Regulation of ornithine utilization in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1) is mediated by a transcriptional regulator, OruR

The AraC-Type Transcriptional Regulator GliR (PA3027) Activates Genes of Glycerolipid Metabolism in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa encodes a large set of transcriptional regulators (TRs) that modulate and manage cellular metabolism to survive in variable environmental conditions including that of the human body. The AraC family regulators are an abundant group of TRs in bacteria, mostly acting as gene expression activators, controlling diverse cellular functions (e.g., carbon metabolism, stress response, and virulence). The PA3027 protein from P. aeruginosa has been classified in silico as a putative AraC-type TR. Transcriptional profiling of P. aeruginosa PAO1161 overexpressing PA3027 revealed a spectacular increase in the mRNA levels of PA3026-PA3024 (divergent to PA3027), PA3464, and PA3342 genes encoding proteins potentially involved in glycerolipid metabolism. Concomitantly, chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis revealed that at least 22 regions are bound by PA3027 in the PAO1161 genome. These encompass promoter regions of PA3026, PA3464, and PA3342, showing the major increase in expression in response to PA3027 excess. In Vitro DNA binding assay confirmed interactions of PA3027 with these regions. Furthermore, promoter-reporter assays in a heterologous host showed the PA3027-dependent activation of the promoter of the PA3026-PA3024 operon. Two motifs representing the preferred binding sites for PA3027, one localized upstream and one overlapping with the -35 promoter sequence, were identified in PA3026p and our data indicate that both motifs are required for full activation of this promoter by PA3027. Overall, the presented data show that PA3027 acts as a transcriptional regulator in P. aeruginosa, activating genes likely engaged in glycerolipid metabolism. The GliR name, from a glycerolipid metabolism regulator, is proposed for PA3027 of P. aeruginosa.

Convergent Metabolic Specialization through Distinct Evolutionary Paths in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Evolution by natural selection under complex and dynamic environmental conditions occurs through intricate and often counterintuitive trajectories affecting many genes and metabolic solutions. To study short- and long-term evolution of bacteria in vivo, we used the natural model system of cystic fibrosis (CF) infection. In this work, we investigated how and through which trajectories evolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa occurs when migrating from the environment to the airways of CF patients, and specifically, we determined reduction of growth rate and metabolic specialization as signatures of adaptive evolution. We show that central metabolic pathways of three distinct Pseudomonas aeruginosa lineages coevolving within the same environment become restructured at the cost of versatility during long-term colonization. Cell physiology changes from naive to adapted phenotypes resulted in (i) alteration of growth potential that particularly converged to a slow-growth phenotype, (ii) alteration of nutritional requirements due to auxotrophy, (iii) tailored preference for carbon source assimilation from CF sputum, (iv) reduced arginine and pyruvate fermentation processes, and (v) increased oxygen requirements. Interestingly, although convergence was evidenced at the phenotypic level of metabolic specialization, comparative genomics disclosed diverse mutational patterns underlying the different evolutionary trajectories. Therefore, distinct combinations of genetic and regulatory changes converge to common metabolic adaptive trajectories leading to within-host metabolic specialization. This study gives new insight into bacterial metabolic evolution during long-term colonization of a new environmental niche.

Only a few examples of real-time evolutionary investigations in environments outside the laboratory are described in the scientific literature. Remembering that biological evolution, as it has progressed in nature, has not taken place in test tubes, it is not surprising that conclusions from our investigations of bacterial evolution in the CF model system are different from what has been concluded from laboratory experiments. The analysis presented here of the metabolic and regulatory driving forces leading to successful adaptation to a new environment provides an important insight into the role of metabolism and its regulatory mechanisms for successful adaptation of microorganisms in dynamic and complex environments. Understanding the trajectories of adaptation, as well as the mechanisms behind slow growth and rewiring of regulatory and metabolic networks, is a key element to understand the adaptive robustness and evolvability of bacteria in the process of increasing their in vivo fitness when conquering new territories.

Identification of genes essential for the biogenesis of quinohemoprotein amine dehydrogenase

The structural genes encoding quinohemoprotein amine dehydrogenase (QHNDH) in Gram-negative bacteria constitute a polycistronic operon together with several nearby genes, which are collectively termed "qhp". We previously showed that the qhpD gene, which lies between qhpA and qhpC (encoding the α and γ subunits of QHNDH, respectively), and the qhpE gene, which follows qhpB (encoding the β subunit), both encode enzymes specifically involved in the posttranslational modification of the γ subunit and are hence essential for QHNDH biogenesis in Paracoccus denitrificans [Ono, K., et al. (2006) J. Biol. Chem. 281, 13672-13684; Nakai, T., et al. (2012) J. Biol. Chem. 287, 6530-6538]. Here we further demonstrate that the qhpF gene, which follows qhpE, and the qhpG and qhpR genes, peripherally located in the complementary strand, are also indispensable for QHNDH biogenesis. The qhpF gene encodes an efflux ABC transporter, which probably translocates the γ subunit into the periplasm in a process coupled with hydrolysis of ATP. The qhpG gene encodes a putative FAD-dependent monooxygenase, which is required for the generation of the quinone cofactor in the γ subunit. Finally, the qhpR gene encodes an AraC family transcriptional regulator, which activates expression of the qhp operon in response to the addition of n-butylamine to the culture medium. Database analysis of the qhp genes reveals that they are very widely distributed, not only in many Gram-negative species but also in a few Gram-positive bacteria.

Caenorhabditis elegans semi-automated liquid screen reveals a specialized role for the chemotaxis gene cheB2 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen that causes infections in a variety of animal and plant hosts. Caenorhabditis elegans is a simple model with which one can identify bacterial virulence genes. Previous studies with C. elegans have shown that depending on the growth medium, P. aeruginosa provokes different pathologies: slow or fast killing, lethal paralysis and red death. In this study, we developed a high-throughput semi-automated liquid-based assay such that an entire genome can readily be scanned for virulence genes in a short time period. We screened a 2,200-member STM mutant library generated in a cystic fibrosis airway P. aeruginosa isolate, TBCF10839. Twelve mutants were isolated each showing at least 70% attenuation in C. elegans killing. The selected mutants had insertions in regulatory genes, such as a histidine kinase sensor of two-component systems and a member of the AraC family, or in genes involved in adherence or chemotaxis. One mutant had an insertion in a cheB gene homologue, encoding a methylesterase involved in chemotaxis (CheB2). The cheB2 mutant was tested in a murine lung infection model and found to have a highly attenuated virulence. The cheB2 gene is part of the chemotactic gene cluster II, which was shown to be required for an optimal mobility in vitro. In P. aeruginosa, the main player in chemotaxis and mobility is the chemotactic gene cluster I, including cheB1. We show that, in contrast to the cheB2 mutant, a cheB1 mutant is not attenuated for virulence in C. elegans whereas in vitro motility and chemotaxis are severely impaired. We conclude that the virulence defect of the cheB2 mutant is not linked with a global motility defect but that instead the cheB2 gene is involved in a specific chemotactic response, which takes place during infection and is required for P. aeruginosa pathogenicity.

The increase in hospital acquired and multi-drug resistant bacterial infections calls for an urgent development of new antimicrobials. As such, the identification and characterization of novel molecular targets involved in bacterial virulence has become a common goal for researchers. The use of non-mammalian hosts, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, is useful to accelerate this process. In our study, we developed a high-throughput screening method, which further facilitates the use of C. elegans, and allows the rapid screening of a large collection of bacterial mutants at the genomic scale. We have used Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a potent opportunistic pathogen, to perform this study. The screening of more than 2,000 mutant strains allowed the characterization of a mutant affected in the cheB2 gene. Importantly, this mutant was shown to be impaired in a mouse model of infection, supporting that our new screen is a good model to identify virulence genes relevant for infection in mammals. The cheB2 gene encodes a component of a chemotaxis pathway, which is likely involved in the perception of stimuli during the infection process, and allows an appropriate adaptive response for a successful infection. Our method could be applied to other bacterial pathogens and will help researchers discover candidate genes leading to the design of novel antimicrobials.

Metabolic control through ornithine and uracil of epithelial cell invasion by Shigella flexneri

This paper shows that compounds in defined growth media strongly influence the expression of the effectors of virulence in the human invasive pathogen Shigella flexneri. Ornithine in conjunction with uracil reduces the haemolytic ability of wild-type cultures more than 20-fold and the expression of the type III secretion system more than 8-fold, as monitored by an mxiC : : lacZ transcriptional reporter. mxiC gene expression is further decreased by the presence of methionine or branched-chain amino acids (15-fold or 25-fold at least, respectively). Lysine and a few other aminated metabolites (cadaverine, homoserine and diaminopimelate) counteract the ornithine-mediated inhibition of haemolytic activity and of the expression of a transcriptional activator virF reporter. The complete abolition of invasion of HeLa cells by wild-type bacteria by ornithine, uracil, methionine or branched-chain amino acids establishes that these metabolites are powerful effectors of virulence. These findings provide a direct connection between metabolism and virulence in S. flexneri. The inhibitory potential exhibited by the nutritional environment is stronger than temperature, the classical environmental effector of virulence. The implications and practical application of this finding in prophylaxis and treatment of shigellosis are discussed.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv1395 is a class III transcriptional regulator of the AraC family involved in cytochrome P450 regulation

Rv1395 is annotated as a potential transcriptional regulator of the AraC family. The Rv1395 insertional mutant was identified in a signature tag mutagenesis study in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and was shown to be attenuated in the lungs of mice. Here, we used comparative genomics and biochemical methods to show that Rv1395 is unique to the M. tuberculosis complex and that it encodes a protein that binds the region between two divergent genes, a member of the cytochrome P450 family (Rv1394c or cyp132) and Rv1395 itself. Rv1395 binds to this DNA region by its helix-turn-helix-containing C-terminal domain, and it recognizes two sites with different affinity. We identified the transcriptional start points (TSP) of Rv1394c and Rv1395: both genes have two TSPs, three of which are located in the intergenic region. We constructed and compared various transcriptional fusions consisting of the promoter regions and a reporter gene in Mycobacterium smegmatis: this showed that Rv1395 induces the expression of the cytochrome P450 gene (Rv1394c) and represses its own transcription. This was confirmed in M. tuberculosis when the wild type and a Rv1395-overexpressing strain were used as hosts for the fusions. Site-directed mutagenesis showed that Rv1395 binds to the two sites in a co-operative manner and that binding to both sites is required for Rv1395 optimal activity. A model describing the potential mode of action of Rv1395 is discussed.

Cloning and molecular analysis of the Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyalkanoate) biosynthesis genes in Pseudomonas sp. strain 61-3

Two types of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biosynthesis gene loci (phb and pha) of Pseudomonas sp. strain 61-3, which produces a blend of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] homopolymer and a random copolymer (poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyalkanoate) [P(3HB-co-3HA]) consisting of 3HA units of 4 to 12 carbon atoms, were cloned and analyzed at the molecular level. In the phb locus, three open reading frames encoding polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) synthase (PhbCPs), beta-ketothiolase (PhbAPs), and NADPH-dependent acetoacetyl coenzyme A reductase (PhbBPs) were found. The genetic organization showed a putative promoter region, followed by phbBPs-phbAPs-phbCPs. Upstream from phbBPs was found the phbRPs gene, which exhibits significant similarity to members of the AraC/XylS family of transcriptional activators. The phbRPs gene was found to be transcribed in the opposite direction from the three structural genes. Cloning of phbRPs in a relatively high-copy vector in Pseudomonas sp. strain 61-3 elevated the levels of beta-galactosidase activity from a transcriptional phb promoter-lacZ fusion and also enhanced the 3HB fraction in the polyesters synthesized by this strain, suggesting that PhbRPs is a positive regulatory protein controlling the transcription of phbBACPs in this bacterium. In the pha locus, two genes encoding PHA synthases (PhaC1Ps and PhaC2Ps) were flanked by a PHA depolymerase gene (phaZPs), and two adjacent open reading frames (ORF1 and phaDPs), and the gene order was ORF1, phaC1Ps, phaZPs, phaC2Ps, and phaDPs. Heterologous expression of the cloned fragments in PHA-negative mutants of Pseudomonas putida and Ralstonia eutropha revealed that PHB synthase and two PHA synthases of Pseudomonas sp. strain 61-3 were specific for short chain length and both short and medium chain length 3HA units, respectively.