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Niemand Wolhuter N, Ngakane L, de Wet TJ, Warren RM, Williams MJ. The Mycobacterium smegmatis HesB Protein, MSMEG_4272, Is Required for In Vitro Growth and Iron Homeostasis. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1573. [PMID: 37375075 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11061573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
A-type carrier (ATC) proteins are proposed to function in the biogenesis of Fe-S clusters, although their exact role remains controversial. The genome of Mycobacterium smegmatis encodes a single ATC protein, MSMEG_4272, which belongs to the HesB/YadR/YfhF family of proteins. Attempts to generate an MSMEG_4272 deletion mutant by two-step allelic exchange were unsuccessful, suggesting that the gene is essential for in vitro growth. CRISPRi-mediated transcriptional knock-down of MSMEG_4272 resulted in a growth defect under standard culture conditions, which was exacerbated in mineral-defined media. The knockdown strain displayed reduced intracellular iron levels under iron-replete conditions and increased susceptibility to clofazimine, 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (DMNQ), and isoniazid, while the activity of the Fe-S containing enzymes, succinate dehydrogenase, and aconitase were not affected. This study suggests that MSMEG_4272 plays a role in the regulation of intracellular iron levels and is required for in vitro growth of M. smegmatis, particularly during exponential growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nandi Niemand Wolhuter
- NRF/DSI Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, South African Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town 7505, South Africa
| | - Lerato Ngakane
- NRF/DSI Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, South African Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town 7505, South Africa
| | - Timothy J de Wet
- SAMRC/NHLS/UCT Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa
| | - Robin M Warren
- NRF/DSI Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, South African Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town 7505, South Africa
| | - Monique J Williams
- NRF/DSI Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, South African Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town 7505, South Africa
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7700, South Africa
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Saggu GS. Apicoplast Journey and Its Essentiality as a Compartment for Malaria Parasite Survival. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:881825. [PMID: 35463632 PMCID: PMC9022174 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.881825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Swift RP, Rajaram K, Elahi R, Liu HB, Prigge ST. Roles of Ferredoxin-Dependent Proteins in the Apicoplast of Plasmodium falciparum Parasites. mBio 2021; 13:e0302321. [PMID: 35164549 PMCID: PMC8844926 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03023-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Ferredoxin (Fd) and ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR) form a redox system that is hypothesized to play a central role in the maintenance and function of the apicoplast organelle of malaria parasites. The Fd/FNR system provides reducing power to various iron-sulfur cluster (FeS)-dependent proteins in the apicoplast and is believed to help to maintain redox balance in the organelle. While the Fd/FNR system has been pursued as a target for antimalarial drug discovery, Fd, FNR, and the FeS proteins presumably reliant on their reducing power play an unknown role in parasite survival and apicoplast maintenance. To address these questions, we generated genetic deletions of these proteins in a parasite line containing an apicoplast bypass system. Through these deletions, we discovered that Fd, FNR, and certain FeS proteins are essential for parasite survival but found that none are required for apicoplast maintenance. Additionally, we addressed the question of how Fd and its downstream FeS proteins obtain FeS cofactors by deleting the FeS transfer proteins SufA and NfuApi. While individual deletions of these proteins revealed their dispensability, double deletion resulted in synthetic lethality, demonstrating a redundant role in providing FeS clusters to Fd and other essential FeS proteins. Our data support a model in which the reducing power from the Fd/FNR system to certain downstream FeS proteins is essential for the survival of blood-stage malaria parasites but not for organelle maintenance, while other FeS proteins are dispensable for this stage of parasite development. IMPORTANCE Ferredoxin (Fd) and ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (FNR) form one of the few known redox systems in the apicoplast of malaria parasites and provide reducing power to iron-sulfur (FeS) cluster proteins within the organelle. While the Fd/FNR system has been explored as a drug target, the essentiality and roles of this system and the identity of its downstream FeS proteins have not been determined. To answer these questions, we generated deletions of these proteins in an apicoplast metabolic bypass line (PfMev) and determined the minimal set of proteins required for parasite survival. Moving upstream of this pathway, we also generated individual and dual deletions of the two FeS transfer proteins that deliver FeS clusters to Fd and downstream FeS proteins. We found that both transfer proteins are dispensable, but double deletion displayed a synthetic lethal phenotype, demonstrating their functional redundancy. These findings provide important insights into apicoplast biochemistry and drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell P. Swift
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Krithika Rajaram
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Rubayet Elahi
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Hans B. Liu
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Sean T. Prigge
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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Kadirvel P, Subramanian A, Sridharan N, Subramanian S, Vimaladhasan S, Anishetty S. Molecular dynamics simulation study of Plasmodium falciparum and Escherichia coli SufA: Exploration of conformational changes possibly involved in iron-sulfur cluster transfer. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2020; 39:3300-3311. [PMID: 32364014 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1764389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are one of the earliest known metal complexes in biological molecules. Suf system is one of the Fe-S biogenesis pathways. SufA belongs to the Suf pathway. It is an A-type carrier protein that transfers Fe-S clusters from the scaffold to target proteins. Structural studies were performed for the Suf pathway protein, SufA, in order to explore the conformational changes that probably aid in the transfer of Fe-S clusters to target proteins. Three-dimensional (3D) structure of Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) SufA homodimer was obtained by homology modeling using 3D structure of Escherichia coli (Ec) SufA as template. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of Pf SufA and Ec SufA homodimers followed by trajectory and pocket analyses were carried out. A co-ordinated displacement of the homodimeric chains in the interfacial region, resembling a swinging trapeze-like movement was observed. Potential involvement of this swinging trapeze-like movement of the residues belonging to the interfacial region has been proposed as a probable mechanism that assists in the transfer of Fe-S cluster from SufA to apo proteins. This was substantiated by protein-protein interaction studies in Pf SufA by performing molecular docking of 3D conformations of Pf SufA obtained from MD trajectory at every 1 ns interval with Pf ferredoxin.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Pala ZR, Saxena V, Saggu GS, Mani SK, Pareek RP, Kochar SK, Kochar DK, Garg S. Functional analysis of iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis (SUF pathway) from Plasmodium vivax clinical isolates. Exp Parasitol 2019; 198:53-62. [PMID: 30721667 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2019.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2018] [Revised: 08/29/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are critical metallo-cofactors required for cell function. Assembly of these cofactors is a carefully controlled process in cells to avoid toxicity from free iron and sulfide. In Plasmodium, two pathways for these Fe-S cluster biogenesis have been reported; ISC pathway in the mitochondria and SUF pathway functional in the apicoplast. Amongst these, SUF pathway is reported essential for the apicoplast maintenance and parasite survival. Many of its components have been studied from P. falciparum and P. berghei in recent years, still few queries remain to be addressed; one of them being the assembly and transfer of Fe-S clusters. In this study, using P. vivax clinical isolates, we have shown the in vitro interaction of SUF pathway proteins SufS and SufE responsible for sulfur mobilization in the apicoplast. The sulfur mobilized by the SufSE complex assembles on the scaffold protein PvSufA along with iron provided by the external source. Here, we demonstrate in vitro transfer of these labile Fe-S clusters from the scaffold protein on to an apo-protein, PvIspG (a protein involved in penultimate step of Isoprenoids biosynthesis pathway) in order to provide an insight into the interaction of different components for the biosynthesis and transfer of Fe-S clusters. Our analysis indicate that inspite of the presence of variations in pathway proteins, the overall pathway remains well conserved in the clinical isolates when compared to that reported in lab strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zarna Rajeshkumar Pala
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
| | - Vishal Saxena
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India.
| | - Gagandeep Singh Saggu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
| | - Satish Kailasam Mani
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
| | - Rajendra Prasad Pareek
- Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India
| | - Sanjay Kumar Kochar
- Department of Medicine, Sardar Patel Medical College, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India
| | - Dhanpat Kumar Kochar
- Department of Medicine, Rajasthan University of Health Sciences, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
| | - Shilpi Garg
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India.
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Pala ZR, Saxena V, Saggu GS, Garg S. Recent Advances in the [Fe-S] Cluster Biogenesis (SUF) Pathway Functional in the Apicoplast of Plasmodium. Trends Parasitol 2018; 34:800-809. [PMID: 30064903 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2018.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2018] [Revised: 05/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Iron-sulfur [Fe-S] clusters are one of the most ancient, ubiquitous, structurally and functionally versatile natural biosynthetic prosthetic groups required by various proteins involved in important metabolic processes. Genome mining and localization studies in Plasmodium have shown two evolutionarily distinct biogenesis pathways: the ISC pathway in mitochondria and the SUF pathway in the apicoplast. In recent years, the myriad efforts made to elucidate the SUF pathway have deciphered the role of various proteins involved in the pathway and their importance for the parasite life cycle in both asexual and sexual stages. This review aims to discuss recent research in the apicoplast [Fe-S] biogenesis pathway from Plasmodium to enhance our current understanding of parasite biology with an overall aim to identify gaps to strengthen our fight against malaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zarna Rajeshkumar Pala
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan, India
| | - Vishal Saxena
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan, India
| | - Gagandeep Singh Saggu
- Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergic and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Shilpi Garg
- Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan, India.
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Charan M, Choudhary HH, Singh N, Sadik M, Siddiqi MI, Mishra S, Habib S. [Fe-S] cluster assembly in the apicoplast and its indispensability in mosquito stages of the malaria parasite. FEBS J 2017; 284:2629-2648. [DOI: 10.1111/febs.14159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Revised: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Manish Charan
- Division of Molecular and Structural Biology; CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute; Lucknow India
| | | | - Nidhi Singh
- Division of Molecular and Structural Biology; CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute; Lucknow India
| | - Mohammad Sadik
- Division of Molecular and Structural Biology; CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute; Lucknow India
| | - Mohammad Imran Siddiqi
- Division of Molecular and Structural Biology; CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute; Lucknow India
| | - Satish Mishra
- Division of Parasitology; CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute; Lucknow India
| | - Saman Habib
- Division of Molecular and Structural Biology; CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute; Lucknow India
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Hwang ST, Choi D. A novel rice protein family of OsHIGDs may be involved in early signalling of hypoxia-promoted stem growth in deepwater rice. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2016; 35:2021-2031. [PMID: 27306456 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-016-2013-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2016] [Accepted: 06/06/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
OsHIGDs was identified as a novel hypoxia-responsive protein family. Among them, OsHIGD2 is characterized as a mitochondrial protein and is related to hypoxia signalling through interacting with mitochondrial proteins of critical functions in reducing cell damages caused by hypoxia. Recent evidence supports ethylene as a key factor in modulating plant responses to submergence stress. Meanwhile, there has been general consent that ethylene is not the only signal for the submergence-induced stem growth. In this study, we confirmed that hypoxia also promotes stem elongation in deepwater rice even in the absence of ethylene. As components of ethylene-independent hypoxia signalling, five HIGD (hypoxia-induced gene domain) protein genes were identified. Among the genes, OsHIGD2 showed the fastest and strongest induction by hypoxia as well as submergence. Co-expression analysis indicated that OsHIGD2 had a simultaneous expression pattern with fermentation-related genes, such as ADH1 (alcohol dehydrogenase 1) and PDC2 (pyruvate decarboxylase 2). Transient expression of OsHIGD2 in leaf epidermal cells of Nicotiana benthamiana provided evidence that the protein is localized to mitochondria. We further identified OsHIGD2-interacting proteins through the yeast two-hybrid assay using OsHIGD2 as bait. As a result, three mitochondrial proteins were discovered that function in the regulation of redox potential or reduction of protein damages caused by reactive oxygen species. In this report, we propose that OsHIGD2 is a mitochondrial protein which takes part in the early stage of hypoxia signalling by interacting with proteins that are related to oxygen utilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soong-Taek Hwang
- Department of Biology, Kunsan National University, Gunsan, 54150, Korea
| | - Dongsu Choi
- Department of Biology, Kunsan National University, Gunsan, 54150, Korea.
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