Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of two variants of the Escherichia coli O157 ParE2-PaaA2 toxin-antitoxin complex

Toxin:antitoxin ratio sensing autoregulation of the Vibrio cholerae parDE2 module

The parDE family of toxin-antitoxin (TA) operons is ubiquitous in bacterial genomes and, in Vibrio cholerae, is an essential component to maintain the presence of chromosome II. Here, we show that transcription of the V. cholerae parDE2 (VcparDE) operon is regulated in a toxin:antitoxin ratio-dependent manner using a molecular mechanism distinct from other type II TA systems. The repressor of the operon is identified as an assembly with a 6:2 stoichiometry with three interacting ParD2 dimers bridged by two ParE2 monomers. This assembly docks to a three-site operator containing 5'- GGTA-3' motifs. Saturation of this TA complex with ParE2 toxin results in disruption of the interface between ParD2 dimers and the formation of a TA complex of 2:2 stoichiometry. The latter is operator binding-incompetent as it is incompatible with the required spacing of the ParD2 dimers on the operator.

A unique hetero-hexadecameric architecture displayed by the Escherichia coli O157 PaaA2-ParE2 antitoxin-toxin complex

Many bacterial pathogens modulate their metabolic activity, virulence and pathogenicity through so-called "toxin-antitoxin" (TA) modules. The genome of the human pathogen Escherichia coli O157 contains two three-component TA modules related to the known parDE module. Here, we show that the toxin EcParE2 maps in a branch of the RelE/ParE toxin superfamily that is distinct from the branches that contain verified gyrase and ribosome inhibitors. The structure of EcParE2 closely resembles that of Caulobacter crescentus ParE but shows a distinct pattern of conserved surface residues, in agreement with its apparent inability to interact with GyrA. The antitoxin EcPaaA2 is characterized by two α-helices (H1 and H2) that serve as molecular recognition elements to wrap itself around EcParE2. Both EcPaaA2 H1 and H2 are required to sustain a high-affinity interaction with EcParE2 and for the inhibition of EcParE2-mediated killing in vivo. Furthermore, evidence demonstrates that EcPaaA2 H2, but not H1, determines specificity for EcParE2. The initially formed EcPaaA2-EcParE2 heterodimer then assembles into a hetero-hexadecamer, which is stable in solution and is formed in a highly cooperative manner. Together these findings provide novel data on quaternary structure, TA interactions and activity of a hitherto poorly characterized family of TA modules.