RNA polymerases from Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli differ in recognition of regulatory signals in vitro

Structural Characterization of the Cotranscriptional Folding of the Thiamin Pyrophosphate Sensing thiC Riboswitch in Escherichia coli

Riboswitches are RNA-regulating elements that mostly rely on structural changes to modulate gene expression at various levels. Recent studies have revealed that riboswitches may control several regulatory mechanisms cotranscriptionally, i.e., during the transcription elongation of the riboswitch or early in the coding region of the regulated gene. Here, we study the structure of the nascent thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP)-sensing thiC riboswitch in Escherichia coli by using biochemical and enzymatic conventional probing approaches. Our chemical (in-line and lead probing) and enzymatic (nucleases S1, A, T1, and RNase H) probing data provide a comprehensive model of how TPP binding modulates the structure of the thiC riboswitch. Furthermore, by using transcriptional roadblocks along the riboswitch sequence, we find that a certain portion of nascent RNA is needed to sense TPP that coincides with the formation of the P5 stem loop. Together, our data suggest that conventional techniques may readily be used to study cotranscriptional folding of nascent RNAs.

Fluorescent riboswitch-controlled biosensors for the genome scale analysis of metabolic pathways

Fluorescent detection in cells has been tremendously developed over the years and now benefits from a large array of reporters that can provide sensitive and specific detection in real time. However, the intracellular monitoring of metabolite levels still poses great challenges due to the often complex nature of detected metabolites. Here, we provide a systematic analysis of thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) metabolism in Escherichia coli by using a TPP-sensing riboswitch that controls the expression of the fluorescent gfp reporter. By comparing different combinations of reporter fusions and TPP-sensing riboswitches, we determine key elements that are associated with strong TPP-dependent sensing. Furthermore, by using the Keio collection as a proxy for growth conditions differing in TPP levels, we perform a high-throughput screen analysis using high-density solid agar plates. Our study reveals several genes whose deletion leads to increased or decreased TPP levels. The approach developed here could be applicable to other riboswitches and reporter genes, thus representing a framework onto which further development could lead to highly sophisticated detection platforms allowing metabolic screens and identification of orphan riboswitches.

Synthetic Homoserine Lactone Sensors for Gram-Positive Bacillus subtilis Using LuxR-Type Regulators

A universal biochemical signal for bacterial cell-cell communication could facilitate programming dynamic responses in diverse bacterial consortia. However, the classical quorum sensing paradigm is that Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria generally communicate via homoserine lactones (HSLs) or oligopeptide molecular signals, respectively, to elicit population responses. Here, we create synthetic HSL sensors for Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis 168 using allosteric LuxR-type regulators (RpaR, LuxR, RhlR, and CinR) and synthetic promoters. Promoters were combinatorially designed from different sequence elements (-35, -16, -10, and transcriptional start regions). We quantified the effects of these combinatorial promoters on sensor activity and determined how regulator expression affects its activation, achieving up to 293-fold activation. Using the statistical design of experiments, we identified significant effects of promoter regions and pairwise interactions on sensor activity, which helped to understand the sequence-function relationships for synthetic promoter design. We present the first known set of functional HSL sensors (≥20-fold dynamic range) in B. subtilis for four different HSL chemical signals: p-coumaroyl-HSL, 3-oxohexanoyl-HSL, n-butyryl-HSL, and n-(3-hydroxytetradecanoyl)-HSL. This set of synthetic HSL sensors for a Gram-positive bacterium can pave the way for designable interspecies communication within microbial consortia.

Overproduction, purification, and transcriptional activity of recombinant Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 RNA polymerase holoenzyme

Acinetobacter baylyi is an interesting model organism to investigate bacterial metabolism due to its vast repertoire of metabolic enzymes and ease of genetic manipulation. However, the study of gene expression in vitro is dependent on the availability of its RNA polymerase (RNAp), an essential enzyme in transcription. In this work, we developed a convenient method of producing the recombinant A. baylyi ADP1 RNA polymerase holoenzyme (RNAp^holo) in E. coli that yields 22 mg of a >96% purity protein from a 1-liter shake flask culture. We further characterized the A. baylyi ADP1 RNAp^holo kinetic profile using T7 Phage DNA as template and demonstrated that it is a highly transcriptionally active enzyme with an elongation rate of 24 nt/s and a termination efficiency of 94%. Moreover, the A. baylyi ADP1 RNAp^holo has a substantial sequence identity (∼95%) with the RNAp^holo from the human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. This protein can serve as a source of material for structural and biological studies towards advancing our understanding of genome expression and regulation in Acinetobacter species.

Chimeric MerR-Family Regulators and Logic Elements for the Design of Metal Sensitive Genetic Circuits in Bacillus subtilis

Whole-cell biosensors are emerging as promising tools for monitoring environmental pollutants such as heavy metals. These sensors constitute a genetic circuit comprising a sensing module and an output module, such that a detectable signal is produced in the presence of the desired analyte. The MerR family of metal-responsive regulators offers great potential for the construction of metal sensing circuits, due to their high sensitivity, tight transcription control, and large diversity in metal-specificity. However, the sensing diversity is broadest in Gram-negative systems, while chassis organisms are often selected from Gram-positive species, particularly sporulating bacilli. This can be problematic, because Gram-negative biological parts, such as promoters, are frequently observed to be nonfunctional in Gram-positive hosts. Herein, we combined construction of synthetic genetic circuits and chimeric MerR regulators, supported by structure-guided design, to generate metal-sensitive biosensor modules that are functional in the biotechnological work-horse species Bacillus subtilis. These chimeras consist of a constant Gram-positive derived DNA-binding domain fused to variable metal binding domains of Gram-negative origins. To improve the specificity of the whole-cell biosensor, we developed a modular "AND gate" logic system based on the B. subtilis two-subunit σ-factor, SigO-RsoA, designed to maximize future use for synthetic biology applications in B. subtilis. This work provides insights into the use of modular regulators, such as the MerR family, in the design of synthetic circuits for the detection of heavy metals, with potentially wider applicability of the approach to other systems and genetic backgrounds.

Xenogeneic silencing strategies in bacteria are dictated by RNA polymerase promiscuity

Horizontal gene transfer facilitates dissemination of favourable traits among bacteria. However, foreign DNA can also reduce host fitness: incoming sequences with a higher AT content than the host genome can misdirect transcription. Xenogeneic silencing proteins counteract this by modulating RNA polymerase binding. In this work, we compare xenogeneic silencing strategies of two distantly related model organisms: Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. In E. coli, silencing is mediated by the H-NS protein that binds extensively across horizontally acquired genes. This prevents spurious non-coding transcription, mostly intragenic in origin. By contrast, binding of the B. subtilis Rok protein is more targeted and mostly silences expression of functional mRNAs. The difference reflects contrasting transcriptional promiscuity in E. coli and B. subtilis, largely attributable to housekeeping RNA polymerase σ factors. Thus, whilst RNA polymerase specificity is key to the xenogeneic silencing strategy of B. subtilis, transcriptional promiscuity must be overcome to silence horizontally acquired DNA in E. coli.

Bacteria use specific silencing proteins to prevent spurious transcription of horizontally acquired DNA. Here, Forrest et al. describe differences in silencing strategies between E. coli and Bacillus subtilis, driven by the respective specificities of the silencing protein and the RNA polymerase in each organism.

Dynamic competition between a ligand and transcription factor NusA governs riboswitch-mediated transcription regulation

Cotranscriptional RNA folding is widely assumed to influence the timely control of gene expression, but our understanding remains limited. In bacteria, the fluoride (F^-)-sensing riboswitch is a transcriptional control element essential to defend against toxic F^- levels. Using this model riboswitch, we find that its ligand F^- and essential bacterial transcription factor NusA compete to bind the cotranscriptionally folding RNA, opposing each other's modulation of downstream pausing and termination by RNA polymerase. Single-molecule fluorescence assays probing active transcription elongation complexes discover that NusA unexpectedly binds highly reversibly, frequently interrogating the complex for emerging, cotranscriptionally folding RNA duplexes. NusA thus fine-tunes the transcription rate in dependence of the ligand-responsive higher-order structure of the riboswitch. At the high NusA concentrations found intracellularly, this dynamic modulation is expected to lead to adaptive bacterial transcription regulation with fast response times.

Monitoring RNA dynamics in native transcriptional complexes

Transcription of DNA into RNA is crucial to life, and understanding RNA polymerase (RNAP) function has received considerable attention. In contrast, how the nascent RNA folds into structures that impact transcription itself and regulate gene expression remains poorly understood. Here, we combine single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer and site-specific fluorescent labelling of transcripts within native complexes to enable real-time cotranscriptional folding studies of a metabolite-sensing riboswitch from Escherichia coli. By monitoring the folding of riboswitches stalled at RNAP pausing sites and during active elongation, we reveal a crucial role for RNAP, which directs RNA folding to allow thiamin pyrophosphate sensing within a precise, transcriptional hotspot. Our approach offers a unique opportunity to unveil cotranscriptional processes in eukaryotic and bacterial systems.

Cotranscriptional RNA folding is crucial for the timely control of biological processes, but because of its transient nature, its study has remained challenging. While single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is unique to investigate transient RNA structures, its application to cotranscriptional studies has been limited to nonnative systems lacking RNA polymerase (RNAP)–dependent features, which are crucial for gene regulation. Here, we present an approach that enables site-specific labeling and smFRET studies of kilobase-length transcripts within native bacterial complexes. By monitoring Escherichia coli nascent riboswitches, we reveal an inverse relationship between elongation speed and metabolite-sensing efficiency and show that pause sites upstream of the translation start codon delimit a sequence hotspot for metabolite sensing during transcription. Furthermore, we demonstrate a crucial role of the bacterial RNAP actively delaying the formation, within the hotspot sequence, of competing structures precluding metabolite binding. Our approach allows the investigation of cotranscriptional regulatory mechanisms in bacterial and eukaryotic elongation complexes.

Coupled Transcription-Translation in Prokaryotes: An Old Couple With New Surprises

Coupled transcription-translation (CTT) is a hallmark of prokaryotic gene expression. CTT occurs when ribosomes associate with and initiate translation of mRNAs whose transcription has not yet concluded, therefore forming "RNAP.mRNA.ribosome" complexes. CTT is a well-documented phenomenon that is involved in important gene regulation processes, such as attenuation and operon polarity. Despite the progress in our understanding of the cellular signals that coordinate CTT, certain aspects of its molecular architecture remain controversial. Additionally, new information on the spatial segregation between the transcriptional and the translational machineries in certain species, and on the capability of certain mRNAs to localize translation-independently, questions the unanimous occurrence of CTT. Furthermore, studies where transcription and translation were artificially uncoupled showed that transcription elongation can proceed in a translation-independent manner. Here, we review studies supporting the occurrence of CTT and findings questioning its extent, as well as discuss mechanisms that may explain both coupling and uncoupling, e.g., chromosome relocation and the involvement of cis- or trans-acting elements, such as small RNAs and RNA-binding proteins. These mechanisms impact RNA localization, stability, and translation. Understanding the two options by which genes can be expressed and their consequences should shed light on a new layer of control of bacterial transcripts fate.

NusG, an Ancient Yet Rapidly Evolving Transcription Factor

Timely and accurate RNA synthesis depends on accessory proteins that instruct RNA polymerase (RNAP) where and when to start and stop transcription. Among thousands of transcription factors, NusG/Spt5 stand out as the only universally conserved family of regulators. These proteins interact with RNAP to promote uninterrupted RNA synthesis and with diverse cellular partners to couple transcription to RNA processing, modification or translation, or to trigger premature termination of aberrant transcription. NusG homologs are present in all cells that utilize bacterial-type RNAP, from endosymbionts to plants, underscoring their ancient and essential function. Yet, in stark contrast to other core RNAP components, NusG family is actively evolving: horizontal gene transfer and sub-functionalization drive emergence of NusG paralogs, such as bacterial LoaP, RfaH, and UpxY. These specialized regulators activate a few (or just one) operons required for expression of antibiotics, capsules, secretion systems, toxins, and other niche-specific macromolecules. Despite their common origin and binding site on the RNAP, NusG homologs differ in their target selection, interacting partners and effects on RNA synthesis. Even among housekeeping NusGs from diverse bacteria, some factors promote pause-free transcription while others slow the RNAP down. Here, we discuss structure, function, and evolution of NusG proteins, focusing on unique mechanisms that determine their effects on gene expression and enable bacterial adaptation to diverse ecological niches.

A Growing Gap between the RNAP and the Lead Ribosome

In prokaryotes, transcription-translation coupling is thought to guarantee the synthesis of high-quality mRNAs and surveil foreign genes. Surprisingly, Johnson et al. show that translation is uncoupled from transcription in Bacillus subtilis, arguing that bacteria utilize very diverse gene expression strategies to meet their unique regulatory needs.

Functionally uncoupled transcription-translation in Bacillus subtilis

Tight coupling of transcription and translation is considered a defining feature of bacterial gene expression1,2. The pioneering ribosome can both physically associate and kinetically coordinate with RNA polymerase (RNAP)3-11, forming a signal-integration hub for co-transcriptional regulation that includes translation-based attenuation12,13 and RNA quality control2. However, it remains unclear whether transcription-translation coupling-together with its broad functional consequences-is indeed a fundamental characteristic of bacteria other than Escherichia coli. Here we show that RNAPs outpace pioneering ribosomes in the Gram-positive model bacterium Bacillus subtilis, and that this 'runaway transcription' creates alternative rules for both global RNA surveillance and translational control of nascent RNA. In particular, uncoupled RNAPs in B. subtilis explain the diminished role of Rho-dependent transcription termination, as well as the prevalence of mRNA leaders that use riboswitches and RNA-binding proteins. More broadly, we identified widespread genomic signatures of runaway transcription in distinct phyla across the bacterial domain. Our results show that coupled RNAP-ribosome movement is not a general hallmark of bacteria. Instead, translation-coupled transcription and runaway transcription constitute two principal modes of gene expression that determine genome-specific regulatory mechanisms in prokaryotes.

Genome and sequence determinants governing the expression of horizontally acquired DNA in bacteria

While horizontal gene transfer is prevalent across the biosphere, the regulatory features that enable expression and functionalization of foreign DNA remain poorly understood. Here, we combine high-throughput promoter activity measurements and large-scale genomic analysis of regulatory regions to investigate the cross-compatibility of regulatory elements (REs) in bacteria. Functional characterization of thousands of natural REs in three distinct bacterial species revealed distinct expression patterns according to RE and recipient phylogeny. Host capacity to activate foreign promoters was proportional to their genomic GC content, while many low GC regulatory elements were both broadly active and had more transcription start sites across hosts. The difference in expression capabilities could be explained by the influence of the host GC content on the stringency of the AT-rich canonical σ70 motif necessary for transcription initiation. We further confirm the generalizability of this model and find widespread GC content adaptation of the σ70 motif in a set of 1,545 genomes from all major bacterial phyla. Our analysis identifies a key mechanism by which the strength of the AT-rich σ70 motif relative to a host's genomic GC content governs the capacity for expression of acquired DNA. These findings shed light on regulatory adaptation in the context of evolving genomic composition.

A ligand-gated strand displacement mechanism for ZTP riboswitch transcription control

Cotranscriptional folding is an obligate step of RNA biogenesis that can guide RNA structure formation and function through transient intermediate folds. This process is particularly important for transcriptional riboswitches in which the formation of ligand-dependent structures during transcription regulates downstream gene expression. However, the intermediate structures that comprise cotranscriptional RNA folding pathways, and the mechanisms that enable transit between them, remain largely unknown. Here, we determine the series of cotranscriptional folds and rearrangements that mediate antitermination by the Clostridium beijerinckii pfl ZTP riboswitch in response to the purine biosynthetic intermediate ZMP. We uncover sequence and structural determinants that modulate an internal RNA strand displacement process and identify biases within natural ZTP riboswitch sequences that promote on-pathway folding. Our findings establish a mechanism for pfl riboswitch antitermination and suggest general strategies by which nascent RNA molecules navigate cotranscriptional folding pathways.

RNA Polymerase Accommodates a Pause RNA Hairpin by Global Conformational Rearrangements that Prolong Pausing

Sequence-specific pausing by RNA polymerase (RNAP) during transcription plays crucial and diverse roles in gene expression. In bacteria, RNA structures are thought to fold within the RNA exit channel of the RNAP and can increase pause lifetimes significantly. The biophysical mechanism of pausing is uncertain. We used single-particle cryo-EM to determine structures of paused complexes, including a 3.8-Å structure of an RNA hairpin-stabilized, paused RNAP that coordinates RNA folding in the his operon attenuation control region of E. coli. The structures revealed a half-translocated pause state (RNA post-translocated, DNA pre-translocated) that can explain transcriptional pausing and a global conformational change of RNAP that allosterically inhibits trigger loop folding and can explain pause hairpin action. Pause hairpin interactions with the RNAP RNA exit channel suggest how RNAP guides the formation of nascent RNA structures.

Ligand Modulates Cross-Coupling between Riboswitch Folding and Transcriptional Pausing

Numerous classes of riboswitches have been found to regulate bacterial gene expression in response to physiological cues, offering new paths to antibacterial drugs. As common studies of isolated riboswitches lack the functional context of the transcription machinery, we here combine single-molecule, biochemical, and simulation approaches to investigate the coupling between co-transcriptional folding of the pseudoknot-structured preQ1 riboswitch and RNA polymerase (RNAP) pausing. We show that pausing at a site immediately downstream of the riboswitch requires a ligand-free pseudoknot in the nascent RNA, a precisely spaced sequence resembling the pause consensus, and electrostatic and steric interactions with the RNAP exit channel. While interactions with RNAP stabilize the native fold of the riboswitch, binding of the ligand signals RNAP release from the pause. Our results demonstrate that the nascent riboswitch and its ligand actively modulate the function of RNAP and vice versa, a paradigm likely to apply to other cellular RNA transcripts.

Direct modulation of T-box riboswitch-controlled transcription by protein synthesis inhibitors

Recently, it was discovered that exposure to mainstream antibiotics activate numerous bacterial riboregulators that control antibiotic resistance genes including metabolite-binding riboswitches and other transcription attenuators. However, the effects of commonly used antibiotics, many of which exhibit RNA-binding properties, on the widespread T-box riboswitches, remain unknown. In Staphylococcus aureus, a species-specific glyS T-box controls the supply of glycine for both ribosomal translation and cell wall synthesis, making it a promising target for next-generation antimicrobials. Here, we report that specific protein synthesis inhibitors could either significantly increase T-box-mediated transcription antitermination, while other compounds could suppress it, both in vitro and in vivo. In-line probing of the full-length T-box combined with molecular modelling and docking analyses suggest that the antibiotics that promote transcription antitermination stabilize the T-box:tRNA complex through binding specific positions on stem I and the Staphylococcal-specific stem Sa. By contrast, the antibiotics that attenuate T-box transcription bind to other positions on stem I and do not interact with stem Sa. Taken together, our results reveal that the transcription of essential genes controlled by T-box riboswitches can be directly modulated by commonly used protein synthesis inhibitors. These findings accentuate the regulatory complexities of bacterial response to antimicrobials that involve multiple riboregulators.

Co-Transcriptional Folding and Regulation Mechanisms of Riboswitches

Riboswitches are genetic control elements within non-coding regions of mRNA. These self-regulatory elements have been found to sense a range of small metabolites, ions, and other physical signals to exert regulatory control of transcription, translation, and splicing. To date, more than a dozen riboswitch classes have been characterized that vary widely in size and secondary structure. Extensive experiments and theoretical studies have made great strides in understanding the general structures, genetic mechanisms, and regulatory activities of individual riboswitches. As the ligand-dependent co-transcriptional folding and unfolding dynamics of riboswitches are the key determinant of gene expression, it is important to investigate the thermodynamics and kinetics of riboswitches both in the presence and absence of metabolites under the transcription. This review will provide a brief summary of the studies about the regulation mechanisms of the pbuE, S_MK, yitJ, and metF riboswitches based on the ligand-dependent co-transcriptional folding of the riboswitches.

Production and characterization of a highly pure RNA polymerase holoenzyme from Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Recent publications have shown that active RNA polymerase (RNAP) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MtbRNAP) can be produced by expressing all four subunits in a single recombinant Escherichia coli strain [1-3]. By reducing the number of plasmids and changing the codon usage of the Mtb genes in the co-expression system published by Banerjee et al. [1], we present a simplified, detailed and reproducible protocol for the purification of recombinant MtbRNAP containing the ω subunit. Moreover, we describe the formation of ternary elongation complexes (TECs) with a short fluorescence-labeled RNA primer and DNA oligonucleotides, suitable for transcription elongation studies. The purification of milligram quantities of the pure and highly active holoenzyme omits ammonium sulfate or polyethylene imine precipitation steps [4] and requires only 5 g of wet cells. Our results indicate that subunit assemblies other than α₂ββ'ω·σ^A can be separated by ion-exchange chromatography on Mono Q column and that assemblies with the wrong RNAP subunit stoichiometry lack transcriptional activity. We show that MtbRNAP TECs can be stalled by NTP substrate deprivation and chased upon the addition of missing NTP(s) without the need of any accessory proteins. Finally, we demonstrate the ability of the purified MtbRNAP to initiate transcription from a promoter and establish that its open promoter complexes are stabilized by the M. tuberculosis protein CarD.

Maintenance of Transcription-Translation Coupling by Elongation Factor P

Under conditions of tight coupling between translation and transcription, the ribosome enables synthesis of full-length mRNAs by preventing both formation of intrinsic terminator hairpins and loading of the transcription termination factor Rho. While previous studies have focused on transcription factors, we investigated the role of Escherichia coli elongation factor P (EF-P), an elongation factor required for efficient translation of mRNAs containing consecutive proline codons, in maintaining coupled translation and transcription. In the absence of EF-P, the presence of Rho utilization (rut) sites led to an ~30-fold decrease in translation of polyproline-encoding mRNAs. Coexpression of the Rho inhibitor Psu fully restored translation. EF-P was also shown to inhibit premature termination during synthesis and translation of mRNAs encoding intrinsic terminators. The effects of EF-P loss on expression of polyproline mRNAs were augmented by a substitution in RNA polymerase that accelerates transcription. Analyses of previously reported ribosome profiling and global proteomic data identified several candidate gene clusters where EF-P could act to prevent premature transcription termination. In vivo probing allowed detection of some predicted premature termination products in the absence of EF-P. Our findings support a model in which EF-P maintains coupling of translation and transcription by decreasing ribosome stalling at polyproline motifs. Other regulators that facilitate ribosome translocation through roadblocks to prevent premature transcription termination upon uncoupling remain to be identified.

Bacterial mRNA and protein syntheses are often tightly coupled, with ribosomes binding newly synthesized Shine-Dalgarno sequences and then translating nascent mRNAs as they emerge from RNA polymerase. While previous studies have mainly focused on the roles of transcription factors, here we investigated whether translation factors can also play a role in maintaining coupling and preventing premature transcription termination. Using the polyproline synthesis enhancer elongation factor P, we found that rapid translation through potential stalling motifs is required to provide efficient coupling between ribosomes and RNA polymerase. These findings show that translation enhancers can play an important role in gene expression by preventing premature termination of transcription.

A part toolbox to tune genetic expression in Bacillus subtilis

Libraries of well-characterised components regulating gene expression levels are essential to many synthetic biology applications. While widely available for the Gram-negative model bacterium Escherichia coli, such libraries are lacking for the Gram-positive model Bacillus subtilis, a key organism for basic research and biotechnological applications. Here, we engineered a genetic toolbox comprising libraries of promoters, Ribosome Binding Sites (RBS), and protein degradation tags to precisely tune gene expression in B. subtilis. We first designed a modular Expression Operating Unit (EOU) facilitating parts assembly and modifications and providing a standard genetic context for gene circuits implementation. We then selected native, constitutive promoters of B. subtilis and efficient RBS sequences from which we engineered three promoters and three RBS sequence libraries exhibiting ∼14 000-fold dynamic range in gene expression levels. We also designed a collection of SsrA proteolysis tags of variable strength. Finally, by using fluorescence fluctuation methods coupled with two-photon microscopy, we quantified the absolute concentration of GFP in a subset of strains from the library. Our complete promoters and RBS sequences library comprising over 135 constructs enables tuning of GFP concentration over five orders of magnitude, from 0.05 to 700 μM. This toolbox of regulatory components will support many research and engineering applications in B. subtilis.

A Two-Way Street: Regulatory Interplay between RNA Polymerase and Nascent RNA Structure

The vectorial (5'-to-3' at varying velocity) synthesis of RNA by cellular RNA polymerases (RNAPs) creates a rugged kinetic landscape, demarcated by frequent, sometimes long-lived, pauses. In addition to myriad gene-regulatory roles, these pauses temporally and spatially program the co-transcriptional, hierarchical folding of biologically active RNAs. Conversely, these RNA structures, which form inside or near the RNA exit channel, interact with the polymerase and adjacent protein factors to influence RNA synthesis by modulating pausing, termination, antitermination, and slippage. Here, we review the evolutionary origin, mechanistic underpinnings, and regulatory consequences of this interplay between RNAP and nascent RNA structure. We categorize and rationalize the extensive linkage between the transcriptional machinery and its product, and provide a framework for future studies.

Functional reconstitution of an unusual Firmicutes σ factor into a Gram-negative heterologous host

Sigma (σ) factors are single-subunit proteins that reversibly bind RNA polymerase and play an important role in the transcription initiation process. An unusual 2-subunit σ factor, consisting of proteins SigO and RsoA, activates transcription from a group of related promoters in Bacillus subtilis. These 2 proteins specifically interact with each other and with RNA polymerase subunits. This system is widespread among species in several Bacillus-related genera, but otherwise appears restricted to the Firmicutes. Here, we reconstituted SigO-RsoA, and a cognate promoter, into the distantly related heterologous host Escherichia coli to examine whether this system can function in bacteria outside of the Firmicutes. We show that these proteins can productively associate with E. coli RNA polymerase and activate transcription, demonstrating that there are no structural barriers to function. In parallel, we tested a wide array of protein-protein interaction mutations and promoter mutations that impact SigO-RsoA function in both B. subtilis and E. coli and conclude that the SigO-RsoA system behaves, in most instances, similarly in both genetic backgrounds. These data raise the possibility of genetically isolating the system in this heterologous host and away from unknown B. subtilis factors that may also be playing a role in SigO-RsoA regulatory pathways, thus facilitating further study of the system. As a result of this work, we also provide a comprehensive mutational analysis of a SigO-RsoA promoter and report the preliminary identification of amino acids in SigO that play a role in mediating the SigO-RsoA protein-protein interaction.

CarD uses a minor groove wedge mechanism to stabilize the RNA polymerase open promoter complex

A key point to regulate gene expression is at transcription initiation, and activators play a major role. CarD, an essential activator in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is found in many bacteria, including Thermus species, but absent in Escherichia coli. To delineate the molecular mechanism of CarD, we determined crystal structures of Thermus transcription initiation complexes containing CarD. The structures show CarD interacts with the unique DNA topology presented by the upstream double-stranded/single-stranded DNA junction of the transcription bubble. We confirm that our structures correspond to functional activation complexes, and extend our understanding of the role of a conserved CarD Trp residue that serves as a minor groove wedge, preventing collapse of the transcription bubble to stabilize the transcription initiation complex. Unlike E. coli RNAP, many bacterial RNAPs form unstable promoter complexes, explaining the need for CarD.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.08505.001

Inside cells, molecules of double-stranded DNA encode the instructions needed to make proteins. To make a protein, the two strands of DNA that make up a gene are separated and one strand acts as a template to make molecules of messenger ribonucleic acid (or mRNA for short). This process is called transcription. The mRNA is then used as a template to assemble the protein. An enzyme called RNA polymerase carries out transcription and is found in all cells ranging from bacteria to humans and other animals.

Bacteria have the simplest form of RNA polymerase and provide an excellent system to study how it controls transcription. It is made up of several proteins that work together to make RNA using DNA as a template. However, it requires the help of another protein called sigma factor to direct it to regions of DNA called promoters, which are just before the start of the gene. When RNA polymerase and the sigma factor interact the resulting group of proteins is known as the RNA polymerase ‘holoenzyme’.

Transcription takes place in several stages. To start with, the RNA polymerase holoenzyme locates and binds to promoter DNA. Next, it separates the two strands of DNA and exposes a portion of the template strand. At this point, the DNA and the holoenzyme are said to be in an ‘open promoter complex’ and the section of promoter DNA that is within it is known as a ‘transcription bubble’. Another protein called CarD helps to speed up transcription but it is not clear how this stage of the process works.

Bae et al. have now used X-ray crystallography to reveal the structure of CarD bound to the RNA polymerase holoenyzme and a DNA promoter. The structures show that one part of CarD interacts with the DNA at the start of the transcription bubble, and another part binds to the RNA polymerase. CarD fits between the two strands of DNA in the promoter, like a wedge, to keep the strands apart. Therefore, CarD stabilizes the open promoter complex and prevents the transcription bubble from collapsing.

These findings reveal a previously unseen mechanism involved in activating transcription and will guide further experiments probing the role of CarD in living cells. Another study by Bae, Feklistov et al.—which involves some of the same researchers as this study—reveals that the sigma factor also binds to DNA at the start of the transcription bubble. The general principles outlined by these studies may help to identify other proteins that regulate transcription.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.08505.002

A Highly Coupled Network of Tertiary Interactions in the SAM-I Riboswitch and Their Role in Regulatory Tuning

RNA folding in vivo is significantly influenced by transcription, which is not necessarily recapitulated by Mg(2+)-induced folding of the corresponding full-length RNA in vitro. Riboswitches that regulate gene expression at the transcriptional level are an ideal system for investigating this aspect of RNA folding as ligand-dependent termination is obligatorily co-transcriptional, providing a clear readout of the folding outcome. The folding of representative members of the SAM-I family of riboswitches has been extensively analyzed using approaches focusing almost exclusively upon Mg(2+) and/or S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-induced folding of full-length transcripts of the ligand binding domain. To relate these findings to co-transcriptional regulatory activity, we have investigated a set of structure-guided mutations of conserved tertiary architectural elements of the ligand binding domain using an in vitro single-turnover transcriptional termination assay, complemented with phylogenetic analysis and isothermal titration calorimetry data. This analysis revealed a conserved internal loop adjacent to the SAM binding site that significantly affects ligand binding and regulatory activity. Conversely, most single point mutations throughout key conserved features in peripheral tertiary architecture supporting the SAM binding pocket have relatively little impact on riboswitch activity. Instead, a secondary structural element in the peripheral subdomain appears to be the key determinant in observed differences in regulatory properties across the SAM-I family. These data reveal a highly coupled network of tertiary interactions that promote high-fidelity co-transcriptional folding of the riboswitch but are only indirectly linked to regulatory tuning.

A portable expression resource for engineering cross-species genetic circuits and pathways

Genetic circuits and metabolic pathways can be reengineered to allow organisms to process signals and manufacture useful chemicals. However, their functions currently rely on organism-specific regulatory parts, fragmenting synthetic biology and metabolic engineering into host-specific domains. To unify efforts, here we have engineered a cross-species expression resource that enables circuits and pathways to reuse the same genetic parts, while functioning similarly across diverse organisms. Our engineered system combines mixed feedback control loops and cross-species translation signals to autonomously self-regulate expression of an orthogonal polymerase without host-specific promoters, achieving nontoxic and tuneable gene expression in diverse Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Combining 50 characterized system variants with mechanistic modelling, we show how the cross-species expression resource's dynamics, capacity and toxicity are controlled by the control loops' architecture and feedback strengths. We also demonstrate one application of the resource by reusing the same genetic parts to express a biosynthesis pathway in both model and non-model hosts.

Organism-specific genetic parts are often used to express circuits and pathways, limiting their portability. Here the authors engineer a cross-species expression resource, without using host-specific parts, to control protein and pathway expression in non-model bacteria.

Regulation of Transcript Elongation

Bacteria lack subcellular compartments and harbor a single RNA polymerase that synthesizes both structural and protein-coding RNAs, which are cotranscriptionally processed by distinct pathways. Nascent rRNAs fold into elaborate secondary structures and associate with ribosomal proteins, whereas nascent mRNAs are translated by ribosomes. During elongation, nucleic acid signals and regulatory proteins modulate concurrent RNA-processing events, instruct RNA polymerase where to pause and terminate transcription, or act as roadblocks to the moving enzyme. Communications among complexes that carry out transcription, translation, repair, and other cellular processes ensure timely execution of the gene expression program and survival under conditions of stress. This network is maintained by auxiliary proteins that act as bridges between RNA polymerase, ribosome, and repair enzymes, blurring boundaries between separate information-processing steps and making assignments of unique regulatory functions meaningless. Understanding the regulation of transcript elongation thus requires genome-wide approaches, which confirm known and reveal new regulatory connections.

pH dependence of the stress regulator DksA

DksA controls transcription of genes associated with diverse stress responses, such as amino acid and carbon starvation, oxidative stress, and iron starvation. DksA binds within the secondary channel of RNA polymerase, extending its long coiled-coil domain towards the active site. The cellular expression of DksA remains constant due to a negative feedback autoregulation, raising the question of whether DksA activity is directly modulated during stress. Here, we show that Escherichia coli DksA is essential for survival in acidic conditions and that, while its cellular levels do not change significantly, DksA activity and binding to RNA polymerase are increased at lower pH, with a concomitant decrease in its stability. NMR data reveal pH-dependent structural changes centered at the interface of the N and C-terminal regions of DksA. Consistently, we show that a partial deletion of the N-terminal region and substitutions of a histidine 39 residue at the domain interface abolish pH sensitivity in vitro. Together, these data suggest that DksA responds to changes in pH by shifting between alternate conformations, in which competing interactions between the N- and C-terminal regions modify the protein activity.

RNA polymerase-induced remodelling of NusA produces a pause enhancement complex

Pausing during transcription elongation is a fundamental activity in all kingdoms of life. In bacteria, the essential protein NusA modulates transcriptional pausing, but its mechanism of action has remained enigmatic. By combining structural and functional studies we show that a helical rearrangement induced in NusA upon interaction with RNA polymerase is the key to its modulatory function. This conformational change leads to an allosteric re-positioning of conserved basic residues that could enable their interaction with an RNA pause hairpin that forms in the exit channel of the polymerase. This weak interaction would stabilize the paused complex and increases the duration of the transcriptional pause. Allosteric spatial re-positioning of regulatory elements may represent a general approach used across all taxa for modulation of transcription and protein–RNA interactions.

Biochemical insights into the function of phage G1 gp67 in Staphylococcus aureus

Bacteriophage (phage) are among the most diverse and abundant life forms on Earth. Studies have recently used phage diversity to identify novel antimicrobial peptides and proteins. We showed that one such phage protein, Staphylococcus aureus (Sau) phage G1 gp67, inhibits cell growth in Sau by an unusual mechanism. Gp67 binds to the host RNA polymerase (RNAP) through an interaction with the promoter specificity σ subunit, but unlike many other σ-binding phage proteins, gp67 does not disrupt transcription at most promoters. Rather, gp67 prevents binding of another RNAP domain, the α-C-terminal domain, to upstream A/T-rich elements required for robust transcription at rRNA promoters. Here, we discuss additional biochemical insights on gp67, how phage promoters escape the inhibitory function of gp67, and methodological advancements that were foundational to our work.

Initiating nucleotide identity determines efficiency of RNA synthesis from 6S RNA templates in Bacillus subtilis but not Escherichia coli

The 6S RNA is a non-coding small RNA that binds within the active site of housekeeping forms of RNA polymerases (e.g. Eσ⁷⁰ in Escherichia coli, Eσ^A in Bacillus subtilis) and regulates transcription. Efficient release of RNA polymerase from 6S RNA regulation during outgrowth from stationary phase is dependent on use of 6S RNA as a template to generate a product RNA (pRNA). Interestingly, B. subtilis has two 6S RNAs, 6S-1 and 6S-2, but only 6S-1 RNA appears to be used efficiently as a template for pRNA synthesis during outgrowth. Here, we demonstrate that the identity of the initiating nucleotide is particularly important for the B. subtilis RNA polymerase to use RNA templates. Specifically, initiation with guanosine triphosphate (GTP) is required for efficient pRNA synthesis, providing mechanistic insight into why 6S-2 RNA does not support robust pRNA synthesis as it initiates with adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Intriguingly, E. coli RNA polymerase does not have a strong preference for initiating nucleotide identity. These observations highlight an important difference in biochemical properties of B. subtilis and E. coli RNA polymerases, specifically in their ability to use RNA templates efficiently, which also may reflect the differences in GTP and ATP metabolism in these two organisms.

Co-evolution of RNA polymerase with RbpA in the phylum Actinobacteria

The role of RbpA in the backdrop of M. smegmatis showed that it rescues mycobacterial RNA polymerase from rifampicin-mediated inhibition (Dey et al., 2010; Dey et al., 2011). Paget and co-workers (Paget et al., 2001; Newell et al., 2006) have revealed that RbpA homologs occur exclusively in actinobacteria. Newell et al. (2006) showed that MtbRbpA, when complemented in a ∆rbpA mutant of S. coelicolor, showed a low recovery of MIC (from 0.75 to 2 μg/ml) as compared to complementation by native RbpA of S. coelicolor (MIC increases from 0.75 to 11 μg/ml). Our studies on MsRbpA show that it is a differential marker for M. smegmatis RNA polymerase as compared to E. coli RNA polymerase at IC50 levels of rifampicin. A recent sequence-based analysis by Lane and Darst (2010) has shown that RNA polymerases from Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria have had a divergent evolution. E. coli is a representative of Proteobacteria and M. smegmatis is an Actinobacterium. RbpA has an exclusive occurrence in Actinobacteria. Since protein-protein interactions might not be conserved across different species, therefore, the probable reason for the indifference of MsRbpA toward E. coli RNA polymerase could be the lineage-specific differences between actinobacterial and proteobacterial RNA polymerases. These observations led us to ask the question as to whether the evolution of RbpA in Actinobacteria followed the same route as that of RNA polymerase subunits from actinobacterial species. We show that the exclusivity of RbpA in Actinobacteria and the unique evolution of RNA polymerase in this phylum share a co-evolutionary link. We have addressed this issue by a blending of experimental and bioinformatics based approaches. They comprise of induction of bacterial cultures coupled to rifampicin-tolerance, transcription assays and statistical comparison of phylogenetic trees for different pairs of proteins in actinobacteria.

An insertion in the catalytic trigger loop gates the secondary channel of RNA polymerase

Escherichia coli DksA and GreB bind to RNA polymerase (RNAP), reaching inside the secondary channel, with similar affinities but have different cellular functions. DksA destabilizes promoter complexes whereas GreB facilitates RNA cleavage in arrested elongation complexes (ECs). Although the less abundant GreB may not interfere with DksA regulation during initiation, reports that DksA acts during elongation and termination suggest that it may exclude GreB from arrested complexes, potentially triggering genome instability. Here, we show that GreB does not compete with DksA during termination whereas DksA, even when present in several hundredfold molar excess, does not inhibit GreB-mediated cleavage of the nascent RNA. Our findings that DksA does not bind to backtracked or active ECs provide an explanation for the lack of DksA activity on most ECs that we reported previously, raising a question of what makes a transcription complex susceptible to DksA. Structural modeling suggests that i6, an insertion in the catalytic trigger loop, hinders DksA access into the channel, restricting DksA action to a subset of transcription complexes. In support of this hypothesis, we demonstrate that deletion of i6 permits DksA binding to ECs and that the distribution of DksA and i6 in bacterial genomes is strongly concordant. We hypothesize that DksA binds to transcription complexes in which i6 becomes mobile, for example, as a consequence of weakened RNAP interactions with the downstream duplex DNA.

Direct observation of cotranscriptional folding in an adenine riboswitch

Growing RNA chains fold cotranscriptionally as they are synthesized by RNA polymerase. Riboswitches, which regulate gene expression by adopting alternative RNA folds, are sensitive to cotranscriptional events. We developed an optical-trapping assay to follow the cotranscriptional folding of a nascent RNA and used it to monitor individual transcripts of the pbuE adenine riboswitch, visualizing distinct folding transitions. We report a particular folding signature for the riboswitch aptamer whose presence directs the gene-regulatory transcription outcome, and we measured the termination frequency as a function of adenine level and tension applied to the RNA. Our results demonstrate that the outcome is kinetically controlled. These experiments furnish a means to observe conformational switching in real time and enable the precise mapping of events during cotranscriptional folding.

RNA polymerase-promoter interactions determining different stability of the Escherichia coli and Thermus aquaticus transcription initiation complexes

Transcription initiation complexes formed by bacterial RNA polymerases (RNAPs) exhibit dramatic species-specific differences in stability, leading to different strategies of transcription regulation. The molecular basis for this diversity is unclear. Promoter complexes formed by RNAP from Thermus aquaticus (Taq) are considerably less stable than Escherichia coli RNAP promoter complexes, particularly at temperatures below 37°C. Here, we used a fluorometric RNAP molecular beacon assay to discern partial RNAP-promoter interactions. We quantitatively compared the strength of E. coli and Taq RNAPs partial interactions with the −10, −35 and UP promoter elements; the TG motif of the extended −10 element; the discriminator and the downstream duplex promoter segments. We found that compared with Taq RNAP, E. coli RNAP has much higher affinity only to the UP element and the downstream promoter duplex. This result indicates that the difference in stability between E. coli and Taq promoter complexes is mainly determined by the differential strength of core RNAP–DNA contacts. We suggest that the relative weakness of Taq RNAP interactions with DNA downstream of the transcription start point is the major reason of low stability and temperature sensitivity of promoter complexes formed by this enzyme.

Insights into the regulatory landscape of the lysine riboswitch

A prevalent means of regulating gene expression in bacteria is by riboswitches found within mRNA leader sequences. Like protein repressors, these RNA elements must bind an effector molecule with high specificity against a background of other cellular metabolites of similar chemical structure to elicit the appropriate regulatory response. Current crystal structures of the lysine riboswitch do not provide a complete understanding of selectivity as recognition is substantially mediated through main-chain atoms of the amino acid. Using a directed set of lysine analogs and other amino acids, we have determined the relative contributions of the polar functional groups to binding affinity and the regulatory response. Our results reveal that the lysine riboswitch has >1000-fold specificity for lysine over other amino acids. The aptamer is highly sensitive to the precise placement of the ε-amino group and relatively tolerant of alterations to the main-chain functional groups in order to achieve this specificity. At low nucleotide triphosphate (NTP) concentrations, we observe good agreement between the half-maximal regulatory activity (T(50)) and the affinity of the receptor for lysine (K(d)), as well as many of its analogs. However, above 400 μM [NTP], the concentration of lysine required to elicit transcription termination rises, moving into the riboswitch into a kinetic control regime. These data demonstrate that, under physiologically relevant conditions, riboswitches can integrate both effector and NTP concentrations to generate a regulatory response appropriate for global metabolic state of the cell.

The rcbA gene product reduces spontaneous and induced chromosome breaks in Escherichia coli

Elevated levels of DnaA cause excessive initiation, which leads to an increased level of double-strand breaks that are proposed to arise when newly formed replication forks collide from behind with stalled or collapsed forks. These double-strand breaks are toxic in mutants that are unable to repair them. Using a multicopy suppressor assay to identify genes that suppress this toxicity, we isolated a plasmid carrying a gene whose function had been unknown. This gene, carried by the cryptic rac prophage, has been named rcbA for its ability to reduce the frequency of chromosome breaks. Our study shows that the colony formation of strains bearing mutations in rep, recG, and rcbA, like recA and recB mutants, is inhibited by an oversupply of DnaA and that a multicopy plasmid carrying rcbA neutralizes this inhibition. These and other results suggest that rcbA helps to maintain the integrity of the bacterial chromosome by lowering the steady-state level of double-strand breaks.

Transcription initiation factor DksA has diverse effects on RNA chain elongation

Bacterial transcription factors DksA and GreB belong to a family of coiled-coil proteins that bind within the secondarychannel of RNA polymerase (RNAP). These proteins display structural homology but play different regulatory roles. DksA disrupts RNAP interactions with promoter DNA and inhibits formation of initiation complexes, sensitizing rRNA synthesis to changes in concentrations of ppGpp and NTPs. Gre proteins remodel the RNAP active site and facilitate cleavage of the nascent RNA in elongation complexes. However, DksA and GreB were shown to have overlapping effects during initiation, and in vivo studies suggested that DksA may also function at post-initiation steps. Here we show that DksA has many features of an elongation factor: it inhibits both RNA chain extension and RNA shortening by exonucleolytic cleavage or pyrophosphorolysis and increases intrinsic termination in vitro and in vivo. However, DksA has no effect on Rho- or Mfd-mediated RNA release or nascent RNA cleavage in backtracked complexes, the regulatory target of Gre factors. Our results reveal that DksA effects on elongating RNAP are very different from those of GreB, suggesting that these regulators recognize distinct states of the transcription complex.

Factor-independent transcription pausing caused by recognition of the RNA-DNA hybrid sequence

RNA polymerase pausing during transcription is implicated in controlling gene expression. This study identifies a new type of pausing mechanism, by which the RNAP core recognizes the shape of base pairs of the RNA–DNA hybrid, which determines the rate of translocation and the nucleotide addition cycle. The expression of a number of viral and bacterial genes is shown to be subject to this mechanism.

Pausing of transcription is an important step of regulation of gene expression in bacteria and eukaryotes. Here we uncover a factor-independent mechanism of transcription pausing, which is determined by the ability of the elongating RNA polymerase to recognize the sequence of the RNA–DNA hybrid. We show that, independently of thermodynamic stability of the elongation complex, RNA polymerase directly ‘senses' the shape and/or identity of base pairs of the RNA–DNA hybrid. Recognition of the RNA–DNA hybrid sequence delays translocation by RNA polymerase, and thus slows down the nucleotide addition cycle through ‘in pathway' mechanism. We show that this phenomenon is conserved among bacterial and eukaryotic RNA polymerases, and is involved in regulatory pauses, such as a pause regulating the production of virulence factors in some bacteria and a pause regulating transcription/replication of HIV-1. The results indicate that recognition of RNA–DNA hybrid sequence by multi-subunit RNA polymerases is involved in transcription regulation and may determine the overall rate of transcription elongation.

A new basal promoter element recognized by RNA polymerase core enzyme

This study contributes to the understanding of gene-specific transcription by identifying a new promoter element that is contacted directly by an evolutionarily conserved loop within the largest subunit of the core RNA polymerase

Bacterial promoters are recognized by RNA polymerase (RNAP) σ subunit, which specifically interacts with the −10 and −35 promoter elements. Here, we provide evidence that the β′ zipper, an evolutionarily conserved loop of the largest subunit of RNAP core, interacts with promoter spacer, a DNA segment that separates the −10 and −35 promoter elements, and facilitates the formation of stable closed promoter complex. Depending on the spacer sequence, the proposed interaction of the β′ zipper with the spacer can also facilitate open promoter complex formation and even substitute for interactions of the σ subunit with the −35 element. These results suggest that there exists a novel class of promoters that rely on interaction of the β′ zipper with promoter spacer, along with or instead of interactions of σ subunit with the −35 element, for their activity. Finally, our data suggest that sequence-dependent interactions of the β′ zipper with DNA can contribute to promoter-proximal σ-dependent RNAP pausing, a recently recognized important step of transcription control.

Transcription factor GreA contributes to resolving promoter-proximal pausing of RNA polymerase in Bacillus subtilis cells

Bacterial Gre factors associate with RNA polymerase (RNAP) and stimulate intrinsic cleavage of the nascent transcript at the active site of RNAP. Biochemical and genetic studies to date have shown that Escherichia coli Gre factors prevent transcriptional arrest during elongation and enhance transcription fidelity. Furthermore, Gre factors participate in the stimulation of promoter escape and the suppression of promoter-proximal pausing during the beginning of RNA synthesis in E. coli. Although Gre factors are conserved in general bacteria, limited functional studies have been performed in bacteria other than E. coli. In this investigation, ChAP-chip analysis (chromatin affinity precipitation coupled with DNA microarray) was conducted to visualize the distribution of Bacillus subtilis GreA on the chromosome and to determine the effects of GreA inactivation on core RNAP trafficking. Our data show that GreA is uniformly distributed in the transcribed region from the promoter to coding region with core RNAP, and its inactivation induces RNAP accumulation at many promoter or promoter-proximal regions. Based on these findings, we propose that GreA would constantly associate with core RNAP during transcriptional initiation and elongation and resolves its stalling at promoter or promoter-proximal regions, thus contributing to the even distribution of RNAP along the promoter and coding regions in B. subtilis cells.

Role of a Zn-independent DksA in Zn homeostasis and stringent response

DksA is a global transcriptional regulator that directly interacts with RNA polymerase (RNAP) and, in conjunction with an alarmone ppGpp, alters transcription initiation at target promoters. DksA proteins studied to date contain a canonical Cys-4 Zn-finger motif thought to be essential for their proper folding and thus activity. In addition to the canonical DksA protein, the Pseudomonas aeruginosa genome encodes a closely related paralogue DksA2 that lacks the Zn-finger motif. Here, we report that DksA2 can functionally substitute for the canonical DksA in vivo in Escherichia coli and P. aeruginosa. We also demonstrate that DksA2 affects transcription by the E. coli RNAP in vitro similarly to DksA. The dksA2 gene is positioned downstream of a putative Zur binding site. Accordingly, we show that dksA2 expression is repressed by the presence of exogenous Zn, deletion of Zur results in constitutive expression of dksA2, and Zur binds specifically to the promoter region of dksA2. We also found that deletion of dksA2 confers a growth defect in the absence of Zn. Our data suggest that DksA2 plays a role in Zn homeostasis and serves as a back-up copy of the canonical Zn-dependent DksA in Zn-poor environments.

RNA polymerase trafficking in Bacillus subtilis cells

To obtain insight into the in vivo dynamics of RNA polymerase (RNAP) on the Bacillus subtilis genome, we analyzed the distribution of the σ(A) and β' subunits of RNAP and the NusA elongation factor on the genome in exponentially growing cells using chromatin affinity precipitation coupled with gene chip mapping (ChAP-chip). In contrast to Escherichia coli RNAP, which often accumulates at the promoter-proximal region, B. subtilis RΝΑP is evenly distributed from the promoter to the coding sequences. This finding suggests that, in general, B. subtilis RNAP recruited to the promoter promptly translocates away from the promoter to form the elongation complex and proceeds without intragenic transcription attenuation. We detected RNAP accumulation in the promoter-proximal regions of some genes, most of which can be identified as transcription attenuation systems in the leader region. Our findings suggest that the differences in RNAP behavior between E. coli and B. subtilis during initiation and elongation steps might result in distinct strategies for postinitiation control of transcription. The E. coli mechanism involves trapping at the promoter and promoter-proximal pausing of RNAP in addition to transcription attenuation, whereas transcription attenuation in leader sequences is mainly employed in B. subtilis.

Taking phage integration to the next level as a genetic tool for mycobacteria

Genes must be stably integrated into bacterial chromosomes for complementation of gene deletion mutants in animal infection experiments or to express antigens in vaccine strains. However, with currently available vectors it is cumbersome to create multiple, stable, unmarked chromosomal integrations in mycobacteria. Here, we have constructed a novel integration vector for mycobacteria that enables expression of genes from a cassette protected from transcriptional interference by bi-directional transcriptional terminators proven to be highly efficient in in vitro transcription termination assays. Removal of the integrase gene by a site-specific recombinase, easily identifiable by loss of a backbone reporter gene, stabilizes the integration cassette and makes this vector ideally suitable for infection experiments. This integration vector can be easily adapted to different mycobacteriophage attachment sites (attB) due to its modular design. Integration of a gfp expression cassette at the L5, Giles and Ms6 attB sites in the chromosomes of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis yielded identical gfp expression levels, indicating that none of these sites are compromised for gene expression. The copy number of pAL5000-based extrachromosomal plasmids is 23 in M. smegmatis as determined by quantitative real-time PCR and accounts for the previously observed drastic reduction of gene expression upon integration of plasmids into the chromosome of mycobacteria. Gfp expression and fluorescence of M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis strains with multiple integrations of gfp increased concomitantly with the copy number demonstrating that these vectors can be used to generate stronger phenotypes and/or to analyze several genes simultaneously in vivo.

Functional analysis of Thermus thermophilus transcription factor NusG

Transcription elongation factors from the NusG family are ubiquitous from bacteria to humans and play diverse roles in the regulation of gene expression. These proteins consist of at least two domains. The N-terminal domains directly bind to the largest, β′ in bacteria, subunit of RNA polymerase (RNAP), whereas the C-terminal domains interact with other cellular components and serve as platforms for the assembly of large nucleoprotein complexes. Escherichia coli NusG and its paralog RfaH modify RNAP into a fast, pause-resistant state but the detailed molecular mechanism of this modification remains unclear since no high-resolution structural data are available for the E. coli system. We wanted to investigate whether Thermus thermophilus (Tth) NusG can be used as a model for structural studies of this family of regulators. Here, we show that Tth NusG slows down rather than facilitates transcript elongation by its cognate RNAP. On the other hand, similarly to the E. coli regulators, Tth NusG apparently binds near the upstream end of the transcription bubble, competes with σ^A, and favors forward translocation by RNAP. Our data suggest that the mechanism of NusG recruitment to RNAP is universally conserved even though the regulatory outcomes among its homologs may appear distinct.

The transcription factor DksA prevents conflicts between DNA replication and transcription machinery

Actively dividing cells perform robust and accurate DNA replication during fluctuating nutrient availability, yet factors that prevent disruption of replication remain largely unknown. Here we report that DksA, a nutrient-responsive transcription factor, ensures replication completion in Escherichia coli by removing transcription roadblocks. In the absence of DksA, replication is rapidly arrested upon amino acid starvation. This arrest requires active transcription and is alleviated by RNA polymerase mutants that compensate for DksA activity. This replication arrest occurs independently of exogenous DNA damage, yet it induces the DNA-damage response and recruits the main recombination protein RecA. This function of DksA is independent of its transcription initiation activity but requires its less-studied transcription elongation activity. Finally, GreA/B elongation factors also prevent replication arrest during nutrient stress. We conclude that transcription elongation factors alleviate fundamental conflicts between replication and transcription, thereby protecting replication fork progression and DNA integrity.