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Bacon EE, Tran JS, Nadig N, Peters JM. Modular, inducible, and titratable expression systems for Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumannii. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.28.596346. [PMID: 38853957 PMCID: PMC11160707 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.28.596346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Gene expression systems that transcend species barriers are needed for cross-species analysis of gene function. In particular, expression systems that can be utilized in both model and pathogenic bacteria underpin comparative functional approaches that inform conserved and variable features of bacterial physiology. Here, we develop replicative and integrative vectors alongside a novel, IPTG-inducible promoter that can be used in the model bacterium Escherichia coli K-12 as well as strains of the antibiotic-resistant pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii. We generate modular vectors that transfer by conjugation at high efficiency and either replicate or integrate into the genome, depending on design. Embedded in these vectors, we also developed a synthetic, IPTG-inducible promoter, P abstBR , that induces to a high level, but is less leaky than the commonly used trc promoter. We show that P abstBR is titratable at both the population and single cell level, regardless of species, highlighting the utility of our expression systems for cross-species functional studies. Finally, as a proof of principle, we use our integrating vector to develop a reporter for the E. coli envelope stress σ factor, RpoE, and deploy the reporter in E. coli and A. baumannii, finding that A. baumannii does not recognize RpoE-dependent promoters unless RpoE is heterologously expressed. We envision that these vector and promoter tools will be valuable for the community of researchers that study fundamental biology of E. coli and A. baumannii.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily E Bacon
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Jennifer S Tran
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Nischala Nadig
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Jason M Peters
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53726
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
- Center for Genomic Science Innovation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
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Wirth NT, Rohr K, Danchin A, Nikel PI. Recursive genome engineering decodes the evolutionary origin of an essential thymidylate kinase activity in Pseudomonas putida KT2440. mBio 2023; 14:e0108123. [PMID: 37732760 PMCID: PMC10653934 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01081-23] [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: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Investigating fundamental aspects of metabolism is vital for advancing our understanding of the diverse biochemical capabilities and biotechnological applications of bacteria. The origin of the essential thymidylate kinase function in the model bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440, seemingly interrupted due to the presence of a large genomic island that disrupts the cognate gene, eluded a satisfactory explanation thus far. This is a first-case example of an essential metabolic function, likely acquired by horizontal gene transfer, which "landed" in a locus encoding the same activity. As such, foreign DNA encoding an essential dNMPK could immediately adjust to the recipient host-instead of long-term accommodation and adaptation. Understanding how these functions evolve is a major biological question, and the work presented here is a decisive step toward this direction. Furthermore, identifying essential and accessory genes facilitates removing those deemed irrelevant in industrial settings-yielding genome-reduced cell factories with enhanced properties and genetic stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas T. Wirth
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Katja Rohr
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Antoine Danchin
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | - Pablo I. Nikel
- The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens, Lyngby, Denmark
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Hu Frisk J, Pejler G, Eriksson S, Wang L. Heavy metal tolerance of Mesorhizobium delmotii thymidylate kinase. NUCLEOSIDES, NUCLEOTIDES & NUCLEIC ACIDS 2022; 41:1305-1317. [PMID: 35345982 DOI: 10.1080/15257770.2022.2055059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Metal ions play an important role in many metabolic processes in all living organisms. At low concentrations, heavy metals such as Fe2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ are essential cofactors for many enzymes. However, at high concentrations they are toxic. Mesorhizobium species belong to the class α-proteobacteria and have high tolerance to soil acidity, salinity, temperature extremes, and metallicolous conditions. To identify factors responsible for this tolerance we have studied the effects of metal ions on Mesorhizobium delmotii thymidylate kinase (MdTMPK), an essential enzyme in the synthesis of dTTP, thus being vital for cell growth. We show that Mg2+ and Mn2+ are the divalent metal ions required for catalysis and that Mn2+ gives the highest catalytic efficiency. MdTMPK activity in the presence of Mg2+ was strongly inhibited by the co-presence of Zn2+, Ni2+ and Co2+. However, the addition of Cs+ caused >2-fold enhanced MdTMPK activity. For TMPK from Bacilus anthracis and humans, the effects of Mg2+ and Mn2+ were similar, whereas the effects of other divalent metal ions were different, and no stimulatory effect of Cs+ was observed. Together, our results demonstrate that MdTMPK and BaTMPK function well in the presence of high concentrations of heavy metal ions, introducing a potential contribution of these enzymes to the heavy metal tolerance of Mesorhizobium delmotii and Bacillus anthracis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junmei Hu Frisk
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gunnar Pejler
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.,Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Staffan Eriksson
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Liya Wang
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
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Jain A, Singh A, Maio N, Rouault TA. Assembly of the [4Fe-4S] cluster of NFU1 requires the coordinated donation of two [2Fe-2S] clusters from the scaffold proteins, ISCU2 and ISCA1. Hum Mol Genet 2021; 29:3165-3182. [PMID: 32776106 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddaa172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
NFU1, a late-acting iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster carrier protein, has a key role in the pathogenesis of the disease, multiple mitochondrial dysfunctions syndrome. In this work, using genetic and biochemical approaches, we identified the initial scaffold protein, mitochondrial ISCU (ISCU2) and the secondary carrier, ISCA1, as the direct donors of Fe-S clusters to mitochondrial NFU1, which appears to dimerize and reductively mediate the formation of a bridging [4Fe-4S] cluster, aided by ferredoxin 2. By monitoring the abundance of target proteins that acquire their Fe-S clusters from NFU1, we characterized the effects of several novel pathogenic NFU1 mutations. We observed that NFU1 directly interacts with each of the Fe-S cluster scaffold proteins known to ligate [2Fe-2S] clusters, ISCU2 and ISCA1, and we mapped the site of interaction to a conserved hydrophobic patch of residues situated at the end of the C-terminal alpha-helix of NFU1. Furthermore, we showed that NFU1 lost its ability to acquire its Fe-S cluster when mutagenized at the identified site of interaction with ISCU2 and ISCA1, which thereby adversely affected biochemical functions of proteins that are thought to acquire their Fe-S clusters directly from NFU1, such as lipoic acid synthase, which supports the Fe-S-dependent process of lipoylation of components of multiple key enzyme complexes, including pyruvate dehydrogenase, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase and the glycine cleavage complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anshika Jain
- Molecular Medicine Program, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Anamika Singh
- Molecular Medicine Program, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Nunziata Maio
- Molecular Medicine Program, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Tracey A Rouault
- Molecular Medicine Program, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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Stever H, Eiben J, Bennett GM. Hawaiian Nysius Insects Rely on an Obligate Symbiont with a Reduced Genome That Retains a Discrete Nutritional Profile to Match Their Plant Seed Diet. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6349176. [PMID: 34383896 PMCID: PMC8412300 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Seed-feeding Nysius insects (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) have a symbiotic association with distinct intracellular bacteria, “Candidatus Schneideria nysicola” (Gammaproteobacteria). Although many other hemipteran insect groups generally rely on bacterial symbionts that synthesize all ten essential amino acids lacking in their plant sap diets, the nutritional role of Schneideria in Nysius hosts that specialize on a more nutritionally complete seed-based diet has remained unknown. To determine the nutritional and functional capabilities of Schneideria, we sequenced the complete Schneideria genomes from three distantly related endemic Hawaiian Nysius seed bug species. The complete Schneideria genomes are highly conserved and perfectly syntenic among Hawaiian Nysius host species. Each circular chromosome is ∼0.57 Mb in size and encodes 537 protein-coding genes. They further exhibit a strong A + T nucleotide substitution bias with an average G + C nucleotide content of 29%. The predicted nutritional contribution of Schneideria includes four B vitamins and five of the ten essential amino acids that likely match its hosts’ seed-based diet. Disrupted and degraded genes in Schneideria suggests that Hawaiian lineages are undergoing continued gene losses observed in the smaller genomes of the other more ancient hemipteran symbionts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Stever
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced, USA
| | - Jesse Eiben
- Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental Sciences, California University of Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Gordon M Bennett
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Merced, USA
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Russell JH, Ostermeier M. The thymidylate kinase genes from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus confer 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine resistance to Escherichia coli. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2014; 361:158-65. [PMID: 25310917 DOI: 10.1111/1574-6968.12627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2014] [Revised: 10/08/2014] [Accepted: 10/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The case number of invasive multidrug-resistant bacteria cultured from both hospital and community acquired infections is increasing at an alarming rate. Identifying the mechanisms bacteria use to escape the current antimicrobial treatments is essential to containing potential outbreaks and developing new antimicrobial therapies. Many bacteria naturally encode nonessential resistance genes on their chromosome enabling their survival and/or persistence in the presence of antibiotics using enzymes and efflux pumps. This study investigates the ability of an evolutionarily conserved essential gene to provide resistance against antimicrobial compounds. An Escherichia coli chromosomally encoded thymidylate kinase (tmk) conditional lethal strain was developed to investigate tmk alleles from relevant nosocomial pathogens. The thymidylate kinase conditional lethal strain harboring a plasmid with a tmk gene from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), or Pseudomonas aeruginosa downstream of an inducible promoter was examined for survival against increasing concentrations of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT). The results indicate that M. tuberculosis and MRSA thymidylate kinases are deficient in cellular activity toward AZT monophosphate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay H Russell
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Ahn YY, Lee DS, Burd H, Blank W, Kapatral V. Metabolic network analysis-based identification of antimicrobial drug targets in category A bioterrorism agents. PLoS One 2014; 9:e85195. [PMID: 24454817 PMCID: PMC3893172 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0085195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2013] [Accepted: 11/29/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The 2001 anthrax mail attacks in the United States demonstrated the potential threat of bioterrorism, hence driving the need to develop sophisticated treatment and diagnostic protocols to counter biological warfare. Here, by performing flux balance analyses on the fully-annotated metabolic networks of multiple, whole genome-sequenced bacterial strains, we have identified a large number of metabolic enzymes as potential drug targets for each of the three Category A-designated bioterrorism agents including Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis and Yersinia pestis. Nine metabolic enzymes- belonging to the coenzyme A, folate, phosphatidyl-ethanolamine and nucleic acid pathways common to all strains across the three distinct genera were identified as targets. Antimicrobial agents against some of these enzymes are available. Thus, a combination of cross species-specific antibiotics and common antimicrobials against shared targets may represent a useful combinatorial therapeutic approach against all Category A bioterrorism agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong-Yeol Ahn
- School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America
| | - Deok-Sun Lee
- Department of Natural Medical Sciences and Department of Physics, Inha University, Incheon, Korea
| | - Henry Burd
- Igenbio.Inc, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - William Blank
- Igenbio.Inc, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Vinayak Kapatral
- Igenbio.Inc, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Rani MRS, Shrock J, Appachi S, Rudick RA, Williams BRG, Ransohoff RM. Novel interferon-beta-induced gene expression in peripheral blood cells. J Leukoc Biol 2007; 82:1353-1360. [PMID: 17709400 DOI: 10.1189/jlb.0507273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2007] [Revised: 06/26/2007] [Accepted: 07/30/2007] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Type I IFNs are used for treating viral, neoplastic, and inflammatory disorders. The protein products encoded by IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) likely mediate clinical effects of IFN in patients. Macroarray assays, used for studying ISG induction in IFN-treated patients, comprise genes identified predominantly through analysis of long-term cell lines. To discover genes induced selectively by IFN-beta in PBMC, we exposed whole blood to physiological concentrations of IFN-beta. PBMC were prepared, and RNA was extracted, reverse-transcribed, and hybridized to cDNA microarrays, and microarray analysis identified 39 ISGs and 20 IFN-repressed genes (IRGs). Thirty-three ISGs were known previously, and six ISGs were novel. New ISGs included GTP cyclohydrolase 1; hypothetical protein LOC129607; hypothetical protein FLJ38348; leucine aminopeptidase 3; squalene epoxidase; and GTP-binding protein overexpressed in skeletal muscle. Twenty IRGs included IL-1beta and CXCL8, which had been identified earlier. CXCL1 was a novel IRG identified in the current study. PCR analysis demonstrated the regulation of six novel ISGs and CXCL1 as an IRG in PBMC and astrocytoma cells. Results were validated using RNA obtained ex vivo from blood of patients after injection with IFN-beta. Identification of new ISGs and IRGs in primary PBMC will enhance macroarray assays for monitoring IFN responsiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Sandhya Rani
- Neuroinflammation Research Center, Department of Neurosciences, Lerner Research Institute, NC30, Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
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