A small C-terminal region of the Escherichia coli MalT protein contains the DNA-binding domain

Evolutionary dynamics and structural consequences of de novo beneficial mutations and mutant lineages arising in a constant environment

BACKGROUND

Microbial evolution experiments can be used to study the tempo and dynamics of evolutionary change in asexual populations, founded from single clones and growing into large populations with multiple clonal lineages. High-throughput sequencing can be used to catalog de novo mutations as potential targets of selection, determine in which lineages they arise, and track the fates of those lineages. Here, we describe a long-term experimental evolution study to identify targets of selection and to determine when, where, and how often those targets are hit.

RESULTS

We experimentally evolved replicate Escherichia coli populations that originated from a mutator/nonsense suppressor ancestor under glucose limitation for between 300 and 500 generations. Whole-genome, whole-population sequencing enabled us to catalog 3346 de novo mutations that reached > 1% frequency. We sequenced the genomes of 96 clones from each population when allelic diversity was greatest in order to establish whether mutations were in the same or different lineages and to depict lineage dynamics. Operon-specific mutations that enhance glucose uptake were the first to rise to high frequency, followed by global regulatory mutations. Mutations related to energy conservation, membrane biogenesis, and mitigating the impact of nonsense mutations, both ancestral and derived, arose later. New alleles were confined to relatively few loci, with many instances of identical mutations arising independently in multiple lineages, among and within replicate populations. However, most never exceeded 10% in frequency and were at a lower frequency at the end of the experiment than at their maxima, indicating clonal interference. Many alleles mapped to key structures within the proteins that they mutated, providing insight into their functional consequences.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, we find that when mutational input is increased by an ancestral defect in DNA repair, the spectrum of high-frequency beneficial mutations in a simple, constant resource-limited environment is narrow, resulting in extreme parallelism where many adaptive mutations arise but few ever go to fixation.

Two domains of MalT, the activator of the Escherichia coli maltose regulon, bear determinants essential for anti-activation by MalK

MalT, the dedicated transcriptional activator of the maltose regulon in Escherichia coli, is subject to multiple controls. Maltotriose, the inducer, promotes MalT self-association, a critical step in promoter binding, whereas three proteins acting as negative allosteric effectors (MalK, the ABC-component of the maltodextrin transporter, MalY, and Aes) antagonize maltotriose binding. All of these regulatory signals are integrated by a novel signal transduction module that comprises three out of the four MalT structural domains: DT1, the ATP-binding domain that contains determinants recognized by the negative effectors, DT2, and DT3, the maltotriose-binding domain. For a better insight into the role of DT3 in signal integration, we PCR mutagenized the DT3-encoding region and screened for gain of function mutations in a malK+ strain in the absence of repression by MalY or Aes. Most of the mutations isolated alter one of seven residues that are located in DT3 helices 10 and 11, or in the turn between them and delineate a surface-exposed motif. In vivo and in vitro analyses revealed that the substitutions altering the so-called H10/H11 motif do not affect the ability of MalT to activate transcription or its sensitivity to MalY and Aes, but dramatically decrease its sensitivity to MalK. We propose that MalT/MalK interaction might involve two distinct contact sites on each partner. These sites would be located in DT1 and DT3 of MalT, and in the nucleotide-binding domain and the regulatory domain of MalK. Such a two-point interaction model would explain how the regulatory activity of MalK might be coupled to transport.

Oligomeric Assemblies of the Escherichia coli MalT Transcriptional Activator Revealed by Cryo-electron Microscopy and Image Processing

MalT, the dedicated transcriptional activator of the maltose regulon in Escherichia coli, is the prototype for a family of large (approximately 100 kDa) transcriptional activators. MalT self-association plays a key role in recognition of the target promoters, which contain several MalT sites that are cooperatively bound by the activator. The unliganded form of MalT is monomeric. The protein self-associates only in the presence of both ATP (or AMP-PNP, a non-hydrolysable analog of ATP) and maltotriose, the inducer. Here, we report cryo-electron microscopy analyses of MalT multimeric forms. We show that, in the presence of maltotriose and AMP-PNP, MalT associates into novel, polydisperse, curved homopolymers. The building block, corresponding to a MalT monomer, comprises an outer globular domain connected by a peduncle to an inner domain that mediates self-association. Image analyses highlight the significant conformational flexibility of these polymeric forms. In the presence of a DNA fragment containing a MalT-controlled promoter, malPp500, MalT forms homopolymers with a much smaller radius of curvature and a different conformation. We propose that MalT binding to the target promoters involves the assembly of a MalT homo-oligomer that is governed by the array of MalT sites present.

The N terminus of the Escherichia coli transcription activator MalT is the domain of interaction with MalY

The maltose system of Escherichia coli consists of a number of genes encoding proteins involved in the uptake and metabolism of maltose and maltodextrins. The system is positively regulated by MalT, its transcriptional activator. MalT activity is controlled by two regulatory circuits: a positive one with maltotriose as effector and a negative one involving several proteins. MalK, the ATP-hydrolyzing subunit of the cognate ABC transporter, MalY, an enzyme with the activity of a cystathionase, and Aes, an acetyl esterase, phenotypically act as repressors of MalT activity. By in vivo titration assays, we have shown that the N-terminal 250 amino acids of MalT contain the interaction site for MalY but not for MalK. This was confirmed by gel filtration analysis, where MalY was shown to coelute with the N-terminal MalT structural domain. Mutants in MalT causing elevated mal gene expression in the absence of exogenous maltodextrins were tested in their response to the three repressors. The different MalT mutations exhibited a various degree of sensitivity towards these repressors, but none was resistant to all of them. Some of them became nearly completely resistant to Aes while still being sensitive to MalY. These mutations are located at positions 38, 220, 243, and 359, most likely defining the interaction patch with Aes on the three-dimensional structure of MalT.

The Aes protein directly controls the activity of MalT, the central transcriptional activator of the Escherichia coli maltose regulon

MalT, the transcriptional activator of the maltose regulon from Escherichia coli, is the prototype of a new family of transcription factors. Its activity is controlled by multiple regulatory signals. ATP and maltotriose (the inducer) are two effectors of the activator that positively control its multimerization, a critical step in promoter binding. In addition, MalK, the ABC component of the maltodextrin transport system, and the two enzymes MalY and Aes down-regulate MalT activity in vivo. By using a biochemical approach, we demonstrate here that (i) Aes controls MalT activity through direct protein-protein interaction, (ii) Aes competes with maltotriose for MalT binding, (iii) ATP and ADP differentially affect the competition between Aes and the inducer, and (iv) part, if not all, of the Aes binding site is located in DT1, the N-terminal domain of the activator, which also contains the ATP binding site. All of these characteristics point toward an identical mode of action for MalY and Aes. However, we have identified an amino acid substitution in MalT that suppresses MalT inhibition by Aes without interfering with its inhibition by MalY, suggesting that the binding sites of the two inhibitory proteins do not coincide. The differential effects of ATP and ADP on the competition between the inducer and Aes (or MalY) suggest that the ATPase activity displayed by MalT plays a role in the negative control of its activity.

Identification of a DNA binding region in GerE from Bacillus subtilis

Proteins that have a structure similar to those of LuxR and FixJ comprise a large subfamily of transcriptional activator proteins. Most members of the LuxR-FixJ family contain a similar amino-terminal receiver domain linked by a small region to a carboxy-terminal domain that contains an amino acid sequence similar to the helix-turn-helix (HTH) motif found in other DNA-binding proteins. GerE from Bacillus subtilis is the smallest member of the LuxR-FixJ family. Its 74-amino-acid sequence is similar over its entire length to the DNA binding region of this protein family, including the HTH motif. Therefore, GerE provides a simple model for studies of the role of this HTH domain in DNA binding. Toward this aim, we sought to identify the amino acids within this motif that are important for the specificity of binding to DNA. We examined the effects of single base pair substitutions in the high-affinity GerE binding site on the sigK promoter and found that nucleotides at positions +2, +3, and +4 relative to the transcription start site on the sigK promoter are important for a high-affinity interaction with GerE. We next examined the effects of single alanine substitutions at two positions in the HTH region of GerE on binding to wild-type or mutant target sites. We found that the substitution of an alanine for the threonine at position 42 of GerE produced a protein that binds with equal affinity to two sites that differ by 1 bp, whereas wild-type GerE binds with different affinities to these two sites. These results provide evidence that the amino acyl residues in or near the putative HTH region of GerE and potentially other members of the LuxR-FixJ family determine the specificity of DNA binding.

Roles of glucitol in the GutR-mediated transcription activation process in Bacillus subtilis: tight binding of GutR to tis binding site

Glucitol induction in Bacillus subtilis requires a transcription activator, GutR, and a sequence located upstream of the gut promoter. To understand the initial steps involved in the GutR-mediated transcription activation process and the physiological roles of glucitol, GutR was overproduced and purified. In the absence of glucitol, GutR exists as a monomer and binds directly to its binding site in the gut regulatory region. This binding site was mapped to a 29-base pair imperfect inverted repeat located between -78 and -50, and there is only one GutR binding site within the regulatory region. The kinetic parameters of the interaction between GutR and its binding site were monitored in real time using surface plasmon resonance. The half-life of the GutR-DNA complex in the absence of glucitol was estimated to be 6.8 min. In contrast, in the presence of glucitol, the half-life of the complex was extended to longer than 19 h by affecting only the off-rate but not the on-rate. This effect is glucitol-specific. These data indicate that glucitol binds to GutR and induces GutR to have an extremely tight binding at its binding site. The physiological relevance of this process in transcription activation is discussed.

A complex signaling module governs the activity of MalT, the prototype of an emerging transactivator family

MalT, the specific activator of the maltose regulon, is the prototype of a family of high-molecular-mass ATP-binding bacterial transcription activators. On binding of its two positive effectors, the inducer maltotriose and ATP, MalT oligomerizes to an active state competent for promoter binding and transcription activation. In addition to its previously known DNA-binding domain, limited proteolysis showed that MalT contains three other domains, the boundaries of which were accurately delimited by N-terminal microsequencing. The N-terminal domain alone binds ATP. Maltotriose binding involves an extended region corresponding to domains 2 and 3, although weak binding to domain 3 alone was also observed. Moreover, maltotriose binding induces a conformational shift involving a movement of both domains 1 and 3 with respect to domain 2, leading to the active form of the protein. Sequence examination of the MalT homologues suggests that these three domains might constitute a signaling module.

A new mechanism for the control of a prokaryotic transcriptional regulator: antagonistic binding of positive and negative effectors

MalT, the transcriptional activator of the Escherichia coli maltose regulon, self-associates, binds promoter DNA and activates initiation of transcription only in the presence of ATP and maltotriose, the inducer. In vivo studies have revealed that MalT action is negatively controlled by the MalY protein. Using a biochemical approach, we analyse here the mechanism whereby MalY represses MalT activity. We show that MalY inhibits transcription activation by MalT in a purified transcription system. In vitro, a constitutive MalT variant (which is partially active in the absence of maltotriose) is less sensitive than wild-type MalT to repression by MalY, as observed in vivo. We demonstrate that MalY forms a complex with MalT only in the absence of maltotriose and that, conversely, MalY inhibits maltotriose binding by MalT. Together, these results establish that MalY acts directly upon MalT without the help of any factor, and that MalY is a negative effector of MalT competing with the inducer for MalT binding.

Self-association of the Escherichia coli transcription activator MalT in the presence of maltotriose and ATP

MalT, the transcriptional activator of the Escherichia coli maltose regulon, binds the MalT-dependent promoters and activates transcription initiation only in the presence of maltotriose and ATP (or adenylyl imidodiphosphate (AMP-PNP)). Cooperative binding of MalT to the array of cognate sites present in the MalT-dependent promoters suggests that promoter binding involves MalT oligomerization. Gel filtration and sedimentation experiments were used to analyze the quaternary structure of MalT in solution in the absence or presence of maltotriose and/or AMP-PNP, ATP, or ADP. The protein is monomeric in the absence of ligands and in the presence of ADP. In the presence of maltotriose, AMP-PNP, or ATP only, the protein self-associates, but a large fraction of the protein remains monomeric. In the presence of both maltotriose and AMP-PNP (ATP or ADP), the protein is essentially oligomeric, with the difference being that the oligomerization is less favored in the presence of ADP + maltotriose than in the presence of AMP-PNP + maltotriose. We present evidence that the association pathway comprises the following steps: monomers --> dimers --> (MalT)(n) --> aggregates, where 3 </= n </= 6. From these data, we conclude that the role of maltotriose and ATP as positive effectors is to induce the multimerization of MalT, and hence its cooperative binding to the mal promoters.

Maltose/maltodextrin system of Escherichia coli: transport, metabolism, and regulation

The maltose system of Escherichia coli offers an unusually rich set of enzymes, transporters, and regulators as objects of study. This system is responsible for the uptake and metabolism of glucose polymers (maltodextrins), which must be a preferred class of nutrients for E. coli in both mammalian hosts and in the environment. Because the metabolism of glucose polymers must be coordinated with both the anabolic and catabolic uses of glucose and glycogen, an intricate set of regulatory mechanisms controls the expression of mal genes, the activity of the maltose transporter, and the activities of the maltose/maltodextrin catabolic enzymes. The ease of isolating many of the mal gene products has contributed greatly to the understanding of the structures and functions of several classes of proteins. Not only was the outer membrane maltoporin, LamB, or the phage lambda receptor, the first virus receptor to be isolated, but also its three-dimensional structure, together with extensive knowledge of functional sites for ligand binding as well as for phage lambda binding, has led to a relatively complete description of this sugar-specific aqueous channel. The periplasmic maltose binding protein (MBP) has been studied with respect to its role in both maltose transport and maltose taxis. Again, the combination of structural and functional information has led to a significant understanding of how this soluble receptor participates in signaling the presence of sugar to the chemosensory apparatus as well as how it participates in sugar transport. The maltose transporter belongs to the ATP binding cassette family, and although its structure is not yet known at atomic resolution, there is some insight into the structures of several functional sites, including those that are involved in interactions with MBP and recognition of substrates and ATP. A particularly astonishing discovery is the direct participation of the transporter in transcriptional control of the mal regulon. The MalT protein activates transcription at all mal promoters. A subset also requires the cyclic AMP receptor protein for transcription. The MalT protein requires maltotriose and ATP as ligands for binding to a dodecanucleotide MalT box that appears in multiple copies upstream of all mal promoters. Recent data indicate that the ATP binding cassette transporter subunit MalK can directly inhibit MalT when the transporter is inactive due to the absence of substrate. Despite this wealth of knowledge, there are still basic issues that require clarification concerning the mechanism of MalT-mediated activation, repression by the transporter, biosynthesis and assembly of the outer membrane and inner membrane transporter proteins, and interrelationships between the mal enzymes and those of glucose and glycogen metabolism.

bldA-dependent expression of the Streptomyces exfoliatus M11 lipase gene (lipA) is mediated by the product of a contiguous gene, lipR, encoding a putative transcriptional activator

Extracellular lipase synthesis by Streptomyces lividans 66 carrying the cloned lipase gene (lipA) from Streptomyces exfoliatus M11 was found to be growth phase dependent, since lipase was secreted into the medium mainly during the stationary phase; S1 nuclease protection experiments revealed abundant lipA transcripts in RNA preparations obtained during the stationary phase but not in those obtained during exponential growth. Transcription from the lipA promoter was dependent on the presence of lipR, a contiguous downstream gene with a very high guanine-plus-cytosine content (80.2%). The deduced lipR product consists of a protein of 934 amino acids that shows similarity to known transcriptional activators and has a strong helix-turn-helix motif at its C terminus; this motif is part of a domain homologous to DNA-binding domains of bacterial regulators of the UhpA/LuxR superfamily. The lipR sequence revealed the presence of a leucine residue, encoded by the rare TTA codon, which caused bldA dependence of lipA transcription in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2); replacement of the TTA codon by the alternate CTC leucine codon alleviated bidA dependence but not the apparent growth phase-dependent regulation of lipA transcription. When lipR expression was induced in a controlled fashion during the exponential growth phase, by placing it under the inducible tipA promoter, lipase synthesis was shifted to the exponential growth phase, indicating that the timing of lipR expression, and not its bldA dependence, is the main cause for stationary-phase transcription of lipA.

Mutations in the bvgA gene of Bordetella pertussis that differentially affect regulation of virulence determinants

By using chemical mutagenesis and genetic mapping, a search was undertaken for previously undescribed genes which may be involved in different regulatory mechanisms governing different virulence factors of Bordetella pertussis. Previous studies have shown that the fha locus encoding filamentous hemagglutinin is regulated directly by the bvgAS two component system, while regulation of ptx encoding pertussis toxin is less direct or occurs by a different mechanism. With a strain containing gene fusions to each of these regulated loci, screening was done for mutations which were defective for ptx expression but maintained normal or nearly normal levels of fha expression. Two mutations which had such a phenotype and were also deficient in adenylate cyclase toxin/hemolysin expression were found and characterized more fully. Both were found to affect residues in the C-terminal portion of the BvgA response regulator protein, a domain which shares sequence similarity with a family of regulatory proteins including FixJ, UhpA, MalT, RcsA, RcsB, and LuxR. The residues affected are within a region which, by extension from studies on the LuxR protein, may be involved in transcriptional activation.