Genetic analysis of trimethylamine N-oxide reductases in the light organ symbiont Vibrio fischeri ES114

Rise and metabolic roles of Vibrio during the fermentation of crab paste

Microbial community may systematically promote the development of fermentation process of foods. Traditional fermentation is a spontaneous natural process that determines a unique nutritional characteristic of crab paste of Portunus trituberculatus, However, rare information is available regarding the development pattern and metabolic role of bacterial community during the fermentation of crab paste. Here, using a 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing technology, we investigated dynamics of bacterial community and its relationship with metabolites during the fermentation of crab paste. The results showed that bacterial community changed dynamically with the fermentation of crab paste which highlighted by consistently decreased α-diversity and overwhelming dominance of Vibrio at the later days of fermentation. Vibrio had a positive correlation with trimethylamine, hypoxanthine, formate, and alanine while a negative correlation with inosine and adenosine diphosphate. In contrast, most of other bacterial indicators had a reverse correlation with these metabolites. Moreover, Vibrio presented an improved function potential in the formation of the significantly increased metabolites. These findings demonstrate that the inexorable rise of Vibrio not only drives the indicator OTUs turnover in the bacterial community but also has incriminated the quality of crab paste from fresh to perished.

A lasting symbiosis: how Vibrio fischeri finds a squid partner and persists within its natural host

As our understanding of the human microbiome progresses, so does the need for natural experimental animal models that promote a mechanistic understanding of beneficial microorganism-host interactions. Years of research into the exclusive symbiosis between the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, and the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri have permitted a detailed understanding of those bacterial genes underlying signal exchange and rhythmic activities that result in a persistent, beneficial association, as well as glimpses into the evolution of symbiotic competence. Migrating from the ambient seawater to regions deep inside the light-emitting organ of the squid, V. fischeri experiences, recognizes and adjusts to the changing environmental conditions. Here, we review key advances over the past 15 years that are deepening our understanding of these events.

Vibrio fischeri Amidase Activity Is Required for Normal Cell Division, Motility, and Symbiotic Competence

N-Acetylmuramoyl-l-alanine amidases are periplasmic hydrolases that cleave the amide bond between N-acetylmuramic acid and alanine in peptidoglycan (PG). Unlike many Gram-negative bacteria that encode redundant periplasmic amidases, Vibrio fischeri appears to encode a single protein that is homologous to AmiB of Vibrio cholerae We screened a V. fischeri transposon mutant library for strains altered in biofilm production and discovered a biofilm-overproducing strain with an insertion in amiB (VF_2326). Further characterization of biofilm enhancement suggested that this phenotype was due to the overproduction of cellulose, and it was dependent on the bcsA cellulose synthase. Additionally, the amiB mutant was nonmotile, perhaps due to defects in its ability to septate during division. The amidase mutant was unable to compete with the wild type for the colonization of V. fischeri's symbiotic host, the squid Euprymna scolopes In single-strain inoculations, host squid inoculated with the mutant eventually became colonized but with a much lower efficiency than in squid inoculated with the wild type. This observation was consistent with the pleiotropic effects of the amiB mutation and led us to speculate that motile suppressors of the amiB mutant were responsible for the partially restored colonization. In culture, motile suppressor mutants carried point mutations in a single gene (VF_1477), resulting in a partial restoration of wild-type motility. In addition, these point mutations reversed the effect of the amiB mutation on cellulosic biofilm production. These data are consistent with V. fischeri AmiB possessing amidase activity; they also suggest that AmiB suppresses cellulosic biofilm formation but promotes successful host colonization.IMPORTANCE Peptidoglycan (PG) is a critical microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) that is sloughed by cells of V. fischeri during symbiotic colonization of squid. Specifically, this process induces significant remodeling of a specialized symbiotic light organ within the squid mantle cavity. This phenomenon is reminiscent of the loss of ciliated epithelium in patients with whooping cough due to the production of PG monomers by Bordetella pertussis Furthermore, PG processing machinery can influence susceptibility to antimicrobials. In this study, we report roles for the V. fischeri PG amidase AmiB, including the beneficial colonization of squid, underscoring the urgency to more deeply understand PG processing machinery and the downstream consequences of their activities.

A Hybrid Extracellular Electron Transfer Pathway Enhances the Survival of Vibrio natriegens

Vibrio natriegens is the fastest-growing microorganism discovered to date, making it a useful model for biotechnology and basic research. While it is recognized for its rapid aerobic metabolism, less is known about anaerobic adaptations in V. natriegens or how the organism survives when oxygen is limited. Here, we describe and characterize extracellular electron transfer (EET) in V. natriegens, a metabolism that requires movement of electrons across protective cellular barriers to reach the extracellular space. V. natriegens performs extracellular electron transfer under fermentative conditions with gluconate, glucosamine, and pyruvate. We characterized a pathway in V. natriegens that requires CymA, PdsA, and MtrCAB for Fe(III) citrate and Fe(III) oxide reduction, which represents a hybrid of strategies previously discovered in Shewanella and Aeromonas Expression of these V. natriegens genes functionally complemented Shewanella oneidensis mutants. Phylogenetic analysis of the inner membrane quinol dehydrogenases CymA and NapC in gammaproteobacteria suggests that CymA from Shewanella diverged from Vibrionaceae CymA and NapC. Analysis of sequenced Vibrionaceae revealed that the genetic potential to perform EET is conserved in some members of the Harveyi and Vulnificus clades but is more variable in other clades. We provide evidence that EET enhances anaerobic survival of V. natriegens, which may be the primary physiological function for EET in Vibrionaceae IMPORTANCE Bacteria from the genus Vibrio occupy a variety of marine and brackish niches with fluctuating nutrient and energy sources. When oxygen is limited, fermentation or alternative respiration pathways must be used to conserve energy. In sedimentary environments, insoluble oxide minerals (primarily iron and manganese) are able to serve as electron acceptors for anaerobic respiration by microorganisms capable of extracellular electron transfer, a metabolism that enables the use of these insoluble substrates. Here, we identify the mechanism for extracellular electron transfer in Vibrio natriegens, which uses a combination of strategies previously identified in Shewanella and Aeromonas We show that extracellular electron transfer enhanced survival of V. natriegens under fermentative conditions, which may be a generalized strategy among Vibrio spp. predicted to have this metabolism.

Improvement in Physicochemical, Microbial, and Sensory Properties of Common Squid (Todarodes pacificus Steenstrup) by Superheated Steam Roasting in Combination with Smoking Treatment

The common squid (Todarodes pacificus) is one of the most widely consumed food ingredients in East Asian countries, especially Korea and Japan. It is generally marketed raw, which leads to inconvenient preparation, less commercial value, and short shelf life. Therefore, in order to handle these problems, superheated steam roasting (260°C heater, 240°C steam for 4 min) in combination with smoking treatment (15 min) using sawdust from the oak tree was used to process squid before mixing with vegetables and special sauce to make a ready-to-eat squid dish in an effective packaging. The processed squid product showed favorable sensory characteristics (appearance, odor, color, flavor, and texture) and physicochemical properties including maintained pH level (pH > 6.4), low microbial activity (4.74 ± 4.27 log CFU/g), low VBN level (18.27 ± 0.52 mg%), and good texture profile during storage for 10 days at 10°C. Results were significant at the significance level of p<0.05. Findings of this study suggest that the superheated steam-roasting treatment was the best method to maintain nutritional value of the common squid. It also showed favorable sensory and physicochemical properties, while smoking treatment prolonged the shelf life through enhancing antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and enriched flavor of the squid product.

High Hydrostatic Pressure Inducible Trimethylamine N-Oxide Reductase Improves the Pressure Tolerance of Piezosensitive Bacteria Vibrio fluvialis

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) exerts severe effects on cellular processes including impaired cell division, abolished motility and affected enzymatic activities. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses showed that bacteria switch the expression of genes involved in multiple energy metabolism pathways to cope with HHP. We sought evidence of a changing bacterial metabolism by supplying appropriate substrates that might have beneficial effects on the bacterial lifestyle at elevated pressure. We isolated a piezosensitive marine bacterium Vibrio fluvialis strain QY27 from the South China Sea. When trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) was used as an electron acceptor for energy metabolism, QY27 exhibited a piezophilic-like phenotype with an optimal growth at 30 MPa. Raman spectrometry and biochemistry analyses revealed that both the efficiency of the TMAO metabolism and the activity of the TMAO reductase increased under high pressure conditions. Among the two genes coding for TMAO reductase catalytic subunits, the expression level and enzymatic activity of TorA was up-regulated by elevated pressure. Furthermore, a genetic interference assay with the CRISPR-dCas9 system demonstrated that TorA is essential for underpinning the improved pressure tolerance of QY27. We extended the study to Vibrio fluvialis type strain ATCC33809 and observed the same phenotype of TMAO-metabolism improved the pressure tolerance. These results provide compelling evidence for the determinant role of metabolism in the adaption of bacteria to the deep-sea ecosystems with HHP.

Streptomyces exploration is triggered by fungal interactions and volatile signals

It has long been thought that the life cycle of Streptomyces bacteria encompasses three developmental stages: vegetative hyphae, aerial hyphae and spores. Here, we show interactions between Streptomyces and fungi trigger a previously unobserved mode of Streptomyces development. We term these Streptomyces cells 'explorers', for their ability to adopt a non-branching vegetative hyphal conformation and rapidly transverse solid surfaces. Fungi trigger Streptomyces exploratory growth in part by altering the composition of the growth medium, and Streptomyces explorer cells can communicate this exploratory behaviour to other physically separated streptomycetes using an airborne volatile organic compound (VOC). These results reveal that interkingdom interactions can trigger novel developmental behaviours in bacteria, here, causing Streptomyces to deviate from its classically-defined life cycle. Furthermore, this work provides evidence that VOCs can act as long-range communication signals capable of propagating microbial morphological switches.

Monitoring the freshness of fish: development of a qPCR method applied to MAP chilled whiting

BACKGROUND

Monitoring of early stages of freshness decay is a major issue for the fishery industry to guarantee the best quality for this highly perishable food matrix. Numerous techniques have been developed, but most of them have the disadvantage of being reliable only either in the last stages of fish freshness or for the analysis of whole fish. This study describes the development of a qPCR method targeting the torA gene harboured by fish spoilage microorganisms. torA encodes an enzyme that leads to the production of trimethylamine responsible for the characteristic spoiled-fish odour.

RESULTS

A degenerate primer pair was designed. It amplified torA gene of both Vibrio and Photobacterium with good efficiencies on 7-log DNA dilutions. The primer pair was used during a shelf-life monitoring study achieved on modified atmosphere packed, chilled, whiting (Merlangius merlangus) fillets. The qPCR approach allows the detection of an increase of torA copies throughout the storage of fillets in correlation with the evolution of both total volatile basic nitrogen (-0.86) and trimethylamine concentrations (-0.81), known as spoilage markers.

CONCLUSION

This study described a very promising, sensitive, reliable, time-effective, technique in the field of freshness characterisation of processed fish.

Antisocial luxO Mutants Provide a Stationary-Phase Survival Advantage in Vibrio fischeri ES114

The squid light organ symbiont Vibrio fischeri controls bioluminescence using two acyl-homoserine lactone pheromone-signaling (PS) systems. The first of these systems to be activated during host colonization, AinS/AinR, produces and responds to N-octanoyl homoserine lactone (C(8)-AHL). We screened activity of a P(ainS)-lacZ transcriptional reporter in a transposon mutant library and found three mutants with decreased reporter activity, low C(8)-AHL output, and other traits consistent with low ainS expression. However, the transposon insertions were unrelated to these phenotypes, and genome resequencing revealed that each mutant had a distinct point mutation in luxO. In the wild type, LuxO is phosphorylated by LuxU and then activates transcription of the small RNA (sRNA) Qrr, which represses ainS indirectly by repressing its activator LitR. The luxO mutants identified here encode LuxU-independent, constitutively active LuxO* proteins. The repeated appearance of these luxO mutants suggested that they had some fitness advantage during construction and/or storage of the transposon mutant library, and we found that luxO* mutants survived better and outcompeted the wild type in prolonged stationary-phase cultures. From such cultures we isolated additional luxO* mutants. In all, we isolated LuxO* allelic variants with the mutations P41L, A91D, F94C, P98L, P98Q, V106A, V106G, T107R, V108G, R114P, L205F, H319R, H324R, and T335I. Based on the current model of the V. fischeri PS circuit, litR knockout mutants should resemble luxO* mutants; however, luxO* mutants outcompeted litR mutants in prolonged culture and had much poorer host colonization competitiveness than is reported for litR mutants, illustrating additional complexities in this regulatory circuit.

IMPORTANCE

Our results provide novel insight into the function of LuxO, which is a key component of pheromone signaling (PS) cascades in several members of the Vibrionaceae. Our results also contribute to an increasingly appreciated aspect of bacterial behavior and evolution whereby mutants that do not respond to a signal from like cells have a selective advantage. In this case, although "antisocial" mutants locked in the PS signal-off mode can outcompete parents, their survival advantage does not require wild-type cells to exploit. Finally, this work strikes a note of caution for those conducting or interpreting experiments in V. fischeri, as it illustrates how pleiotropic mutants could easily and inadvertently be enriched in this bacterium during prolonged culturing.

Regulation of Bioluminescence in Photobacterium leiognathi Strain KNH6

Bacterial bioluminescence is taxonomically restricted to certain proteobacteria, many of which belong to the Vibrionaceae. In the most well-studied cases, pheromone signaling plays a key role in regulation of light production. However, previous reports have indicated that certain Photobacterium strains do not use this regulatory method for controlling luminescence. In this study, we combined genome sequencing with genetic approaches to characterize the regulation of luminescence in Photobacterium leiognathi strain KNH6, an extremely bright isolate. Using transposon mutagenesis and screening for decreased luminescence, we identified insertions in genes encoding components necessary for the luciferase reaction (lux, lum, and rib operons) as well as in nine other loci. These additional loci encode gene products predicted to be involved in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, DNA and RNA metabolism, transcriptional regulation, and the synthesis of cytochrome c, peptidoglycan, and fatty acids. The mutagenesis screen did not identify any mutants with disruptions of predicted pheromone-related loci. Using targeted gene insertional disruptions, we demonstrate that under the growth conditions tested, luminescence levels do not appear to be controlled through canonical pheromone signaling systems in this strain.

IMPORTANCE

Despite the long-standing interest in luminous bacteria, outside a few model organisms, little is known about the regulation and function of luminescence. Light-producing marine bacteria are widely distributed and have diverse lifestyles, suggesting that the control and significance of luminescence may be similarly diverse. In this study, we apply genetic tools to the study of regulation of light production in the extremely bright isolate Photobacterium leiognathi KNH6. Our results suggest an unusual lack of canonical pheromone-mediated control of luminescence and contribute to a better understanding of alternative strategies for regulation of a key bacterial behavior. These experiments lay the groundwork for further study of the regulation and role of bioluminescence in P. leiognathi.

Substrate specificity and function of the pheromone receptor AinR in Vibrio fischeri ES114

Two distinct but interrelated pheromone-signaling systems, LuxI/LuxR and AinS/AinR, positively control bioluminescence in Vibrio fischeri. Although each system generates an acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) signal, the protein sequences of LuxI/LuxR and AinS/AinR are unrelated. AinS and LuxI generate the pheromones N-octanoyl-AHL (C8-AHL) and N-3-oxo-hexanoyl-AHL (3OC6-AHL), respectively. LuxR is a transcriptional activator that responds to 3OC6-AHL, and to a lesser extent to C8-AHL. AinR is hypothesized to respond to C8-AHL and, based on homology to Vibrio harveyi LuxN, to mediate the repression of a Qrr regulatory RNA. However, a ΔainR mutation decreased luminescence, which was not predicted based on V. harveyi LuxN, raising the possibility of a distinct regulatory mechanism for AinR. Here we show that ainR can complement a luxN mutant, suggesting functional similarity. Moreover, in V. fischeri, we observed ainR-dependent repression of a Pqrr-lacZ transcriptional reporter in the presence of C8-AHL, consistent with its hypothesized regulatory role. The system appears quite sensitive, with a half-maximal effect on a Pqrr reporter at 140 pM C8-AHL. Several other AHLs with substituted and unsubstituted acyl chains between 6 and 10 carbons also displayed an AinR-dependent effect on Pqrr-lacZ; however, AHLs with acyl chains of four carbons or 12 or more carbons lacked activity. Interestingly, 3OC6-AHL also affected expression from the qrr promoter, but this effect was largely luxR dependent, indicating a previously unknown connection between these systems. Finally, we propose a preliminary explanation for the unexpected luminescence phenotype of the ΔainR mutant.

Genetic determinants of swimming motility in the squid light-organ symbiont Vibrio fischeri

Bacterial flagellar motility is a complex cellular behavior required for the colonization of the light-emitting organ of the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, by the beneficial bioluminescent symbiont Vibrio fischeri. We characterized the basis of this behavior by performing (i) a forward genetic screen to identify mutants defective in soft-agar motility, as well as (ii) a transcriptional analysis to determine the genes that are expressed downstream of the flagellar master regulator FlrA. Mutants with severe defects in soft-agar motility were identified due to insertions in genes with putative roles in flagellar motility and in genes that were unexpected, including those predicted to encode hypothetical proteins and cell division-related proteins. Analysis of mutants for their ability to enter into a productive symbiosis indicated that flagellar motility mutants are deficient, while chemotaxis mutants are able to colonize a subset of juvenile squid to light-producing levels. Thirty-three genes required for normal motility in soft agar were also downregulated in the absence of FlrA, suggesting they belong to the flagellar regulon of V. fischeri. Mutagenesis of putative paralogs of the flagellar motility genes motA, motB, and fliL revealed that motA1, motB1, and both fliL1 and fliL2, but not motA2 and motB2, likely contribute to soft-agar motility. Using these complementary approaches, we have characterized the genetic basis of flagellar motility in V. fischeri and furthered our understanding of the roles of flagellar motility and chemotaxis in colonization of the juvenile squid, including identifying 11 novel mutants unable to enter into a productive light-organ symbiosis.

Vibrio fischeri metabolism: symbiosis and beyond

Vibrio fischeri is a bioluminescent, Gram-negative marine bacterium that can be found free living and in a mutualistic association with certain squids and fishes. Over the past decades, the study of V. fischeri has led to important discoveries about bioluminescence, quorum sensing, and the mechanisms that underlie beneficial host-microbe interactions. This chapter highlights what has been learned about metabolic pathways in V. fischeri, and how this information contributes to a broader understanding of the role of bacterial metabolism in host colonization by both beneficial and pathogenic bacteria, as well as in the growth and survival of free-living bacteria.

The iron-dependent regulator fur controls pheromone signaling systems and luminescence in the squid symbiont Vibrio fischeri ES114

Bacteria often use pheromones to coordinate group behaviors in specific environments. While high cell density is required for pheromones to achieve stimulatory levels, environmental cues can also influence pheromone accumulation and signaling. For the squid symbiont Vibrio fischeri ES114, bioluminescence requires pheromone-mediated regulation, and this signaling is induced in the host to a greater extent than in culture, even at an equivalent cell density. Our goal is to better understand this environment-specific control over pheromone signaling and bioluminescence. Previous work with V. fischeri MJ1 showed that iron limitation induces luminescence, and we recently found that ES114 encounters a low-iron environment in its host. Here we show that ES114 induces luminescence at lower cell density and achieves brighter luminescence in low-iron media. This iron-dependent effect on luminescence required ferric uptake regulator (Fur), which we propose influences two pheromone signaling master regulators, LitR and LuxR. Genetic and bioinformatic analyses suggested that under low-iron conditions, Fur-mediated repression of litR is relieved, enabling more LitR to perform its established role as an activator of luxR. Interestingly, Fur may similarly control the LitR homolog SmcR of Vibrio vulnificus. These results reveal an intriguing regulatory link between low-iron conditions, which are often encountered in host tissues, and pheromone-dependent master regulators.

Characterizing the host and symbiont proteomes in the association between the Bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, and the bacterium, Vibrio fischeri

The beneficial symbiosis between the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, and the bioluminescent bacterium, Vibrio fischeri, provides a unique opportunity to study host/microbe interactions within a natural microenvironment. Colonization of the squid light organ by V. fischeri begins a lifelong association with a regulated daily rhythm. Each morning the host expels an exudate from the light organ consisting of 95% of the symbiont population in addition to host hemocytes and shed epithelial cells. We analyzed the host and symbiont proteomes of adult squid exudate and surrounding light organ epithelial tissue using 1D- and 2D-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and multidimensional protein identification technology (MudPIT) in an effort to understand the contribution of both partners to the maintenance of this association. These proteomic analyses putatively identified 1581 unique proteins, 870 proteins originating from the symbiont and 711 from the host. Identified host proteins indicate a role of the innate immune system and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in regulating the symbiosis. Symbiont proteins detected enhance our understanding of the role of quorum sensing, two-component signaling, motility, and detoxification of ROS and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) inside the light organ. This study offers the first proteomic analysis of the symbiotic microenvironment of the adult light organ and provides the identification of proteins important to the regulation of this beneficial association.

The haem-uptake gene cluster in Vibrio fischeri is regulated by Fur and contributes to symbiotic colonization

Although it is accepted that bacteria-colonizing host tissues are commonly faced with iron-limiting conditions and that pathogenic bacteria often utilize iron from host-derived haem-based compounds, the mechanisms of iron acquisition by beneficial symbiotic bacteria are less clear. The bacterium Vibrio fischeri mutualistically colonizes the light organ of the squid Euprymna scolopes. Genome sequence analysis of V. fischeri revealed a putative haem-uptake gene cluster, and through mutant analysis we confirmed this cluster is important for haemin use by V. fischeri in culture. LacZ reporter assays demonstrated Fur-dependent transcriptional regulation of cluster promoter activity in culture. GFP-based reporter assays revealed that gene cluster promoter activity is induced in symbiotic V. fischeri as early as 14 h post inoculation, although colonization assays with the haem uptake mutant suggested an inability to uptake haem does not begin to limit colonization until later stages of the symbiosis. Our data indicate that the squid light organ is a low iron environment and that haem-based sources of iron are used by symbiotic V. fischeri cells. These findings provide important additional information on the availability of iron during symbiotic colonization of E. scolopes by V. fischeri, as well as the role of haem uptake in non-pathogenic host-microbe interactions.

Vibrio fischeri flavohaemoglobin protects against nitric oxide during initiation of the squid-Vibrio symbiosis

Nitric oxide (NO) is implicated in a wide range of biological processes, including innate immunity against pathogens, signal transduction and protection against oxidative stress. However, its possible roles in beneficial host-microbe associations are less well recognized. During the early stages of the squid-vibrio symbiosis, the bacterial symbiont Vibrio fischeri encounters host-derived NO, which has been hypothesized to serve as a specificity determinant. We demonstrate here that the flavohaemoglobin, Hmp, of V. fischeri protects against NO, both in culture and during colonization of the squid host. Transcriptional analyses indicate that hmp expression is highly responsive to NO, principally through the repressor, NsrR. Hmp protects V. fischeri from NO inhibition of aerobic respiration, and removes NO under both oxic and anoxic conditions. A Δhmp mutant of V. fischeri initiates squid colonization less effectively than wild type, but is rescued by the presence of an NO synthase inhibitor. The hmp promoter is activated during the initial stage of colonization, during which the Δhmp strain fails to form normal-sized aggregates of colonizing cells. Taken together, these results suggest that the sensing of host-derived NO by NsrR, and the subsequent removal of NO by Hmp, influence aggregate size and, thereby, V. fischeri colonization efficiency.

H-NOX-mediated nitric oxide sensing modulates symbiotic colonization by Vibrio fischeri

The bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri initiates a specific, persistent symbiosis in the light organ of the squid Euprymna scolopes. During the early stages of colonization, V. fischeri is exposed to host-derived nitric oxide (NO). Although NO can be both an antimicrobial component of innate immunity and a key signaling molecule in eukaryotes, potential roles in beneficial host-microbe associations have not been described. V. fischeri hnoX encodes a heme NO/oxygen-binding (H-NOX) protein, a member of a family of bacterial NO- and/or O(2)-binding proteins of unknown function. We hypothesized that H-NOX acts as a NO sensor that is involved in regulating symbiosis-related genes early in colonization. Whole-genome expression studies identified 20 genes that were repressed in an NO- and H-NOX-dependent fashion. Ten of these, including hemin-utilization genes, have a promoter with a putative ferric-uptake regulator (Fur) binding site. As predicted, in the presence of NO, wild-type V. fischeri grew more slowly on hemin than a hnoX deletion mutant. Host-colonization studies showed that the hnoX mutant was also 10-fold more efficient in initially colonizing the squid host than the wild type; similarly, in mixed inoculations, it outcompeted the wild-type strain by an average of 16-fold after 24 h. However, the presence of excess hemin or iron reversed this dominance. The advantage of the mutant in colonizing the iron-limited light-organ tissues is caused, at least in part, by its greater ability to acquire host-derived hemin. Our data suggest that V. fischeri normally senses a host-generated NO signal through H-NOX(Vf) and modulates the expression of its iron uptake capacity during the early stages of the light-organ symbiosis.

FNR-mediated regulation of bioluminescence and anaerobic respiration in the light-organ symbiont Vibrio fischeri

Vibrio fischeri induces both anaerobic respiration and bioluminescence during symbiotic infection. In many bacteria, the oxygen-sensitive regulator FNR activates anaerobic respiration, and a preliminary study using the light-generating lux genes from V. fischeri MJ1 cloned in Escherichia coli suggested that FNR stimulates bioluminescence. To test for FNR-mediated regulation of bioluminescence and anaerobic respiration in V. fischeri, we generated fnr mutants of V. fischeri strains MJ1 and ES114. In both strains, FNR was required for normal fumarate- and nitrate-dependent respiration. However, contrary to the report in transgenic E. coli, FNR mediated the repression of lux. ArcA represses bioluminescence, and P(arcA)-lacZ reporters showed reduced expression in fnr mutants, suggesting a possible indirect effect of FNR on bioluminescence via arcA. Finally, the fnr mutant of ES114 was not impaired in colonization of its host squid, Euprymna scolopes. This study extends the characterization of FNR to the Vibrionaceae and underscores the importance of studying lux regulation in its native background.

Effective mutagenesis of Vibrio fischeri by using hyperactive mini-Tn5 derivatives

We have developed a transposon mutagenesis system for Vibrio fischeri ES114 that utilizes a hyperactive mutant Tn5 transposase (E54K and M56A) and optimized transposon ends. Using a conjugation-based procedure, we obtained independent single-insertion mini-Tn5 mutants at a rate of approximately 10(-6). This simple and inexpensive technique represents a significant improvement over previous methods for transposon mutagenesis of V. fischeri and should be applicable to many other bacteria.