1
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Figueroa-Bossi N, Fernández-Fernández R, Kerboriou P, Bouloc P, Casadesús J, Sánchez-Romero MA, Bossi L. Transcription-driven DNA supercoiling counteracts H-NS-mediated gene silencing in bacterial chromatin. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2787. [PMID: 38555352 PMCID: PMC10981669 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47114-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
In all living cells, genomic DNA is compacted through interactions with dedicated proteins and/or the formation of plectonemic coils. In bacteria, DNA compaction is achieved dynamically, coordinated with dense and constantly changing transcriptional activity. H-NS, a major bacterial nucleoid structuring protein, is of special interest due to its interplay with RNA polymerase. H-NS:DNA nucleoprotein filaments inhibit transcription initiation by RNA polymerase. However, the discovery that genes silenced by H-NS can be activated by transcription originating from neighboring regions has suggested that elongating RNA polymerases can disassemble H-NS:DNA filaments. In this study, we present evidence that transcription-induced counter-silencing does not require transcription to reach the silenced gene; rather, it exerts its effect at a distance. Counter-silencing is suppressed by introducing a DNA gyrase binding site within the intervening segment, suggesting that the long-range effect results from transcription-driven positive DNA supercoils diffusing toward the silenced gene. We propose a model wherein H-NS:DNA complexes form in vivo on negatively supercoiled DNA, with H-NS bridging the two arms of the plectoneme. Rotational diffusion of positive supercoils generated by neighboring transcription will cause the H-NS-bound negatively-supercoiled plectoneme to "unroll" disrupting the H-NS bridges and releasing H-NS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nara Figueroa-Bossi
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule (I2BC), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Rocío Fernández-Fernández
- Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Patricia Kerboriou
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule (I2BC), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Philippe Bouloc
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule (I2BC), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Josep Casadesús
- Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | | | - Lionello Bossi
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institut de Biologie Intégrative de la Cellule (I2BC), Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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2
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Groisman EA, Choi J. Advancing evolution: Bacteria break down gene silencer to express horizontally acquired genes. Bioessays 2023; 45:e2300062. [PMID: 37533411 PMCID: PMC10530229 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202300062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer advances bacterial evolution. To benefit from horizontally acquired genes, enteric bacteria must overcome silencing caused when the widespread heat-stable nucleoid structuring (H-NS) protein binds to AT-rich horizontally acquired genes. This ability had previously been ascribed to both anti-silencing proteins outcompeting H-NS for binding to AT-rich DNA and RNA polymerase initiating transcription from alternative promoters. However, we now know that pathogenic Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and commensal Escherichia coli break down H-NS when this silencer is not bound to DNA. Curiously, both species use the same protease - Lon - to destroy H-NS in distinct environments. Anti-silencing proteins promote the expression of horizontally acquired genes without binding to them by displacing H-NS from AT-rich DNA, thus leaving H-NS susceptible to proteolysis and decreasing H-NS amounts overall. Conserved amino acid sequences in the Lon protease and H-NS cleavage site suggest that diverse bacteria degrade H-NS to exploit horizontally acquired genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- 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
| | - Jeongjoon Choi
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, 295 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT 06536, USA
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3
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Picker MA, Karney MMA, Gerson TM, Karabachev A, Duhart J, McKenna J, Wing H. Localized modulation of DNA supercoiling, triggered by the Shigella anti-silencer VirB, is sufficient to relieve H-NS-mediated silencing. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:3679-3695. [PMID: 36794722 PMCID: PMC10164555 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 01/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
In Bacteria, nucleoid structuring proteins govern nucleoid dynamics and regulate transcription. In Shigella spp., at ≤30°C, the histone-like nucleoid structuring protein (H-NS) transcriptionally silences many genes on the large virulence plasmid. Upon a switch to 37°C, VirB, a DNA binding protein and key transcriptional regulator of Shigella virulence, is produced. VirB functions to counter H-NS-mediated silencing in a process called transcriptional anti-silencing. Here, we show that VirB mediates a loss of negative DNA supercoils from our plasmid-borne, VirB-regulated PicsP-lacZ reporter in vivo. The changes are not caused by a VirB-dependent increase in transcription, nor do they require the presence of H-NS. Instead, the VirB-dependent change in DNA supercoiling requires the interaction of VirB with its DNA binding site, a critical first step in VirB-dependent gene regulation. Using two complementary approaches, we show that VirB:DNA interactions in vitro introduce positive supercoils in plasmid DNA. Subsequently, by exploiting transcription-coupled DNA supercoiling, we reveal that a localized loss of negative supercoils is sufficient to alleviate H-NS-mediated transcriptional silencing independently of VirB. Together, our findings provide novel insight into VirB, a central regulator of Shigella virulence and, more broadly, a molecular mechanism that offsets H-NS-dependent silencing of transcription in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A Picker
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Monika M A Karney
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Taylor M Gerson
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | | | - Juan C Duhart
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Joy A McKenna
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Helen J Wing
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
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4
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Picker MA, Karney MMA, Gerson TM, Karabachev AD, Duhart JC, McKenna JA, Wing HJ. Localized modulation of DNA supercoiling, triggered by the Shigella anti-silencer VirB, is sufficient to relieve H-NS-mediated silencing. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.09.523335. [PMID: 36711906 PMCID: PMC9882051 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.09.523335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
In Bacteria, nucleoid structuring proteins govern nucleoid dynamics and regulate transcription. In Shigella spp ., at ≤ 30 °C, the histone-like nucleoid structuring protein (H-NS) transcriptionally silences many genes on the large virulence plasmid. Upon a switch to 37 °C, VirB, a DNA binding protein and key transcriptional regulator of Shigella virulence, is produced. VirB functions to counter H-NS-mediated silencing in a process called transcriptional anti-silencing. Here, we show that VirB mediates a loss of negative DNA supercoils from our plasmid-borne, VirB-regulated PicsP-lacZ reporter, in vivo . The changes are not caused by a VirB-dependent increase in transcription, nor do they require the presence of H-NS. Instead, the VirB-dependent change in DNA supercoiling requires the interaction of VirB with its DNA binding site, a critical first step in VirB-dependent gene regulation. Using two complementary approaches, we show that VirB:DNA interactions in vitro introduce positive supercoils in plasmid DNA. Subsequently, by exploiting transcription-coupled DNA supercoiling, we reveal that a localized loss of negative supercoils is sufficient to alleviate H-NS-mediated transcriptional silencing, independently of VirB. Together, our findings provide novel insight into VirB, a central regulator of Shigella virulence and more broadly, a molecular mechanism that offsets H-NS-dependent silencing of transcription in bacteria.
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5
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Scholz SA, Lindeboom CD, Freddolino PL. Genetic context effects can override canonical cis regulatory elements in Escherichia coli. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:10360-10375. [PMID: 36134716 PMCID: PMC9561378 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac787] [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: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent experiments have shown that in addition to control by cis regulatory elements, the local chromosomal context of a gene also has a profound impact on its transcription. Although this chromosome-position dependent expression variation has been empirically mapped at high-resolution, the underlying causes of the variation have not been elucidated. Here, we demonstrate that 1 kb of flanking, non-coding synthetic sequences with a low frequency of guanosine and cytosine (GC) can dramatically reduce reporter expression compared to neutral and high GC-content flanks in Escherichia coli. Natural and artificial genetic context can have a similarly strong effect on reporter expression, regardless of cell growth phase or medium. Despite the strong reduction in the maximal expression level from the fully-induced reporter, low GC synthetic flanks do not affect the time required to reach the maximal expression level after induction. Overall, we demonstrate key determinants of transcriptional propensity that appear to act as tunable modulators of transcription, independent of regulatory sequences such as the promoter. These findings provide insight into the regulation of naturally occurring genes and an independent control for optimizing expression of synthetic biology constructs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott A Scholz
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Chase D Lindeboom
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Peter L Freddolino
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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6
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Genome engineering of the Corynebacterium glutamicum chromosome by the Extended Dual-In/Out strategy. METHODS IN MICROBIOLOGY 2022; 200:106555. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2022.106555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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7
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Pervasive transcription enhances the accessibility of H-NS-silenced promoters and generates bistability in Salmonella virulence gene expression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2203011119. [PMID: 35858437 PMCID: PMC9335307 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2203011119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
In Escherichia coli and Salmonella, many genes silenced by the nucleoid structuring protein H-NS are activated upon inhibiting Rho-dependent transcription termination. This response is poorly understood and difficult to reconcile with the view that H-NS acts mainly by blocking transcription initiation. Here we have analyzed the basis for the up-regulation of H-NS-silenced Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) in cells depleted of Rho-cofactor NusG. Evidence from genetic experiments, semiquantitative 5' rapid amplification of complementary DNA ends sequencing (5' RACE-Seq), and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq) shows that transcription originating from spurious antisense promoters, when not stopped by Rho, elongates into a H-NS-bound regulatory region of SPI-1, displacing H-NS and rendering the DNA accessible to the master regulator HilD. In turn, HilD's ability to activate its own transcription triggers a positive feedback loop that results in transcriptional activation of the entire SPI-1. Significantly, single-cell analyses revealed that this mechanism is largely responsible for the coexistence of two subpopulations of cells that either express or do not express SPI-1 genes. We propose that cell-to-cell differences produced by stochastic spurious transcription, combined with feedback loops that perpetuate the activated state, can generate bimodal gene expression patterns in bacterial populations.
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8
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Lu Y, Voros Z, Borjas G, Hendrickson C, Shearwin K, Dunlap D, Finzi L. RNA polymerase efficiently transcribes DNA-scaffolded, cooperative bacteriophage repressor complexes. FEBS Lett 2022; 596:1994-2006. [PMID: 35819073 PMCID: PMC9491066 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.14447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
DNA can act as a scaffold for the cooperative binding of protein oligomers. For example, the phage 186 CI repressor forms a wheel of seven dimers wrapped in DNA with specific binding sites, while phage λ CI repressor dimers bind to two well-separated sets of operators, forming a DNA loop. Atomic force microscopy was used to measure transcription elongation by E. coli RNA polymerase through these protein complexes. 186 CI, or λ CI, bound along unlooped DNA negligibly interfered with transcription by RNAP. Wrapped and looped topologies induced by these scaffolded, cooperatively bound repressor oligomers did not form significantly better roadblocks to transcription. Thus, despite binding with high affinity, these repressors are not effective roadblocks to transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Lu
- Physics Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Keith Shearwin
- Department of Molecular and Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
| | - David Dunlap
- Physics Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Laura Finzi
- Physics Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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9
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Chromosome-encoded IpaH ubiquitin ligases indicate non-human enteroinvasive Escherichia. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6868. [PMID: 35477739 PMCID: PMC9046306 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10827-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Until recently, Shigella and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli were thought to be primate-restricted pathogens. The base of their pathogenicity is the type 3 secretion system (T3SS) encoded by the pINV virulence plasmid, which facilitates host cell invasion and subsequent proliferation. A large family of T3SS effectors, E3 ubiquitin-ligases encoded by the ipaH genes, have a key role in the Shigella pathogenicity through the modulation of cellular ubiquitination that degrades host proteins. However, recent genomic studies identified ipaH genes in the genomes of Escherichia marmotae, a potential marmot pathogen, and an E. coli extracted from fecal samples of bovine calves, suggesting that non-human hosts may also be infected by these strains, potentially pathogenic to humans. We performed a comparative genomic study of the functional repertoires in the ipaH gene family in Shigella and enteroinvasive Escherichia from human and predicted non-human hosts. We found that fewer than half of Shigella genomes had a complete set of ipaH genes, with frequent gene losses and duplications that were not consistent with the species tree and nomenclature. Non-human host IpaH proteins had a diverse set of substrate-binding domains and, in contrast to the Shigella proteins, two variants of the NEL C-terminal domain. Inconsistencies between strains phylogeny and composition of effectors indicate horizontal gene transfer between E. coli adapted to different hosts. These results provide a framework for understanding of ipaH-mediated host-pathogens interactions and suggest a need for a genomic study of fecal samples from diseased animals.
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10
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Forrest D, Warman EA, Erkelens AM, Dame RT, Grainger DC. Xenogeneic silencing strategies in bacteria are dictated by RNA polymerase promiscuity. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1149. [PMID: 35241653 PMCID: PMC8894471 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28747-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer facilitates dissemination of favourable traits among bacteria. However, foreign DNA can also reduce host fitness: incoming sequences with a higher AT content than the host genome can misdirect transcription. Xenogeneic silencing proteins counteract this by modulating RNA polymerase binding. In this work, we compare xenogeneic silencing strategies of two distantly related model organisms: Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. In E. coli, silencing is mediated by the H-NS protein that binds extensively across horizontally acquired genes. This prevents spurious non-coding transcription, mostly intragenic in origin. By contrast, binding of the B. subtilis Rok protein is more targeted and mostly silences expression of functional mRNAs. The difference reflects contrasting transcriptional promiscuity in E. coli and B. subtilis, largely attributable to housekeeping RNA polymerase σ factors. Thus, whilst RNA polymerase specificity is key to the xenogeneic silencing strategy of B. subtilis, transcriptional promiscuity must be overcome to silence horizontally acquired DNA in E. coli. Bacteria use specific silencing proteins to prevent spurious transcription of horizontally acquired DNA. Here, Forrest et al. describe differences in silencing strategies between E. coli and Bacillus subtilis, driven by the respective specificities of the silencing protein and the RNA polymerase in each organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Forrest
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Emily A Warman
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, UK
| | - Amanda M Erkelens
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Remus T Dame
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333CC, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Centre for Microbial Cell Biology, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333CC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - David C Grainger
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, UK.
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11
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Amemiya HM, Goss TJ, Nye TM, Hurto RL, Simmons LA, Freddolino PL. Distinct heterochromatin-like domains promote transcriptional memory and silence parasitic genetic elements in bacteria. EMBO J 2022; 41:e108708. [PMID: 34961960 PMCID: PMC8804932 DOI: 10.15252/embj.2021108708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that prokaryotes maintain chromosome structure, which in turn impacts gene expression. We recently characterized densely occupied, multi-kilobase regions in the E. coli genome that are transcriptionally silent, similar to eukaryotic heterochromatin. These extended protein occupancy domains (EPODs) span genomic regions containing genes encoding metabolic pathways as well as parasitic elements such as prophages. Here, we investigate the contributions of nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) to the structuring of these domains, by examining the impacts of deleting NAPs on EPODs genome-wide in E. coli and B. subtilis. We identify key NAPs contributing to the silencing of specific EPODs, whose deletion opens a chromosomal region for RNA polymerase binding at genes contained within that region. We show that changes in E. coli EPODs facilitate an extra layer of transcriptional regulation, which prepares cells for exposure to exotic carbon sources. Furthermore, we distinguish novel xenogeneic silencing roles for the NAPs Fis and Hfq, with the presence of at least one being essential for cell viability in the presence of domesticated prophages. Our findings reveal previously unrecognized mechanisms through which genomic architecture primes bacteria for changing metabolic environments and silences harmful genomic elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley M Amemiya
- Cellular and Molecular Biology ProgramUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMIUSA,Department of Computational Medicine and BioinformaticsUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMIUSA,Present address:
Broad Institute of MIT and HarvardCambridgeMAUSA
| | - Thomas J Goss
- Department of Biological ChemistryUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Taylor M Nye
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA,Present address:
Department of Molecular MicrobiologyWashington University in St. Louis School of MedicineSt. LouisMOUSA
| | - Rebecca L Hurto
- Department of Biological ChemistryUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Lyle A Simmons
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Peter L Freddolino
- Cellular and Molecular Biology ProgramUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMIUSA,Department of Computational Medicine and BioinformaticsUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMIUSA,Department of Biological ChemistryUniversity of Michigan Medical SchoolAnn ArborMIUSA
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12
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Fang YL, Cui Y, Zhou L, Thawai C, Naqvi TA, Zhang HY, He YW. H-NS family protein MvaU downregulates phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) biosynthesis via binding to an AT-rich region within the promoter of the phz2 gene cluster in the rhizobacterium Pseudomonas strain PA1201. Synth Syst Biotechnol 2021; 6:262-271. [PMID: 34584994 PMCID: PMC8455314 DOI: 10.1016/j.synbio.2021.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Histone-like nucleoid-structuring (H-NS) proteins are key regulators in gene expression silencing and in nucleoid compaction. The H-NS family member proteins MvaU in Pseudomonas aeruginosa are thought to bind the same AT-rich regions of chromosomes and function to coordinate the control of a common set of genes. Here, we explored the molecular mechanism by which MvaU controls PCA biosynthesis in P. aeruginosa PA1201. We present evidence suggesting that MvaU is self-regulated. Deletion of mvaU significantly increased PCA production, and PCA production sharply decreased when mvaU was over-expressed. MvaU transcriptionally repressed phz2 cluster expression and consequently reduced PCA biosynthesis. β-galactosidase assays confirmed that base pairing near the −35 box is required when MvaU regulates PCA production in PA1201. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) and additional point mutation analysis demonstrated that MvaU directly bound to an AT-rich motif within the promoter of the phz2 cluster. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis also indicated that MvaU directly bound to the P5 region of the phz2 cluster promoter. MvaU repression of PCA biosynthesis was independent of QscR and OxyR in PA1201 and neither PCA or H2O2 were the environmental signals that induced mvaU expression. These findings detail a new MvaU-dependent regulatory pathway of PCA biosynthesis in PA1201 and provide a foundation to increase PCA fermentation titer by genetic engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun-Ling Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, SJTU-Shanghai Nong Le Joint R&D Center on Biopesticides and Biofertilizers, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Ying Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, SJTU-Shanghai Nong Le Joint R&D Center on Biopesticides and Biofertilizers, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Lian Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, SJTU-Shanghai Nong Le Joint R&D Center on Biopesticides and Biofertilizers, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Chitti Thawai
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Tatheer Alam Naqvi
- Department of Biotechnology, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Abbottabad, Pakistan
| | - Hong-Yan Zhang
- Shanghai Nong Le Biological Products Company Limited, Shanghai, 201419, China
| | - Ya-Wen He
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, SJTU-Shanghai Nong Le Joint R&D Center on Biopesticides and Biofertilizers, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai, 200240, China
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13
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Freddolino PL, Amemiya HM, Goss TJ, Tavazoie S. Dynamic landscape of protein occupancy across the Escherichia coli chromosome. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001306. [PMID: 34170902 PMCID: PMC8282354 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Free-living bacteria adapt to environmental change by reprogramming gene expression through precise interactions of hundreds of DNA-binding proteins. A predictive understanding of bacterial physiology requires us to globally monitor all such protein-DNA interactions across a range of environmental and genetic perturbations. Here, we show that such global observations are possible using an optimized version of in vivo protein occupancy display technology (in vivo protein occupancy display-high resolution, IPOD-HR) and present a pilot application to Escherichia coli. We observe that the E. coli protein-DNA interactome organizes into 2 distinct prototypic features: (1) highly dynamic condition-dependent transcription factor (TF) occupancy; and (2) robust kilobase scale occupancy by nucleoid factors, forming silencing domains analogous to eukaryotic heterochromatin. We show that occupancy dynamics across a range of conditions can rapidly reveal the global transcriptional regulatory organization of a bacterium. Beyond discovery of previously hidden regulatory logic, we show that these observations can be utilized to computationally determine sequence specificity models for the majority of active TFs. Our study demonstrates that global observations of protein occupancy combined with statistical inference can rapidly and systematically reveal the transcriptional regulatory and structural features of a bacterial genome. This capacity is particularly crucial for non-model bacteria that are not amenable to routine genetic manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter L. Freddolino
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Haley M. Amemiya
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Thomas J. Goss
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
| | - Saeed Tavazoie
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
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14
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Ageorges V, Monteiro R, Leroy S, Burgess CM, Pizza M, Chaucheyras-Durand F, Desvaux M. Molecular determinants of surface colonisation in diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (DEC): from bacterial adhesion to biofilm formation. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2021; 44:314-350. [PMID: 32239203 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuaa008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Escherichia coli is primarily known as a commensal colonising the gastrointestinal tract of infants very early in life but some strains being responsible for diarrhoea, which can be especially severe in young children. Intestinal pathogenic E. coli include six pathotypes of diarrhoeagenic E. coli (DEC), namely, the (i) enterotoxigenic E. coli, (ii) enteroaggregative E. coli, (iii) enteropathogenic E. coli, (iv) enterohemorragic E. coli, (v) enteroinvasive E. coli and (vi) diffusely adherent E. coli. Prior to human infection, DEC can be found in natural environments, animal reservoirs, food processing environments and contaminated food matrices. From an ecophysiological point of view, DEC thus deal with very different biotopes and biocoenoses all along the food chain. In this context, this review focuses on the wide range of surface molecular determinants acting as surface colonisation factors (SCFs) in DEC. In the first instance, SCFs can be broadly discriminated into (i) extracellular polysaccharides, (ii) extracellular DNA and (iii) surface proteins. Surface proteins constitute the most diverse group of SCFs broadly discriminated into (i) monomeric SCFs, such as autotransporter (AT) adhesins, inverted ATs, heat-resistant agglutinins or some moonlighting proteins, (ii) oligomeric SCFs, namely, the trimeric ATs and (iii) supramolecular SCFs, including flagella and numerous pili, e.g. the injectisome, type 4 pili, curli chaperone-usher pili or conjugative pili. This review also details the gene regulatory network of these numerous SCFs at the various stages as it occurs from pre-transcriptional to post-translocational levels, which remains to be fully elucidated in many cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentin Ageorges
- Université Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, MEDiS, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Ricardo Monteiro
- Université Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, MEDiS, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.,GSK, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Sabine Leroy
- Université Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, MEDiS, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Catherine M Burgess
- Food Safety Department, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, Ireland
| | | | - Frédérique Chaucheyras-Durand
- Université Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, MEDiS, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.,Lallemand Animal Nutrition SAS, F-31702 Blagnac Cedex, France
| | - Mickaël Desvaux
- Université Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, MEDiS, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
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15
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Zhao X, Shahul Hameed UF, Kharchenko V, Liao C, Huser F, Remington JM, Radhakrishnan AK, Jaremko M, Jaremko Ł, Arold ST, Li J. Molecular basis for the adaptive evolution of environment-sensing by H-NS proteins. eLife 2021; 10:57467. [PMID: 33410747 PMCID: PMC7817174 DOI: 10.7554/elife.57467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The DNA-binding protein H-NS is a pleiotropic gene regulator in gram-negative bacteria. Through its capacity to sense temperature and other environmental factors, H-NS allows pathogens like Salmonella to adapt their gene expression to their presence inside or outside warm-blooded hosts. To investigate how this sensing mechanism may have evolved to fit different bacterial lifestyles, we compared H-NS orthologs from bacteria that infect humans, plants, and insects, and from bacteria that live on a deep-sea hypothermal vent. The combination of biophysical characterization, high-resolution proton-less nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and molecular simulations revealed, at an atomistic level, how the same general mechanism was adapted to specific habitats and lifestyles. In particular, we demonstrate how environment-sensing characteristics arise from specifically positioned intra- or intermolecular electrostatic interactions. Our integrative approach clarified the exact modus operandi for H-NS-mediated environmental sensing and suggested that this sensing mechanism resulted from the exaptation of an ancestral protein feature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaochuan Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Vermont, Burlington, United States
| | - Umar F Shahul Hameed
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Vladlena Kharchenko
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Chenyi Liao
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Vermont, Burlington, United States
| | - Franceline Huser
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Jacob M Remington
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Anand K Radhakrishnan
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mariusz Jaremko
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Łukasz Jaremko
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Stefan T Arold
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.,Centre de Biochimie Structurale, CNRS, INSERM, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Jianing Li
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Vermont, Burlington, United States
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16
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Hurtado-Escobar GA, Grépinet O, Raymond P, Abed N, Velge P, Virlogeux-Payant I. H-NS is the major repressor of Salmonella Typhimurium Pef fimbriae expression. Virulence 2020; 10:849-867. [PMID: 31661351 PMCID: PMC6844306 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2019.1682752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Fimbriae play an important role in adhesion and are therefore essential for the interaction of bacteria with the environments they encounter. Most of them are expressed in vivo but not in vitro, thus making difficult the full characterization of these fimbriae. Here, we characterized the silencing of plasmid-encoded fimbriae (Pef) expression, encoded by the pef operon, in the worldwide pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium. We demonstrated that the nucleoid-associated proteins H-NS and Hha, and their respective paralogs StpA and YdgT, negatively regulate at pH 5.1 and pH 7.1 the transcription of the pef operon. Two promoters, PpefB and PpefA, direct the transcription of this operon. All the nucleoid-associated proteins silence the PpefB promoter and H-NS also targets the PpefA promoter. While Hha and YdgT are mainly considered as acting primarily through H-NS to modulate gene transcription, our results strongly suggest that Hha and YdgT silence pef transcription at acidic pH either by interacting with StpA or independently of H-NS and StpA. We also confirmed the previously described post-transcriptional repression of Pef fimbriae by CsrA titration via the fim mRNA and CsrB and CsrC sRNA. Finally, among all these regulators, H-NS clearly appeared as the major repressor of Pef expression. These results open new avenues of research to better characterize the regulation of these bacterial adhesive proteins and to clarify their role in the virulence of pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Nadia Abed
- ISP, INRA, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
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17
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Warman EA, Singh SS, Gubieda AG, Grainger DC. A non-canonical promoter element drives spurious transcription of horizontally acquired bacterial genes. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:4891-4901. [PMID: 32297955 PMCID: PMC7229825 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Revised: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA polymerases initiate transcription at DNA sequences called promoters. In bacteria, the best conserved promoter feature is the AT-rich -10 element; a sequence essential for DNA unwinding. Further elements, and gene regulatory proteins, are needed to recruit RNA polymerase to the -10 sequence. Hence, -10 elements cannot function in isolation. Many horizontally acquired genes also have a high AT-content. Consequently, sequences that resemble the -10 element occur frequently. As a result, foreign genes are predisposed to spurious transcription. However, it is not clear how RNA polymerase initially recognizes such sequences. Here, we identify a non-canonical promoter element that plays a key role. The sequence, itself a short AT-tract, resides 5 base pairs upstream of otherwise cryptic -10 elements. The AT-tract alters DNA conformation and enhances contacts between the DNA backbone and RNA polymerase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily A Warman
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Shivani S Singh
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Alicia G Gubieda
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - David C Grainger
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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18
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Chaparian RR, Tran MLN, Miller Conrad LC, Rusch DB, van Kessel JC. Global H-NS counter-silencing by LuxR activates quorum sensing gene expression. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:171-183. [PMID: 31745565 PMCID: PMC7145609 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz1089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteria coordinate cellular behaviors using a cell-cell communication system termed quorum sensing. In Vibrio harveyi, the master quorum sensing transcription factor LuxR directly regulates >100 genes in response to changes in population density. Here, we show that LuxR derepresses quorum sensing loci by competing with H-NS, a global transcriptional repressor that oligomerizes on DNA to form filaments and bridges. We first identified H-NS as a repressor of bioluminescence gene expression, for which LuxR is a required activator. In an hns deletion strain, LuxR is no longer necessary for transcription activation of the bioluminescence genes, suggesting that the primary role of LuxR is to displace H-NS to derepress gene expression. Using RNA-seq and ChIP-seq, we determined that H-NS and LuxR co-regulate and co-occupy 28 promoters driving expression of 63 genes across the genome. ChIP-PCR assays show that as autoinducer concentration increases, LuxR protein accumulates at co-occupied promoters while H-NS protein disperses. LuxR is sufficient to evict H-NS from promoter DNA in vitro, which is dependent on LuxR DNA binding activity. From these findings, we propose a model in which LuxR serves as a counter-silencer at H-NS-repressed quorum sensing loci by disrupting H-NS nucleoprotein complexes that block transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Minh L N Tran
- Department of Chemistry, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, USA
| | | | - Douglas B Rusch
- Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
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19
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Battling S, Wohlers K, Igwe C, Kranz A, Pesch M, Wirtz A, Baumgart M, Büchs J, Bott M. Novel plasmid-free Gluconobacter oxydans strains for production of the natural sweetener 5-ketofructose. Microb Cell Fact 2020; 19:54. [PMID: 32131833 PMCID: PMC7055074 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-020-01310-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background 5-Ketofructose (5-KF) has recently been identified as a promising non-nutritive natural sweetener. Gluconobacter oxydans strains have been developed that allow efficient production of 5-KF from fructose by plasmid-based expression of the fructose dehydrogenase genes fdhSCL of Gluconobacter japonicus. As plasmid-free strains are preferred for industrial production of food additives, we aimed at the construction of efficient 5-KF production strains with the fdhSCL genes chromosomally integrated. Results For plasmid-free 5-KF production, we selected four sites in the genome of G. oxydans IK003.1 and inserted the fdhSCL genes under control of the strong P264 promoter into each of these sites. All four recombinant strains expressed fdhSCL and oxidized fructose to 5-KF, but site-specific differences were observed suggesting that the genomic vicinity influenced gene expression. For further improvement, a second copy of the fdhSCL genes under control of P264 was inserted into the second-best insertion site to obtain strain IK003.1::fdhSCL2. The 5-KF production rate and the 5-KF yield obtained with this double-integration strain were considerably higher than for the single integration strains and approached the values of IK003.1 with plasmid-based fdhSCL expression. Conclusion We identified four sites in the genome of G. oxydans suitable for expression of heterologous genes and constructed a strain with two genomic copies of the fdhSCL genes enabling efficient plasmid-free 5-KF production. This strain will serve as basis for further metabolic engineering strategies aiming at the use of alternative carbon sources for 5-KF production and for bioprocess optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svenja Battling
- AVT-Biochemical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstraße 51, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Karen Wohlers
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Chika Igwe
- AVT-Biochemical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstraße 51, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Angela Kranz
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Matthias Pesch
- AVT-Biochemical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstraße 51, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Astrid Wirtz
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Meike Baumgart
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Jochen Büchs
- AVT-Biochemical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstraße 51, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Michael Bott
- IBG-1: Biotechnology, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany.
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20
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Deciphering the Rules Underlying Xenogeneic Silencing and Counter-Silencing of Lsr2-like Proteins Using CgpS of Corynebacterium glutamicum as a Model. mBio 2020; 11:mBio.02273-19. [PMID: 32019787 PMCID: PMC7002338 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02273-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Lsr2-like nucleoid-associated proteins play an important role as xenogeneic silencers (XS) of horizontally acquired genomic regions in actinobacteria. In this study, we systematically analyzed the in vivo constraints underlying silencing and counter-silencing of the Lsr2-like protein CgpS in Corynebacterium glutamicum Genome-wide analysis revealed binding of CgpS to regions featuring a distinct drop in GC profile close to the transcription start site (TSS) but also identified an overrepresented motif with multiple A/T steps at the nucleation site of the nucleoprotein complex. Binding of specific transcription factors (TFs) may oppose XS activity, leading to counter-silencing. Following a synthetic counter-silencing approach, target gene activation was realized by inserting operator sites of an effector-responsive TF within various CgpS target promoters, resulting in increased promoter activity upon TF binding. Analysis of reporter constructs revealed maximal counter-silencing when the TF operator site was inserted at the position of maximal CgpS coverage. This principle was implemented in a synthetic toggle switch, which features a robust and reversible response to effector availability, highlighting the potential for biotechnological applications. Together, our results provide comprehensive insights into how Lsr2 silencing and counter-silencing shape evolutionary network expansion in this medically and biotechnologically relevant bacterial phylum.IMPORTANCE In actinobacteria, Lsr2-like nucleoid-associated proteins function as xenogeneic silencers (XS) of horizontally acquired genomic regions, including viral elements, virulence gene clusters in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and genes involved in cryptic specialized metabolism in Streptomyces species. Consequently, a detailed mechanistic understanding of Lsr2 binding in vivo is relevant as a potential drug target and for the identification of novel bioactive compounds. Here, we followed an in vivo approach to investigate the rules underlying xenogeneic silencing and counter-silencing of the Lsr2-like XS CgpS from Corynebacterium glutamicum Our results demonstrated that CgpS distinguishes between self and foreign by recognizing a distinct drop in GC profile in combination with a short, sequence-specific motif at the nucleation site. Following a synthetic counter-silencer approach, we studied the potential and constraints of transcription factors to counteract CgpS silencing, thereby facilitating the integration of new genetic traits into host regulatory networks.
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21
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Horizontally Acquired Homologs of Xenogeneic Silencers: Modulators of Gene Expression Encoded by Plasmids, Phages and Genomic Islands. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11020142. [PMID: 32013150 PMCID: PMC7074111 DOI: 10.3390/genes11020142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Acquisition of mobile elements by horizontal gene transfer can play a major role in bacterial adaptation and genome evolution by providing traits that contribute to bacterial fitness. However, gaining foreign DNA can also impose significant fitness costs to the host bacteria and can even produce detrimental effects. The efficiency of horizontal acquisition of DNA is thought to be improved by the activity of xenogeneic silencers. These molecules are a functionally related group of proteins that possess affinity for the acquired DNA. Binding of xenogeneic silencers suppresses the otherwise uncontrolled expression of genes from the newly acquired nucleic acid, facilitating their integration to the bacterial regulatory networks. Even when the genes encoding for xenogeneic silencers are part of the core genome, homologs encoded by horizontally acquired elements have also been identified and studied. In this article, we discuss the current knowledge about horizontally acquired xenogeneic silencer homologs, focusing on those encoded by genomic islands, highlighting their distribution and the major traits that allow these proteins to become part of the host regulatory networks.
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22
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Fragel SM, Montada A, Heermann R, Baumann U, Schacherl M, Schnetz K. Characterization of the pleiotropic LysR-type transcription regulator LeuO of Escherichia coli. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47:7363-7379. [PMID: 31184713 PMCID: PMC6698644 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz506] [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: 03/15/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
LeuO is a pleiotropic LysR-type transcriptional regulator (LTTR) and co-regulator of the abundant nucleoid-associated repressor protein H-NS in Gammaproteobacteria. As other LTTRs, LeuO is a tetramer that is formed by dimerization of the N-terminal DNA-binding domain (DBD) and C-terminal effector-binding domain (EBD). To characterize the Escherichia coli LeuO protein, we screened for LeuO mutants that activate the cas (CRISPR-associated/Cascade) promoter more effectively than wild-type LeuO. This yielded nine mutants carrying amino acid substitutions in the dimerization interface of the regulatory EBD, as shown by solving the EBD’s crystal structure. Superimposing of the crystal structures of LeuO-EBD and LeuO-S120D-EBD suggests that the Ser120 to Asp substitution triggers a structural change that is related to effector-induced structural changes of LTTRs. Corresponding functional analyses demonstrated that LeuO-S120D has a higher DNA-binding affinity than wild-type LeuO. Further, a palindromic DNA-binding core-site and a consensus sequence were identified by DNase I footprinting with LeuO-S120D as well as with the dimeric DBD. The data suggest that LeuO-S120D mimics an effector-induced form of LeuO regulating a distinct set of target loci. In general, constitutive mutants and determining the DNA-binding specificity of the DBD-dimer are feasible approaches to characterize LTTRs of unknown function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susann M Fragel
- Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47a, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Anna Montada
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Ralf Heermann
- Department of Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Großhaderner Str. 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.,Institute for Molecular Physiology, Microbiology, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 13, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Ulrich Baumann
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Magdalena Schacherl
- Institute of Biochemistry, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Karin Schnetz
- Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47a, 50674 Cologne, Germany
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23
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Growth Phase-Dependent Chromosome Condensation and Heat-Stable Nucleoid-Structuring Protein Redistribution in Escherichia coli under Osmotic Stress. J Bacteriol 2019; 201:JB.00469-19. [PMID: 31481544 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00469-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The heat-stable nucleoid-structuring (H-NS) protein is a global transcriptional regulator implicated in coordinating the expression of over 200 genes in Escherichia coli, including many involved in adaptation to osmotic stress. We have applied superresolved microscopy to quantify the intracellular and spatial reorganization of H-NS in response to a rapid osmotic shift. We found that H-NS showed growth phase-dependent relocalization in response to hyperosmotic shock. In stationary phase, H-NS detached from a tightly compacted bacterial chromosome and was excluded from the nucleoid volume over an extended period of time. This behavior was absent during rapid growth but was induced by exposing the osmotically stressed culture to a DNA gyrase inhibitor, coumermycin. This chromosomal compaction/H-NS exclusion phenomenon occurred in the presence of either potassium or sodium ions and was independent of the presence of stress-responsive sigma factor σS and of the H-NS paralog StpA.IMPORTANCE The heat-stable nucleoid-structuring (H-NS) protein coordinates the expression of over 200 genes in E. coli, with a large number involved in both bacterial virulence and drug resistance. We report on the novel observation of a dynamic compaction of the bacterial chromosome in response to exposure to high levels of salt. This stress response results in the detachment of H-NS proteins and their subsequent expulsion to the periphery of the cells. We found that this behavior is related to mechanical properties of the bacterial chromosome, in particular, to how tightly twisted and coiled is the chromosomal DNA. This behavior might act as a biomechanical response to stress that coordinates the expression of genes involved in adapting bacteria to a salty environment.
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24
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Huang T, Yuan H, Fan L, Moregen M. H-NS, IHF, and DnaA lead to changes in nucleoid organizations, replication initiation, and cell division. J Basic Microbiol 2019; 60:136-148. [PMID: 32011760 DOI: 10.1002/jobm.201900497] [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: 09/06/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Histone-like nucleoid-structuring protein (H-NS) and integration host factor (IHF) are major nucleoid-associated proteins, and DnaA, a replication initiator, may also be related with nucleoid compaction. It has been shown that protein-dependent DNA compaction is related with many aspects of bacterial physiology, including transcription, DNA replication, and site-specific recombination. However, the mechanism of bacterial physiology resulting from nucleoid compaction remains unknown. Here, we show that H-NS is important for correct nucleoid compaction in a medium-independent manner. H-NS-mediated nucleoid compaction is not required for correct cell division, but the latter is dependent on H-NS in rich medium. Further, it is found that the IHFα-mediated nucleoid compaction is needed for correct cell division, and the effect is dependent on medium. Also, we show that the effects of H-NS and IHF on nucleoid compaction are cumulative. Interestingly, DnaA also plays an important role in nucleoid compaction, and the effect of DnaA on nucleoid compaction appears to be related to cell division in a medium-dependent manner. The results presented here suggest that scrambled initiation of replication, improper cell division, and slow growth is likely associated with disturbances in nucleoid organization directly or indirectly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China.,Daban No. 1 Middle School, Chifeng, China
| | - Hong Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China.,Basic Medical College, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China
| | - Lifei Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
| | - Morigen Moregen
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, China
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25
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Shen BA, Landick R. Transcription of Bacterial Chromatin. J Mol Biol 2019; 431:4040-4066. [PMID: 31153903 PMCID: PMC7248592 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2019.05.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Decades of research have probed the interplay between chromatin (genomic DNA associated with proteins and RNAs) and transcription by RNA polymerase (RNAP) in all domains of life. In bacteria, chromatin is compacted into a membrane-free region known as the nucleoid that changes shape and composition depending on the bacterial state. Transcription plays a key role in both shaping the nucleoid and organizing it into domains. At the same time, chromatin impacts transcription by at least five distinct mechanisms: (i) occlusion of RNAP binding; (ii) roadblocking RNAP progression; (iii) constraining DNA topology; (iv) RNA-mediated interactions; and (v) macromolecular demixing and heterogeneity, which may generate phase-separated condensates. These mechanisms are not mutually exclusive and, in combination, mediate gene regulation. Here, we review the current understanding of these mechanisms with a focus on gene silencing by H-NS, transcription coordination by HU, and potential phase separation by Dps. The myriad questions about transcription of bacterial chromatin are increasingly answerable due to methodological advances, enabling a needed paradigm shift in the field of bacterial transcription to focus on regulation of genes in their native state. We can anticipate answers that will define how bacterial chromatin helps coordinate and dynamically regulate gene expression in changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth A Shen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United States
| | - Robert Landick
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United States; Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, United States.
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Wang W, Archbold T, Lam JS, Kimber MS, Fan MZ. A processive endoglucanase with multi-substrate specificity is characterized from porcine gut microbiota. Sci Rep 2019; 9:13630. [PMID: 31541154 PMCID: PMC6754456 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50050-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Cellulases play important roles in the dietary fibre digestion in pigs, and have multiple industrial applications. The porcine intestinal microbiota display a unique feature in rapid cellulose digestion. Herein, we have expressed a cellulase gene, p4818Cel5_2A, which singly encoded a catalytic domain belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 5 subfamily 2, and was previously identified from a metagenomic expression library constructed from porcine gut microbiome after feeding grower pigs with a cellulose-supplemented diet. The activity of purified p4818Cel5_2A was maximal at pH 6.0 and 50 °C and displayed resistance to trypsin digestion. This enzyme exhibited activities towards a wide variety of plant polysaccharides, including cellulosic substrates of avicel and solka-Floc®, and the hemicelluloses of β-(1 → 4)/(1 → 3)-glucans, xyloglucan, glucomannan and galactomannan. Viscosity, reducing sugar distribution and hydrolysis product analyses further revealed that this enzyme was a processive endo-β-(1 → 4)-glucanase capable of hydrolyzing cellulose into cellobiose and cellotriose as the primary end products. These catalytic features of p4818Cel5_2A were further explored in the context of a three-dimensional homology model. Altogether, results of this study report a microbial processive endoglucanase identified from the porcine gut microbiome, and it may be tailored as an efficient biocatalyst candidate for potential industrial applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weijun Wang
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Tania Archbold
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Joseph S Lam
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Matthew S Kimber
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Ming Z Fan
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
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27
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Xu M, Lawrence JG, Durand D. Selection, periodicity and potential function for Highly Iterative Palindrome-1 (HIP1) in cyanobacterial genomes. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:2265-2278. [PMID: 29432573 PMCID: PMC5861425 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/25/2018] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Highly Iterated Palindrome 1 (HIP1, GCGATCGC) is hyper-abundant in most cyanobacterial genomes. In some cyanobacteria, average HIP1 abundance exceeds one motif per gene. Such high abundance suggests a significant role in cyanobacterial biology. However, 20 years of study have not revealed whether HIP1 has a function, much less what that function might be. We show that HIP1 is 15- to 300-fold over-represented in genomes analyzed. More importantly, HIP1 sites are conserved both within and between open reading frames, suggesting that their overabundance is maintained by selection rather than by continual replenishment by neutral processes, such as biased DNA repair. This evidence for selection suggests a functional role for HIP1. No evidence was found to support a functional role as a peptide or RNA motif or a role in the regulation of gene expression. Rather, we demonstrate that the distribution of HIP1 along cyanobacterial chromosomes is significantly periodic, with periods ranging from 10 to 90 kb, consistent in scale with periodicities reported for co-regulated, co-expressed and evolutionarily correlated genes. The periodicity we observe is also comparable in scale to chromosomal interaction domains previously described in other bacteria. In this context, our findings imply HIP1 functions associated with chromosome and nucleoid structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minli Xu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Jeffrey G Lawrence
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Dannie Durand
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.,Department of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
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28
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Matteoli FP, Passarelli-Araujo H, Pedrosa-Silva F, Olivares FL, Venancio TM. Population structure and pangenome analysis of Enterobacter bugandensis uncover the presence of bla CTX-M-55, bla NDM-5 and bla IMI-1, along with sophisticated iron acquisition strategies. Genomics 2019; 112:1182-1191. [PMID: 31279858 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2019.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Enterobacter bugandensis is a recently described species that has been largely associated with nosocomial infections. We report the genome of a non-clinical E. bugandensis strain, which was integrated with publicly available genomes to study the pangenome and general population structure of E. bugandensis. Core- and whole-genome multilocus sequence typing allowed the detection of five E. bugandensis phylogroups (PG-A to E), which contain important antimicrobial resistance and virulence determinants. We uncovered several extended-spectrum β-lactamases, including blaCTX-M-55 and blaNDM-5, present in an IncX replicon type plasmid, described here for the first time in E. bugandensis. Genetic context analysis of blaNDM-5 revealed the resemblance of this plasmid with other IncX plasmids from other bacteria from the same country. Three distinctive siderophore producing operons were found in E. bugandensis: enterobactin (ent), aerobactin (iuc/iut), and salmochelin (iro). Our findings provide novel insights on the lifestyle, physiology, antimicrobial, and virulence profiles of E. bugandensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filipe P Matteoli
- Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENF), Brazil
| | - Hemanoel Passarelli-Araujo
- Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENF), Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Francisnei Pedrosa-Silva
- Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENF), Brazil
| | - Fabio L Olivares
- Núcleo de Desenvolvimento de Insumos Biológicos para a Agricultura (NUDIBA), UENF, Brazil; Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, UENF, Brazil
| | - Thiago M Venancio
- Laboratório de Química e Função de Proteínas e Peptídeos, Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENF), Brazil.
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29
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Le Moigne V, Bernut A, Cortès M, Viljoen A, Dupont C, Pawlik A, Gaillard JL, Misguich F, Crémazy F, Kremer L, Herrmann JL. Lsr2 Is an Important Determinant of Intracellular Growth and Virulence in Mycobacterium abscessus. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:905. [PMID: 31114557 PMCID: PMC6503116 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Mycobacterium abscessus, a pathogen responsible for severe lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients, exhibits either smooth (S) or rough (R) morphotypes. The S-to-R transition correlates with inhibition of the synthesis and/or transport of glycopeptidolipids (GPLs) and is associated with an increase of pathogenicity in animal and human hosts. Lsr2 is a small nucleoid-associated protein highly conserved in mycobacteria, including M. abscessus, and is a functional homolog of the heat-stable nucleoid-structuring protein (H-NS). It is essential in Mycobacterium tuberculosis but not in the non-pathogenic model organism Mycobacterium smegmatis. It acts as a master transcriptional regulator of multiple genes involved in virulence and immunogenicity through binding to AT-rich genomic regions. Previous transcriptomic studies, confirmed here by quantitative PCR, showed increased expression of lsr2 (MAB_0545) in R morphotypes when compared to their S counterparts, suggesting a possible role of this protein in the virulence of the R form. This was addressed by generating lsr2 knock-out mutants in both S (Δlsr2-S) and R (Δlsr2-R) variants, demonstrating that this gene is dispensable for M. abscessus growth. We show that the wild-type S variant, Δlsr2-S and Δlsr2-R strains were more sensitive to H2O2 as compared to the wild-type R variant of M. abscessus. Importantly, virulence of the Lsr2 mutants was considerably diminished in cellular models (macrophage and amoeba) as well as in infected animals (mouse and zebrafish). Collectively, these results emphasize the importance of Lsr2 in M. abscessus virulence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Audrey Bernut
- UMR 9004, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Albertus Viljoen
- UMR 9004, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Christian Dupont
- UMR 9004, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Alexandre Pawlik
- Unité de Pathogénomique Mycobactérienne, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Louis Gaillard
- 2I, UVSQ, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, Versailles, France.,APHP, GHU PIFO, Hôpital Raymond-Poincaré - Hôpital Ambroise-Paré, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
| | | | | | - Laurent Kremer
- UMR 9004, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,INSERM, Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Jean-Louis Herrmann
- 2I, UVSQ, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, Versailles, France.,APHP, GHU PIFO, Hôpital Raymond-Poincaré - Hôpital Ambroise-Paré, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
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30
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Scholz SA, Diao R, Wolfe MB, Fivenson EM, Lin XN, Freddolino PL. High-Resolution Mapping of the Escherichia coli Chromosome Reveals Positions of High and Low Transcription. Cell Syst 2019; 8:212-225.e9. [PMID: 30904377 DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2019.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Revised: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies on targeted gene integrations in bacteria have demonstrated that chromosomal location can substantially affect a gene's expression level. However, these studies have only provided information on a small number of sites. To measure position effects on transcriptional propensity at high resolution across the genome, we built and analyzed a library of over 144,000 genome-integrated, standardized reporters in a single mixed population of Escherichia coli. We observed more than 20-fold variations in transcriptional propensity across the genome when the length of the chromosome was binned into broad 4 kbp regions; greater variability was observed over smaller regions. Our data reveal peaks of high transcriptional propensity centered on ribosomal RNA operons and core metabolic genes, while prophages and mobile genetic elements were enriched in less transcribable regions. In total, our work supports the hypothesis that E. coli has evolved gene-independent mechanisms for regulating expression from specific regions of its genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott A Scholz
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
| | - Rucheng Diao
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
| | - Michael B Wolfe
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
| | - Elayne M Fivenson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
| | - Xiaoxia Nina Lin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA.
| | - Peter L Freddolino
- Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA.
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31
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Kapshikar RM, Gowrishankar J. Direct inhibition of transcription in vitro by the isolated N-terminal domain of the Escherichia coli nucleoid-associated protein H-NS and by its paralogue Hha. MICROBIOLOGY-SGM 2019; 165:463-474. [PMID: 30724731 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
H-NS is an abundant nucleoid-associated protein in the enterobacteria that mediates both chromatin compaction and transcriptional silencing of numerous genes, especially those that have been acquired by horizontal transfer or that are involved in virulence functions. With two dimerization domains (N-terminal and central) and a C-terminal DNA-binding domain, the 15 kDa H-NS polypeptide can assemble as long polymeric filaments on DNA, and mutations in any of the three domains confer a dominant-negative phenotype in vivo by a subunit-poisoning mechanism. Here we confirm that several of these mutants [L26P, I119T and a truncation beyond residue 92(Δ93)] are also dominant-negative in vitro, in that they reverse the inhibition imposed by native H-NS in two different transcription assay formats (initiation+elongation, or elongation alone). On the other hand, another dominant-negative truncation mutant Δ64 (which possesses only the protein's N-terminal domain) per se completely and unexpectedly inhibited transcription in both assay formats. The Hha protein, which is a paralogue of H-NS and resembles its isolated N-terminal domain, also behaved like Δ64 as an inhibitor of transcription in vitro. We propose that under certain growth conditions, Escherichia coli RNA polymerase may be the direct inhibitory target of Hha, and that this effect is experimentally mimicked by the isolated N-terminal domain of H-NS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajvardhan M Kapshikar
- 1Laboratory of Bacterial Genetics, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad, India.,2Graduate Studies, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
| | - J Gowrishankar
- 1Laboratory of Bacterial Genetics, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad, India
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32
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Cooperative Function of TraJ and ArcA in Regulating the F Plasmid tra Operon. J Bacteriol 2018; 201:JB.00448-18. [PMID: 30322855 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00448-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The F plasmid tra operon encodes most of the proteins required for bacterial conjugation. TraJ and ArcA are known activators of the tra operon promoter PY, which is subject to H-NS-mediated silencing. Donor ability and promoter activity assays indicated that PY is inactivated by silencers and requires both TraJ and ArcA for activation to support efficient F conjugation. The observed low-level, ArcA-independent F conjugation is caused by tra expression from upstream alternative promoters. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that TraJ alone weakly binds to PY regulatory DNA; however, TraJ binding is significantly enhanced by ArcA binding to the same DNA, indicating cooperativity of the two proteins. Analysis of binding affinities between ArcA and various DNA fragments in the PY regulatory region defined a 22-bp tandem repeat sequence (from -76 to -55 of PY) sufficient for optimal ArcA binding, which is immediately upstream of the predicted TraJ-binding site (from -54 to -34). Deletion analysis of the PY promoter in strains deficient in TraJ, ArcA, and/or H-NS determined that sequences upstream of -103 are required by silencers including H-NS for PY silencing, whereas sequences downstream of -77 are targeted by TraJ and ArcA for activation. TraJ and ArcA appear not only to counteract PY silencers but also to directly activate PY in a cooperative manner. Our data reveal the cooperativity of TraJ and ArcA during PY activation and provide insights into the regulatory circuit controlling F-family plasmid-mediated bacterial conjugation.IMPORTANCE Conjugation is a major mechanism for dissemination of antibiotic resistance and virulence among bacterial populations. The tra operon in the F family of conjugative plasmids encodes most of the proteins involved in bacterial conjugation. This work reveals that activation of tra operon transcription requires two proteins, TraJ and ArcA, to bind cooperatively to adjacent sites immediately upstream of the major tra promoter PY The interaction of TraJ and ArcA with the tra operon not only relieves PY from silencers but also directly activates it. These findings provide insights into the regulatory circuit of the F-family plasmid-mediated bacterial conjugation.
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33
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Gao X, Yang X, Li J, Zhang Y, Chen P, Lin Z. Engineered global regulator H-NS improves the acid tolerance of E. coli. Microb Cell Fact 2018; 17:118. [PMID: 30053876 PMCID: PMC6064147 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-018-0966-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Acid stress is often encountered during industrial fermentation as a result of the accumulation of acidic metabolites. Acid stress increases the intracellular acidity and can cause DNA damage and denaturation of essential enzymes, thus leading to a decrease of growth and fermentation yields. Although acid stress can be relieved by addition of a base to the medium, fermentations with acid-tolerant strains are generally considered much more efficient and cost-effective. Results In this study, the global regulator H-NS was found to have significant influence on the acid tolerance of E. coli. The final OD600 of strains overexpressing H-NS increased by 24% compared to control, when cultured for 24 h at pH 4.5 using HCl as an acid agent. To further improve the acid tolerance, a library of H-NS was constructed by error-prone PCR and subjected to selection. Five mutants that conferred a significant growth advantage compared to the control strain were obtained. The final OD600 of strains harboring the five H-NS mutants was enhanced by 26–53%, and their survival rate was increased by 10- to 100-fold at pH 2.5. Further investigation showed that the improved acid tolerance of H-NS mutants coincides with the activation of multiple acid resistance mechanisms, in particular the glutamate- and glutamine-dependent acid resistance system (AR2). The improved acid tolerance of H-NS mutants was also demonstrated in media acidified by acetic acid and succinic acid, which are common acidic fermentation by-products or products. Conclusions The results obtained in this work demonstrate that the engineering of H-NS can enhance the acid tolerance of E. coli. More in general, this study shows the potential of the engineering of global regulators acting as repressors, such as H-NS, as a promising method to obtain phenotypes of interest. This approach could expand the spectrum of application of global transcription machinery engineering. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-018-0966-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianxing Gao
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, One Tsinghua Garden Road, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xiaofeng Yang
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, 382 East Outer Loop Road, University Park, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China
| | - Jiahui Li
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, 382 East Outer Loop Road, University Park, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, One Tsinghua Garden Road, Beijing, 100084, China.,Shenzhen Agricultural Genomics Institute, China Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 7 Pengfei Road, Dapeng District, Shenzhen, 518120, Guangdong, China
| | - Ping Chen
- School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, 382 East Outer Loop Road, University Park, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China.
| | - Zhanglin Lin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, One Tsinghua Garden Road, Beijing, 100084, China. .,School of Biology and Biological Engineering, South China University of Technology, 382 East Outer Loop Road, University Park, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China.
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34
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Weatherspoon-Griffin N, Picker MA, Pew KL, Park HS, Ginete DR, Karney MMA, Usufzy P, Castellanos MI, Duhart JC, Harrison DJ, Socea JN, Karabachev AD, Hensley CT, Howerton AJ, Ojeda-Daulo R, Immak JA, Wing HJ. Insights into transcriptional silencing and anti-silencing in Shigella flexneri: a detailed molecular analysis of the icsP virulence locus. Mol Microbiol 2018; 108:505-518. [PMID: 29453862 PMCID: PMC6311345 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Transcriptional silencing and anti-silencing mechanisms modulate bacterial physiology and virulence in many human pathogens. In Shigella species, many virulence plasmid genes are silenced by the histone-like nucleoid structuring protein H-NS and anti-silenced by the virulence gene regulator VirB. Despite the key role that these regulatory proteins play in Shigella virulence, their mechanisms of transcriptional control remain poorly understood. Here, we characterize the regulatory elements and their relative spacing requirements needed for the transcriptional silencing and anti-silencing of icsP, a locus that requires remotely located regulatory elements for both types of transcriptional control. Our findings highlight the flexibility of the regulatory elements' positions with respect to each other, and yet, a molecular roadblock docked between the VirB binding site and the upstream H-NS binding region abolishes transcriptional anti-silencing by VirB, providing insight into transcriptional anti-silencing. Our study also raises the need to re-evaluate the currently proposed VirB binding site. Models of transcriptional silencing and anti-silencing at this genetic locus are presented, and the implications for understanding these regulatory mechanisms in bacteria are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Krystle L. Pew
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Hiromichi S. Park
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Daren R. Ginete
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Monika MA. Karney
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Pashtana Usufzy
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Maria I. Castellanos
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Juan Carlos Duhart
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Dustin J. Harrison
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Jillian N. Socea
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | | | | | | | - Rosa Ojeda-Daulo
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Joy A. Immak
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
| | - Helen J. Wing
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4004, USA
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35
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Wade JT, Grainger DC. Waking the neighbours: disruption of H-NS repression by overlapping transcription. Mol Microbiol 2018; 108:221-225. [PMID: 29473964 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) protein and its analogues bind large stretches of horizontally acquired AT-rich DNA in a broad range of bacterial species. Binding by H-NS silences the promoters within such DNA that would otherwise deplete the cellular pool of RNA polymerase. Selective de-repression can occur when sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins locally disrupt H-NS function; this mechanism is important for the regulation of many virulence genes. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, Rangarajan and Schnetz show that when transcription from a neighbouring region invades an H-NS-bound locus, it can disrupt local H-NS repression. Moreover, they show that de-repression occurs in a dose-dependent manner, and they demonstrate a natural example of this in Escherichia coli. This finding has important implications for H-NS function and its impact on genome evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph T Wade
- Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, USA.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, Albany, NY, USA
| | - David C Grainger
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK
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36
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Zhang L, Weng Y, Wu Y, Wang X, Yin Z, Yang H, Yang W, Zhang Y. H-NS is an activator of exopolysaccharide biosynthesis genes transcription in Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Microb Pathog 2018; 116:164-167. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2018.01.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Revised: 12/31/2017] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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37
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Rangarajan AA, Schnetz K. Interference of transcription across H-NS binding sites and repression by H-NS. Mol Microbiol 2018; 108:226-239. [PMID: 29424946 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Nucleoid-associated protein H-NS represses transcription by forming extended DNA-H-NS complexes. Repression by H-NS operates mostly at the level of transcription initiation. Less is known about how DNA-H-NS complexes interfere with transcription elongation. In vitro H-NS has been shown to enhance RNA polymerase pausing and to promote Rho-dependent termination, while in vivo inhibition of Rho resulted in a decrease of the genome occupancy by H-NS. Here we show that transcription directed across H-NS binding regions relieves H-NS (and H-NS/StpA) mediated repression of promoters in these regions. Further, we observed a correlation of transcription across the H-NS-bound region and de-repression. The data suggest that the transcribing RNA polymerase is able to remodel the H-NS complex and/or dislodge H-NS from the DNA and thus relieve repression. Such an interference of transcription and H-NS mediated repression may imply that poorly transcribed AT-rich loci are prone to be repressed by H-NS, while efficiently transcribed loci escape repression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Karin Schnetz
- Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Zuelpicher Str. 47a, Cologne, Germany
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38
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Structure and function of bacterial H-NS protein. Biochem Soc Trans 2017; 44:1561-1569. [PMID: 27913665 DOI: 10.1042/bst20160190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2016] [Revised: 08/05/2016] [Accepted: 08/09/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) protein is a major component of the folded chromosome in Escherichia coli and related bacteria. Functions attributed to H-NS include management of genome evolution, DNA condensation, and transcription. The wide-ranging influence of H-NS is remarkable given the simplicity of the protein, a small peptide, possessing rudimentary determinants for self-association, hetero-oligomerisation and DNA binding. In this review, I will discuss our understanding of H-NS with a focus on these structural elements. In particular, I will consider how these interaction surfaces allow H-NS to exert its different effects.
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Abstract
RfaH activates horizontally acquired operons that encode lipopolysaccharide core components, pili, toxins, and capsules. Unlike its paralog NusG, which potentiates Rho-mediated silencing, RfaH strongly inhibits Rho. RfaH is recruited to its target operons via a network of contacts with an elongating RNA polymerase (RNAP) and a specific DNA element called ops to modify RNAP into a pause- and NusG-resistant state. rfaH null mutations confer hypersensitivity to antibiotics and detergents, altered susceptibility to bacteriophages, and defects in virulence. Here, we carried out a selection for suppressors that restore the ability of a ΔrfaH mutant Escherichia coli strain to grow in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. We isolated rho, rpoC, and hns suppressor mutants with changes in regions previously shown to be important for their function. In addition, we identified mutants with changes in an unstructured region that connects the primary RNA-binding and helicase domains of Rho. The connector mutants display strong defects in vivo, consistent with their ability to compensate for the loss of RfaH, and act synergistically with bicyclomycin (BCM), which has been recently shown to inhibit Rho transformation into a translocation-competent state. We hypothesize that the flexible connector permits the reorientation of Rho domains and serves as a target for factors that control the motor function of Rho allosterically. Our results, together with the existing data, support a model in which the connector segment plays a hitherto overlooked role in the regulation of Rho-dependent termination.IMPORTANCE The transcription termination factor Rho silences foreign DNA, reduces antisense transcription, mediates surveillance of mRNA quality, and maintains genome integrity by resolving transcription-replication collisions and deleterious R loops. Upon binding to RNA, Rho undergoes a rate-limiting transition from an open "lock washer" state to a closed ring capable of processive translocation on, and eventually the release of, the nascent transcript. Recent studies revealed that Rho ligands, including its cofactor NusG and inhibitor bicyclomycin, control the ring dynamics allosterically. In this work, we used a genetic selection for suppressors of RfaH, a potent inhibitor of Rho, to isolate a new class of mutations in a flexible region that connects the primary RNA-binding and ATPase/translocase domains of Rho. We propose that the connector is essential for the modulation of Rho activity by different RNA sequences and accessory proteins.
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Horizontally acquired AT-rich genes in Escherichia coli cause toxicity by sequestering RNA polymerase. Nat Microbiol 2017; 2:16249. [PMID: 28067866 DOI: 10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2016] [Accepted: 11/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer permits rapid dissemination of genetic elements between individuals in bacterial populations. Transmitted DNA sequences may encode favourable traits. However, if the acquired DNA has an atypical base composition, it can reduce host fitness. Consequently, bacteria have evolved strategies to minimize the harmful effects of foreign genes. Most notably, xenogeneic silencing proteins bind incoming DNA that has a higher AT content than the host genome. An enduring question has been why such sequences are deleterious. Here, we showed that the toxicity of AT-rich DNA in Escherichia coli frequently results from constitutive transcription initiation within the coding regions of genes. Left unchecked, this causes titration of RNA polymerase and a global downshift in host gene expression. Accordingly, a mutation in RNA polymerase that diminished the impact of AT-rich DNA on host fitness reduced transcription from constitutive, but not activator-dependent, promoters.
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Breddermann H, Schnetz K. Correlation of Antagonistic Regulation of leuO Transcription with the Cellular Levels of BglJ-RcsB and LeuO in Escherichia coli. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2016; 6:106. [PMID: 27695690 PMCID: PMC5025477 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2016.00106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Accepted: 09/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
LeuO is a conserved and pleiotropic transcription regulator, antagonist of the nucleoid-associated silencer protein H-NS, and important for pathogenicity and multidrug resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. Regulation of transcription of the leuO gene is complex. It is silenced by H-NS and its paralog StpA, and it is autoregulated. In addition, in Escherichia coli leuO is antagonistically regulated by the heterodimeric transcription regulator BglJ-RcsB and by LeuO. BglJ-RcsB activates leuO, while LeuO inhibits activation by BglJ-RcsB. Furthermore, LeuO activates expression of bglJ, which is likewise H-NS repressed. Mutual activation of leuO and bglJ resembles a double-positive feedback network, which theoretically can result in bi-stability and heterogeneity, or be maintained in a stable OFF or ON states by an additional signal. Here we performed quantitative and single-cell expression analyses to address the antagonistic regulation and feedback control of leuO transcription by BglJ-RcsB and LeuO using a leuO promoter mVenus reporter fusion and finely tunable bglJ and leuO expression plasmids. The data revealed uniform regulation of leuO expression in the population that correlates with the relative cellular concentration of BglJ and LeuO. The data are in agreement with a straightforward model of antagonistic regulation of leuO expression by the two regulators, LeuO and BglJ-RcsB, by independent mechanisms. Further, the data suggest that at standard laboratory growth conditions feedback regulation of leuO is of minor relevance and that silencing of leuO and bglJ by H-NS (and StpA) keeps these loci in the OFF state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannes Breddermann
- Department of Biology, Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne Cologne, Germany
| | - Karin Schnetz
- Department of Biology, Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne Cologne, Germany
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42
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Abstract
The H-NS family of DNA-binding proteins is the subject of intense study due to its important roles in the regulation of horizontally acquired genes critical for virulence, antibiotic resistance, and metabolism. Xenogeneic silencing proteins, typified by the H-NS protein of Escherichia coli, specifically target and downregulate expression from AT-rich genes by selectively recognizing specific structural features unique to the AT-rich minor groove. In doing so, these proteins facilitate bacterial evolution; enabling these cells to engage in horizontal gene transfer while buffering potential any detrimental fitness consequences that may result from it. Xenogeneic silencing and counter-silencing explain how bacterial cells can evolve effective gene regulatory strategies in the face of rampant gene gain and loss and it has extended our understanding of bacterial gene regulation beyond the classic operon model. Here we review the structures and mechanisms of xenogeneic silencers as well as their impact on bacterial evolution. Several H-NS-like proteins appear to play a role in facilitating gene transfer by other mechanisms including by regulating transposition, conjugation, and participating in the activation of virulence loci like the locus of enterocyte effacement pathogenicity island of pathogenic strains of E. coli. Evidence suggests that the critical determinants that dictate whether an H-NS-like protein will be a silencer or will perform a different function do not lie in the DNA-binding domain but, rather, in the domains that control oligomerization. This suggests that H-NS-like proteins are transcription factors that both recognize and alter the shape of DNA to exert specific effects that include but are not limited to gene silencing.
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Abstract
UNLABELLED Transposon insertion sequencing (TIS; also known as TnSeq) is a potent approach commonly used to comprehensively define the genetic loci that contribute to bacterial fitness in diverse environments. A key presumption underlying analyses of TIS datasets is that loci with a low frequency of transposon insertions contribute to fitness. However, it is not known whether factors such as nucleoid binding proteins can alter the frequency of transposon insertion and thus whether TIS output may systematically reflect factors that are independent of the role of the loci in fitness. Here, we investigated whether the histone-like nucleoid structuring (H-NS) protein, which preferentially associates with AT-rich sequences, modulates the frequency of Mariner transposon insertion in the Vibrio cholerae genome, using comparative analysis of TIS results from wild-type (wt) and Δhns V. cholerae strains. These analyses were overlaid on gene classification based on GC content as well as on extant genome-wide identification of H-NS binding loci. Our analyses revealed a significant dearth of insertions within AT-rich loci in wt V. cholerae that was not apparent in the Δhns insertion library. Additionally, we observed a striking correlation between genetic loci that are overrepresented in the Δhns insertion library relative to their insertion frequency in wt V. cholerae and loci previously found to physically interact with H-NS. Collectively, our findings reveal that factors other than genetic fitness can systematically modulate the frequency of transposon insertions in TIS studies and add a cautionary note to interpretation of TIS data, particularly for AT-rich sequences. IMPORTANCE Transposon insertion sequencing (TIS) is often used to assess the relative frequency with which genetic loci can be disrupted, which is taken as an indicator of their importance for bacterial fitness. Here, we report that biological factors other than the relative levels of fitness of insertion mutants can influence TIS output. We found that the presence of the DNA binding protein H-NS, which preferentially recognizes AT-rich sequences, is linked to significant underrepresentation of mutations within AT-rich loci in transposon insertion libraries. Furthermore, there is a marked correspondence between loci bound by H-NS and loci with an increased frequency of disruption in a Δhns insertion library relative to a wt library. Our data suggest that factors other than genetic fitness (e.g., DNA binding proteins such as H-NS) can systematically modulate the frequency of transposon insertions in TIS studies and add a note of caution for interpretation of TIS data.
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Abstract
Gene organization and control are described by models conceived in the 1960s. These models explain basic gene regulatory mechanisms and underpin current genome annotation. However, such models struggle to explain recent genome-scale observations. For example, accounts of RNA synthesis initiating within genes, widespread antisense transcription and non-canonical DNA binding by gene regulatory proteins are difficult to reconcile with traditional thinking. As a result, unexpected observations have often been dismissed and downstream consequences ignored. In this paper I will argue that, to fully understand the biology of bacterial chromosomes, we must embrace their hidden layers of complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Grainger
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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45
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Abstract
The H-NS (heat-stable nucleoid structuring) protein affects both nucleoid compaction and global gene regulation. H-NS appears to act primarily as a silencer of AT-rich genetic material acquired by horizontal gene transfer. As such, it is key in the regulation of most genes involved in virulence and in adaptation to new environmental niches. Here we review recent progress in understanding the biochemistry of H-NS and how xenogeneic silencing affects bacterial evolution. We highlight the strengths and weaknesses of some of the models proposed in H-NS-mediated nucleoprotein complex formation. Based on recent single-molecule studies, we also propose a novel mode of DNA compaction by H-NS termed intrabridging to explain over two decades of observations of the H-NS molecule.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamna Singh
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada;
| | - Joshua N Milstein
- Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada.,Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A7, Canada
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The Histone-Like Nucleoid Structuring Protein (H-NS) Is a Negative Regulator of the Lateral Flagellar System in the Deep-Sea Bacterium Shewanella piezotolerans WP3. Appl Environ Microbiol 2016; 82:2388-2398. [PMID: 26873312 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00297-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2016] [Accepted: 02/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the histone-like nucleoid structuring protein (H-NS) is well known for its involvement in the adaptation of mesophilic bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, to cold environments and high-pressure stress, an understanding of the role of H-NS in the cold-adapted benthic microorganisms that live in the deep-sea ecosystem, which covers approximately 60% of the earth's surface, is still lacking. In this study, we characterized the function of H-NS in Shewanella piezotolerans WP3, which was isolated from West Pacific sediment at a depth of 1,914 m. Anhns gene deletion mutant (WP3Δhns) was constructed, and comparative whole-genome microarray analysis was performed. H-NS had a significant influence (fold change, >2) on the expression of a variety of WP3 genes (274 and 280 genes were upregulated and downregulated, respectively), particularly genes related to energy production and conversion. Notably, WP3Δhnsexhibited higher expression levels of lateral flagellar genes than WP3 and showed enhanced swarming motility and lateral flagellar production compared to those of WP3. The DNA gel mobility shift experiment showed that H-NS bound specifically to the promoter of lateral flagellar genes. Moreover, the high-affinity binding sequences of H-NS were identified by DNase I protection footprinting, and the results support the "binding and spreading" model for H-NS functioning. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to characterize the function of the universal regulator H-NS in a deep-sea bacterium. Our data revealed that H-NS has a novel function as a repressor of the expression of genes related to the energy-consuming secondary flagellar system and to swarming motility.
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Grylak-Mielnicka A, Bidnenko V, Bardowski J, Bidnenko E. Transcription termination factor Rho: a hub linking diverse physiological processes in bacteria. Microbiology (Reading) 2016; 162:433-447. [DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Grylak-Mielnicka
- Micalis Institute, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics PAS, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Vladimir Bidnenko
- Micalis Institute, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Jacek Bardowski
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics PAS, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Elena Bidnenko
- Micalis Institute, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
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Zghidi-Abouzid O, Hérault E, Rimsky S, Reverchon S, Nasser W, Buckle M. Regulation of pel genes, major virulence factors in the plant pathogen bacterium Dickeya dadantii, is mediated by cooperative binding of the nucleoid-associated protein H-NS. Res Microbiol 2016; 167:247-253. [PMID: 26912324 DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2016.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2015] [Revised: 12/16/2015] [Accepted: 02/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Dickeya dadantii is a pathogen infecting a wide range of plant species. Soft rot, the visible symptom, is mainly due to production of pectate lyases (Pels) that can destroy plant cell walls. Previously, we found that nucleoid-associated protein (NAP) H-NS is a key regulator of pel gene expression. The primary binding sites of this NAP have been determined here by footprinting experiments on the pelD gene, encoding an essential virulence factor. Quantitative analysis of DNAse I footprints and surface plasmon resonance imagery experiments further revealed that high-affinity binding sites initiate cooperative binding to establish the nucleoprotein structure required for gene expression silencing. Mutations in the primary binding sites resulted in reduction or loss of repression by H-NS. Overall, these data suggest that H-NS represses pelD, and by inference, other pel genes, by a cooperative binding mechanism, through oligomerization of H-NS molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ouafa Zghidi-Abouzid
- Université Lyon, F-69622, Lyon, France; Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France; INSA-Lyon, F-69621, Villeurbanne, France; CNRS UMR5240 Microbiologie, Adaptation et Pathogénie, France
| | - Elodie Hérault
- Université Lyon, F-69622, Lyon, France; Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France; INSA-Lyon, F-69621, Villeurbanne, France; CNRS UMR5240 Microbiologie, Adaptation et Pathogénie, France
| | - Sylvie Rimsky
- LBPA, ENS Cachan, CNRS, Université Paris, Orsay, Cachan, France
| | - Sylvie Reverchon
- Université Lyon, F-69622, Lyon, France; Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France; INSA-Lyon, F-69621, Villeurbanne, France; CNRS UMR5240 Microbiologie, Adaptation et Pathogénie, France
| | - William Nasser
- Université Lyon, F-69622, Lyon, France; Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France; INSA-Lyon, F-69621, Villeurbanne, France; CNRS UMR5240 Microbiologie, Adaptation et Pathogénie, France.
| | - Malcolm Buckle
- LBPA, ENS Cachan, CNRS, Université Paris, Orsay, Cachan, France
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Ronayne EA, Wan YCS, Boudreau BA, Landick R, Cox MM. P1 Ref Endonuclease: A Molecular Mechanism for Phage-Enhanced Antibiotic Lethality. PLoS Genet 2016; 12:e1005797. [PMID: 26765929 PMCID: PMC4713147 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2015] [Accepted: 12/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Ref is an HNH superfamily endonuclease that only cleaves DNA to which RecA protein is bound. The enigmatic physiological function of this unusual enzyme is defined here. Lysogenization by bacteriophage P1 renders E. coli more sensitive to the DNA-damaging antibiotic ciprofloxacin, an example of a phenomenon termed phage-antibiotic synergy (PAS). The complementary effect of phage P1 is uniquely traced to the P1-encoded gene ref. Ref is a P1 function that amplifies the lytic cycle under conditions when the bacterial SOS response is induced due to DNA damage. The effect of Ref is multifaceted. DNA binding by Ref interferes with normal DNA metabolism, and the nuclease activity of Ref enhances genome degradation. Ref also inhibits cell division independently of the SOS response. Ref gene expression is toxic to E. coli in the absence of other P1 functions, both alone and in combination with antibiotics. The RecA proteins of human pathogens Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Staphylococcus aureus serve as cofactors for Ref-mediated DNA cleavage. Ref is especially toxic during the bacterial SOS response and the limited growth of stationary phase cultures, targeting aspects of bacterial physiology that are closely associated with the development of bacterial pathogen persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin A. Ronayne
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Y. C. Serena Wan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Beth A. Boudreau
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Robert Landick
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
| | - Michael M. Cox
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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50
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Chintakayala K, Sellars LE, Singh SS, Shahapure R, Westerlaken I, Meyer AS, Dame RT, Grainger DC. DNA recognition by Escherichia coli CbpA protein requires a conserved arginine-minor-groove interaction. Nucleic Acids Res 2015; 43:2282-92. [PMID: 25670677 PMCID: PMC4344490 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkv012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Curved DNA binding protein A (CbpA) is a co-chaperone and nucleoid associated DNA binding protein conserved in most γ-proteobacteria. Best studied in Escherichia coli, CbpA accumulates to >2500 copies per cell during periods of starvation and forms aggregates with DNA. However, the molecular basis for DNA binding is unknown; CbpA lacks motifs found in other bacterial DNA binding proteins. Here, we have used a combination of genetics and biochemistry to elucidate the mechanism of DNA recognition by CbpA. We show that CbpA interacts with the DNA minor groove. This interaction requires a highly conserved arginine side chain. Substitution of this residue, R116, with alanine, specifically disrupts DNA binding by CbpA, and its homologues from other bacteria, whilst not affecting other CbpA activities. The intracellular distribution of CbpA alters dramatically when DNA binding is negated. Hence, we provide a direct link between DNA binding and the behaviour of CbpA in cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiran Chintakayala
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Laura E Sellars
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Shivani S Singh
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Rajesh Shahapure
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Gorlaeus Laboratories, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ilja Westerlaken
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Anne S Meyer
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Remus T Dame
- Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Gorlaeus Laboratories, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - David C Grainger
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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