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Ortet P, Fochesato S, Bitbol AF, Whitworth DE, Lalaouna D, Santaella C, Heulin T, Achouak W, Barakat M. Evolutionary history expands the range of signaling interactions in hybrid multikinase networks. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11763. [PMID: 34083699 PMCID: PMC8175716 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91260-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Two-component systems (TCSs) are ubiquitous signaling pathways, typically comprising a sensory histidine kinase (HK) and a response regulator, which communicate via intermolecular kinase-to-receiver domain phosphotransfer. Hybrid HKs constitute non-canonical TCS signaling pathways, with transmitter and receiver domains within a single protein communicating via intramolecular phosphotransfer. Here, we report how evolutionary relationships between hybrid HKs can be used as predictors of potential intermolecular and intramolecular interactions (‘phylogenetic promiscuity’). We used domain-swap genes chimeras to investigate the specificity of phosphotransfer within hybrid HKs of the GacS–GacA multikinase network of Pseudomonas brassicacearum. The receiver domain of GacS was replaced with those from nine donor hybrid HKs. Three chimeras with receivers from other hybrid HKs demonstrated correct functioning through complementation of a gacS mutant, which was dependent on strains having a functional gacA. Formation of functional chimeras was predictable on the basis of evolutionary heritage, and raises the possibility that HKs sharing a common ancestor with GacS might remain components of the contemporary GacS network. The results also demonstrate that understanding the evolutionary heritage of signaling domains in sophisticated networks allows their rational rewiring by simple domain transplantation, with implications for the creation of designer networks and inference of functional interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Ortet
- Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, LEMIRE, 13108, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
| | - Sylvain Fochesato
- Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, LEMIRE, 13108, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
| | - Anne-Florence Bitbol
- CNRS, Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine, Laboratoire Jean Perrin (UMR8237), Sorbonne Université, 75005, Paris, France.,Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - David E Whitworth
- Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Ceredigion, SY23 3DD, UK
| | - David Lalaouna
- Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, LEMIRE, 13108, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France.,CNRS, ARN UPR 9002, Université de Strasbourg, 67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Catherine Santaella
- Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, LEMIRE, 13108, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
| | - Thierry Heulin
- Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, LEMIRE, 13108, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
| | - Wafa Achouak
- Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, LEMIRE, 13108, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
| | - Mohamed Barakat
- Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, BIAM, LEMIRE, 13108, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France.
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Feeley BE, Bhardwaj V, McLaughlin PT, Diggs S, Blaha GM, Higgs PI. An amino-terminal threonine/serine motif is necessary for activity of the Crp/Fnr homolog, MrpC and for Myxococcus xanthus developmental robustness. Mol Microbiol 2019; 112:1531-1551. [PMID: 31449700 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Crp/Fnr family of transcriptional regulators play central roles in transcriptional control of diverse physiological responses, and are activated by a surprising diversity of mechanisms. MrpC is a Crp/Fnr homolog that controls the Myxococcus xanthus developmental program. A long-standing model proposed that MrpC activity is controlled by the Pkn8/Pkn14 serine/threonine kinase cascade, which phosphorylates MrpC on threonine residue(s) located in its extreme amino-terminus. In this study, we demonstrate that a stretch of consecutive threonine and serine residues, T21 T22 S23 S24, is necessary for MrpC activity by promoting efficient DNA binding. Mass spectrometry analysis indicated the TTSS motif is not directly phosphorylated by Pkn14 in vitro but is necessary for efficient Pkn14-dependent phosphorylation on several residues in the remainder of the protein. In an important correction to a long-standing model, we show Pkn8 and Pkn14 kinase activities do not play obvious roles in controlling MrpC activity in wild-type M. xanthus under laboratory conditions. Instead, we propose Pkn14 modulates MrpC DNA binding in response to unknown environmental conditions. Interestingly, substitutions in the TTSS motif caused developmental defects that varied between biological replicates, revealing that MrpC plays a role in promoting a robust developmental phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke E Feeley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Vidhi Bhardwaj
- Department of Ecophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, Hesse, Germany
| | | | - Stephen Diggs
- Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Gregor M Blaha
- Department of Biochemistry, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Penelope I Higgs
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
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