Sequence analysis of flanking regions of the pfoA gene of Clostridium perfringens: beta-galactosidase gene (pbg) is located in the 3'-flanking region

Construction and characterization of a lactose-inducible promoter system for controlled gene expression in Clostridium perfringens

Clostridium perfringens is a Gram-positive anaerobic pathogen which causes many diseases in humans and animals. While some genetic tools exist for working with C. perfringens, a tightly regulated, inducible promoter system is currently lacking. Therefore, we constructed a plasmid-based promoter system that provided regulated expression when lactose was added. This plasmid (pKRAH1) is an Escherichia coli-C. perfringens shuttle vector containing the gene encoding a transcriptional regulator, BgaR, and a divergent promoter upstream of gene bgaL (bgaR-P(bgaL)). To measure transcription at the bgaL promoter in pKRAH1, the E. coli reporter gene gusA, encoding β-glucuronidase, was placed downstream of the P(bgaL) promoter to make plasmid pAH2. When transformed into three strains of C. perfringens, pAH2 exhibited lactose-inducible expression. C. perfringens strain 13, a commonly studied strain, has endogenous β-glucuronidase activity. We mutated gene bglR, encoding a putative β-glucuronidase, and observed an 89% decrease in endogenous activity with no lactose. This combination of a system for regulated gene expression and a mutant of strain 13 with low β-glucuronidase activity are useful tools for studying gene regulation and protein expression in an important pathogenic bacterium. We used this system to express the yfp-pilB gene, comprised of a yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-encoding gene fused to an assembly ATPase gene involved in type IV pilus-dependent gliding motility in C. perfringens. Expression in the wild-type strain showed that YFP-PilB localized mostly to the poles of cells, but in a pilC mutant it localized throughout the cell, demonstrating that the membrane protein PilC is required for polar localization of PilB.

Trimeric crystal structure of the glycoside hydrolase family 42 beta-galactosidase from Thermus thermophilus A4 and the structure of its complex with galactose

The beta-galactosidase from an extreme thermophile, Thermus thermophilus A4 (A4-beta-Gal), is thermostable and belongs to the glycoside hydrolase family 42 (GH-42). As the first known structures of a GH-42 enzyme, we determined the crystal structures of free and galactose-bound A4-beta-Gal at 1.6A and 2.2A resolution, respectively. A4-beta-Gal forms a homotrimeric structure resembling a flowerpot. Each monomer has an active site located inside a large central tunnel. The N-terminal domain of A4-beta-Gal has a TIM barrel fold, as predicted from hydrophobic cluster analysis. The putative catalytic residues of A4-beta-Gal (Glu141 and Glu312) superimpose well with the catalytic residues of Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase. The environment around the catalytic nucleophile (Glu312) is similar to that in the case of E.coli beta-galactosidase, but the recognition mechanism for a substrate is different. Trp182 of the next subunit of the trimer constitutes a part of the active-site pocket, indicating that the trimeric structure is essential for the enzyme activity. Structural comparison with other glycoside hydrolases revealed that many features of the 4/7 superfamily are conserved in the A4-beta-Gal structure. On the basis of the results of 1H NMR spectroscopy, A4-beta-Gal was determined to be a "retaining" enzyme. Interestingly, the active site was similar with those of retaining enzymes, but the overall fold of the TIM barrel domain was very similar to that of an inverting enzyme, beta-amylase.

Genetic analysis of the ycgJ-metB-cysK-ygaG operon negatively regulated by the VirR/VirS system in Clostridium perfringens

The 5'-flanking region of the metB-cysK-ygaG operon, whose expression is negatively regulated by the VirR/VirS system in C. perfringens, was analyzed. The region contained the ycgJ, mscL, and colA genes encoding a hypothetical protein, a large conductance mechanosensitive channel protein, and kappa-toxin (collagenase), respectively. Northern analysis revealed that the ycgJ gene was transcribed as a 4.9-kb operon together with the metB-cysK-ygaG genes and that this operon was negatively regulated by the VirR/VirS system. It is indicated that the pfoA (theta-toxin or perfringolysin O), colA, and ycgJ-metB-cysK-ygaG genes that belong to the VirR/VirS regulon are situated very close together in a 26.5-kb region of the chromosome, but do not form a pathogenic island.

Characterization of a salt-tolerant family 42 beta-galactosidase from a psychrophilic antarctic Planococcus isolate

We isolated a gram-positive, halotolerant psychrophile from a hypersaline pond located on the McMurdo Ice Shelf in Antarctica. A phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of this organism showed that it is a member of the genus Planococcus. This assignment is consistent with the morphology and physiological characteristics of the organism. A gene encoding a beta-galactosidase in this isolate was cloned in an Escherichia coli host. Sequence analysis of this gene placed it in glycosidase family 42 most closely related to an enzyme from Bacillus circulans. Even though an increasing number of family 42 glycosidase sequences are appearing in databases, little information about the biochemical features of these enzymes is available. Therefore, we purified and characterized this enzyme. The purified enzyme did not appear to have any metal requirement, had an optimum pH of 6.5 and an optimum temperature of activity at 42 degrees C, and was irreversibly inactivated within 10 min when it was incubated at 55 degrees C. The enzyme had an apparent K(m) of 4.9 micromol of o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside, and the V(max) was 467 micromol of o-nitrophenol produced/min/mg of protein at 39 degrees C. Of special interest was the finding that the enzyme remained active at high salt concentrations, which makes it a possible reporter enzyme for halotolerant and halophilic organisms.

Identification of novel VirR/VirS-regulated genes in Clostridium perfringens

Novel genes that are regulated in Clostridium perfringens by the two-component regulatory system, VirR/VirS, were identified using a differential display method. A plasmid library was constructed from C. perfringens chromosomal DNA, and the plasmids were hybridized with cDNA probes prepared from total RNA of wild-type strain 13 and its virR mutant derivative TS133. Three clones were identified that carry newly identified VirR/VirS-regulated genes, two of which were positively regulated and one of which was negatively regulated. Genes located on the identified clones were deduced by nucleotide sequencing, and the target genes of the VirR/VirS system were identified with a set of Northern hybridizations. A 4.9 kb mRNA transcribing the metB (cystathionine gamma-synthase), cysK (cysteine synthase) and ygaG (hypothetical protein) genes was negatively regulated, whereas 1.6 and 6.0 kb transcripts encoding ptp (protein tyrosine phosphatase) and cpd (2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 2'-phosphodiesterase) respectively, were shown to be positively regulated by the VirR/VirS system. The other gene, hyp7, whose transcript was positively regulated by the VirR/VirS system, was shown to activate the transcription of the colA (kappa-toxin) and plc (alpha-toxin) genes, but not the pfoA (theta-toxin) gene in C. perfringens. These results suggested that the global regulatory system VirR/VirS could regulate various genes, other than toxin genes, both positively and negatively and that the hyp7 gene might encode a novel regulatory factor for toxin production in C. perfringens.

Virulence genes of Clostridium perfringens

Clostridium perfringens causes human gas gangrene and food poisoning as well as several enterotoxemic diseases of animals. The organism is characterized by its ability to produce numerous extracellular toxins including alpha-toxin or phospholipase C, theta-toxin or perfringolysin O, kappa-toxin or collagenase, as well as a sporulation-associated enterotoxin. Although the genes encoding the alpha-toxin and theta-toxin are located on the chromosome, the genes encoding many of the other extracellular toxins are located on large plasmids. The enterotoxin gene can be either chromosomal or plasmid determined. Several of these toxin genes are associated with insertion sequences. The production of many of the extracellular toxins is regulated at the transcriptional level by the products of the virR and virS genes, which together comprise a two-component signal transduction system.

Collagenase gene (colA) is located in the 3'-flanking region of the perfringolysin O (pfoA) locus in Clostridium perfringens

The 3'-flanking region of the beta-galactosidase gene (pbg), which is located downstream of the perfringolysin O gene (pfoA), and the 5'-flanking region of the collagenase gene (colA) of Clostridium perfringens strains NCTC8237 and 13, respectively, were analyzed. Southern analysis revealed that the colA gene is located 6.5 kb downstream of the pbg gene in the chromosome of C. perfringens. Sequence analysis showed that between the pbg and colA genes were the arcABDC and ahrC genes, whose putative products were quite similar to enzymes of the arginine deiminase pathway of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the arginine repressor/activator of Bacillus subtilis, respectively. It is concluded that the genomic structure of the pfoA-colA region consists of pfoR-pfoA-ORF54-pbg-arcABDC-ahrC-colA.

Transcriptional analysis of the beta-galactosidase gene (pbg) in Clostridium perfringens

The mode of expression of the beta-galactosidase gene (pbg) of Clostridium perfringens was examined. The pbg gene was transcribed on a single 3.7-kb mRNA. The transcript contained a message for ORF54, located upstream of the pbg gene in the chromosome, indicating that ORF54 and the pbg gene comprise one operon (pbg operon). Expression of the pbg operon was induced by lactose at the transcriptional level. The promoter structure of the pbg operon was characterized by many palindrome structures and direct repeats, which suggests that there might be some catabolite regulation of the expression of the pbg operon in C. perfringens.