Catabolite gene activator protein and integration host factor act in concert to regulate tdc operon expression in Escherichia coli

Fluorescent bacterial biosensor E. coli/pTdcR-TurboYFP sensitive to terahertz radiation

A fluorescent biosensor E. coli/pTdcR-TurboYFP sensitive to terahertz (THz) radiation was developed via transformation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells with plasmid, in which the promotor of the tdcR gene controls the expression of yellow fluorescent protein TurboYFP. The biosensor was exposed to THz radiation in various vessels and nutrient media. The threshold and dynamics of fluorescence were found to depend on irradiation conditions. Heat shock or chemical stress yielded the absence of fluorescence induction. The biosensor is applicable to studying influence of THz radiation on the activity of tdcR promotor that is involved in the transport and metabolism of threonine and serine in E. coli.

Fermentative Pyruvate and Acetyl-Coenzyme A Metabolism

Pyruvate and acetyl-CoA form the backbone of central metabolism. The nonoxidative cleavage of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA and formate by the glycyl radical enzyme pyruvate formate lyase is one of the signature reactions of mixed-acid fermentation in enterobacteria. Under these conditions, formic acid accounts for up to one-third of the carbon derived from glucose. The further metabolism of acetyl-CoA to acetate via acetyl-phosphate catalyzed by phosphotransacetylase and acetate kinase is an exemplar of substrate-level phosphorylation. Acetyl-CoA can also be used as an acceptor of the reducing equivalents generated during glycolysis, whereby ethanol is formed by the polymeric acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase (AdhE) enzyme. The metabolism of acetyl-CoA via either the acetate or the ethanol branches is governed by the cellular demand for ATP and the necessity to reoxidize NADH. Consequently, in the absence of an electron acceptor mutants lacking either branch of acetyl-CoA metabolism fail to cleave pyruvate, despite the presence of PFL, and instead reduce it to D-lactate by the D-lactate dehydrogenase. The conversion of PFL to the active, radical-bearing species is controlled by a radical-SAM enzyme, PFL-activase. All of these reactions are regulated in response to the prevalent cellular NADH:NAD+ ratio. In contrast to Escherichia coli and Salmonella species, some genera of enterobacteria, e.g., Klebsiella and Enterobacter, produce the more neutral product 2,3-butanediol and considerable amounts of CO2 as fermentation products. In these bacteria, two molecules of pyruvate are converted to α-acetolactate (AL) by α-acetolactate synthase (ALS). AL is then decarboxylated and subsequently reduced to the product 2,3-butandiol.

Catabolism of Amino Acids and Related Compounds

This review considers the pathways for the degradation of amino acids and a few related compounds (agmatine, putrescine, ornithine, and aminobutyrate), along with their functions and regulation. Nitrogen limitation and an acidic environment are two physiological cues that regulate expression of several amino acid catabolic genes. The review considers Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Klebsiella species. The latter is included because the pathways in Klebsiella species have often been thoroughly characterized and also because of interesting differences in pathway regulation. These organisms can essentially degrade all the protein amino acids, except for the three branched-chain amino acids. E. coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Klebsiella aerogenes can assimilate nitrogen from D- and L-alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartate, glutamate, glutamine, glycine, proline, and D- and L-serine. There are species differences in the utilization of agmatine, citrulline, cysteine, histidine, the aromatic amino acids, and polyamines (putrescine and spermidine). Regardless of the pathway of glutamate synthesis, nitrogen source catabolism must generate ammonia for glutamine synthesis. Loss of glutamate synthase (glutamineoxoglutarate amidotransferase, or GOGAT) prevents utilization of many organic nitrogen sources. Mutations that create or increase a requirement for ammonia also prevent utilization of most organic nitrogen sources.

A tdcA mutation reduces the invasive ability of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium

We previously observed that the transcription of some flagellar genes decreased in Salmonella Typhimurium tdcA mutant, which is a gene encoding the transcriptional activator of the tdc operon. Since flagella-mediated bacterial motility accelerates the invasion of Salmonella, we have examined the effect of tdcA mutation on the invasive ability as well as the flagellar biosynthesis in S. Typhimurium. A tdcA mutation caused defects in motility and formation of flagellin protein, FliC in S. Typhimurium. Invasion assays in the presence of a centrifugal force confirmed that the defect of flagellum synthesis decreases the ability of Salmonella to invade into cultured epithelial cells. In addition, we also found that the expression of Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1) genes required for Salmonella invasion was down-regulated in the tdcA mutant because of the decreased expression of fliZ, a positive regulator of SPI1 transcriptional activator, hilA. Finally, the virulence of a S. Typhimurium tdcA mutant was attenuated compared to a wild type when administered orally. This study implies the role of tdcA in the invasion process of S. Typhimurium.

Structure and function of enzymes involved in the anaerobic degradation of L-threonine to propionate

In Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium, L-threonine is cleaved non-oxidatively to propionate via 2-ketobutyrate by biodegradative threonine deaminase, 2-ketobutyrate formate-lyase (or pyruvate formate-lyase), phosphotransacetylase and propionate kinase. In the anaerobic condition, L-threonine is converted to the energy-rich keto acid and this is subsequently catabolised to produce ATP via substrate-level phosphorylation, providing a source of energy to the cells. Most of the enzymes involved in the degradation of L-threonine to propionate are encoded by the anaerobically regulated tdc operon. In the recent past, extensive structural and biochemical studies have been carried out on these enzymes by various groups. Besides detailed structural and functional insights, these studies have also shown the similarities and differences between the other related enzymes present in the metabolic network. In this paper, we review the structural and biochemical studies carried out on these enzymes.

Indirect recognition in sequence-specific DNA binding by Escherichia coli integration host factor: the role of DNA deformation energy

Integration host factor (IHF) is a bacterial histone-like protein whose primary biological role is to condense the bacterial nucleoid and to constrain DNA supercoils. It does so by binding in a sequence-independent manner throughout the genome. However, unlike other structurally related bacterial histone-like proteins, IHF has evolved a sequence-dependent, high affinity DNA-binding motif. The high affinity binding sites are important for the regulation of a wide range of cellular processes. A remarkable feature of IHF is that it employs an indirect readout mechanism to bind and wrap DNA at both the nonspecific and high affinity (sequence-dependent) DNA sites. In this study we assessed the contributions of pre-formed and protein-induced DNA conformations to the energetics of IHF binding. Binding energies determined experimentally were compared with energies predicted for the IHF-induced deformation of the DNA helix (DNA deformation energy) in the IHF-DNA complex. Combinatorial sets of de novo DNA sequences were designed to systematically evaluate the influence of sequence-dependent structural characteristics of the conserved IHF recognition elements of the consensus DNA sequence. We show that IHF recognizes pre-formed conformational characteristics of the consensus DNA sequence at high affinity sites, whereas at all other sites relative affinity is determined by the deformational energy required for nearest-neighbor base pairs to adopt the DNA structure of the bound DNA-IHF complex.

A novel mechanism controls anaerobic and catabolite regulation of the Escherichia coli tdc operon

The tdc operon is subject to CRP-controlled catabolite repression. Expression of the operon is also induced anaerobically, although this regulation does not rely on direct control by either FNR or ArcA. Recently, the anaerobic expression of the tdc operon was found to be fortuitously induced in the presence of glucose by a heterologous gene isolated from the Gram-positive anaerobe Clostridium butyricum. The gene, termed tcbC, encoded a histone-like protein of 14.5 kDa. Using tdc-lacZ fusions, it was shown that TcbC did not activate tdc expression by functionally replacing any of the operon regulators. In vitro transcription analyses with RNA polymerase and CRP revealed that faithful CRP-dependent transcription initiation occurred only on supercoiled templates. No specific, CRP-dependent transcription initiation was observed on relaxed or linear DNA templates. Surprisingly, purified His-tagged TcbC activated transcription from a relaxed, circular template, but not from supercoiled or linear templates. Examination of the CRP binding site of the tdc promoter revealed that it was located 43.5 bp upstream of the transcription initiation site. Repositioning of the CRP site at -41.5 bp abolished activation by the TcbC protein and allowed CRP-dependent transcription to occur on linear, relaxed and supercoiled templates. TcbC bound DNA non-specifically; however, in topoisomerase I relaxation assays, it was demonstrated that TcbC imposed torsional constraints on negatively supercoiled DNA, which influenced the ability of the enzyme to relax the topoisomers. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that TcbC activates transcription of tdc by altering the local topological status of the tdc promoter and that, in the wild-type tdc promoter, the CRP binding site is misaligned to allow transcription to occur only under optimal conditions. Indeed, in vivo transcription analyses revealed that repositioning of the CRP binding site to -41.5 bp resulted in high-level, CRP-dependent transcription, even under catabolite-repressing conditions, and that transcription was no longer influenced by TcbC. Remarkably, however, anaerobic regulation of the mutant promoter was retained. This indicates that the other tdc regulators, TdcA and TdcR, govern anaerobic transcription activation by CRP.

The glycyl radical enzyme TdcE can replace pyruvate formate-lyase in glucose fermentation

Mutants of Escherichia coli unable to synthesize a functional pyruvate formate-lyase (PFL) are severely impaired in their capacity to grow by glucose fermentation. In a functional complementation assay designed to isolate the pfl gene from Clostridium butyricum, we fortuitously identified a gene that did not encode a PFL but nonetheless was able to complement the phenotypic defects caused by an E. coli pfl mutation. The clostridial gene encoded a basic 14. 5-kDa protein (TcbC) which, based on amino acid similarity and analysis of immediately adjacent DNA sequences, was part of a transposase exhibiting extensive similarity to the product of the site-specific transposon Tn554 from Staphylococcus aureus. Our studies revealed that the clostridial TcbC protein activated the transcription of the E. coli tdcABCDEFG operon, which encodes an anaerobic L-threonine-degradative pathway. Normally, anaerobic synthesis of the pathway is optimal when E. coli grows in the absence of catabolite-repressing sugars and in the presence of L-threonine. Although anaerobic control of pathway synthesis was maintained, TcbC alleviated glucose repression. One of the products encoded by the tdc operon, TdcE, has recently been shown to be a 2-keto acid formate-lyase (C. Hesslinger, S. A. Fairhurst, and G. Sawers, Mol. Microbiol. 27:477-492, 1998) that can accept pyruvate as an enzyme substrate. Here we show that TdcE is directly responsible for the restoration of fermentative growth to pfl mutants.

Novel keto acid formate-lyase and propionate kinase enzymes are components of an anaerobic pathway in Escherichia coli that degrades L-threonine to propionate

An immunological analysis of an Escherichia coli strain unable to synthesize the main pyruvate formate-lyase enzyme Pfl revealed the existence of a weak, cross-reacting 85 kDa polypeptide that exhibited the characteristic oxygen-dependent fragmentation typical of a glycyl radical enzyme. Polypeptide fragmentation of this cross-reacting species was shown to be dependent on Pfl activase. Cloning and sequence analysis of the gene encoding this protein revealed that it coded for a new enzyme, termed TdcE, which has 82% identity with Pfl. On the basis of RNA analyses, the tdcE gene was shown to be part of a large operon that included the tdcABC genes, encoding an anaerobic threonine dehydratase, tdcD, coding for a propionate kinase, tdcF, the function of which is unknown, and the tdcG gene, which encodes a L-serine dehydratase. Expression of the tdcABCDEFG operon was strongly catabolite repressed. Enzyme studies showed that TdcE has both pyruvate formate-lyase and 2-ketobutyrate formate-lyase activity, whereas the TdcD protein is a new propionate/acetate kinase. By monitoring culture supernatants from various mutants using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), we followed the anaerobic conversion of L-threonine to propionate. These studies confirmed that 2-ketobutyrate, the product of threonine deamination, is converted in vivo by TdcE to propionyl-CoA. These studies also revealed that Pfl and an as yet unidentified thiamine pyrophosphate-dependent enzyme(s) can perform this reaction. Double null mutants deficient in phosphotransacetylase (Pta) and acetate kinase (AckA) or AckA and TdcD were unable to metabolize threonine to propionate, indicating that propionyl-CoA and propionyl-phosphate are intermediates in the pathway and that ATP is generated during the conversion of propionyl-P to propionate by AckA or TdcD.

Involvement of Fnr and ArcA in anaerobic expression of the tdc operon of Escherichia coli

Anaerobic expression of the tdcABC operon in Escherichia coli, as measured by LacZ activity from single-copy tdc-lacZ transcriptional and translational fusions, is greatly reduced in strains lacking two global transcriptional regulators, Fnr and ArcA. The nucleotide sequence of the tdc promoter around -145 shows significant similarity with the consensus Fnr-binding site; however, extensive base substitutions within this region had no effect on Fnr regulation of the tdc genes. A genetic analysis revealed that the effect of Fnr on tdc is not mediated via ArcA. Furthermore, addition of cyclic AMP to the anaerobic incubation medium completely restored tdc expression in fnr and arcA mutants as well as in strains harboring mutations in the Fnr- and ArcA-dependent pfl gene and the Fnr-regulated glpA and frd genes. These results, taken together with the earlier finding that tdc expression is subject to catabolite repression by intermediary metabolites, strongly suggest that the negative regulatory effects of mutations in the fnr and arcA genes are mediated physiologically due to accumulation of a metabolite(s) which prevents tdc transcription in vivo.

cAMP-cAMP receptor protein complex: five binding sites in the control region of the Escherichia coli mannitol operon

The control region of the mannitol (mtl) operon of Escherichia coli has been shown to contain five cAMP receptor protein (CRP) binding sequences, the most yet reported for any operon. A DNA fragment encompassing the entire mtl operon regulatory region was generated by PCR, and the binding of the cAMP-CRP complex was studied. Using restrictional analysis to separate, delineate and destroy the various putative CRP binding sites, all five sites were shown to be functional for CRP binding in vitro. Four of these sites bound the cAMP-CRP complex with high affinity while the fifth site (the most distal relative to the transcriptional start site) bound the complex with lower affinity. Simultaneous binding of cAMP-CRP complexes to several of these sites was demonstrated. The results serve to identify and define five dissimilar CRP binding sites in a single operon of E. coli. A model for mtl operon transcriptional initiation and repression complexes is presented.

Influence of DNA topology on expression of the tdc operon in Escherichia coli K-12

TdcB activity expressed from the chromosomal gene and LacZ expression from single-copy tdc-lacZ transcriptional and translational fusions were measured in Escherichia coli strains harboring mutations in the genes encoding DNA gyrase, topoisomerase I and the HU protein. The pattern of tdc operon expression in these mutants suggests that relaxation of supercoiled DNA enhances tdc transcription in vivo.

Functional analysis of the tdcABC promoter of Escherichia coli: roles of TdcA and TdcR

The efficient expression of the tdc operon of Escherichia coli requires the products of two regulatory genes, tdcR and tdcA. We have identified the transcription site of tdcR by primer extension mapping and established the translation start site of TdcR by mutational analysis of its reading frame. In a tdcR tdcABC deletion strain, tdcR+ promoted high-level LacZ expression from a lambda tdcAB-lacZ lysogen and mutations introduced in tdcR resulted in a greater than sixfold decrease in LacZ level. In-frame deletions of tdcA also reduced LacZ expression, and chromosomal and plasmid-borne tdcA+ increased the LacZ level in tdcA mutant lysogens. Interestingly, multicopy tdcA+ plasmids introduced into tdcR mutant strains completely restored tdc expression. In separate experiments we found that mutations in the tdc promoter DNA around positions -70, -140, and -175 greatly reduced tdc expression relative to that for the wild-type promoter and the tdcP mutation around -175 prevented multicopy tdcA+ from rescuing tdcR mutants. Furthermore, competition experiments revealed that a wild-type promoter fragment encompassing the -175 region cloned into a plasmid reduced tdc expression by titrating TdcA in vivo, and this effect was reversed with excess TdcA. These results suggest that in tdcR+ cells TdcR interacts with tdcP and/or TdcA to enhance tdc transcription whereas in tdcR mutant cells a new tdcP-TdcA complex around -175 in the native promoter bypasses the requirement for TdcR. On the basis of the accumulated data summarized here and elsewhere we propose that multiple transcription factors enhance tdc operon expression by bending and looping of the promoter DNA to form an active transcription complex.

TdcA, a transcriptional activator of the tdcABC operon of Escherichia coli, is a member of the LysR family of proteins

The tdcB and tdcC genes of the tdcABC operon of Escherichia coli encode threonine dehydratase and a threonine-serine permease, respectively. These proteins are involved in transport and metabolism of threonine and serine during anaerobic growth. In this study, we functionally characterized tdcA, which encodes a 35 kDa polypeptide consisting of 312 amino acid residues. Non-polar and partially polar mutations introduced into tdcA drastically reduced the expression of the genes down-stream from tdcA. Complementation studies using single-copy chromosomal integrants of a tdcB-lacZ fusion harboring an in-frame deletion of tdcA with chromosomal or plasmid-borne tdcA+ in trans showed complete restoration of tdc operon expression in vivo. The amino acid sequence at the amino-terminal end of TdcA revealed a significant homology to the helix-turn-helix motifs of typical DNA binding proteins. Sequence alignment of TdcA with LysR also showed considerable sequence similarity throughout their entire lengths. Our results suggest that TdcA is related to the LysR family of proteins by common ancestry and, based on its functional role in tdc expression, belongs to the LysR family of transcriptional activators.

Integration host factor is required for anaerobic pyruvate induction of pfl operon expression in Escherichia coli

The expression of the pyruvate formate-lyase gene (pfl) is induced by anaerobic growth, and this is increased further by growth in pyruvate. Previous work has shown that anaerobic induction is strongly dependent on the activator FNR and partially dependent on a second transcription factor, ArcA, while pyruvate induction only required FNR. Anaerobic and pyruvate regulation both require the presence of a 5' nontranslated regulatory sequence which spans approximately 500 bp of DNA. A mobility shift assay was developed to identify proteins that bind to this regulatory region. Several binding activities were separated by heparin agarose chromatography, and one of these activities was characterized and shown to be integration host factor (IHF). Mobility shift and DNase I footprinting experiments defined a single IHF binding site in the pfl promoter-regulatory region. With pfl-lacZ fusions, it could be shown that introduction of a himD mutation abolished pyruvate-dependent induction of anaerobic expression in vivo. The same result was observed when the pfl IHF binding site was mutated. In addition, the partial anaerobic induction of expression found in an fnr strain was completely blocked in an fnr himD double mutant and in an fnr IHF binding site double mutant. Taken together, these data suggest that IHF is necessary for both pyruvate induction and the anaerobic induction mediated by ArcA.