gene encoding the response regulator PhoP is upregulated in the ΔSTM14_1829 mutant, suggesting the indirect repression of the flhDC operon by the activated PhoP. Homologs of STM14_1829 are conserved in a wide range of bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa We showed that the inactivation of STM14_1829 homologs in E. coli and P. aeruginosa also alters motility, suggesting that this family of small intrinsically disordered proteins may play a role in the cellular pathway(s) that affects motility.IMPORTANCE This study reports the identification of a novel family of small intrinsically disordered proteins that are conserved in a wide range of flagellated and nonflagellated bacteria. Although this study identifies the role of these small proteins in the scope of flagellum-dependent motility in Salmonella, they likely play larger roles in a more conserved cellular pathway(s) that indirectly affects flagellum expression in the case of motile bacteria. Small intrinsically disordered proteins have not been well characterized in prokaryotes, and the results of our study provide a basis for their detailed functional characterization.
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Gall AR, Hegarty AE, Datsenko KA, Westerman RP, SanMiguel P, Csonka LN. High-level, constitutive expression of the mgtC gene confers increased thermotolerance on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Mol Microbiol 2018; 109:327-344. [PMID: 29802740 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
We found that mutations that increased the transcription of the mgtCBR (Mg2+ transport-related) operon conferred increased thermotolerance on this organism. The 5' leader of the mgtCBR mRNA contains two short open reading frames (ORFs), mgtM and mgtP, whose translation regulates the expression of the mgtCBR operon by a mechanism that is similar to attenuation in amino acid biosynthetic operons. We obtained two types of mutations that resulted in elevated transcription of the operon: defects in the mgtM ribosome-binding site, impairing the translation of this ORF and deletions encompassing the stop codon of mgtM that extend the translation of this ORF across a downstream Rho termination site. These mgtM mutations give further insights into the mechanism of the transcriptional control of the mgtCBR operon that we discuss in this work. We show that the increased thermotolerance requires elevated expression of the mgtC gene, but functional mgtB and mgtR, which respectively encode an Mg2+ transporter and a regulatory protein, are dispensable for this response. MgtC has been shown to have complex functions, including a requirement for virulence, flagella-independent motility and synthesis of cellulose and we now found that it has a role in the regulation of thermotolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron R Gall
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University
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Duval M, Cossart P. Small bacterial and phagic proteins: an updated view on a rapidly moving field. Curr Opin Microbiol 2017; 39:81-88. [PMID: 29111488 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2017.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2017] [Accepted: 09/17/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Small proteins, that is, polypeptides of 50 amino acids (aa) or less, are increasingly recognized as important regulators in bacteria. Secreted or not, their small size make them versatile proteins, involved in a wide range of processes. They may allow bacteria to sense and to respond to stresses, to send signals and communicate, and to modulate infections. Bacteriophages also produce small proteins to influence lysogeny/lysis decisions. In this review, we update the present view on small proteins functions, and discuss their possible applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélodie Duval
- Unité des Interactions Bactéries-Cellules, Institut Pasteur, Paris F-75015, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U604, Paris F-75015, France; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité Sous Contrat 2020, Paris F-75015, France.
| | - Pascale Cossart
- Unité des Interactions Bactéries-Cellules, Institut Pasteur, Paris F-75015, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U604, Paris F-75015, France; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité Sous Contrat 2020, Paris F-75015, France.
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Increasing intracellular magnesium levels with the 31-amino acid MgtS protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:5689-5694. [PMID: 28512220 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1703415114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Synthesis of the 31-amino acid, inner membrane protein MgtS (formerly denoted YneM) is induced by very low Mg2+ in a PhoPQ-dependent manner in Escherichia coli Here we report that MgtS acts to increase intracellular Mg2+ levels and maintain cell integrity upon Mg2+ depletion. Upon development of a functional tagged derivative of MgtS, we found that MgtS interacts with MgtA to increase the levels of this P-type ATPase Mg2+ transporter under Mg2+-limiting conditions. Correspondingly, the effects of MgtS upon Mg2+ limitation are lost in a ∆mgtA mutant, and MgtA overexpression can suppress the ∆mgtS phenotype. MgtS stabilization of MgtA provides an additional layer of regulation of this tightly controlled Mg2+ transporter and adds to the list of small proteins that regulate inner membrane transporters.
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Baumgartner D, Kopf M, Klähn S, Steglich C, Hess WR. Small proteins in cyanobacteria provide a paradigm for the functional analysis of the bacterial micro-proteome. BMC Microbiol 2016; 16:285. [PMID: 27894276 PMCID: PMC5126843 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-016-0896-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Despite their versatile functions in multimeric protein complexes, in the modification of enzymatic activities, intercellular communication or regulatory processes, proteins shorter than 80 amino acids (μ-proteins) are a systematically underestimated class of gene products in bacteria. Photosynthetic cyanobacteria provide a paradigm for small protein functions due to extensive work on the photosynthetic apparatus that led to the functional characterization of 19 small proteins of less than 50 amino acids. In analogy, previously unstudied small ORFs with similar degrees of conservation might encode small proteins of high relevance also in other functional contexts. Results Here we used comparative transcriptomic information available for two model cyanobacteria, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6714 for the prediction of small ORFs. We found 293 transcriptional units containing candidate small ORFs ≤80 codons in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, also including the known mRNAs encoding small proteins of the photosynthetic apparatus. From these transcriptional units, 146 are shared between the two strains, 42 are shared with the higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana and 25 with E. coli. To verify the existence of the respective μ-proteins in vivo, we selected five genes as examples to which a FLAG tag sequence was added and re-introduced them into Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. These were the previously annotated gene ssr1169, two newly defined genes norf1 and norf4, as well as nsiR6(nitrogen stress-induced RNA 6) and hliR1(high light-inducible RNA 1) , which originally were considered non-coding. Upon activation of expression via the Cu2+.responsive petE promoter or from the native promoters, all five proteins were detected in Western blot experiments. Conclusions The distribution and conservation of these five genes as well as their regulation of expression and the physico-chemical properties of the encoded proteins underline the likely great bandwidth of small protein functions in bacteria and makes them attractive candidates for functional studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Desiree Baumgartner
- University of Freiburg, Faculty of Biology, Genetics and Experimental Bioinformatics, Schänzlestr. 1, D-79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Kopf
- University of Freiburg, Faculty of Biology, Genetics and Experimental Bioinformatics, Schänzlestr. 1, D-79104, Freiburg, Germany.,Present Address: Molecular Health GmbH, Kurfürsten-Anlage 21, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stephan Klähn
- University of Freiburg, Faculty of Biology, Genetics and Experimental Bioinformatics, Schänzlestr. 1, D-79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Steglich
- University of Freiburg, Faculty of Biology, Genetics and Experimental Bioinformatics, Schänzlestr. 1, D-79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang R Hess
- University of Freiburg, Faculty of Biology, Genetics and Experimental Bioinformatics, Schänzlestr. 1, D-79104, Freiburg, Germany.
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Guo Z, Li X, Li J, Yang X, Zhou Y, Lu C, Shen Y. Licoflavonol is an inhibitor of the type three secretion system of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2016; 477:998-1004. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2016.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2016] [Accepted: 07/03/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Belon C, Rosas Olvera M, Vives E, Kremer L, Gannoun-Zaki L, Blanc-Potard AB. Use of the Salmonella MgtR peptide as an antagonist of the Mycobacterium MgtC virulence factor. Future Microbiol 2016; 11:215-25. [DOI: 10.2217/fmb.15.134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The MgtC virulence factor has been proposed as an attractive target for antivirulence strategies because it is shared by several important bacterial pathogens, including Salmonella enterica and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Aim: A natural antagonistic peptide, MgtR, which interacts with MgtC and modulates its stability, has been identified in Salmonella, and we investigated its efficiency to target MgtC in another pathogen. Materials & methods: We evaluated the interaction between Salmonella MgtR peptide and the Mtb MgtC protein using an in vivo bacterial two-hybrid system and we addressed the effect of exogenously added synthetic MgtR and endogenously expressed peptide. Results: MgtR peptide strongly interacted with Mtb MgtC protein and exogenously added synthetic MgtR peptide-reduced Mtb MgtC level and interfered with the dimerization of Mtb MgtC. Importantly, heterologous expression of MgtR in Mycobacterium bovis BCG resulted in increased phagocytosis and reduced intramacrophage survival. Conclusion: MgtR peptide can target Mtb MgtC protein and reduce mycobacterial macrophage resistance, thus providing a promising new scaffold for the development of antivirulence compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudine Belon
- Laboratoire de Dynamique des Interactions Membranaires Normales et Pathologiques, Université de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
- CNRS, UMR5235, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Mariana Rosas Olvera
- Laboratoire de Dynamique des Interactions Membranaires Normales et Pathologiques, Université de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
- CNRS, UMR5235, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Eric Vives
- Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, F-34090, France
| | - Laurent Kremer
- INSERM, DIMNP, CNRS-UMR5235, Montpellier, France
- Centre d’études d'agents Pathogènes et Biotechnologies pour la Santé (CPBS - FRE 3689), 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier, France
| | - Laila Gannoun-Zaki
- Laboratoire de Dynamique des Interactions Membranaires Normales et Pathologiques, Université de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
- CNRS, UMR5235, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
| | - Anne-Béatrice Blanc-Potard
- Laboratoire de Dynamique des Interactions Membranaires Normales et Pathologiques, Université de Montpellier, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
- CNRS, UMR5235, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 05, France
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Encyclopedia of bacterial gene circuits whose presence or absence correlate with pathogenicity--a large-scale system analysis of decoded bacterial genomes. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:773. [PMID: 26459834 PMCID: PMC4603813 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1957-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2015] [Accepted: 09/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bacterial infections comprise a global health challenge as the incidences of antibiotic resistance increase. Pathogenic potential of bacteria has been shown to be context dependent, varying in response to environment and even within the strains of the same genus. RESULTS We used the KEGG repository and extensive literature searches to identify among the 2527 bacterial genomes in the literature those implicated as pathogenic to the host, including those which show pathogenicity in a context dependent manner. Using data on the gene contents of these genomes, we identified sets of genes highly abundant in pathogenic but relatively absent in commensal strains and vice versa. In addition, we carried out genome comparison within a genus for the seventeen largest genera in our genome collection. We projected the resultant lists of ortholog genes onto KEGG bacterial pathways to identify clusters and circuits, which can be linked to either pathogenicity or synergy. Gene circuits relatively abundant in nonpathogenic bacteria often mediated biosynthesis of antibiotics. Other synergy-linked circuits reduced drug-induced toxicity. Pathogen-abundant gene circuits included modules in one-carbon folate, two-component system, type-3 secretion system, and peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Antibiotics-resistant bacterial strains possessed genes modulating phagocytosis, vesicle trafficking, cytoskeletal reorganization, and regulation of the inflammatory response. Our study also identified bacterial genera containing a circuit, elements of which were previously linked to Alzheimer's disease. CONCLUSIONS Present study produces for the first time, a signature, in the form of a robust list of gene circuitry whose presence or absence could potentially define the pathogenicity of a microbiome. Extensive literature search substantiated a bulk majority of the commensal and pathogenic circuitry in our predicted list. Scanning microbiome libraries for these circuitry motifs will provide further insights into the complex and context dependent pathogenicity of bacteria.
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Abstract
Small proteins, here defined as proteins of 50 amino acids or fewer in the absence of processing, have traditionally been overlooked due to challenges in their annotation and biochemical detection. In the past several years, however, increasing numbers of small proteins have been identified either through the realization that mutations in intergenic regions are actually within unannotated small protein genes or through the discovery that some small, regulatory RNAs encode small proteins. These insights, together with comparative sequence analysis, indicate that tens if not hundreds of small proteins are synthesized in a given organism. This review summarizes what has been learned about the functions of several of these bacterial small proteins, most of which act at the membrane, illustrating the astonishing range of processes in which these small proteins act and suggesting several general conclusions. Important questions for future studies of these overlooked proteins are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisela Storz
- Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-5430;
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Groisman EA, Hollands K, Kriner MA, Lee EJ, Park SY, Pontes MH. Bacterial Mg2+ homeostasis, transport, and virulence. Annu Rev Genet 2013; 47:625-46. [PMID: 24079267 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-genet-051313-051025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 181] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Organisms must maintain physiological levels of Mg(2+) because this divalent cation is critical for the stabilization of membranes and ribosomes, for the neutralization of nucleic acids, and as a cofactor in a variety of enzymatic reactions. In this review, we describe the mechanisms that bacteria utilize to sense the levels of Mg(2+) both outside and inside the cytoplasm. We examine how bacteria achieve Mg(2+) homeostasis by adjusting the expression and activity of Mg(2+) transporters and by changing the composition of their cell envelope. We discuss the connections that exist between Mg(2+) sensing, Mg(2+) transport, and bacterial virulence. Additionally, we explore the logic behind the fact that bacterial genomes encode multiple Mg(2+) transporters and distinct sensing systems for cytoplasmic and extracytoplasmic Mg(2+). These analyses may be applicable to the homeostatic control of other cations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo A Groisman
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06536; , , , , ,
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Abstract
The mgtCBR operon from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium specifies the virulence protein MgtC, the Mg2+ transporter MgtB and the regulatory peptide MgtR. The mgtCBR transcript includes a long leader region harbouring two short open reading frames (ORFs). Translation of these ORFs is anticipated to impact the formation of particular stem-loop structures and control transcription of the coding region by an attenuation-like mechanism. We previously reported that ORF mgtM enables Salmonella to promote transcription of the mgtC and mgtB coding regions when experiencing a rise in cytoplasmic ATP levels. We now show that the proline codon-rich ORF mgtP mediates an increase in transcription of the mgtC and mgtB coding regions under conditions predicted to decrease the levels of proline-charged tRNAPro. The high ATP and low proline signals act independently in an additive form. Replacing conserved mgtP proline codons with codons specifying other amino acids abolished the response to proline limitation but had no effect on the response to ATP. Substitution of conserved adenine nucleotides in mgtM abolished the response to ATP but had no effect in the response to proline limitation. This provides a singular example of a leader mRNA with tandem attenuators responding to different signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun-Jin Lee
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale School of Medicine, Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine, New Haven, CT 06536-0812, USA
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Kim H, Lee H, Shin D. The FeoA protein is necessary for the FeoB transporter to import ferrous iron. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2012; 423:733-8. [PMID: 22705302 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.06.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2012] [Accepted: 06/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In many bacterial feo loci, the feoA gene is associated with the feoB gene. While the feoB-encoded FeoB protein has been demonstrated as a ferrous iron [Fe(II)] transporter, the function of the feoA gene product, FeoA, is unknown. In the present study, we report that the FeoA protein interacts with the FeoB Fe(II) transporter, which is required for FeoB-mediated Fe(II) uptake in Salmonella enterica. Iron uptake assay revealed that in the absence of FeoA, FeoB import of Fe(II) is impaired. Bacterial two-hybrid assay determined that the FeoA protein directly and specifically binds to the FeoB transporter in vivo. This FeoA-FeoB interaction appeared necessary for FeoB-mediated Fe(II) uptake because Salmonella expressing the mutant FeoA that cannot interact with FeoB failed to uptake Fe(II) via the FeoB transporter. Finally, we showed that the FeoA protein does not affect expression of the FeoB transporter per se.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyunkeun Kim
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 440-746, Republic of Korea
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