1
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Østergaard MZ, Nielsen FD, Meinfeldt MH, Kirkpatrick CL. The uncharacterized PA3040-3042 operon is part of the cell envelope stress response and a tobramycin resistance determinant in a clinical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0387523. [PMID: 38949386 PMCID: PMC11302039 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03875-23] [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: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages (hereafter "phages") are ubiquitous predators of bacteria in the natural world, but interest is growing in their development into antibacterial therapy as complement or replacement for antibiotics. However, bacteria have evolved a huge variety of antiphage defense systems allowing them to resist phage lysis to a greater or lesser extent. In addition to dedicated phage defense systems, some aspects of the general stress response also impact phage susceptibility, but the details of this are not well known. In order to elucidate these factors in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we used the laboratory-conditioned strain PAO1 as host for phage infection experiments as it is naturally poor in dedicated phage defense systems. Screening by transposon insertion sequencing indicated that the uncharacterized operon PA3040-PA3042 was potentially associated with resistance to lytic phages. However, we found that its primary role appeared to be in regulating biofilm formation, particularly in a clinical isolate of P. aeruginosa in which it also altered tobramycin resistance. Its expression was highly growth-phase dependent and responsive to phage infection and cell envelope stress. Our results suggest that this operon may be a cryptic but important locus for P. aeruginosa stress tolerance. IMPORTANCE An important category of bacterial stress response systems is bacteriophage defense, where systems are triggered by bacteriophage infection and activate a response which may either destroy the phage genome or destroy the infected cell so that the rest of the population survives. In some bacteria, the cell envelope stress response is activated by bacteriophage infection, but it is unknown whether this contributes to the survival of the infection. We have found that a conserved uncharacterized operon (PA3040-PA3042) of the cell envelope stress regulon in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which has very few dedicated phage defense systems, responds to phage infection and stationary phase as well as envelope stress and is important for growth and biofilm formation in a clinical isolate of P. aeruginosa, even in the absence of phages. As homologs of these genes are found in other bacteria, they may be a novel component of the general stress response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magnus Z. Østergaard
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Flemming D. Nielsen
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Mette H. Meinfeldt
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Clare L. Kirkpatrick
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
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2
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Laub MT, Typas A. Principles of bacterial innate immunity against viruses. Curr Opin Immunol 2024; 89:102445. [PMID: 39137494 DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2024.102445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2024] [Revised: 07/29/2024] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/15/2024]
Abstract
All organisms must defend themselves against viral predators. This includes bacteria, which harbor immunity factors such as restriction-modification systems and CRISPR-Cas systems. More recently, a plethora of additional defense systems have been identified, revealing a richer, more sophisticated immune system than previously appreciated. Some of these newly identified defense systems have distant homologs in mammals, suggesting an ancient evolutionary origin of some facets of mammalian immunity. An even broader conservation exists at the level of how these immunity systems operate. Here, we focus at this level, reviewing key principles and high-level attributes of innate immunity in bacteria that are shared with mammalian immunity, while also noting key differences, with a particular emphasis on how cells sense viral infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael T Laub
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Athanasios Typas
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Genome Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany; European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Structural and Computational Biology Unit, Heidelberg, Germany.
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3
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Mayers JR, Varon J, Zhou RR, Daniel-Ivad M, Beaulieu C, Bhosle A, Glasser NR, Lichtenauer FM, Ng J, Vera MP, Huttenhower C, Perrella MA, Clish CB, Zhao SD, Baron RM, Balskus EP. A metabolomics pipeline highlights microbial metabolism in bloodstream infections. Cell 2024; 187:4095-4112.e21. [PMID: 38885650 PMCID: PMC11283678 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.05.035] [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] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
The growth of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) highlights an urgent need to identify bacterial pathogenic functions that may be targets for clinical intervention. Although severe infections profoundly alter host metabolism, prior studies have largely ignored microbial metabolism in this context. Here, we describe an iterative, comparative metabolomics pipeline to uncover microbial metabolic features in the complex setting of a host and apply it to investigate gram-negative bloodstream infection (BSI) in patients. We find elevated levels of bacterially derived acetylated polyamines during BSI and discover the enzyme responsible for their production (SpeG). Blocking SpeG activity reduces bacterial proliferation and slows pathogenesis. Reduction of SpeG activity also enhances bacterial membrane permeability and increases intracellular antibiotic accumulation, allowing us to overcome AMR in culture and in vivo. This study highlights how tools to study pathogen metabolism in the natural context of infection can reveal and prioritize therapeutic strategies for addressing challenging infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared R Mayers
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Jack Varon
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ruixuan R Zhou
- Department of Statistics, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Martin Daniel-Ivad
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | | | - Amrisha Bhosle
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Nathaniel R Glasser
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | | | - Julie Ng
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Mayra Pinilla Vera
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Curtis Huttenhower
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mark A Perrella
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Clary B Clish
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Sihai D Zhao
- Department of Statistics, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA; Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
| | - Rebecca M Baron
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Emily P Balskus
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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4
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Prentice JA, van de Weerd R, Bridges AA. Cell-lysis sensing drives biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2018. [PMID: 38443393 PMCID: PMC10914755 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46399-1] [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: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Matrix-encapsulated communities of bacteria, called biofilms, are ubiquitous in the environment and are notoriously difficult to eliminate in clinical and industrial settings. Biofilm formation likely evolved as a mechanism to protect resident cells from environmental challenges, yet how bacteria undergo threat assessment to inform biofilm development remains unclear. Here we find that population-level cell lysis events induce the formation of biofilms by surviving Vibrio cholerae cells. Survivors detect threats by sensing a cellular component released through cell lysis, which we identify as norspermidine. Lysis sensing occurs via the MbaA receptor with genus-level specificity, and responsive biofilm cells are shielded from phage infection and attacks from other bacteria. Thus, our work uncovers a connection between bacterial lysis and biofilm formation that may be broadly conserved among microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jojo A Prentice
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Robert van de Weerd
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Andrew A Bridges
- Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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5
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Ashworth EA, Wright RCT, Shears RK, Wong JKL, Hassan A, Hall JPJ, Kadioglu A, Fothergill JL. Exploiting lung adaptation and phage steering to clear pan-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in vivo. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1547. [PMID: 38378698 PMCID: PMC10879199 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45785-z] [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: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major nosocomial pathogen that causes severe disease including sepsis. Carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a priority 1 pathogen, with urgent need for new therapeutics. As such, there is renewed interest in using bacteriophages as a therapeutic. However, the dynamics of treating pan-resistant P. aeruginosa with phage in vivo are poorly understood. Using a pan-resistant P. aeruginosa in vivo infection model, phage therapy displays strong therapeutic potential, clearing infection from the blood, kidneys, and spleen. Remaining bacteria in the lungs and liver displays phage resistance due to limiting phage adsorption. Yet, resistance to phage results in re-sensitisation to a wide range of antibiotics. In this work, we use phage steering in vivo, pre-exposing a pan resistant P. aeruginosa infection with a phage cocktail to re-sensitise bacteria to antibiotics, clearing the infection from all organs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleri A Ashworth
- Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Rosanna C T Wright
- Division of Evolution & Genomic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Rebecca K Shears
- Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- Centre for Bioscience, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, M1 5DG, UK
| | - Janet K L Wong
- Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Akram Hassan
- Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - James P J Hall
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Aras Kadioglu
- Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
| | - Joanne L Fothergill
- Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
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6
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Dlakić M. Discovering unknown associations between prokaryotic receptors and their ligands. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2316830120. [PMID: 37910533 PMCID: PMC10655580 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316830120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mensur Dlakić
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT59717
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7
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Gokul JK, Mur LAJ, Hodson AJ, Irvine-Fynn TDL, Debbonaire AR, Takeuchi N, Edwards A. Icescape-scale metabolomics reveals cyanobacterial and topographic control of the core metabolism of the cryoconite ecosystem of an Arctic ice cap. Environ Microbiol 2023; 25:2549-2563. [PMID: 37621052 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Glaciers host ecosystems comprised of biodiverse and active microbiota. Among glacial ecosystems, less is known about the ecology of ice caps since most studies focus on valley glaciers or ice sheet margins. Previously we detailed the microbiota of one such high Arctic ice cap, focusing on cryoconite as a microbe-mineral aggregate formed by cyanobacteria. Here, we employ metabolomics at the scale of an entire ice cap to reveal the major metabolic pathways prevailing in the cryoconite of Foxfonna, central Svalbard. We reveal how geophysical and biotic processes influence the metabolomes of its resident cryoconite microbiota. We observed differences in amino acid, fatty acid, and nucleotide synthesis across the cap reflecting the influence of ice topography and the cyanobacteria within cryoconite. Ice topography influences central carbohydrate metabolism and nitrogen assimilation, whereas bacterial community structure governs lipid, nucleotide, and carotenoid biosynthesis processes. The prominence of polyamine metabolism and nitrogen assimilation highlights the importance of recycling nitrogenous nutrients. To our knowledge, this study represents the first application of metabolomics across an entire ice mass, demonstrating its utility as a tool for revealing the fundamental metabolic processes essential for sustaining life in supraglacial ecosystems experiencing profound change due to Arctic climate change-driven mass loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarishma K Gokul
- Department of Life Sciences, Cledwyn Building, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Luis A J Mur
- Department of Life Sciences, Cledwyn Building, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK
| | - Andrew J Hodson
- Department of Arctic Geology, University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Norway University of Environmental Science, Sogndal, Norway
| | | | - Aliyah R Debbonaire
- Department of Life Sciences, Cledwyn Building, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK
| | - Nozomu Takeuchi
- Department of Earth Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Arwyn Edwards
- Department of Life Sciences, Cledwyn Building, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK
- Department of Arctic Biology, University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway
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8
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Cerna-Vargas JP, Gumerov VM, Krell T, Zhulin IB. Amine-recognizing domain in diverse receptors from bacteria and archaea evolved from the universal amino acid sensor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2305837120. [PMID: 37819981 PMCID: PMC10589655 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305837120] [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: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteria possess various receptors that sense different signals and transmit information to enable an optimal adaptation to the environment. A major limitation in microbiology is the lack of information on the signal molecules that activate receptors. Signals recognized by sensor domains are poorly reflected in overall sequence identity, and therefore, the identification of signals from the amino acid sequence of the sensor alone presents a challenge. Biogenic amines are of great physiological importance for microorganisms and humans. They serve as substrates for aerobic and anaerobic growth and play a role of neurotransmitters and osmoprotectants. Here, we report the identification of a sequence motif that is specific for amine-sensing sensor domains that belong to the Cache superfamily of the most abundant extracellular sensors in prokaryotes. We identified approximately 13,000 sensor histidine kinases, chemoreceptors, receptors involved in second messenger homeostasis and Ser/Thr phosphatases from 8,000 bacterial and archaeal species that contain the amine-recognizing motif. The screening of compound libraries and microcalorimetric titrations of selected sensor domains confirmed their ability to specifically bind biogenic amines. Mutants in the amine-binding motif or domains that contain a single mismatch in the binding motif had either no or a largely reduced affinity for amines. We demonstrate that the amine-recognizing domain originated from the universal amino acid-sensing Cache domain, thus providing insight into receptor evolution. Our approach enables precise "wet"-lab experiments to define the function of regulatory systems and therefore holds a strong promise to enable the identification of signals stimulating numerous receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Paul Cerna-Vargas
- Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada18008, Spain
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria/Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Parque Científico y Tecnológico de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid28223, Spain
| | - Vadim M. Gumerov
- Department of Microbiology and Translational Data Analytics Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH43210
| | - Tino Krell
- Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Granada18008, Spain
| | - Igor B. Zhulin
- Department of Microbiology and Translational Data Analytics Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH43210
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9
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Mayers JR, Varon J, Zhou RR, Daniel-Ivad M, Beaulieu C, Bholse A, Glasser NR, Lichtenauer FM, Ng J, Vera MP, Huttenhower C, Perrella MA, Clish CB, Zhao SD, Baron RM, Balskus EP. Identification and targeting of microbial putrescine acetylation in bloodstream infections. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.21.558834. [PMID: 37790300 PMCID: PMC10542159 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.21.558834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
The growth of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has highlighted an urgent need to identify bacterial pathogenic functions that may be targets for clinical intervention. Although severe bacterial infections profoundly alter host metabolism, prior studies have largely ignored alterations in microbial metabolism in this context. Performing metabolomics on patient and mouse plasma samples, we identify elevated levels of bacterially-derived N-acetylputrescine during gram-negative bloodstream infections (BSI), with higher levels associated with worse clinical outcomes. We discover that SpeG is the bacterial enzyme responsible for acetylating putrescine and show that blocking its activity reduces bacterial proliferation and slows pathogenesis. Reduction of SpeG activity enhances bacterial membrane permeability and results in increased intracellular accumulation of antibiotics, allowing us to overcome AMR of clinical isolates both in culture and in vivo. This study highlights how studying pathogen metabolism in the natural context of infection can reveal new therapeutic strategies for addressing challenging infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared R. Mayers
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 02115
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 02115
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA 02138
| | - Jack Varon
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 02115
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 02115
| | - Ruixuan R. Zhou
- Department of Statistics, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA 61820
| | - Martin Daniel-Ivad
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA 02138
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA 02142
| | | | - Amrisha Bholse
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA 02142
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA 02115
| | - Nathaniel R. Glasser
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA 02138
| | | | - Julie Ng
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 02115
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 02115
| | - Mayra Pinilla Vera
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 02115
| | - Curtis Huttenhower
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA 02142
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA 02115
- Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mark A. Perrella
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 02115
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 02115
| | - Clary B. Clish
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA 02142
| | - Sihai D. Zhao
- Department of Statistics, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA 61820
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA 61820
| | - Rebecca M. Baron
- Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA 02115
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 02115
| | - Emily P. Balskus
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA 02138
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA 02138
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10
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Andriianov A, Trigüis S, Drobiazko A, Sierro N, Ivanov NV, Selmer M, Severinov K, Isaev A. Phage T3 overcomes the BREX defense through SAM cleavage and inhibition of SAM synthesis by SAM lyase. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112972. [PMID: 37578860 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophage T3 encodes a SAMase that, through cleavage of S-adenosyl methionine (SAM), circumvents the SAM-dependent type I restriction-modification (R-M) defense. We show that SAMase also allows T3 to evade the BREX defense. Although SAM depletion weakly affects BREX methylation, it completely inhibits the defensive function of BREX, suggesting that SAM could be a co-factor for BREX-mediated exclusion of phage DNA, similar to its anti-defense role in type I R-M. The anti-BREX activity of T3 SAMase is mediated not just by enzymatic degradation of SAM but also by direct inhibition of MetK, the host SAM synthase. We present a 2.8 Å cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the eight-subunit T3 SAMase-MetK complex. Structure-guided mutagenesis reveals that this interaction stabilizes T3 SAMase in vivo, further stimulating its anti-BREX activity. This work provides insights in the versatility of bacteriophage counterdefense mechanisms and highlights the role of SAM as a co-factor of diverse bacterial immunity systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Silvia Trigüis
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, BMC, Box 596, 751 24 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Alena Drobiazko
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow 143028, Russia
| | - Nicolas Sierro
- Philip Morris International R&D, Philip Morris Products S.A., 2000 Neuchatel, Switzerland
| | - Nikolai V Ivanov
- Philip Morris International R&D, Philip Morris Products S.A., 2000 Neuchatel, Switzerland
| | - Maria Selmer
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, BMC, Box 596, 751 24 Uppsala, Sweden.
| | | | - Artem Isaev
- Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow 143028, Russia.
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