On the role of Cro in lambda prophage induction

The crystal structure of bacteriophage λ RexA provides novel insights into the DNA binding properties of Rex-like phage exclusion proteins

RexA and RexB function as an exclusion system that prevents bacteriophage T4rII mutants from growing on Escherichia coli λ phage lysogens. Recent data established that RexA is a non-specific DNA binding protein that can act independently of RexB to bias the λ bistable switch toward the lytic state, preventing conversion back to lysogeny. The molecular interactions underlying these activities are unknown, owing in part to a dearth of structural information. Here, we present the 2.05-Å crystal structure of the λ RexA dimer, which reveals a two-domain architecture with unexpected structural homology to the recombination-associated protein RdgC. Modelling suggests that our structure adopts a closed conformation and would require significant domain rearrangements to facilitate DNA binding. Mutagenesis coupled with electromobility shift assays, limited proteolysis, and double electron-electron spin resonance spectroscopy support a DNA-dependent conformational change. In vivo phenotypes of RexA mutants suggest that DNA binding is not a strict requirement for phage exclusion but may directly contribute to modulation of the bistable switch. We further demonstrate that RexA homologs from other temperate phages also dimerize and bind DNA in vitro. Collectively, these findings advance our mechanistic understanding of Rex functions and provide new evolutionary insights into different aspects of phage biology.

XRE transcription factors conserved in Caulobacter and φCbK modulate adhesin development and phage production

The xenobiotic response element (XRE) family of transcription factors (TFs), which are commonly encoded by bacteria and bacteriophage, regulate diverse features of bacterial cell physiology and impact phage infection dynamics. Through a pangenome analysis of Caulobacter species isolated from soil and aquatic ecosystems, we uncovered an apparent radiation of a paralogous XRE TF gene cluster, several of which have established functions in the regulation of holdfast adhesin development and biofilm formation in C. crescentus. We further discovered related XRE TFs throughout the class Alphaproteobacteria and its phages, including the φCbK Caulophage, suggesting that members of this cluster impact host-phage interactions. Here we show that a closely related group of XRE transcription factors encoded by both C. crescentus and φCbK can physically interact and function to control the transcription of a common gene set, influencing processes including holdfast development and the production of φCbK virions. The φCbK-encoded XRE paralog, tgrL, is highly expressed at the earliest stages of infection and can directly inhibit transcription of host genes including hfiA, a potent holdfast inhibitor, and gafYZ, an activator of prophage-like gene transfer agents (GTAs). XRE proteins encoded from the C. crescentus chromosome also directly repress gafYZ transcription, revealing a functionally redundant set of host regulators that may protect against spurious production of GTA particles and inadvertent cell lysis. Deleting the C. crescentus XRE transcription factors reduced φCbK burst size, while overexpressing these host genes or φCbK tgrL rescued this burst defect. We conclude that this XRE TF gene cluster, shared by C. crescentus and φCbK, plays an important role in adhesion regulation under phage-free conditions, and influences host-phage dynamics during infection.

XRE Transcription Factors Conserved in Caulobacter and φCbK Modulate Adhesin Development and Phage Production

Upon infection, transcriptional shifts in both a host bacterium and its invading phage determine host and viral fitness. The xenobiotic response element (XRE) family of transcription factors (TFs), which are commonly encoded by bacteria and phages, regulate diverse features of bacterial cell physiology and impact phage infection dynamics. Through a pangenome analysis of Caulobacter species isolated from soil and aquatic ecosystems, we uncovered an apparent radiation of a paralogous XRE TF gene cluster, several of which have established functions in the regulation of holdfast adhesin development and biofilm formation in C. crescentus. We further discovered related XRE TFs across the class Alphaproteobacteria and its phages, including the φCbK Caulophage, suggesting that members of this gene cluster impact host-phage interactions. Here we show that that a closely related group of XRE proteins, encoded by both C. crescentus and φCbK, can form heteromeric associations and control the transcription of a common gene set, influencing processes including holdfast development and the production of φCbK virions. The φCbK XRE paralog, tgrL, is highly expressed at the earliest stages of infection and can directly repress transcription of hfiA, a potent holdfast inhibitor, and gafYZ, a transcriptional activator of prophage-like gene transfer agents (GTAs) encoded on the C. crescentus chromosome. XRE proteins encoded from the C. crescentus chromosome also directly repress gafYZ transcription, revealing a functionally redundant set of host regulators that may protect against spurious production of GTA particles and inadvertent cell lysis. Deleting host XRE transcription factors reduced φCbK burst size, while overexpressing these genes or φCbK tgrL rescued this burst defect. We conclude that an XRE TF gene cluster, shared by C. crescentus and φCbK, plays an important role in adhesion regulation under phage-free conditions, and influences host-phage dynamics during infection.

Study of Ren, RexA, and RexB Functions Provides Insight Into the Complex Interaction Between Bacteriophage λ and Its Host, Escherichia coli

The phage λ rexA and rexB genes are expressed from the P RM promoter in λ lysogens along with the cI repressor gene. RexB is also expressed from a second promoter, P LIT, embedded in rexA. The combined expression of rexA and rexB causes Escherichia coli to be more ultraviolet (UV) sensitive. Sensitivity is further increased when RexB levels are reduced by a defect in the P LIT promoter, thus the degree of sensitivity can be modulated by the ratio of RexA/RexB. Expression of the phage λ ren gene rescues this host UV sensitive phenotype; Ren also rescues an aberrant lysis phenotype caused by RexA and RexB. We screened an E. coli two-hybrid library to identify bacterial proteins with which each of these phage proteins physically interact. The results extend previous observations concerning λ Rex exclusion and show the importance of E. coli electron transport and sulfur assimilation pathways for the phage.

CroSR391 , an ortholog of the λ Cro repressor, plays a major role in suppressing polVR391 -dependent mutagenesis

When subcloned into low-copy-number expression vectors, rumAB, encoding polVR391 (RumA'2 B), is best characterized as a potent mutator giving rise to high levels of spontaneous mutagenesis in vivo. This is in dramatic contrast to the poorly mutable phenotype when polVR391 is expressed from the native 88.5 kb R391, suggesting that R391 expresses cis-acting factors that suppress the expression and/or the activity of polVR391 . Indeed, we recently discovered that SetRR391 , an ortholog of λ cI repressor, is a transcriptional repressor of rumAB. Here, we report that CroSR391 , an ortholog of λ Cro, also serves as a potent transcriptional repressor of rumAB. Levels of RumA are dependent upon an interplay between SetRR391 and CroSR391 , with the greatest reduction of RumA protein levels observed in the absence of SetRR391 and the presence of CroSR391 . Under these conditions, CroSR391 completely abolishes the high levels of mutagenesis promoted by polVR391 expressed from low-copy-number plasmids. Furthermore, deletion of croSR391 on the native R391 results in a dramatic increase in mutagenesis, indicating that CroSR391 plays a major role in suppressing polVR391 mutagenesis in vivo. Inactivating mutations in CroSR391 therefore have the distinct possibility of increasing cellular mutagenesis that could lead to the evolution of antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria harboring R391.

Bacteriophage λ RexA and RexB Functions Assist the Transition from Lysogeny to Lytic Growth

The CI and Cro repressors of bacteriophage λ create a bistable switch between lysogenic and lytic growth. In λ lysogens, CI repressor expressed from the P_RM promoter blocks expression of the lytic promoters P_L and P_R to allow stable maintenance of the lysogenic state. When lysogens are induced, CI repressor is inactivated and Cro repressor is expressed from the lytic P_R promoter. Cro repressor blocks P_RM transcription and CI repressor synthesis to ensure that the lytic state proceeds. RexA and RexB proteins, like CI, are expressed from the P_RM promoter in λ lysogens; RexB is also expressed from a second promoter, P_LIT , embedded in rexA. Here we show that RexA binds CI repressor and assists the transition from lysogenic to lytic growth, using both intact lysogens and defective prophages with reporter genes under control of the lytic P_L and P_R promoters. Once lytic growth begins, if the bistable switch does return to the immune state, RexA expression lessens the probability that it will remain there, thus stabilizing the lytic state and activation of the lytic P_L  and P_R  promoters. RexB modulates the effect of RexA and may also help establish phage DNA replication as lytic growth ensues.

Molecular Basis of Lysis-Lysogeny Decisions in Gram-Positive Phages

Temperate bacteriophages (phages) are viruses of bacteria. Upon infection of a susceptible host, a temperate phage can establish either a lytic cycle that kills the host or a lysogenic cycle as a stable prophage. The life cycle pursued by an infecting temperate phage can have a significant impact not only on the individual host bacterium at the cellular level but also on bacterial communities and evolution in the ecosystem. Thus, understanding the decision processes of temperate phages is crucial. This review delves into the molecular mechanisms behind lysis-lysogeny decision-making in Gram-positive phages. We discuss a variety of molecular mechanisms and the genetic organization of these well-understood systems. By elucidating the strategies used by phages to make lysis-lysogeny decisions, we can improve our understanding of phage-host interactions, which is crucial for a variety of studies including bacterial evolution, community and ecosystem diversification, and phage therapeutics. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Microbiology, Volume 75 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

The loopometer: a quantitative in vivo assay for DNA-looping proteins

Proteins that can bring together separate DNA sites, either on the same or on different DNA molecules, are critical for a variety of DNA-based processes. However, there are no general and technically simple assays to detect proteins capable of DNA looping in vivo nor to quantitate their in vivo looping efficiency. Here, we develop a quantitative in vivo assay for DNA-looping proteins in Escherichia coli that requires only basic DNA cloning techniques and a LacZ assay. The assay is based on loop assistance, where two binding sites for the candidate looping protein are inserted internally to a pair of operators for the E. coli LacI repressor. DNA looping between the sites shortens the effective distance between the lac operators, increasing LacI looping and strengthening its repression of a lacZ reporter gene. Analysis based on a general model for loop assistance enables quantitation of the strength of looping conferred by the protein and its binding sites. We use this ‘loopometer’ assay to measure DNA looping for a variety of bacterial and phage proteins.

Thermoinducible expression system for producing recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli: advances and insights

Recombinant protein (RP) production from Escherichia coli has been extensively studied to find strategies for increasing product yields. The thermoinducible expression system is commonly employed at the industrial level to produce various RPs which avoids the addition of chemical inducers, thus minimizing contamination risks. Multiple aspects of the molecular origin and biotechnological uses of its regulatory elements (pL/pR promoters and cI857 thermolabile repressor) derived from bacteriophage λ provide knowledge to improve the bioprocesses using this system. Here, we discuss the main aspects of the potential use of the λpL/pR-cI857 thermoinducible system for RP production in E. coli, focusing on the approaches of investigations that have contributed to the advancement of this expression system. Metabolic and physiological changes that occur in the host cells caused by heat stress and by RP overproduction are also described. Therefore, the current scenario and the future applications of systems that use heat to induce RP production is discussed to understand the relationship between the activation of the bacterial heat shock response, RP accumulation, and its possible aggregation to form inclusion bodies.

Elements in the λ immunity region regulate phage development: beyond the 'Genetic Switch'

Genetic elements in the bacteriophage λ immunity region contribute to stable maintenance and synchronous induction of the integrated Escherichia coli prophage. There is a bistable switch between lysogenic and lytic growth that is orchestrated by the CI and Cro repressors acting on the lytic (PL and PR ) and lysogenic (PRM ) promoters, referred to as the Genetic Switch. Other less well-characterized elements in the phage immunity region include the PLIT promoter and the immunity terminator, TIMM . The PLIT promoter is repressed by the bacterial LexA protein in λ lysogens. LexA repressor, like the λ CI repressor, is inactivated during the SOS response to DNA damage, and this regulation ensures that the PLIT promoter and the lytic PL and PR promoters are synchronously activated. Proper RexA and RexB protein levels are critical for the switch from lysogeny to lytic growth. Mutation of PLIT reduces RexB levels relative to RexA, compromising cellular energetics and causing a 10-fold reduction in lytic phage yield. The RexA and RexB proteins interact with themselves and each other in a bacterial two-hybrid system. We also find that the transcription terminator, TIMM , is a Rho-independent, intrinsic terminator. Inactivation of TIMM has minimal effect on λ lysogenization or prophage induction.

Prophage LambdaSo uses replication interference to suppress reproduction of coexisting temperate phage MuSo2 in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

Many bacterial genomes carry multiple prophages that compete with each other, potentially affecting the physiology, fitness, and pathogenicity of their hosts. However, molecular mechanisms of such prophage-prophage conflicts remain poorly understood. The genome of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, a Gammaproteobacterium residing in aquatic environments and notable for its ability to reduce metal ions, harbours four prophages, two of which (LambdaSo and MuSo2) form infectious virions during biofilm formation. Here, we constructed indicator strains of LambdaSo and MuSo2 by deleting the corresponding prophages from the MR-1 chromosome and investigated their reproduction. Interestingly, the fitness of MuSo2 increased in the absence of LambdaSo, suggesting that prophage LambdaSo repressed MuSo2 reproduction. Partial deletion of LambdaSo from the MR-1 chromosome revealed that gene cluster R of LambdaSo, which was responsible for the switch to the lytic cycle and LambdaSo genome replication initiation, was necessary and sufficient to repress MuSo2. Furthermore, activation of cluster R genes facilitated replication of cluster R-encoding DNA and inhibited host and MuSo2 DNA replication. These findings suggest that LambdaSo represses MuSo2 propagation by inhibiting DNA replication during simultaneous induction. We predict that such a mechanism of inter-prophage interference is more widespread in bacteria than currently appreciated.

Bacteriophage Transcription Factor Cro Regulates Virulence Gene Expression in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli

Bacteriophage-encoded genetic elements control bacterial biological functions. Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains harbor lambda-phages encoding the Shiga-toxin (Stx), which is expressed during the phage lytic cycle and associated with exacerbated disease. Phages also reside dormant within bacterial chromosomes through their lysogenic cycle, but how this impacts EHEC virulence remains unknown. We find that during lysogeny the phage transcription factor Cro activates the EHEC type III secretion system (T3SS). EHEC lambdoid phages are lysogenic under anaerobic conditions when Cro binds to and activates the promoters of T3SS genes. Interestingly, the Cro sequence varies among phages carried by different EHEC outbreak strains, and these changes affect Cro-dependent T3SS regulation. Additionally, infecting mice with the related pathogen C. rodentium harboring the bacteriophage cro from EHEC results in greater T3SS gene expression and enhanced virulence. Collectively, these findings reveal the role of phages in impacting EHEC virulence and their potential to affect outbreak strains.

Coupling of DNA Replication and Negative Feedback Controls Gene Expression for Cell-Fate Decisions

Cellular decision-making arises from the expression of genes along a regulatory cascade, which leads to a choice between distinct phenotypic states. DNA dosage variations, often introduced by replication, can significantly affect gene expression to ultimately bias decision outcomes. The bacteriophage lambda system has long served as a paradigm for cell-fate determination, yet the effect of DNA replication remains largely unknown. Here, through single-cell studies and mathematical modeling we show that DNA replication drastically boosts cI expression to allow lysogenic commitment by providing more templates. Conversely, expression of CII, the upstream regulator of cI, is surprisingly robust to DNA replication due to the negative autoregulation of the Cro repressor. Our study exemplifies how living organisms can not only utilize DNA replication for gene expression control but also implement mechanisms such as negative feedback to allow the expression of certain genes to be robust to dosage changes resulting from DNA replication.

The Bacteriophage Lambda CII Phenotypes for Complementation, Cellular Toxicity and Replication Inhibition Are Suppressed in cII-oop Constructs Expressing the Small RNA OOP

The temperate bacteriophage lambda (λ) CII protein is a positive regulator of transcription from promoter pE, a component of the lysogenic response. The expression of cII was examined in vectors devoid of phage transcription-modulating elements. Their removal enabled evaluating if the expression of the small RNA OOP, on its own, could suppress CII activities, including complementing for a lysogenic response, cell toxicity and causing rapid cellular loss of ColE1 plasmids. The results confirm that OOP RNA expression from the genetic element pO-oop-to can prevent the ability of plasmid-encoded CII to complement for a lysogenic response, suggesting that it serves as a powerful regulatory pivot in λ development. Plasmids with a pO promoter sequence of 45 nucleotides (pO45), containing the −10 and −35 regions for oop, were non-functional; whereas, plasmids with pO94 prevented CII complementation, CII-dependent plasmid loss and suppressed CII toxicity, suggesting the pO promoter has an extended DNA sequence. All three CII activities were eliminated by the deletion of the COOH-terminal 20 amino acids of CII. Host mutations in the hflA locus, in pcnB and in rpoB influenced CII activities. These studies suggest that the COOH-terminal end of CII likely interacts with the β-subunit of RNA polymerase.

Late-Arriving Signals Contribute Less to Cell-Fate Decisions

Gene regulatory networks are largely responsible for cellular decision-making. These networks sense diverse external signals and respond by adjusting gene expression, enabling cells to reach environment-dependent decisions crucial for their survival or reproduction. However, information-carrying signals may arrive at variable times. Besides the intrinsic strength of these signals, their arrival time (timing) may also carry information about the environment and can influence cellular decision-making in ways that are poorly understood. For example, it is unclear how the timing of individual phage infections affects the lysis-lysogeny decision of bacteriophage λ despite variable infection times being likely in the wild and even in laboratory conditions. In this work, we combine mathematical modeling with experimentation to address this question. We develop an experimentally testable theory, which reveals that late-infecting phages contribute less to cellular decision-making. This implies that infection delays lower the probability of lysogeny compared to simultaneous infections. Furthermore, we show that infection delays reduce lysogenization by providing insufficient CII for threshold crossing during the critical decision-making period. We find evidence for a cutoff time after which subsequent infections cannot influence the cellular decision. We derive an intuitive formula that approximates the probability of lysogeny for variable infection times by a time-weighted average of probabilities for simultaneous infections. We validate these theoretical predictions experimentally. Similar concepts and simplifying modeling approaches may help elucidate the mechanisms underlying other cellular decisions.

The Developmental Switch in Bacteriophage λ: A Critical Role of the Cro Protein

Bacteriophage λ of Escherichia coli has two alternative life cycles after infection-host survival with lysogen formation, or host lysis and phage production. In a lysogen, CI represses the two lytic promoters, pR and pL, and activates its own transcription from the auto-regulated pRM promoter. During induction from the lysogenic to lytic state, CI is inactivated, and the two lytic promoters are de-repressed allowing for expression of Cro from pR. Cro is known to repress transcription of CI from pRM to prevent lysogeny. We show here that when Cro and CI are both present but at low levels, the low level of Cro initially stimulates the lytic promoters while CI repressor is still present, stimulating the level of Cro to a concentration required for pRM repression. Cro has no stimulatory effect without the presence of CI. We propose that this early auto-activating role of Cro at lower concentrations is essential in the developmental switch to lytic growth, whereas pRM repression by Cro at relatively higher concentrations avoids restoring lysogeny.

Colocalization of distant chromosomal loci in space in E. coli: a bacterial nucleolus

Gaal et al. examined the relative positions of the ribosomal RNA operons in space. The results show that E. coli bacterial chromosome folding in three dimensions is not dictated entirely by genetic position but rather includes functionally related, genetically distant loci that come into close proximity, with rRNA operons forming a structure reminiscent of the eukaryotic nucleolus.

The spatial organization of DNA within the bacterial nucleoid remains unclear. To investigate chromosome organization in Escherichia coli, we examined the relative positions of the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) operons in space. The seven rRNA operons are nearly identical and separated from each other by as much as 180° on the circular genetic map, a distance of ≥2 million base pairs. By inserting binding sites for fluorescent proteins adjacent to the rRNA operons and then examining their positions pairwise in live cells by epifluorescence microscopy, we found that all but rrnC are in close proximity. Colocalization of the rRNA operons required the rrn P1 promoter region but not the rrn P2 promoter or the rRNA structural genes and occurred with and without active transcription. Non-rRNA operon pairs did not colocalize, and the magnitude of their physical separation generally correlated with that of their genetic separation. Our results show that E. coli bacterial chromosome folding in three dimensions is not dictated entirely by genetic position but rather includes functionally related, genetically distant loci that come into close proximity, with rRNA operons forming a structure reminiscent of the eukaryotic nucleolus.

Lysis-lysogeny coexistence: prophage integration during lytic development

The infection of Escherichia coli cells by bacteriophage lambda results in bifurcated means of propagation, where the phage decides between the lytic and lysogenic pathways. Although traditionally thought to be mutually exclusive, increasing evidence suggests that this lysis-lysogeny decision is more complex than once believed, but exploring its intricacies requires an improved resolution of study. Here, with a newly developed fluorescent reporter system labeling single phage and E. coli DNAs, these two distinct pathways can be visualized by following the DNA movements in vivo. Surprisingly, we frequently observed an interesting "lyso-lysis" phenomenon in lytic cells, where phage integrates its DNA into the host, a characteristic event of the lysogenic pathway, followed by cell lysis. Furthermore, the frequency of lyso-lysis increases with the number of infecting phages, and specifically, with CII activity. Moreover, in lytic cells, the integration site attB on the E. coli genome migrates toward the polar region over time, leading to more spatial overlap with the phage DNA and frequent colocalization/collision of attB and phage DNA, possibly contributing to a higher chance for DNA integration.

Two Inducible Prophages of an Antarctic Pseudomonas sp. ANT_H14 Use the Same Capsid for Packaging Their Genomes - Characterization of a Novel Phage Helper-Satellite System

Two novel prophages ФAH14a and ФAH14b of a psychrotolerant Antarctic bacterium Pseudomonas sp. ANT_H14 have been characterized. They were simultaneously induced with mitomycin C and packed into capsids of the same size and protein composition. The genome sequences of ФAH14a and ФAH14b have been determined. ФAH14b, the phage with a smaller genome (16,812 bp) seems to parasitize ФAH14a (55,060 bp) and utilizes its capsids, as only the latter encodes a complete set of structural proteins. Both viruses probably constitute a phage helper-satellite system, analogous to the P2-P4 duo. This study describes the architecture and function of the ФAH14a and ФAH14b genomes. Moreover, a functional analysis of a ФAH14a-encoded lytic enzyme and a DNA methyltransferase was performed. In silico analysis revealed the presence of the homologs of ФAH14a and ФAH14b in other Pseudomonas genomes, which may suggest that helper-satellite systems related to the one described in this work are common in pseudomonads.

The role of repressor kinetics in relief of transcriptional interference between convergent promoters

Transcriptional interference (TI), where transcription from a promoter is inhibited by the activity of other promoters in its vicinity on the same DNA, enables transcription factors to regulate a target promoter indirectly, inducing or relieving TI by controlling the interfering promoter. For convergent promoters, stochastic simulations indicate that relief of TI can be inhibited if the repressor at the interfering promoter has slow binding kinetics, making it either sensitive to frequent dislodgement by elongating RNA polymerases (RNAPs) from the target promoter, or able to be a strong roadblock to these RNAPs. In vivo measurements of relief of TI by CI or Cro repressors in the bacteriophage λ PR-PRE system show strong relief of TI and a lack of dislodgement and roadblocking effects, indicative of rapid CI and Cro binding kinetics. However, repression of the same λ promoter by a catalytically dead CRISPR Cas9 protein gave either compromised or no relief of TI depending on the orientation at which it binds DNA, consistent with dCas9 being a slow kinetics repressor. This analysis shows how the intrinsic properties of a repressor can be evolutionarily tuned to set the magnitude of relief of TI.

Two novel temperate bacteriophages co-existing in Aeromonas sp. ARM81 - characterization of their genomes, proteomes and DNA methyltransferases

Aeromonas species are causative agents of a wide spectrum of diseases in animals and humans. Although these bacteria are commonly found in various environments, little is known about their phages. Thus far, only one temperate Aeromonas phage has been characterized. Whole-genome sequencing of an Aeromonas sp. strain ARM81 revealed the presence of two prophage clusters. One of them is integrated into the chromosome and the other was maintained as an extrachromosomal, linear plasmid-like prophage encoding a protelomerase. Both prophages were artificially and spontaneously inducible. We separately isolated both phages and compared their genomes with other known viruses. The novel phages show no similarity to the previously characterized Aeromonas phages and might represent new evolutionary lineages of viruses infecting Aeromonadaceae. Apart from the comparative genomic analyses of these phages, complemented with their structural and molecular characterization, a functional analysis of four DNA methyltransferases encoded by these viruses was conducted. One of the investigated N6-adenine-modifying enzymes shares sequence specificity with a Dam-like methyltransferase of its bacterial host, while another one is non-specific, as it catalyzes adenine methylation in various sequence contexts. The presented results shed new light on the diversity of Aeromonas temperate phages.

Transcription is regulated by NusA:NusG interaction

NusA and NusG are major regulators of bacterial transcription elongation, which act either in concert or antagonistically. Both bind to RNA polymerase (RNAP), regulating pausing as well as intrinsic and Rho-dependent termination. Here, we demonstrate by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy that the Escherichia coli NusG amino-terminal domain forms a complex with the acidic repeat domain 2 (AR2) of NusA. The interaction surface of either transcription factor overlaps with the respective binding site for RNAP. We show that NusA-AR2 is able to remove NusG from RNAP. Our in vivo and in vitro results suggest that interaction between NusA and NusG could play various regulatory roles during transcription, including recruitment of NusG to RNAP, resynchronization of transcription:translation coupling, and modulation of termination efficiency.

Evidence that bacteriophage λ lysogens may induce in response to the proton motive force uncoupler CCCP

We describe a genetic β-galactoside reporter system using a disk diffusion assay on MacConkey Lactose agar petri plates to monitor maintenance of the bacteriophage λ prophage state and viral induction in Escherichia coli K-12. Evidence is presented that the phage λ major lytic promoters, pL and pR, are activated when cells containing the reporters are exposed to the energy poison carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazine, CCCP. This uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation inhibits ATP synthesis by collapsing the proton motive force. Expression of the λ lytic promoters in response to CCCP requires host RecA function and an autocleavable CI repressor, as does SOS induction of the λ prophage that occurs by a DNA damage-dependent pathway. λ Cro function is required for CCCP-mediated activation of the λ lytic promoters. CCCP does not induce an sfi-lacZ SOS reporter.

MediaChrom: Discovering a Class of Pyrimidoindolone-Based Polarity-Sensitive Dyes

A small library of six polarity-sensitive fluorescent dyes, nicknamed MediaChrom, was prepared. This class of dyes is characterized by a pyrimidoindolone core fitted out with a conjugated push-pull system and a carboxy linker for a conceivable coupling with biomolecules. The optimized eight-step synthetic strategy involves a highly chemo- and regioselective gold-catalyzed cycloisomerization reaction. The photophysical properties of MediaChrom dyes have been evaluated in-depth. In particular, the MediaChrom bearing a diethylamino as an electron-donating group and a trifluoromethyl as an electron-withdrawing group displays the most interesting and advantageous spectroscopic features (e.g., absorption and emission in the visible range and a good quantum yield). Promising results in terms of sensitivity have been obtained in vitro on this dye as a membrane/lipophilic probe and as a peptide fluorescent label.

A λ Cro-Like Repressor Is Essential for the Induction of Conjugative Transfer of SXT/R391 Elements in Response to DNA Damage

Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) of the SXT/R391 family are the main contributors to acquired multidrug resistance in the seventh pandemic lineage of Vibrio cholerae, the etiological agent of the diarrheal disease cholera. Conjugative transfer of SXT/R391 ICEs is triggered by antibiotics and agents promoting DNA damage through RecA-dependent autoproteolysis of SetR, an ICE-encoded λ CI-like repressor. Here, we describe the role of CroS, a distant λ Cro homolog, as a key component contributing to the regulation of expression of the activator SetCD that orchestrates the expression of the conjugative transfer genes. We show that deletion of croS abolishes the SOS response-dependent induction of SXT despite the presence of a functional setR gene. Using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and lacZ reporter assays, we also show that CroS represses setR and setCD expression by binding to operator sites shared with SetR. Furthermore, we provide evidence of an additional operator site bound by SetR and CroS. Finally, we show that SetCD expression generates a positive feedback loop due to SXT excision and replication in a fraction of the cell population. Together, these results refine our understanding of the genetic regulation governing the propagation of major vectors of multidrug resistance.

IMPORTANCE

Healthcare systems worldwide are challenged by an alarming drug resistance crisis caused by the massive and rapid propagation of antibiotic resistance genes and the associated emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria. SXT/R391 ICEs contribute to this phenomenon not only in clinical and environmental vibrios but also in several members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. We have identified and characterized here the regulator CroS as a key factor in the stimulation of conjugative transfer of these ICEs in response to DNA-damaging agents. We have also untangled conflicting evidence regarding autoactivation of transfer by the master activator of SXT/R391 ICEs, SetCD. Discovery of CroS provides a clearer and more complete understanding of the regulatory network that governs the dissemination of SXT/R391 ICEs in bacterial populations.

Defects in polynucleotide phosphorylase impairs virulence in Escherichia coli O157:H7

Polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) is reported to regulate virulence in Salmonella, Yersinia sp. and Campylobacter jejuni, yet its role in Escherichia coli O157:H7 has not been investigated. To gain insights into its roles in E. coli O157:H7 virulence, pnp deletion mutants were generated and the major virulence factors were compared to their parental wild type strains. Deletion of pnp in E. coli O157:H7 dramatically decreased stx2 mRNA expression and Stx2 protein production, and impaired lambdoid prophage activation in E. coli O157:H7. Quantitative PCR further confirmed that the Stx2 phage lytic growth was repressed by pnp deletion. Consistent with reduced Stx2 production and Stx2 phage activation, the transcriptional levels of genes involved in phage lysis and replication were down-regulated. In addition, disruption of pnp in E. coli O157:H7 decreased its adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells as well as cattle colonic explant tissues. On the other hand, PNPase inactivation in E. coli O157:H7 enhanced Tir protein content and the transcription of type three secretion system components, including genes encoding intimin, Tir, and EspB as well as locus of enterocyte and effacement positive regulator, Ler. Collectively, data indicate that PNPase has pleiotropic effects on the virulence of E. coli O157:H7.

CRISPR adaptation biases explain preference for acquisition of foreign DNA

CRISPR-Cas (clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats coupled with CRISPR-associated proteins) is a bacterial immunity system that protects against invading phages or plasmids. In the process of CRISPR adaptation, short pieces of DNA ('spacers') are acquired from foreign elements and integrated into the CRISPR array. So far, it has remained a mystery how spacers are preferentially acquired from the foreign DNA while the self chromosome is avoided. Here we show that spacer acquisition is replication-dependent, and that DNA breaks formed at stalled replication forks promote spacer acquisition. Chromosomal hotspots of spacer acquisition were confined by Chi sites, which are sequence octamers highly enriched on the bacterial chromosome, suggesting that these sites limit spacer acquisition from self DNA. We further show that the avoidance of self is mediated by the RecBCD double-stranded DNA break repair complex. Our results suggest that, in Escherichia coli, acquisition of new spacers largely depends on RecBCD-mediated processing of double-stranded DNA breaks occurring primarily at replication forks, and that the preference for foreign DNA is achieved through the higher density of Chi sites on the self chromosome, in combination with the higher number of forks on the foreign DNA. This model explains the strong preference to acquire spacers both from high copy plasmids and from phages.

Ribosomal frameshifting and dual-target antiactivation restrict quorum-sensing-activated transfer of a mobile genetic element

Symbiosis islands are integrative and conjugative mobile genetic elements that convert nonsymbiotic rhizobia into nitrogen-fixing symbionts of leguminous plants. Excision of the Mesorhizobium loti symbiosis island ICEMlSym(R7A) is indirectly activated by quorum sensing through TraR-dependent activation of the excisionase gene rdfS. Here we show that a +1 programmed ribosomal frameshift (PRF) fuses the coding sequences of two TraR-activated genes, msi172 and msi171, producing an activator of rdfS expression named Frameshifted excision activator (FseA). Mass-spectrometry and mutational analyses indicated that the PRF occurred through +1 slippage of the tRNA(phe) from UUU to UUC within a conserved msi172-encoded motif. FseA activated rdfS expression in the absence of ICEMlSym(R7A), suggesting that it directly activated rdfS transcription, despite being unrelated to any characterized DNA-binding proteins. Bacterial two-hybrid and gene-reporter assays demonstrated that FseA was also bound and inhibited by the ICEMlSym(R7A)-encoded quorum-sensing antiactivator QseM. Thus, activation of ICEMlSym(R7A) excision is counteracted by TraR antiactivation, ribosomal frameshifting, and FseA antiactivation. This robust suppression likely dampens the inherent biological noise present in the quorum-sensing autoinduction circuit and ensures that ICEMlSym(R7A) transfer only occurs in a subpopulation of cells in which both qseM expression is repressed and FseA is translated. The architecture of the ICEMlSym(R7A) transfer regulatory system provides an example of how a set of modular components have assembled through evolution to form a robust genetic toggle that regulates gene transcription and translation at both single-cell and cell-population levels.

Monitoring F1651 P-like fimbria expression at the single-cell level reveals a highly heterogeneous phenotype

F1651 and the pyelonephritis-associated pili (Pap) are two members of the type P family of adhesive factors. They play a key role in establishing disease caused by extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) strains in animals and humans. Both F1651 and Pap are under the control of an epigenetic and reversible switch that defines the number of fimbriated (ON) and afimbriated (OFF) cells within a clonal population. Using the Gfp reporter system, we monitored in vitro the level of fluorescence intensity corresponding to the F1651 and Pap fimbrial synthesis. Monitoring individual Escherichia coli cells by flow cytometry and by real-time fluorescence microscopy, we identified cells associated with a low or high level of fluorescence intensity and a large amount of cells with partial levels of fluorescence, mostly present in the F1651 system. This mixed population identified through fluorescence intensity could be attributed to the high switching rate previously observed in F1651-positive bacteria. The fimbrial heterogeneous phenotype for these ExPEC could represent increased fitness in unpredictable environments. Our study illustrates that within the large repertoire of fimbrial variants such as the well-characterized Pap, F1651 is an exquisite example of regulatory expression that arms the bacterium with strategies for surviving in more than one particular environment.

Recombineering: using drug cassettes to knock out genes in vivo

A 'gene knockout' or 'knockout' is a mutation that inactivates a gene function. These mutations are very useful for classical genetic studies as well as for modern techniques including functional genomics. In the past, knockouts of bacterial genes were often made by transposon mutagenesis. In this case, laborious screens are required to find a knockout in the gene of interest. Knockouts of other organisms have traditionally been made by first using in vitro genetic engineering to modify genes contained on plasmids or bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) and later moving these modified constructs to the organism of interest by cell culture techniques. Other methods utilizing a combination of genetic engineering and in vivo homologous recombination were inefficient at best. Recombineering provides a new way to generate knockout mutations directly on the bacterial chromosome or to modify any plasmid or BAC in vivo as a prelude to making knockouts in other organisms. The constructs are designed to the base pair and are not dependent on suitable restriction sites. A drug cassette can be placed anywhere within a gene or the open reading frame of the gene can be replaced with the drug cassette. Either way, the desired construct is selected for.

Revisiting bistability in the lysis/lysogeny circuit of bacteriophage lambda

The lysis/lysogeny switch of bacteriophage lambda serves as a paradigm for binary cell fate decision, long-term maintenance of cellular state and stimulus-triggered switching between states. In the literature, the system is often referred to as “bistable.” However, it remains unclear whether this term provides an accurate description or is instead a misnomer. Here we address this question directly. We first quantify transcriptional regulation governing lysogenic maintenance using a single-cell fluorescence reporter. We then use the single-cell data to derive a stochastic theoretical model for the underlying regulatory network. We use the model to predict the steady states of the system and then validate these predictions experimentally. Specifically, a regime of bistability, and the resulting hysteretic behavior, are observed. Beyond the steady states, the theoretical model successfully predicts the kinetics of switching from lysogeny to lysis. Our results show how the physics-inspired concept of bistability can be reliably used to describe cellular phenotype, and how an experimentally-calibrated theoretical model can have accurate predictive power for cell-state switching.

Packing interface energetics in different crystal forms of the λ Cro dimer

Variation among crystal structures of the λ Cro dimer highlights conformational flexibility. The structures range from a wild type closed to a mutant fully open conformation, but it is unclear if each represents a stable solution state or if one may be the result of crystal packing. Here we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to investigate the energetics of crystal packing interfaces and the influence of site-directed mutagenesis on them in order to examine the effect of crystal packing on wild type and mutant Cro dimer conformation. Replica exchange MD of mutant Cro in solution shows that the observed conformational differences between the wild type and mutant protein are not the direct consequence of mutation. Instead, simulation of Cro in different crystal environments reveals that mutation affects the stability of crystal forms. Molecular Mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area binding energy calculations reveal the detailed energetics of packing interfaces. Packing interfaces can have diverse properties in strength, energetic components, and some are stronger than the biological dimer interface. Further analysis shows that mutation can strengthen packing interfaces by as much as ∼5 kcal/mol in either crystal environment. Thus, in the case of Cro, mutation provides an additional energetic contribution during crystal formation that may stabilize a fully open higher energy state. Moreover, the effect of mutation in the lattice can extend to packing interfaces not involving mutation sites. Our results provide insight into possible models for the effect of crystallization on Cro conformational dynamics and emphasize careful consideration of protein crystal structures.

Effects of post-transcriptional regulation on phenotypic noise in Escherichia coli

Cell-to-cell variations in protein abundance, called noise, give rise to phenotypic variability between isogenic cells. Studies of noise have focused on stochasticity introduced at transcription, yet the effects of post-transcriptional regulatory processes on noise remain unknown. We study the effects of RyhB, a small-RNA of Escherichia coli produced on iron stress, on the phenotypic variability of two of its downregulated target proteins, using dual chromosomal fusions to fluorescent reporters and measurements in live individual cells. The total noise of each of the target proteins is remarkably constant over a wide range of RyhB production rates despite cells being in stress. In fact, coordinate downregulation of the two target proteins by RyhB reduces the correlation between their levels. Hence, an increase in phenotypic variability under stress is achieved by decoupling the expression of different target proteins in the same cell, rather than by an increase in the total noise of each. Extrinsic noise provides the dominant contribution to the total protein noise over the total range of RyhB production rates. Stochastic simulations reproduce qualitatively key features of our observations and show that a feed-forward loop formed by transcriptional extrinsic noise, an sRNA and its target genes exhibits strong noise filtration capabilities.

Enhancer-like long-range transcriptional activation by λ CI-mediated DNA looping

How distant enhancer elements regulate the assembly of a transcription complex at a promoter remains poorly understood. Here, we use long-range gene regulation by the bacteriophage λ CI protein as a powerful system to examine this process in vivo. A 2.3-kb DNA loop, formed by CI bridging its binding sites at OR and OL, is known already to enhance repression at the lysogenic promoter PRM, located at OR. Here, we show that CI looping also activates PRM by allowing the C-terminal domain of the α subunit of the RNA polymerase bound at PRM to contact a DNA site adjacent to the distal CI sites at OL. Our results establish OL as a multifaceted enhancer element, able to activate transcription from long distances independently of orientation and position. We develop a physicochemical model of our in vivo data and use it to show that the observed activation is consistent with a simple recruitment mechanism, where the α-C-terminal domain to DNA contact need only provide ∼2.7 kcal/mol of additional binding energy for RNA polymerase. Structural modeling of this complete enhancer-promoter complex reveals how the contact is achieved and regulated, and suggests that distal enhancer elements, once appropriately positioned at the promoter, can function in essentially the same way as proximal promoter elements.

Isolation and characterization of RNA polymerase rpoB mutations that alter transcription slippage during elongation in Escherichia coli

Transcription fidelity is critical for maintaining the accurate flow of genetic information. The study of transcription fidelity has been limited because the intrinsic error rate of transcription is obscured by the higher error rate of translation, making identification of phenotypes associated with transcription infidelity challenging. Slippage of elongating RNA polymerase (RNAP) on homopolymeric A/T tracts in DNA represents a special type of transcription error leading to disruption of open reading frames in Escherichia coli mRNA. However, the regions in RNAP involved in elongation slippage and its molecular mechanism are unknown. We constructed an A/T tract that is out of frame relative to a downstream lacZ gene on the chromosome to examine transcriptional slippage during elongation. Further, we developed a genetic system that enabled us for the first time to isolate and characterize E. coli RNAP mutants with altered transcriptional slippage in vivo. We identified several amino acid residues in the β subunit of RNAP that affect slippage in vivo and in vitro. Interestingly, these highly clustered residues are located near the RNA strand of the RNA-DNA hybrid in the elongation complex. Our E. coli study complements an accompanying study of slippage by yeast RNAP II and provides the basis for future studies on the mechanism of transcription fidelity.

A synthetic peptide mimic of λ-Cro shows sequence-specific binding in vitro and in vivo

Development of small synthetic transcription factors is important for future cellular engineering and therapeutics. This article describes the chemical synthesis of α-amino-isobutyric acid (Aib) substituted, conformationally constrained, helical peptide mimics of Cro protein from bacteriophage λ that encompasses the DNA recognition elements. The Aib substituted constrained helical peptide monomer shows a moderately reduced dissociation constant compared to the corresponding unsubstituted wild type peptide. A suitably cross-linked dimeric version of the peptide, mimicking the dimeric protein, recapitulates some of the important features of Cro. It binds to the operator site O(R)3, a high affinity Cro binding site in the λ genome, with good affinity and single base-pair discrimination specificity. A dimeric version of an even shorter peptide mimic spanning only the recognition helix of the helix-turn-helix motif of the Cro protein was created following the same design principles. This dimeric peptide binds to O(R)3 with affinity greater than that of the longer version. Chemical shift perturbation experiments show that the binding mode of this peptide dimer to the cognate operator site sequence is similar to the wild type Cro protein. A Green Fluorescent Protein based reporter assay in vivo reveals that the peptide dimer binds the operator site sequences with considerable selectivity and inhibits gene expression. Peptide mimics designed in this way may provide a future framework for creating effective synthetic transcription factors.

Phage λ--new insights into regulatory circuits

Bacteriophage λ, rediscovered in the early 1950s, has served as a model in molecular biology studies for decades. Although currently more complex organisms and more complicated biological systems can be studied, this phage is still an excellent model to investigate principles of biological processes occurring at the molecular level. In fact, very few other biological models provide possibilities to examine regulations of biological mechanisms as detailed as performed with λ. In this chapter, recent advances in our understanding of mechanisms of bacteriophage λ development are summarized and discussed. Particularly, studies on (i) phage DNA injection, (ii) molecular bases of the lysis-versus-lysogenization decision and the lysogenization process itself, (iii) prophage maintenance and induction, (iv), λ DNA replication, (v) phage-encoded recombination systems, (vi) transcription antitermination, (vii) formation of the virion structure, and (viii) lysis of the host cell, as published during several past years, will be presented.

Molecular simulation uncovers the conformational space of the λ Cro dimer in solution

The significant variation among solved structures of the λ Cro dimer suggests its flexibility. However, contacts in the crystal lattice could have stabilized a conformation which is unrepresentative of its dominant solution form. Here we report on the conformational space of the Cro dimer in solution using replica exchange molecular dynamics in explicit solvent. The simulated ensemble shows remarkable correlation with available x-ray structures. Network analysis and a free energy surface reveal the predominance of closed and semi-open dimers, with a modest barrier separating these two states. The fully open conformation lies higher in free energy, indicating that it requires stabilization by DNA or crystal contacts. Most NMR models are found to be unstable conformations in solution. Intersubunit salt bridging between Arg(4) and Glu(53) during simulation stabilizes closed conformations. Because a semi-open state is among the low-energy conformations sampled in simulation, we propose that Cro-DNA binding may not entail a large conformational change relative to the dominant dimer forms in solution.

Multilevel autoregulation of λ repressor protein CI by DNA looping in vitro

The prophage state of bacteriophage λ is extremely stable and is maintained by a highly regulated level of λ repressor protein, CI, which represses lytic functions. CI regulates its own synthesis in a lysogen by activating and repressing its promoter, P(RM). CI participates in long-range interactions involving two regions of widely separated operator sites by generating a loop in the intervening DNA. We investigated the roles of each individual site under conditions that permitted DNA loop formation by using in vitro transcription assays for the first time on supercoiled DNA that mimics in vivo situation. We confirmed that DNA loops generated by oligomerization of CI bound to its operators influence the autoactivation and autorepression of P(RM) regulation. We additionally report that different configurations of DNA loops are central to this regulation--one configuration further enhances autoactivation and another is essential for autorepression of P(RM).

Lrp-DNA complex stability determines the level of ON cells in type P fimbriae phase variation

F165(1) and the pyelonephritis-associated pili (Pap) are two members of the type P family of adhesive factors that play a key role in the establishment of disease caused by extraintestinal Escherichia coli (ExPEC) strains. They are both under the control of an epigenetic and reversible switch that defines the number of fimbriated (ON) and afimbriated (OFF) cells within a clonal population. Our present study demonstrates that the high level of ON cells found during F165(1) phase variation is due to altered stability of the DNA complex formed by the leucine-responsive regulatory protein (Lrp) at its repressor binding sites 1-3; after each cell cycle, complex formation is also modulated by the local regulator FooI (homologue to PapI) which promotes the transit of Lrp towards its activator binding sites 4-6. Furthermore, we identified two nucleotides (T490, G508) surrounding the Lrp binding site 1 that are critical to maintaining a high OFF to ON switch rate during F165(1) phase variation, as well as switching Pap fimbriae towards the OFF state.

Lysogen stability is determined by the frequency of activity bursts from the fate-determining gene

Bacterial lysogeny serves as a simple paradigm for cell differentiation.

We characterize the activity of the fate-determining genes, cI and cro, with single-molecule resolution.

Stability of the lysogenic state is found to depend in a simple manner on the frequency of activity bursts from cI.

The ability of living cells to maintain an inheritable memory of their gene-expression state is key to cellular differentiation. Bacterial lysogeny serves as a simple paradigm for long-term cellular memory. In this study, we address the following question: in the absence of external perturbation, how long will a cell stay in the lysogenic state before spontaneously switching away from that state? We show by direct measurement that lysogen stability exhibits a simple exponential dependence on the frequency of activity bursts from the fate-determining gene, cI. We quantify these gene-activity bursts using single-molecule-resolution mRNA measurements in individual cells, analyzed using a stochastic mathematical model of the gene-network kinetics. The quantitative relation between stability and gene activity is independent of the fine details of gene regulation, suggesting that a quantitative prediction of cell-state stability may also be possible in more complex systems.

Minimal gene regulatory circuits for a lysis-lysogeny choice in the presence of noise

Gene regulatory networks (GRNs) that make reliable decisions should have design features to cope with random fluctuations in the levels or activities of biological molecules. The phage λ GRN makes a lysis-lysogeny decision informed by the number of phages infecting the cell. To analyse the design of decision making GRNs, we generated random in silico GRNs comprised of two or three transcriptional regulators and selected those able to perform a λ-like decision in the presence of noise. Various two-protein networks analogous to the λ CI-Cro GRN worked in noise-less conditions but failed when noise was introduced. Adding a λ CII-like protein significantly improved robustness to noise. CII relieves the CI-like protein of its 'decider' function, allowing CI to be optimized as a decision 'maintainer'. CII's lysogenic decider function was improved by its instability and rapid removal once the decision was taken, preventing its interference with maintenance. A more reliable decision also resulted from simulated co-transcription of the genes for CII and the Cro-like protein, which correlates fluctuations in these opposing decider functions and makes their ratio less noisy. Thus, the λ decision network contains design features for reducing and resisting noise.

A genetic approach for finding small RNAs regulators of genes of interest identifies RybC as regulating the DpiA/DpiB two-component system

In Escherichia coli, the largest class of small regulatory RNAs binds to the RNA chaperone Hfq and regulates the stability and/or translation of specific mRNAs. While recent studies have shown that some mRNAs could be subject to post-transcriptional regulation by sRNAs (e.g. mRNAs found by co-immunoprecipitation with Hfq), no method has yet been described to identify small RNAs that regulate them. We developed a method to easily make translational fusions of genes of interest to the lacZ reporter gene, under the control of a P(BAD)-inducible promoter. A multicopy plasmid library of the E. coli genome can then be used to screen for small RNAs that affect the activity of the fusion. This screening method was first applied to the dpiB gene from the dpiBA operon, which encodes a two-component signal transduction system involved in the SOS response to beta-lactams. One small RNA, RybC, was found to negatively regulate the expression of dpiB. Using mutants in the dpiB-lacZ fusion and compensatory mutations in the RybC sRNA, we demonstrate that RybC directly base pairs with the dpiBA mRNA.

Predicting gene-regulation functions: lessons from temperate bacteriophages

Gene-regulation functions (GRF) provide a unique characteristic of a cis-regulatory module (CRM), relating the concentrations of transcription factors (input) to the promoter activities (output). The challenge is to predict GRFs from the sequence. Here we systematically consider the lysogeny-lysis CRMs of different temperate bacteriophages such as the Lactobacillus casei phage A2, Escherichia coli phages lambda, and 186 and Lactococcal phage TP901-1. This study allowed explaining a recent experimental puzzle on the role of Cro protein in the lambda switch. Several general conclusions have been drawn: 1), long-range interactions, multilayer assembly and DNA looping may lead to complex GRFs that cannot be described by linear functions of binding site occupancies; 2), in general, GRFs cannot be described by the Boolean logic, whereas a three-state non-Boolean logic suffices for the studied examples; 3), studied CRMs of the intact phages seemed to have a similar GRF topology (the number of plateaus and peaks corresponding to different expression regimes); we hypothesize that functionally equivalent CRMs might have topologically equivalent GRFs for a larger class of genetic systems; and 4) within a given GRF class, a set of mechanistic-to-mathematical transformations has been identified, which allows shaping the GRF before carrying out a system-level analysis.

Mechanism of positive regulation by DsrA and RprA small noncoding RNAs: pairing increases translation and protects rpoS mRNA from degradation

Small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) regulate gene expression in Escherichia coli by base pairing with mRNAs and modulating translation and mRNA stability. The sRNAs DsrA and RprA stimulate the translation of the stress response transcription factor RpoS by base pairing with the 5' untranslated region of the rpoS mRNA. In the present study, we found that the rpoS mRNA was unstable in the absence of DsrA and RprA and that expression of these sRNAs increased both the accumulation and the half-life of the rpoS mRNA. Mutations in dsrA, rprA, or rpoS that disrupt the predicted pairing sequences and reduce translation of RpoS also destabilize the rpoS mRNA. We found that the rpoS mRNA accumulates in an RNase E mutant strain in the absence of sRNA expression and, therefore, is degraded by an RNase E-mediated mechanism. DsrA expression is required, however, for maximal translation even when rpoS mRNA is abundant. This suggests that DsrA protects rpoS mRNA from degradation by RNase E and that DsrA has a further activity in stimulating RpoS protein synthesis. rpoS mRNA is subject to degradation by an additional pathway, mediated by RNase III, which, in contrast to the RNase E-mediated pathway, occurs in the presence and absence of DsrA or RprA. rpoS mRNA and RpoS protein levels are increased in an RNase III mutant strain with or without the sRNAs, suggesting that the role of RNase III in this context is to reduce the translation of RpoS even when the sRNAs are acting to stimulate translation.

Transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair of a gene transcribed by bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase in Escherichia coli

Transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair (TC-NER) removes certain kinds of lesions from the transcribed strand of expressed genes. The signal for TC-NER is thought to be RNA polymerase stalled at a lesion in the DNA template. In Escherichia coli, the stalled polymerase is dissociated from the lesion by the transcription repair coupling factor (Mfd protein), which also recruits excision repair proteins to the site resulting in efficient removal of the lesion. TC-NER has been documented in cells from a variety of organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. In each case, the RNA polymerase involved has been a multimeric protein complex. To ascertain whether a gene transcribed by the monomeric RNA polymerase of bacteriophage T7 could be repaired by TC-NER, we constructed strains of E. coli in which the chromosomal lacZ gene is controlled by a T7 promoter. In the absence of T7 RNA polymerase, little or no beta-galactosidase is produced, indicating that the E. coli RNA polymerase does not transcribe lacZ efficiently, if at all, in these strains. By introducing a plasmid (pAR1219) carrying the T7 gene 1 under control of the E. coli lac UV5 promoter into these strains, we obtained derivatives in which the level of T7 RNA polymerase could be regulated. In cultures containing upregulated levels of the polymerase, beta-galactosidase was actively produced indicating that the T7 RNA polymerase transcribes the lacZ gene efficiently. Under these conditions, we observed that UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers were removed more rapidly from the transcribed strand of lacZ than from the nontranscribed strand, supporting the conclusion that TC-NER occurred in this gene. This response was absent in an mfd-1 mutant, indicating that the underlying mechanism may be similar to that for the bacterial RNA polymerase.