Nutrient-dependent growth defects and mutability of mutators in Escherichia coli

Growth rate-associated transcriptome reorganization in response to genomic, environmental, and evolutionary interruptions

The genomic, environmental, and evolutionary interruptions caused the changes in bacterial growth, which were stringently associated with changes in gene expression. The growth and gene expression changes remained unclear in response to these interruptions that occurred combinative. As a pilot study, whether and how bacterial growth was affected by the individual and dual interruptions of genome reduction, environmental stress, and adaptive evolution were investigated. Growth assay showed that the presence of the environmental stressors, i.e., threonine and chloramphenicol, significantly decreased the growth rate of the wild-type Escherichia coli, whereas not that of the reduced genome. It indicated a canceling effect in bacterial growth due to the dual interruption of the genomic and environmental changes. Experimental evolution of the reduced genome released the canceling effect by improving growth fitness. Intriguingly, the transcriptome architecture maintained a homeostatic chromosomal periodicity regardless of the genomic, environmental, and evolutionary interruptions. Negative epistasis in transcriptome reorganization was commonly observed in response to the dual interruptions, which might contribute to the canceling effect. It was supported by the changes in the numbers of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and the enriched regulons and functions. Gene network analysis newly constructed 11 gene modules, one out of which was correlated to the growth rate. Enrichment of DEGs in these modules successfully categorized them into three types, i.e., conserved, responsive, and epistatic. Taken together, homeostasis in transcriptome architecture was essential to being alive, and it might be attributed to the negative epistasis in transcriptome reorganization and the functional differentiation in gene modules. The present study directly connected bacterial growth fitness with transcriptome reorganization and provided a global view of how microorganisms responded to genomic, environmental, and evolutionary interruptions for survival from wild nature.

Global coordination of the mutation and growth rates across the genetic and nutritional variety in Escherichia coli

Fitness and mutability are the primary traits of living organisms for adaptation and evolution. However, their quantitative linkage remained largely deficient. Whether there is any general relationship between the two features and how genetic and environmental variables influence them remained unclear and were addressed here. The mutation and growth rates of an assortment of Escherichia coli strain collections, including the wild-type strains and the genetically disturbed strains of either reduced genomes or deletion of the genes involved in the DNA replication fidelity, were evaluated in various media. The contribution of media to the mutation and growth rates was differentiated depending on the types of genetic disturbance. Nevertheless, the negative correlation between the mutation and growth rates was observed across the genotypes and was common in all media. It indicated the comprehensive association of the correlated mutation and growth rates with the genetic and medium variation. Multiple linear regression and support vector machine successfully predicted the mutation and growth rates and the categories of genotypes and media, respectively. Taken together, the study provided a quantitative dataset linking the mutation and growth rates, genotype, and medium and presented a simple and successful example of predicting bacterial growth and mutability by data-driven approaches.

Mutational property of newly identified mutagen l-glutamic acid γ-hydrazide in Escherichia coli

We previously found that an l-glutamine analog l-glutamic acid γ-hydrazide has high mutagenic activity through the high-throughput laboratory evolution of Escherichia coli. In this study, mutagenicity and mutational property of l-glutamic acid γ-hydrazide were examined by the Ames test and mutation accumulation experiments using E. coli. The Ames test revealed that l-glutamic acid γ-hydrazide showed higher mutagenic activity without metabolic activation than known mutagens 2-aminoanthracene, and cobalt(II) acetate tetrahydrate. This result indicates that l-glutamic acid γ-hydrazide does not require metabolic activation for mutagenic activity in E. coli. Mutation accumulation experiments and whole-genome sequencing analysis revealed the number and spectrum of the accumulated mutations with or without l-glutamic acid γ-hydrazide. In the presence of l-glutamic acid γ-hydrazide, MDS42 strain accumulated 392.3 ± 116.2 point mutations during 30 passages corresponding to 777 generations, while MDS42 strain accumulated 1.5 ± 2.5 point mutations without l-glutamic acid γ-hydrazide during 50 passages corresponding to 1341 generations. The mutational spectrum of l-glutamic acid γ-hydrazide was G/C to A/T transition (82.2 ± 4.3 %) and A/T to G/C transition (17.4 ± 4.3 %). These results indicated that l-glutamic acid γ-hydrazide has a strong mutagenic activity.

Draft Genome Sequence of Enterobacter sp. AS-1, a Potential Eurytrophic Recombination Host

Strain AS-1 was isolated from laboratory-scale activated sludge collected in Japan.

This strain not only grows on rich medium, including R2A medium, but also forms colonies on medium lacking organic matter other than agar (water agar), indicating it could be used as a eurytrophic recombinant host in material production processes. Here, we present a draft genome sequence of Enterobacter sp. AS-1, which consists of a total of 24 contigs containing 5,207,146 bp, with a GC content of 55.64%, and comprising 4,921 predicted coding sequences. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain AS-1 was designated as Enterobacter sp. AS-1.

Biogenesis and functions of aminocarboxypropyluridine in tRNA

Transfer (t)RNAs contain a wide variety of post-transcriptional modifications, which play critical roles in tRNA stability and functions. 3-(3-amino-3-carboxypropyl)uridine (acp3U) is a highly conserved modification found in variable- and D-loops of tRNAs. Biogenesis and functions of acp3U have not been extensively investigated. Using a reverse-genetic approach supported by comparative genomics, we find here that the Escherichia coli yfiP gene, which we rename tapT (tRNA aminocarboxypropyltransferase), is responsible for acp3U formation in tRNA. Recombinant TapT synthesizes acp3U at position 47 of tRNAs in the presence of S-adenosylmethionine. Biochemical experiments reveal that acp3U47 confers thermal stability on tRNA. Curiously, the ΔtapT strain exhibits genome instability under continuous heat stress. We also find that the human homologs of tapT, DTWD1 and DTWD2, are responsible for acp3U formation at positions 20 and 20a of tRNAs, respectively. Double knockout cells of DTWD1 and DTWD2 exhibit growth retardation, indicating that acp3U is physiologically important in mammals.

Inactivation of a Mismatch-Repair System Diversifies Genotypic Landscape of Escherichia coli During Adaptive Laboratory Evolution

Adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) is used to find causal mutations that underlie improved strain performance under the applied selection pressure. ALE studies have revealed that mutator populations tend to outcompete their non-mutator counterparts following the evolutionary trajectory. Among them, mutS-inactivated mutator cells, characterize d by a dysfunctional methyl-mismatch repair system, are frequently found in ALE experiments. Here, we examined mutS inactivation as an approach to facilitate ALE of Escherichia coli. The wild-type E. coli MG1655 and mutS knock-out derivative (ΔmutS) were evolved in parallel for 800 generations on lactate or glycerol minimal media in a serial-transfer experiment. Whole-genome re-sequencing of each lineage at 100-generation intervals revealed that (1) mutations emerge rapidly in the ΔmutS compared to in the wild-type strain; (2) mutations were more than fourfold higher in the ΔmutS strain at the end-point populations compared to the wild-type strain; and (3) a significant number of random mutations accumulated in the ΔmutS strains. We then measured the fitness of the end-point populations on an array of non-adaptive carbon sources. Interestingly, collateral fitness increases on non-adaptive carbon sources were more pronounced in the ΔmutS strains than the parental strain. Fitness measurement of single mutants revealed that the collateral fitness increase seen in the mutator lineages can be attributed to a pool of random mutations. Together, this study demonstrates that short-term mutator ALE extensively expands possible genotype space, resulting in versatile bacteria with elevated fitness levels across various carbon sources.

Mutation accumulation under UV radiation in Escherichia coli

Mutations are induced by not only intrinsic factors such as inherent molecular errors but also by extrinsic mutagenic factors such as UV radiation. Therefore, identifying the mutational properties for both factors is necessary to achieve a comprehensive understanding of evolutionary processes both in nature and in artificial situations. Although there have been extensive studies on intrinsic factors, the mutational profiles of extrinsic factors are poorly understood on a genomic scale. Here, we explored the mutation profiles of UV radiation, a ubiquitous mutagen, in Escherichia coli on the genomic scale. We performed an evolution experiment under periodic UV radiation for 28 days. The accumulation speed of the mutations was found to increase so that it exceeded that of a typical mutator strain with deficient mismatch repair processes. The huge contribution of the extrinsic factors to all mutations consequently increased the risk of the destruction of inherent error correction systems. The spectrum of the UV-induced mutations was broader than that of the spontaneous mutations in the mutator. The broad spectrum and high upper limit of the frequency of occurrence suggested ubiquitous roles for UV radiation in accelerating the evolutionary process.

Coordinated Changes in Mutation and Growth Rates Induced by Genome Reduction

Genome size is determined during evolution, but it can also be altered by genetic engineering in laboratories. The systematic characterization of reduced genomes provides valuable insights into the cellular properties that are quantitatively described by the global parameters related to the dynamics of growth and mutation. In the present study, we analyzed a small collection of W3110 Escherichia coli derivatives containing either the wild-type genome or reduced genomes of various lengths to examine whether the mutation rate, a global parameter representing genomic plasticity, was affected by genome reduction. We found that the mutation rates of these cells increased with genome reduction. The correlation between genome length and mutation rate, which has been reported for the evolution of bacteria, was also identified, intriguingly, for genome reduction. Gene function enrichment analysis indicated that the deletion of many of the genes encoding membrane and transport proteins play a role in the mutation rate changes mediated by genome reduction. Furthermore, the increase in the mutation rate with genome reduction was highly associated with a decrease in the growth rate in a nutrition-dependent manner; thus, poorer media showed a larger change that was of higher significance. This negative correlation was strongly supported by experimental evidence that the serial transfer of the reduced genome improved the growth rate and reduced the mutation rate to a large extent. Taken together, the global parameters corresponding to the genome, growth, and mutation showed a coordinated relationship, which might be an essential working principle for balancing the cellular dynamics appropriate to the environment.

Genome reduction is a powerful approach for investigating the fundamental rules for living systems. Whether genetically disturbed genomes have any specific properties that are different from or similar to those of natively evolved genomes has been under investigation. In the present study, we found that Escherichia coli cells with reduced genomes showed accelerated nucleotide substitution errors (mutation rates), although these cells retained the normal DNA mismatch repair systems. Intriguingly, this finding of correlation between reduced genome size and a higher mutation rate was consistent with the reported evolution of mutation rates. Furthermore, the increased mutation rate was quantitatively associated with a decreased growth rate, indicating that the global parameters related to the genome, growth, and mutation, which represent the amount of genetic information, the efficiency of propagation, and the fidelity of replication, respectively, are dynamically coordinated.

Evolution of mutation rates in hypermutable populations of Escherichia coli propagated at very small effective population size

Mutation is the ultimate source of the genetic variation-including variation for mutation rate itself-that fuels evolution. Natural selection can raise or lower the genomic mutation rate of a population by changing the frequencies of mutation rate modifier alleles associated with beneficial and deleterious mutations. Existing theory and observations suggest that where selection is minimized, rapid systematic evolution of mutation rate either up or down is unlikely. Here, we report systematic evolution of higher and lower mutation rates in replicate hypermutable Escherichia coli populations experimentally propagated at very small effective size-a circumstance under which selection is greatly reduced. Several populations went extinct during this experiment, and these populations tended to evolve elevated mutation rates. In contrast, populations that survived to the end of the experiment tended to evolve decreased mutation rates. We discuss the relevance of our results to current ideas about the evolution, maintenance and consequences of high mutation rates.

Density-Dependent Recycling Promotes the Long-Term Survival of Bacterial Populations during Periods of Starvation

The amount of natural resources in the Earth’s environment is in flux, which can trigger catastrophic collapses of ecosystems. How populations survive under nutrient-poor conditions is a central question in ecology. Curiously, some bacteria persist for a long time in nutrient-poor environments. Although this survival may be accomplished through cell death and the recycling of dead cells, the importance of these processes and the mechanisms underlying the survival of the populations have not been quantitated. Here, we use microbial laboratory experiments and mathematical models to demonstrate that death and recycling are essential activities for the maintenance of cell survival. We also show that the behavior of the survivors is governed by population density feedback, wherein growth is limited not only by the available resources but also by the population density. The numerical simulations suggest that population density-dependent recycling could be an advantageous behavior under starvation conditions.

How organisms survive after exhaustion of resources is a central question in ecology. Starving Escherichia coli constitute a model system to understand survival mechanisms during long-term starvation. Although death and the recycling of dead cells might play a key role in the maintenance of long-term survival, their mechanisms and importance have not been quantitated. Here, we verified the significance of social recycling of dead cells for long-term survival. We also show that the survivors restrained their recycling and did not use all available nutrients released from dead cells, which may be advantageous under starvation conditions. These results indicate that not only the utilization of dead cells but also restrained recycling coordinate the effective utilization of limited resources for long-term survival under starvation.

Correlation between genome reduction and bacterial growth

Genome reduction by removing dispensable genomic sequences in bacteria is commonly used in both fundamental and applied studies to determine the minimal genetic requirements for a living system or to develop highly efficient bioreactors. Nevertheless, whether and how the accumulative loss of dispensable genomic sequences disturbs bacterial growth remains unclear. To investigate the relationship between genome reduction and growth, a series of Escherichia coli strains carrying genomes reduced in a stepwise manner were used. Intensive growth analyses revealed that the accumulation of multiple genomic deletions caused decreases in the exponential growth rate and the saturated cell density in a deletion-length-dependent manner as well as gradual changes in the patterns of growth dynamics, regardless of the growth media. Accordingly, a perspective growth model linking genome evolution to genome engineering was proposed. This study provides the first demonstration of a quantitative connection between genomic sequence and bacterial growth, indicating that growth rate is potentially associated with dispensable genomic sequences.

Genomic confirmation of nutrient-dependent mutability of mutators in Escherichia coli

Mutators with increased mutation rates are prevalent in various environments and have important roles in accelerating adaptive evolution. Previous studies on mutator strains of microorganisms have shown that some mutators have constant mutation rates, whereas others exhibit switchable mutation rates depending on nutritional conditions. This suggests that the contributions of mutators on evolution vary with fluctuating nutritional conditions. However, such conditional mutability has been unclear at the genomic level. In addition, it is still unknown why mutation rates change with nutritional condition. Here, we used two mutator strains of Escherichia coli to explore the nutrient dependence of mutation rates at the genomic level. These strains were transferred repeatedly under different nutritional conditions for hundreds of generations to accumulate mutations. Whole-genome sequencing of the offspring showed that the nutrient dependence of the mutation rates was pervasive at the genomic scale. Neutrality in the mutation accumulation processes and constancy in the mutational bias suggested that nutrient dependence was not derived from conditional selective purges or from shifts of mutational bias. Some mutators could simply switch their mutation rates for both transitions and transversions in response to nutritional shifts.