The transcriptional repressor TtgV recognizes a complex operator as a tetramer and induces convex DNA bending

Design and Characterization of a Generalist Biosensor for Indole Derivatives

Transcription factor (TF)-based biosensors are useful synthetic biology tools for applications in a variety of areas of biotechnology. A major challenge of biosensor circuits is the limited repertoire of identified and well-characterized TFs for applications of interest, in addition to the challenge of optimizing selected biosensors. In this work, we implement the IclR family repressor TF TtgV from Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1E as an indole-derivative biosensor in Escherichia coli. We optimize the genetic circuit utilizing different components, providing insights into biosensor design and expanding on previous studies investigating this TF. We discover novel physiologically relevant ligands of TtgV, such as skatole. The broad specificity of TtgV makes it a useful target for directed evolution and protein engineering toward desired specificity. TtgV, as an indole-derivative biosensor, is a promising genetic component for the detection of compounds with biological activities relevant to health and the gut microbiome.

Mutation Analysis in Regulator DNA-Binding Regions for Antimicrobial Efflux Pumps in 17,000 Pseudomonas aeruginosa Genomes

Mutations leading to upregulation of efflux pumps can produce multiple drug resistance in the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Changes in their DNA binding regions, i.e., palindromic operators, can compromise pump depression and subsequently enhance resistance against several antibacterials and biocides. Here, we have identified (pseudo)palindromic repeats close to promoters of genes encoding 13 core drug-efflux pumps of P. aeruginosa. This framework was applied to detect mutations in these repeats in 17,292 genomes. Eighty-nine percent of isolates carried at least one mutation. Eight binary genetic properties potentially related to expression were calculated for mutations. These included palindromicity reduction, mutation type, positioning within the repeat and DNA-bending shift. High-risk ST298, ST308 and ST357 clones commonly carried four conserved mutations while ST175 and the cystic fibrosis-linked ST649 clones showed none. Remarkably, a T-to-C transition in the fourth position of the upstream repeat for mexEF-oprN was nearly exclusive of the high-risk ST111 clone. Other mutations were associated with high-risk sublineages using sample geotemporal metadata. Moreover, 1.5% of isolates carried five or more mutations suggesting they undergo an alternative program for regulation of their effluxome. Overall, P. aeruginosa shows a wide range of operator mutations with a potential effect on efflux pump expression and antibiotic resistance.

Global Regulatory Roles of the Histidine-Responsive Transcriptional Repressor HutC in Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25

HutC is known as a transcriptional repressor specific for histidine utilization (hut) genes in Gram-negative bacteria, including Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25. However, its precise mode of protein-DNA interactions hasn't been examined with purified HutC proteins. Here, we performed electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and DNase I footprinting using His₆-tagged HutC and biotin-labeled probe of the hut promoter (P_hutU). Results revealed a complex pattern of HutC oligomerization, and the specific protein-DNA interaction is disrupted by urocanate, a histidine derivative, in a concentration-dependent manner. Next, we searched for putative HutC-binding sites in the SBW25 genome. This led to the identification of 143 candidate targets with a P value less than 10^-4 HutC interaction with eight selected candidate sites was subsequently confirmed by EMSA analysis, including the type IV pilus assembly protein PilZ, phospholipase C (PlcC) for phosphatidylcholine hydrolyzation, and key regulators of cellular nitrogen metabolism (NtrBC and GlnE). Finally, an isogenic hutC deletion mutant was subjected to transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis and phenotypic characterization. When bacteria were grown on succinate and histidine, hutC deletion caused upregulation of 794 genes and downregulation of 525 genes at a P value of <0.05 with a fold change cutoff of 2.0. The hutC mutant displayed an enhanced spreading motility and pyoverdine production in laboratory media, in addition to the previously reported growth defect on the surfaces of plants. Together, our data indicate that HutC plays global regulatory roles beyond histidine catabolism through low-affinity binding with operator sites located outside the hut locus.IMPORTANCE HutC in Pseudomonas is a representative member of the GntR/HutC family of transcriptional regulators, which possess a N-terminal winged helix-turn-helix (wHTH) DNA-binding domain and a C-terminal substrate-binding domain. HutC is generally known to repress expression of histidine utilization (hut) genes through binding to the P_hutU promoter with urocanate (the first intermediate of the histidine degradation pathway) as the direct inducer. Here, we first describe the detailed molecular interactions between HutC and its P_hutU target site in a plant growth-promoting bacterium, P. fluorescens SBW25, and further show that HutC possesses specific DNA-binding activities with many targets in the SBW25 genome. Subsequent RNA-seq analysis and phenotypic assays revealed an unexpected global regulatory role of HutC for successful bacterial colonization in planta.

Studying protein-DNA interactions using atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has made significant contributions to the study of protein-DNA interactions by making it possible to topographically image biological samples. A single protein-DNA binding reaction imaged by AFM can reveal protein binding specificity and affinity, protein-induced DNA bending, and protein binding stoichiometry. Changes in DNA structure, complex conformation, and cooperativity, can also be analyzed. In this review we highlight some important examples in the literature and discuss the advantages and limitations of these measurements. We also discuss important advances in technology that will facilitate the progress of AFM in the future.

In vivo analysis of DNA binding and ligand interaction of BlcR, an IclR-type repressor from Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Agrobacterium tumefaciens BlcR represses transcription of the blcABC operon, which is involved in metabolism of γ-butyrolactone, and this repression is alleviated by succinate semialdehyde (SSA). BlcR exists as a homodimer, and the blcABC promoter DNA contains two BlcR-binding sites (IR1 and IR2) that correspond to two BlcR dimers. In this study, we established an in vivo system to examine the SSA-responsive control of BlcR transcriptional regulation. The endogenous blcR, encoded in the pAtC58 plasmid of A. tumefaciens C58, was not optimal for investigating the effect of SSA on BlcR repression, probably due to the SSA degradation mediated by the pAt-encoded blcABC. We therefore introduced blcR (and the blcABC promoter DNA, separately) exogenously into a strain of C58 cured of pAtC58 (and pTiC58). We applied this system to interrogate BlcR-DNA interactions and to test predictions from our prior structural and biochemical studies. This in vivo analysis confirmed the previously mapped SSA-binding site and supported a model by which DNA coordinates formation of a BlcR tetramer. In addition, we identified a specific lysine residue (K59) as an important determinant for DNA binding. Moreover, based on isothermal titration calorimetry analysis, we found IR1 to play the dominant role in binding to BlcR, relative to IR2. Together, these in vivo results expand the biochemical findings and provide new mechanistic insights into BlcR-DNA interactions.

The FleQ protein from Pseudomonas aeruginosa functions as both a repressor and an activator to control gene expression from the pel operon promoter in response to c-di-GMP

Bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) modulates the transition between planktonic and biofilm life styles. In response to c-di-GMP, the enhancer binding protein FleQ from Pseudomonas aeruginosa derepresses the expression of Pel exopolysaccharide genes required for biofilm formation when a second protein, FleN is present. A model is that binding of c-di-GMP to FleQ induces its dissociation from the pelA promoter allowing RNA polymerase to access this site. To test this, we analyzed pelA DNA footprinting patterns with various combinations of FleQ, FleN and c-di-GMP, coupled to in vivo promoter activities. FleQ binds to two sites called box 1 and 2. FleN binds to FleQ bound at these sites causing the intervening DNA to bend. Binding of c-di-GMP to FleQ relieves the DNA distortion but FleQ remains bound to the two sites. Analysis of wild type and mutated versions of pelA-lacZ transcriptional fusions suggests that FleQ represses gene expression from box 2 and activates gene expression in response to c-di-GMP from box 1. The role of c-di-GMP is thus to convert FleQ from a repressor to an activator. The mechanism of action of FleQ is distinct from that of other bacterial transcription factors that both activate and repress gene expression from a single promoter.

Transcriptional control of the main aromatic hydrocarbon efflux pump in Pseudomonas

Bacteria of the species Pseudomonas putida are ubiquitous soil inhabitants, and a few strains are able to thrive in the presence of extremely high concentrations of toxic solvents such as toluene and related aromatic hydrocarbons. Toluene tolerance is multifactorial in the sense that bacteria use a wide range of physiological and genetic changes to overcome solvent damage. This includes enhanced membrane impermeabilization through cis to trans isomerization of unsaturated fatty acids, activation of a stress response programme, and induction of efflux pumps that expulse toxic hydrocarbons to the outer medium. The most relevant element in this toluene tolerance arsenal is the TtgGHI efflux pump controlled by the TtgV regulator. We discuss here how TtgV controls expression of this efflux pump in response to solvents.

Intramolecular signal transmission in a tetrameric repressor of the IclR family

Members of the IclR family control bacterial genes involved in a number of physiological processes. The IclR-family member TtgV crystallizes as a tetramer, with each TtgV monomer consisting of two domains--a DNA binding domain and an effector recognition domain, which are interconnected by an extended α-helix. When bound to DNA, a kink is introduced so that the extended helix is split in two α-helices (helix-4 and -5). Differential scanning calorimetry studies revealed that TtgV unfolds in a single event, suggesting that the two domains unfold cooperatively. When mutations are introduced in helix-5 that disrupt interactions between Arg98 and Glu102, the thermal unfolding of the TtgV domains becomes uncoupled without compromising effector binding. Two of these mutants (TtgVE102R and TtgVE102A) showed impaired release from target DNA, suggesting that these mutations alter signal transmission. By combining various mutants, we found that the mutations in the connecting α-helix exhibited a dominant effect over mutations in DNA binding and effector binding domains. We propose a model in which the loss of cooperativity of unfolding of TtgV reflects perturbed interdomain communication, and that the transition from the continuous to discontinuous helix may mediate interdomain communication necessary for the proper functioning of TtgV.

The Agrobacterium tumefaciens transcription factor BlcR is regulated via oligomerization

The Agrobacterium tumefaciens BlcR is a member of the emerging isocitrate lyase transcription regulators that negatively regulates metabolism of γ-butyrolactone, and its repressing function is relieved by succinate semialdehyde (SSA). Our crystal structure showed that BlcR folded into the DNA- and SSA-binding domains and dimerized via the DNA-binding domains. Mutational analysis identified residues, including Phe(147), that are important for SSA association; BlcR(F147A) existed as tetramer. Two BlcR dimers bound to target DNA and in a cooperative manner, and the distance between the two BlcR-binding sequences in DNA was critical for BlcR-DNA association. Tetrameric BlcR(F147A) retained DNA binding activity, and importantly, this activity was not affected by the distance separating the BlcR-binding sequences in DNA. SSA did not dissociate tetrameric BlcR(F147A) or BlcR(F147A)-DNA. As well as in the SSA-binding site, Phe(147) is located in a structurally flexible loop that may be involved in BlcR oligomerization. We propose that SSA regulates BlcR DNA-binding function via oligomerization.

An antirepressor, SrpR, is involved in transcriptional regulation of the SrpABC solvent tolerance efflux pump of Pseudomonas putida S12

Organic compounds exhibit various levels of toxicity toward living organisms based upon their ability to insert into biological membranes and disrupt normal membrane function. The primary mechanism responsible for organic solvent tolerance in many bacteria is energy-dependent extrusion via efflux pumps. One such bacterial strain, Pseudomonas putida S12, is known for its high tolerance to organic solvents as provided through the SrpABC resistance-nodulation-cell division (RND) family efflux pump. To determine how two putative regulatory proteins (SrpR and SrpS, encoded directly upstream of the SrpABC structural genes) influence SrpABC efflux pump expression, we conducted transcriptional analysis, β-galactosidase fusion experiments, electrophoretic mobility shift assays, and pulldown analysis. Together, the results of these experiments suggest that expression of the srpABC operon can be derepressed by two distinct but complementary mechanisms: direct inhibition of the SrpS repressor by organic solvents and binding of SrpS by its antirepressor SrpR.

Crystal structure of TtgV in complex with its DNA operator reveals a general model for cooperative DNA binding of tetrameric gene regulators

The majority of bacterial gene regulators bind as symmetric dimers to palindromic DNA operators of 12-20 base pairs (bp). Multimeric forms of proteins, including tetramers, are able to recognize longer operator sequences in a cooperative manner, although how this is achieved is not well understood due to the lack of complete structural information. Models, instead of structures, of complete tetrameric assembly on DNA exist in literature. Here we present the crystal structures of the multidrug-binding protein TtgV, a gene repressor that controls efflux pumps, alone and in complex with a 42-bp DNA operator containing two TtgV recognition sites at 2.9 Å and 3.4 Å resolution. These structures represent the first full-length functional tetrameric protein in complex with its intact DNA operator containing two continuous recognition sites. TtgV binds to its DNA operator as a highly asymmetric tetramer and induces considerable distortions in the DNA, resulting in a 60° bend. Upon binding to its operator, TtgV undergoes large conformational changes at the monomeric, dimeric, and tetrameric levels. The structures here reveal a general model for cooperative DNA binding of tetrameric gene regulators and provide a structural basis for a large body of biochemical data and a reinterpretation of previous models for tetrameric gene regulators derived from partial structural data.

TtgV represses two different promoters by recognizing different sequences

Expression of the multidrug efflux pump ttgDEF and ttgGHI operons is modulated in vivo mainly by the TtgV repressor. TtgV is a multidrug recognition repressor that exhibits a DNA binding domain with a long interaction helix comprising residues 47 to 64. The pattern of expression of the two pumps is different in Pseudomonas putida: in the absence of effectors, the promoter for the ttgD gene is silent, whereas the ttgG gene is expressed at a high basal level. This correlates with the fact that TtgV exhibits a higher affinity for the ttgD operator (K(D)=10+/-1 nM) than for the ttgG (K(D)=19+/-1 nM) operator. Sequence analysis revealed that both operators are 40% identical, and mutational analysis of the ttgD and ttgG operators combined with electrophoretic mobility shift assays and in vivo expression analysis suggests that TtgV recognizes an inverted repeat with a high degree of palindromicity around the central axis. We generated a collection of alanine substitution mutants with substitutions between residues 47 and 64 of TtgV. The results of extensive combinations of promoter variants with these TtgV alanine substitution mutants revealed that TtgV modulates expression from ttgD and ttgG promoters through the recognition of both common and different sequences in the two promoters. In this regard, we found that TtgV mutants at residues 48, 50, 53, 54, 60, and 61 failed to bind ttgG but recognized the ttgD operator. TtgV residues R47, R52, L57, and T49 are critical for binding to both operators. Based on three-dimensional models, we propose that these residues contact nucleotides within the major groove of DNA.

A survey of the year 2007 literature on applications of isothermal titration calorimetry

Elucidation of the energetic principles of binding affinity and specificity is a central task in many branches of current sciences: biology, medicine, pharmacology, chemistry, material sciences, etc. In biomedical research, integral approaches combining structural information with in-solution biophysical data have proved to be a powerful way toward understanding the physical basis of vital cellular phenomena. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) is a valuable experimental tool facilitating quantification of the thermodynamic parameters that characterize recognition processes involving biomacromolecules. The method provides access to all relevant thermodynamic information by performing a few experiments. In particular, ITC experiments allow to by-pass tedious and (rarely precise) procedures aimed at determining the changes in enthalpy and entropy upon binding by van't Hoff analysis. Notwithstanding limitations, ITC has now the reputation of being the "gold standard" and ITC data are widely used to validate theoretical predictions of thermodynamic parameters, as well as to benchmark the results of novel binding assays. In this paper, we discuss several publications from 2007 reporting ITC results. The focus is on applications in biologically oriented fields. We do not intend a comprehensive coverage of all newly accumulated information. Rather, we emphasize work which has captured our attention with originality and far-reaching analysis, or else has provided ideas for expanding the potential of the method.

Optimization of the Palindromic Order of the TtgR Operator Enhances Binding Cooperativity

TtgR is the specific transcriptional repressor of the TtgABC efflux pump. TtgR and the TtgB efflux pump proteins possess multidrug-binding capacity, and their concerted action is responsible for the multidrug resistance phenotype of Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1E. TtgR binds to a pseudo-palindromic site that overlaps the ttgR/ttgA promoters. Dimethylsulfate footprint assays reveal a close interaction between TtgR and the central region of this operator. The results of analytical ultracentrifugation demonstrate that TtgR forms stable dimers in solution, and that two dimers bind to the operator. Microcalorimetric analysis of the binding of the two TtgR dimers to the cognate operator showed biphasic behavior, and an interaction model was developed for the cooperative binding of two TtgR dimers to their target operators. The binding of the two TtgR dimers to the operator was characterized by a Hill coefficient of 1.63+/-0.13 (k(D)=18.2(+/-6.3) microM, k(D)(')=0.91(+/-0.49) microM), indicating positive cooperativity. These data are in close agreement with the results of sedimentation equilibrium studies of TtgR-DNA complexes. A series of oligonucleotides were generated in which the imperfect palindrome of the TtgR operator was empirically optimized. Optimization of the palindrome did not significantly alter the binding of the initial TtgR dimer to the operator, but increased the cooperativity of binding and consequently the overall affinity. The minimal fragment for TtgR binding was a 30-mer DNA duplex, and analysis of its sequence revealed two partially overlapping inverted repeats co-existing within the large pseudo-palindrome operator. Based on the architecture of the operator, the thermodynamics of the process, and the TtgR-operator interactions we propose a model for the binding of TtgR to its target sequence.