1
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Takada H, Fujiwara K, Atkinson GC, Chiba S, Hauryliuk V. Resolution of ribosomal stalling by EF-P and ABCF ATPases YfmR and YkpA/YbiT. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:9854-9866. [PMID: 38943426 PMCID: PMC11381351 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Efficiency of protein synthesis on the ribosome is strongly affected by the amino acid composition of the assembled amino acid chain. Challenging sequences include proline-rich motifs as well as highly positively and negatively charged amino acid stretches. Members of the F subfamily of ABC ATPases (ABCFs) have been long hypothesised to promote translation of such problematic motifs. In this study we have applied genetics and reporter-based assays to characterise the four housekeeping ABCF ATPases of Bacillus subtilis: YdiF, YfmM, YfmR/Uup and YkpA/YbiT. We show that YfmR cooperates with the translation factor EF-P that promotes translation of Pro-rich motifs. Simultaneous loss of both YfmR and EF-P results in a dramatic growth defect. Surprisingly, this growth defect can be largely suppressed though overexpression of an EF-P variant lacking the otherwise crucial 5-amino-pentanolylated residue K32. Using in vivo reporter assays, we show that overexpression of YfmR can alleviate ribosomal stalling on Asp-Pro motifs. Finally, we demonstrate that YkpA/YbiT promotes translation of positively and negatively charged motifs but is inactive in resolving ribosomal stalls on proline-rich stretches. Collectively, our results provide insights into the function of ABCF translation factors in modulating protein synthesis in B. subtilis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiraku Takada
- Faculty of Life Sciences and Institute for Protein Dynamics, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo, Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
- Department of Biotechnology, Toyama Prefectural University, 5180 Kurokawa, Imizu, Toyama 939-0398, Japan
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Keigo Fujiwara
- Faculty of Life Sciences and Institute for Protein Dynamics, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo, Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
| | - Gemma C Atkinson
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- Virus Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Shinobu Chiba
- Faculty of Life Sciences and Institute for Protein Dynamics, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo, Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
| | - Vasili Hauryliuk
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- Virus Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
- Science for Life Laboratory, Lund, Sweden
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2
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Takada H, Paternoga H, Fujiwara K, Nakamoto J, Park E, Dimitrova-Paternoga L, Beckert B, Saarma M, Tenson T, Buskirk A, Atkinson G, Chiba S, Wilson D, Hauryliuk V. A role for the S4-domain containing protein YlmH in ribosome-associated quality control in Bacillus subtilis. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:8483-8499. [PMID: 38811035 PMCID: PMC11317155 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2024] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Ribosomes trapped on mRNAs during protein synthesis need to be rescued for the cell to survive. The most ubiquitous bacterial ribosome rescue pathway is trans-translation mediated by tmRNA and SmpB. Genetic inactivation of trans-translation can be lethal, unless ribosomes are rescued by ArfA or ArfB alternative rescue factors or the ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) system, which in Bacillus subtilis involves MutS2, RqcH, RqcP and Pth. Using transposon sequencing in a trans-translation-incompetent B. subtilis strain we identify a poorly characterized S4-domain-containing protein YlmH as a novel potential RQC factor. Cryo-EM structures reveal that YlmH binds peptidyl-tRNA-50S complexes in a position analogous to that of S4-domain-containing protein RqcP, and that, similarly to RqcP, YlmH can co-habit with RqcH. Consistently, we show that YlmH can assume the role of RqcP in RQC by facilitating the addition of poly-alanine tails to truncated nascent polypeptides. While in B. subtilis the function of YlmH is redundant with RqcP, our taxonomic analysis reveals that in multiple bacterial phyla RqcP is absent, while YlmH and RqcH are present, suggesting that in these species YlmH plays a central role in the RQC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiraku Takada
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University and Institute for Protein Dynamics, Kamigamo, Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
- Department of Biotechnology, Toyama Prefectural University,5180 Kurokawa, Imizu, Toyama 939-0398, Japan
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Helge Paternoga
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Keigo Fujiwara
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University and Institute for Protein Dynamics, Kamigamo, Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
| | - Jose A Nakamoto
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Esther N Park
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Lyudmila Dimitrova-Paternoga
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Bertrand Beckert
- Dubochet Center for Imaging (DCI) at EPFL, EPFL SB IPHYS DCI, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Merilin Saarma
- University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Tanel Tenson
- University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Allen R Buskirk
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gemma C Atkinson
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- Virus Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Shinobu Chiba
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University and Institute for Protein Dynamics, Kamigamo, Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
| | - Daniel N Wilson
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Vasili Hauryliuk
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- Virus Centre, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Science for Life Laboratory, Lund, Sweden
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3
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Dierksheide KJ, Li GW. A historical sequence deletion in a commonly used Bacillus subtilis chromosome integration vector generates undetected loss-of-function mutations. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2024; 170:001455. [PMID: 38602388 PMCID: PMC11084560 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Since the 1980s, chromosome-integration vectors have been used as a core method of engineering Bacillus subtilis. One of the most frequently used vector backbones contains chromosomally derived regions that direct homologous recombination into the amyE locus. Here, we report a gap in the homology region inherited from the original amyE integration vector, leading to erroneous recombination in a subset of transformants and a loss-of-function mutation in the downstream gene. Internal to the homology arm that spans the 3' portion of amyE and the downstream gene ldh, an unintentional 227 bp deletion generates two crossover events. The major event yields the intended genotype, but the minor event, occurring in ~10 % of colonies, results in a truncation of ldh, which encodes lactate dehydrogenase. Although both types of colonies test positive for amyE disruption by starch plating, the potential defect in fermentative metabolism may be left undetected and confound the results of subsequent experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. Julia Dierksheide
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Gene-Wei Li
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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4
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Fiedler SM, Graumann PL. Dynamics of cell wall-binding proteins at a single molecule level: B. subtilis autolysins show different kinds of motion. Mol Biol Cell 2024; 35:ar55. [PMID: 38381561 PMCID: PMC11064672 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e23-10-0387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The bacterial cell wall is a meshwork of crosslinked peptidoglycan strands, with a thickness of up to 50 nm in Firmicutes. Little is known about how proteins move through the cell wall to find sites of enzymatic activity. Cell wall synthesis for cell elongation involves the integration of new peptidoglycan strands by integral membrane proteins, as well as the degradation of existing strands by so-called autolysins, soluble proteins that are secreted through the cell membrane. Autolysins comprise different classes of proteases and glucanases and mostly contain cell-wall binding domains in addition to their catalytic domain. We have studied dynamics of Bacillus subtilis autolysins LytC, a major endopeptidase required for lateral cell wall growth, and LytF, a peptidase acting at the newly formed division site in order to achieve separation of daughter cells. We show that both proteins, fused to moxVenus are present as three distinct populations of different diffusion constants. The fastest population is compatible with free diffusion in a crowded liquid environment, that is similar to that of cytosolic enzymes, likely reflecting autolysins diffusing through the periplasm. The medium mobile fraction can be explained by constrained motion through a polymeric substance, indicating mobility of autolysins through the wall similar to that of DNA-binding proteins within the nucleoid. The slow-mobile fraction are most likely autolysins bound to their specific substrate sites. We show that LytF is more static during exponential phase, while LytC appears to be more active during the transition to stationary phase. Both autolysins became more static in backgrounds lacking redundant other autolysins, suggesting stochastic competition for binding sites. On the other hand, lack of inhibitor IseA or autolysin CwlS lead to an altered preference for polar localization of LytF within the cell wall, revealing that inhibitors and autolysins also affect each other's pattern of localization, in addition to their activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svenja M. Fiedler
- Fachbereich Chemie und Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie, SYNMIKRO, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Hans-Meerwein Strasse 4, 35043 Marburg, Germany
| | - Peter L. Graumann
- Fachbereich Chemie und Zentrum für Synthetische Mikrobiologie, SYNMIKRO, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Hans-Meerwein Strasse 4, 35043 Marburg, Germany
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5
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Karaki T, Sunaga A, Takahashi Y, Asai K. Artificial activation of both σ H and Spo0A in Bacillus subtilis enforced initiation of spore development at the vegetatively growing phase. J GEN APPL MICROBIOL 2024; 69:215-228. [PMID: 37380492 DOI: 10.2323/jgam.2023.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
When Bacillus subtilis cells face environmental deterioration, such as exhaustion of nutrients and an increase in cell density, they form spores. It is known that phosphorylation of Spo0A and activation of σH are key events at the initiation of sporulation. However, the initiation of sporulation is an extremely complicated process, and the relationship between these two events remains to be elucidated. To determine the minimum requirements for triggering sporulation initiation, we attempted to induce cell sporulation at the log phase, regardless of nutrients and cell density. In rich media such as Luria-Bertani (LB) medium, the cells of B. subtilis do not sporulate efficiently, possibly because of excess nutrition. When the amount of xylose in the LB medium was limited, σH -dependent transcription of the strain, in which sigA was under the control of the xylose-inducible promoter, was induced, and the frequency of sporulation was elevated according to the decreased level of σA. We also employed a fusion of sad67, which codes for an active form of Spo0A, and the IPTG-inducible promoter. The combination of lowered σA expression and activated Spo0A allowed the cells in the log phase to stop growing and rush into spore development. This observation of enforced initiation of sporulation in the mutant strain was detected even in the presence of the wild-type strain, suggesting that only intracellular events initiate and fulfill spore development regardless of extracellular conditions. Under natural sporulation conditions, the amount of σA did not change drastically throughout growth. Mechanisms that sequester σA from the core RNA polymerase and help σH to become active exist, but this has not yet been elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomomitsu Karaki
- Area of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University
| | - Ai Sunaga
- Area of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University
| | - Yasuhiro Takahashi
- Area of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University
| | - Kei Asai
- Area of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University
- Department of Bioscience, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tokyo University of Agriculture
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6
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Guo T, Sperber AM, Krieger IV, Duan Y, Chemelewski VR, Sacchettini JC, Herman JK. Bacillus subtilis YisK possesses oxaloacetate decarboxylase activity and exhibits Mbl-dependent localization. J Bacteriol 2024; 206:e0020223. [PMID: 38047707 PMCID: PMC10810218 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00202-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
Abstract
YisK is an uncharacterized protein in Bacillus subtilis previously shown to interact genetically with the elongasome protein Mbl. YisK overexpression leads to cell widening and lysis, phenotypes that are dependent on mbl and suppressed by mbl mutations. In the present work, we characterize YisK's localization, structure, and enzymatic activity. We show that YisK localizes as puncta that depend on Mbl. YisK belongs to the fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) superfamily, and crystal structures revealed close structural similarity to two oxaloacetate (OAA) decarboxylases: human mitochondrial FAHD1 and Corynebacterium glutamicum Cg1458. We demonstrate that YisK can also catalyze the decarboxylation of OAA (K m = 134 µM, K cat = 31 min-1). A catalytic dead variant (YisK E148A, E150A) retains wild-type localization and still widens cells following overexpression, indicating these activities are not dependent on YisK catalysis. Conversely, a non-localizing variant (YisK E30A) retains wild-type enzymatic activity in vitro but localizes diffusely and no longer widens cells following overexpression. Together, these results suggest that YisK may be subject to spatial regulation that depends on the cell envelope synthesis machinery. IMPORTANCE The elongasome is a multiprotein complex that guides lengthwise growth in some bacteria. We previously showed that, in B. subtilis, overexpression of an uncharacterized putative enzyme (YisK) perturbed function of the actin-like elongasome protein Mbl. Here, we show that YisK exhibits Mbl-dependent localization. Through biochemical and structural characterization, we demonstrate that, like its mitochondrial homolog FAHD1, YisK can catalyze the decarboxylation of the oxaloacetate to pyruvate and CO2. YisK is the first example of an enzyme implicated in central carbon metabolism with subcellular localization that depends on Mbl.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingfeng Guo
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Anthony M. Sperber
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Inna V. Krieger
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Yi Duan
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Veronica R. Chemelewski
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - James C. Sacchettini
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Jennifer K. Herman
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
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7
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Dierksheide KJ, Li GW. A historical sequence deletion in a commonly used Bacillus subtilis chromosome integration vector generates undetected loss-of-function mutations. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.04.574214. [PMID: 38260694 PMCID: PMC10802373 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.04.574214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Since the 1980s, chromosome-integration vectors have been used as a core method of engineering Bacillus subtilis. One of the most frequently used vector backbones contains chromosomally derived regions that direct homologous recombination into the amyE locus. Here, we report a gap in the homology region inherited from the original amyE integration vector, leading to erroneous recombination in a subset of transformants and a loss-of-function mutation in the downstream gene. Internal to the homology arm that spans the 3' portion of amyE and the downstream gene ldh, an unintentional 227-bp deletion generates two crossover events. The major event yields the intended genotype, but the minor event, occurring in ~10% of colonies, results in a truncation of ldh, which encodes lactate dehydrogenase. Although both types of colonies test positive for amyE disruption by starch plating, the potential defect in fermentative metabolism may be left undetected and confound the results of subsequent experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. Julia Dierksheide
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Gene-Wei Li
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
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8
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Wu Y, Li Y, Zhang Y, Liu Y, Li J, Du G, Lv X, Liu L. Efficient Protein Expression and Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Regulation in Bacillus subtilis Driven by a T7-BOOST System. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:3328-3339. [PMID: 37885173 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Bacillus subtilis is a generally recognized as safe microorganism that is widely used for protein expression and chemical production, but has a limited number of genetic regulatory components compared with the Gram-negative model microorganism Escherichia coli. In this study, a two-module plug-and-play T7-based optimized output strategy for transcription (T7-BOOST) systems with low leakage expression and a wide dynamic range was constructed based on the inducible promoters Phy-spank and PxylA. The first T7 RNA polymerase-driven module was seamlessly integrated into the genome based on the CRISPR/Cpf1 system, while the second expression control module was introduced into low, medium, and high copy plasmids for characterization. As a proof of concept, the T7-BOOST systems were successfully employed for whole-cell catalysis production of γ-aminobutyric acid (109.8 g/L with a 98.0% conversion rate), expression of human αS1 casein and human lactoferrin, and regulation of exogenous lycopene biosynthetic gene cluster and endogenous riboflavin biosynthetic gene cluster. Overall, the T7-BOOST system serves as a stringent, controllable, and effective tool for regulating gene expression in B. subtilis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaokang Wu
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Yang Li
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Yuting Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Yanfeng Liu
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Baima Future Foods Research Institute, Nanjing 211225, China
| | - Jianghua Li
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Baima Future Foods Research Institute, Nanjing 211225, China
| | - Guocheng Du
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Baima Future Foods Research Institute, Nanjing 211225, China
| | - Xueqin Lv
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Baima Future Foods Research Institute, Nanjing 211225, China
| | - Long Liu
- Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- Baima Future Foods Research Institute, Nanjing 211225, China
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9
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Marathe A, Zarazúa-Osorio B, Srivastava P, Fujita M. The master regulator for entry into sporulation in Bacillus subtilis becomes a mother cell-specific transcription factor for forespore engulfment. Mol Microbiol 2023; 120:439-461. [PMID: 37485800 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.15132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023]
Abstract
The Spo0A transcription factor is activated by phosphorylation in starving Bacillus subtilis cells. The activated Spo0A (Spo0A~P) regulates genes controlling entry into sporulation and appears to control mother-cell-specific gene expression after asymmetric division, but the latter remains elusive. Here, we found that Spo0A~P directly binds to three conserved DNA sequences (0A1-3) in the promoter region of the mother cell-specific lytic transglycosylase gene spoIID, which is transcribed by σE -RNA polymerase (RNAP) and negatively controlled by the SpoIIID transcription factor and required for forespore engulfment. Systematic mutagenesis of the 0A boxes revealed that the 0A1 and 0A2 boxes located upstream of the promoter positively control the transcription of spoIID. In contrast, the 0A3 box located downstream of the promoter negatively controls the transcription of spoIID. The mutated SpoIIID binding site located between the -35 and -10 promoter elements causes increased expression of spoIID and reduced sporulation. When the mutations of 0A1, 0A2, and IIID sites are combined, sporulation is restored. Collectively, our data suggest that the mother cell-specific spoIID expression is precisely controlled by the coordination of three factors, Spo0A~P, SpoIIID, and σE -RNAP, for proper sporulation. The conservation of this mechanism across spore-forming species was discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuradha Marathe
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | | | - Priyanka Srivastava
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
- Department of Pathology Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Masaya Fujita
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
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10
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Obana N, Takada H, Crowe-McAuliffe C, Iwamoto M, Egorov AA, Wu KJY, Chiba S, Murina V, Paternoga H, Tresco BIC, Nomura N, Myers AG, Atkinson G, Wilson DN, Hauryliuk V. Genome-encoded ABCF factors implicated in intrinsic antibiotic resistance in Gram-positive bacteria: VmlR2, Ard1 and CplR. Nucleic Acids Res 2023; 51:4536-4554. [PMID: 36951104 PMCID: PMC10201436 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Genome-encoded antibiotic resistance (ARE) ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins of the F subfamily (ARE-ABCFs) mediate intrinsic resistance in diverse Gram-positive bacteria. The diversity of chromosomally-encoded ARE-ABCFs is far from being fully experimentally explored. Here we characterise phylogenetically diverse genome-encoded ABCFs from Actinomycetia (Ard1 from Streptomyces capreolus, producer of the nucleoside antibiotic A201A), Bacilli (VmlR2 from soil bacterium Neobacillus vireti) and Clostridia (CplR from Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium sporogenes and Clostridioides difficile). We demonstrate that Ard1 is a narrow spectrum ARE-ABCF that specifically mediates self-resistance against nucleoside antibiotics. The single-particle cryo-EM structure of a VmlR2-ribosome complex allows us to rationalise the resistance spectrum of this ARE-ABCF that is equipped with an unusually long antibiotic resistance determinant (ARD) subdomain. We show that CplR contributes to intrinsic pleuromutilin, lincosamide and streptogramin A resistance in Clostridioides, and demonstrate that C. difficile CplR (CDIF630_02847) synergises with the transposon-encoded 23S ribosomal RNA methyltransferase Erm to grant high levels of antibiotic resistance to the C. difficile 630 clinical isolate. Finally, assisted by uORF4u, our novel tool for detection of upstream open reading frames, we dissect the translational attenuation mechanism that controls the induction of cplR expression upon an antibiotic challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nozomu Obana
- Transborder Medical Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- Microbiology Research Center for Sustainability (MiCS), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Hiraku Takada
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-Ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Caillan Crowe-McAuliffe
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Mizuki Iwamoto
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Artyom A Egorov
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Kelvin J Y Wu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Shinobu Chiba
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-Ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
- Institute for Protein Dynamics, Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan
| | | | - Helge Paternoga
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ben I C Tresco
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nobuhiko Nomura
- Microbiology Research Center for Sustainability (MiCS), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Andrew G Myers
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Gemma C Atkinson
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Daniel N Wilson
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 6, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Vasili Hauryliuk
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, Tartu, Estonia
- Science for Life Laboratory, Lund, Sweden
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11
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Termination factor Rho mediates transcriptional reprogramming of Bacillus subtilis stationary phase. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010618. [PMID: 36735730 PMCID: PMC9931155 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcription termination factor Rho is known for its ubiquitous role in suppression of pervasive, mostly antisense, transcription. In the model Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis, de-repression of pervasive transcription by inactivation of rho revealed the role of Rho in the regulation of post-exponential differentiation programs. To identify other aspects of the regulatory role of Rho during adaptation to starvation, we have constructed a B. subtilis strain (Rho+) that expresses rho at a relatively stable high level in order to compensate for its decrease in the wild-type cells entering stationary phase. The RNAseq analysis of Rho+, WT and Δrho strains (expression profiles can be visualized at http://genoscapist.migale.inrae.fr/seb_rho/) shows that Rho over-production enhances the termination efficiency of Rho-sensitive terminators, thus reducing transcriptional read-through and antisense transcription genome-wide. Moreover, the Rho+ strain exhibits global alterations of sense transcription with the most significant changes observed for the AbrB, CodY, and stringent response regulons, forming the pathways governing the transition to stationary phase. Subsequent physiological analyses demonstrated that maintaining rho expression at a stable elevated level modifies stationary phase-specific physiology of B. subtilis cells, weakens stringent response, and thereby negatively affects the cellular adaptation to nutrient limitations and other stresses, and blocks the development of genetic competence and sporulation. These results highlight the Rho-specific termination of transcription as a novel element controlling stationary phase. The release of this control by decreasing Rho levels during the transition to stationary phase appears crucial for the functionality of complex gene networks ensuring B. subtilis survival in stationary phase.
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12
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Esteban-Torres M, Ruiz L, Rossini V, Nally K, van Sinderen D. Intracellular glycogen accumulation by human gut commensals as a niche adaptation trait. Gut Microbes 2023; 15:2235067. [PMID: 37526383 PMCID: PMC10395257 DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2023.2235067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The human gut microbiota is a key contributor to host metabolism and physiology, thereby impacting in various ways on host health. This complex microbial community has developed many metabolic strategies to colonize, persist and survive in the gastrointestinal environment. In this regard, intracellular glycogen accumulation has been associated with important physiological functions in several bacterial species, including gut commensals. However, the role of glycogen storage in shaping the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota offers a novel perspective in gut microbiome research. Here, we review what is known about the enzymatic machinery and regulation of glycogen metabolism in selected enteric bacteria, while we also discuss its potential impact on colonization and adaptation to the gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, we survey the presence of such glycogen biosynthesis pathways in gut metagenomic data to highlight the relevance of this metabolic trait in enhancing survival in the highly competitive and dynamic gut ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Esteban-Torres
- APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
- School of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Lorena Ruiz
- Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry of Dairy Products, Instituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias, IPLA-CSIC, Villaviciosa, Spain
- Functionality and Ecology of Benefitial Microbes (MicroHealth Group), Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
| | - Valerio Rossini
- APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Ken Nally
- APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
- School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Douwe van Sinderen
- APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
- School of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
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13
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Fatton M, Filippidou S, Junier T, Cailleau G, Berge M, Poppleton D, Blum TB, Kaminek M, Odriozola A, Blom J, Johnson SL, Abrahams JP, Chain PS, Gribaldo S, Tocheva EI, Zuber B, Viollier PH, Junier P. Cryptosporulation in Kurthia spp. forces a rethinking of asporogenesis in Firmicutes. Environ Microbiol 2022; 24:6320-6335. [PMID: 36530021 PMCID: PMC10086788 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Endosporulation is a complex morphophysiological process resulting in a more resistant cellular structure that is produced within the mother cell and is called endospore. Endosporulation evolved in the common ancestor of Firmicutes, but it is lost in descendant lineages classified as asporogenic. While Kurthia spp. is considered to comprise only asporogenic species, we show here that strain 11kri321, which was isolated from an oligotrophic geothermal reservoir, produces phase-bright spore-like structures. Phylogenomics of strain 11kri321 and other Kurthia strains reveals little similarity to genetic determinants of sporulation known from endosporulating Bacilli. However, morphological hallmarks of endosporulation were observed in two of the four Kurthia strains tested, resulting in spore-like structures (cryptospores). In contrast to classic endospores, these cryptospores did not protect against heat or UV damage and successive sub-culturing led to the loss of the cryptosporulating phenotype. Our findings imply that a cryptosporulation phenotype may have been prevalent and subsequently lost by laboratory culturing in other Firmicutes currently considered as asporogenic. Cryptosporulation might thus represent an ancestral but unstable and adaptive developmental state in Firmicutes that is under selection under harsh environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilda Fatton
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Sevasti Filippidou
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,AstrobiologyOU, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - Thomas Junier
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.,Vital-IT group, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Guillaume Cailleau
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Matthieu Berge
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Poppleton
- Unité de Biologie Moléculaire du Gène chez les Extrémophiles, Département de Microbiologie, Institut Pasteur, France
| | - Thorsten B Blum
- Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Marek Kaminek
- Institute for Anatomy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Jochen Blom
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Shannon L Johnson
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
| | - Jan Pieter Abrahams
- Biology and Chemistry, Laboratory of Biomolecular Research, Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Villigen, Switzerland.,Center for Cellular Imaging and NanoAnalytics (C-CINA), Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.,Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Patrick S Chain
- Institute for Anatomy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Simonetta Gribaldo
- Unité de Biologie Moléculaire du Gène chez les Extrémophiles, Département de Microbiologie, Institut Pasteur, France
| | - Elitza I Tocheva
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Benoît Zuber
- Institute for Anatomy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Patrick H Viollier
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Pilar Junier
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
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14
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Tolibia SEM, Pacheco AD, Balbuena SYG, Rocha J, López Y López VE. Engineering of global transcription factors in Bacillus, a genetic tool for increasing product yields: a bioprocess overview. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2022; 39:12. [PMID: 36372802 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-022-03460-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Transcriptional factors are well studied in bacteria for their global interactions and the effects they produce at the phenotypic level. Particularly, Bacillus subtilis has been widely employed as a model Gram-positive microorganism used to characterize these network interactions. Bacillus species are currently used as efficient commercial microbial platforms to produce diverse metabolites such as extracellular enzymes, antibiotics, surfactants, industrial chemicals, heterologous proteins, among others. However, the pleiotropic effects caused by the genetic modification of specific genes that codify for global regulators (transcription factors) have not been implicated commonly from a bioprocess point of view. Recently, these strategies have attracted the attention in Bacillus species because they can have an application to increase production efficiency of certain commercial interest metabolites. In this review, we update the recent advances that involve this trend in the use of genetic engineering (mutations, deletion, or overexpression) performed to global regulators such as Spo0A, CcpA, CodY and AbrB, which can provide an advantage for the development or improvement of bioprocesses that involve Bacillus species as production platforms. Genetic networks, regulation pathways and their relationship to the development of growth stages are also discussed to correlate the interactions that occur between these regulators, which are important to consider for application in the improvement of commercial-interest metabolites. Reported yields from these products currently produced mostly under laboratory conditions and, in a lesser extent at bioreactor level, are also discussed to give valuable perspectives about their potential use and developmental level directed to process optimization at large-scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shirlley Elizabeth Martínez Tolibia
- Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Aplicada del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Carretera Estatal Santa Inés Tecuexcomac-Tepetitla, Km 1.5, C.P. 90700, Tepetitla de Lardizábal, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Adrián Díaz Pacheco
- Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Ingeniería Campus Tlaxcala del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CP 90000, Guillermo Valle, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Sulem Yali Granados Balbuena
- Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Aplicada del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Carretera Estatal Santa Inés Tecuexcomac-Tepetitla, Km 1.5, C.P. 90700, Tepetitla de Lardizábal, Tlaxcala, Mexico
| | - Jorge Rocha
- CONACyT - Unidad Regional Hidalgo, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C. Blvd. Santa Catarina, SN, C.P. 42163, San Agustín Tlaxiaca, Hidalgo, Mexico
| | - Víctor Eric López Y López
- Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología Aplicada del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Carretera Estatal Santa Inés Tecuexcomac-Tepetitla, Km 1.5, C.P. 90700, Tepetitla de Lardizábal, Tlaxcala, Mexico.
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15
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Arjes HA, Gui H, Porter R, Atolia E, Peters JM, Gross C, Kearns DB, Huang KC. Fatty Acid Synthesis Knockdown Promotes Biofilm Wrinkling and Inhibits Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. mBio 2022; 13:e0138822. [PMID: 36069446 PMCID: PMC9600695 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01388-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Many bacterial species typically live in complex three-dimensional biofilms, yet much remains unknown about differences in essential processes between nonbiofilm and biofilm lifestyles. Here, we created a CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) library of knockdown strains covering all known essential genes in the biofilm-forming Bacillus subtilis strain NCIB 3610 and investigated growth, biofilm colony wrinkling, and sporulation phenotypes of the knockdown library. First, we showed that gene essentiality is largely conserved between liquid and surface growth and between two media. Second, we quantified biofilm colony wrinkling using a custom image analysis algorithm and found that fatty acid synthesis and DNA gyrase knockdown strains exhibited increased wrinkling independent of biofilm matrix gene expression. Third, we designed a high-throughput screen to quantify sporulation efficiency after essential gene knockdown; we found that partial knockdowns of essential genes remained competent for sporulation in a sporulation-inducing medium, but knockdown of essential genes involved in fatty acid synthesis exhibited reduced sporulation efficiency in LB, a medium with generally lower levels of sporulation. We conclude that a subset of essential genes are particularly important for biofilm structure and sporulation/germination and suggest a previously unappreciated and multifaceted role for fatty acid synthesis in bacterial lifestyles and developmental processes. IMPORTANCE For many bacteria, life typically involves growth in dense, three-dimensional communities called biofilms that contain cells with differentiated roles held together by extracellular matrix. To examine how essential gene function varies between vegetative growth and the developmental states of biofilm formation and sporulation, we created and screened a comprehensive library of strains using CRISPRi to knockdown expression of each essential gene in the biofilm-capable Bacillus subtilis strain 3610. High-throughput assays and computational algorithms identified a subset of essential genes involved in biofilm wrinkling and sporulation and indicated that fatty acid synthesis plays important and multifaceted roles in bacterial development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi A. Arjes
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Haiwen Gui
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Rachel Porter
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Esha Atolia
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Jason M. Peters
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Wisconsin Energy Institute, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Carol Gross
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
- Department of Cell and Tissue Biology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Daniel B. Kearns
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Kerwyn Casey Huang
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, California, USA
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16
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Lee J, Dalton RA, Dennison C. Copper delivery to an endospore coat protein of Bacillus subtilis. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:916114. [PMID: 36133923 PMCID: PMC9484137 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.916114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A family of cytosolic copper (Cu) storage proteins (the Csps) bind large quantities of Cu(I) via their Cys-lined four-helix bundles, and the majority are cytosolic (Csp3s). The presence of Csp3s in many bacteria appears inconsistent with the current dogma that bacteria, unlike eukaryotes, have evolved not to maintain intracellular pools of Cu due to its potential toxicity. Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis has been used to investigate if a Csp3 binds Cu(I) in the cytosol for a target enzyme. The activity of the Cu-requiring endospore multi-Cu oxidase BsCotA (a laccase) increases under Cu-replete conditions in wild type B. subtilis. In the strain lacking BsCsp3 lower BsCotA activity is observed and is unaffected by Cu levels. BsCsp3 loaded with Cu(I) readily activates apo-BsCotA in vitro. Experiments with a high affinity Cu(I) chelator demonstrate that Cu(I) transfer from Cu(I)-BsCsp3 must occur via an associative mechanism. BsCsp3 and BsCotA are both upregulated during late sporulation. We hypothesise that BsCsp3 acquires cuprous ions in the cytosol of B. subtilis for BsCotA.
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17
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Takada H, Mandell ZF, Yakhnin H, Glazyrina A, Chiba S, Kurata T, Wu KJY, Tresco BIC, Myers AG, Aktinson GC, Babitzke P, Hauryliuk V. Expression of Bacillus subtilis ABCF antibiotic resistance factor VmlR is regulated by RNA polymerase pausing, transcription attenuation, translation attenuation and (p)ppGpp. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:6174-6189. [PMID: 35699226 PMCID: PMC9226507 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 05/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Since antibiotic resistance is often associated with a fitness cost, bacteria employ multi-layered regulatory mechanisms to ensure that expression of resistance factors is restricted to times of antibiotic challenge. In Bacillus subtilis, the chromosomally-encoded ABCF ATPase VmlR confers resistance to pleuromutilin, lincosamide and type A streptogramin translation inhibitors. Here we show that vmlR expression is regulated by translation attenuation and transcription attenuation mechanisms. Antibiotic-induced ribosome stalling during translation of an upstream open reading frame in the vmlR leader region prevents formation of an anti-antiterminator structure, leading to the formation of an antiterminator structure that prevents intrinsic termination. Thus, transcription in the presence of antibiotic induces vmlR expression. We also show that NusG-dependent RNA polymerase pausing in the vmlR leader prevents leaky expression in the absence of antibiotic. Furthermore, we demonstrate that induction of VmlR expression by compromised protein synthesis does not require the ability of VmlR to rescue the translational defect, as exemplified by constitutive induction of VmlR by ribosome assembly defects. Rather, the specificity of induction is determined by the antibiotic's ability to stall the ribosome on the regulatory open reading frame located within the vmlR leader. Finally, we demonstrate the involvement of (p)ppGpp-mediated signalling in antibiotic-induced VmlR expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiraku Takada
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University and Institute for Protein Dynamics, Kamigamo, Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Building 6K, 6L University Hospital Area, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Zachary F Mandell
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Helen Yakhnin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Anastasiya Glazyrina
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Building 6K, 6L University Hospital Area, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Shinobu Chiba
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University and Institute for Protein Dynamics, Kamigamo, Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan
| | - Tatsuaki Kurata
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Kelvin J Y Wu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ben I C Tresco
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Andrew G Myers
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Gemma C Aktinson
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
| | - Paul Babitzke
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Vasili Hauryliuk
- Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Building 6K, 6L University Hospital Area, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
- University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, 50411, Tartu, Estonia
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18
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Brodiazhenko T, Turnbull KJ, Wu KJY, Takada H, Tresco BIC, Tenson T, Myers AG, Hauryliuk V. Synthetic oxepanoprolinamide iboxamycin is active against Listeria monocytogenes despite the intrinsic resistance mediated by VgaL/Lmo0919 ABCF ATPase. JAC Antimicrob Resist 2022; 4:dlac061. [PMID: 35733912 PMCID: PMC9204466 DOI: 10.1093/jacamr/dlac061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Listeriosis is a food-borne disease caused by the Gram-positive Bacillota (Firmicute) bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Clinical L. monocytogenes isolates are often resistant to clinically used lincosamide clindamycin, thus excluding clindamycin as a viable treatment option. Objectives We have established newly developed lincosamide iboxamycin as a potential novel antilisterial agent. Methods We determined MICs of the lincosamides lincomycin, clindamycin and iboxamycin for L. monocytogenes, Enterococcus faecalis and Bacillus subtilis strains expressing synergetic antibiotic resistance determinants: ABCF ATPases that directly displace antibiotics from the ribosome and Cfr, a 23S rRNA methyltransferase that compromises antibiotic binding. For L. monocytogenes strains, either expressing VgaL/Lmo0919 or lacking the resistance factor, we performed time-kill kinetics and post-antibiotic effect assays. Results We show that the synthetic lincosamide iboxamycin is highly active against L. monocytogenes and can overcome the intrinsic lincosamide resistance mediated by VgaL/Lmo0919 ABCF ATPase. While iboxamycin is not bactericidal against L. monocytogenes, it displays a pronounced post-antibiotic effect, which is a valuable pharmacokinetic feature. We demonstrate that VmlR ABCF of B. subtilis grants significant (33-fold increase in MIC) protection from iboxamycin, while LsaA ABCF of E. faecalis grants an 8-fold protective effect. Furthermore, the VmlR-mediated iboxamycin resistance is cooperative with that mediated by the Cfr, resulting in up to a 512-fold increase in MIC. Conclusions While iboxamycin is a promising new antilisterial agent, our findings suggest that emergence and spread of ABCF ARE variants capable of defeating next-generation lincosamides in the clinic is possible and should be closely monitored.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kelvin J Y Wu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , Cambridge, MA , USA
| | - Hiraku Takada
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Lund , 221 84 Lund , Sweden
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University , Kamigamo, Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555 , Japan
| | - Ben I C Tresco
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , Cambridge, MA , USA
| | - Tanel Tenson
- University of Tartu, Institute of Technology , 50411 Tartu , Estonia
| | - Andrew G Myers
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University , Cambridge, MA , USA
| | - Vasili Hauryliuk
- University of Tartu, Institute of Technology , 50411 Tartu , Estonia
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Lund , 221 84 Lund , Sweden
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19
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Zhang Q, Kobras CM, Gebhard S, Mascher T, Wolf D. Regulation of heterologous subtilin production in Bacillus subtilis W168. Microb Cell Fact 2022; 21:57. [PMID: 35392905 PMCID: PMC8991943 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-022-01782-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Subtilin is a peptide antibiotic (lantibiotic) natively produced by Bacillus subtilis ATCC6633. It is encoded in a gene cluster spaBTCSIFEGRK (spa-locus) consisting of four transcriptional units: spaS (subtilin pre-peptide), spaBTC (modification and export), spaIFEG (immunity) and spaRK (regulation). Despite the pioneer understanding on subtilin biosynthesis, a robust platform to facilitate subtilin research and improve subtilin production is still a poorly explored spot. Results In this work, the intact spa-locus was successfully integrated into the chromosome of Bacillus subtilis W168, which is the by far best-characterized Gram-positive model organism with powerful genetics and many advantages in industrial use. Through systematic analysis of spa-promoter activities in B. subtilis W168 wild type and mutant strains, our work demonstrates that subtilin is basally expressed in B. subtilis W168, and the transition state regulator AbrB strongly represses subtilin biosynthesis in a growth phase-dependent manner. The deletion of AbrB remarkably enhanced subtilin gene expression, resulting in comparable yield of bioactive subtilin production as for B. subtilis ATCC6633. However, while in B. subtilis ATCC6633 AbrB regulates subtilin gene expression via SigH, which in turn activates spaRK, AbrB of B. subtilis W168 controls subtilin gene expression in SigH-independent manner, except for the regulation of spaBTC. Furthermore, the work shows that subtilin biosynthesis in B. subtilis W168 is regulated by the two-component regulatory system SpaRK and strictly relies on subtilin itself as inducer to fulfill the autoregulatory circuit. In addition, by incorporating the subtilin-producing system (spa-locus) and subtilin-reporting system (PpsdA-lux) together, we developed “online” reporter strains to efficiently monitor the dynamics of subtilin biosynthesis. Conclusions Within this study, the model organism B. subtilis W168 was successfully established as a novel platform for subtilin biosynthesis and the underlying regulatory mechanism was comprehensively characterized. This work will not only facilitate genetic (engineering) studies on subtilin, but also pave the way for its industrial production. More broadly, this work will shed new light on the heterologous production of other lantibiotics. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-022-01782-9.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhang
- Institute of Microbiology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01217, Dresden, Germany
| | - Carolin M Kobras
- Department Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.,School of Biosciences, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Susanne Gebhard
- Department Biology I, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.,Department of Biology & Biochemistry, Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Thorsten Mascher
- Institute of Microbiology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01217, Dresden, Germany
| | - Diana Wolf
- Institute of Microbiology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01217, Dresden, Germany.
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20
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Johnson CM, Harden MM, Grossman AD. Interactions between mobile genetic elements: An anti-phage gene in an integrative and conjugative element protects host cells from predation by a temperate bacteriophage. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010065. [PMID: 35157704 PMCID: PMC8880864 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Most bacterial genomes contain horizontally acquired and transmissible mobile genetic elements, including temperate bacteriophages and integrative and conjugative elements. Little is known about how these elements interact and co-evolved as parts of their host genomes. In many cases, it is not known what advantages, if any, these elements provide to their bacterial hosts. Most strains of Bacillus subtilis contain the temperate phage SPß and the integrative and conjugative element ICEBs1. Here we show that the presence of ICEBs1 in cells protects populations of B. subtilis from predation by SPß, likely providing selective pressure for the maintenance of ICEBs1 in B. subtilis. A single gene in ICEBs1 (yddK, now called spbK for SPß killing) was both necessary and sufficient for this protection. spbK inhibited production of SPß, during both activation of a lysogen and following de novo infection. We found that expression spbK, together with the SPß gene yonE constitutes an abortive infection system that leads to cell death. spbK encodes a TIR (Toll-interleukin-1 receptor)-domain protein with similarity to some plant antiviral proteins and animal innate immune signaling proteins. We postulate that many uncharacterized cargo genes in ICEs may confer selective advantage to cells by protecting against other mobile elements. Chromosomes from virtually all organisms contain genes that were horizontally acquired. In bacteria, many of the horizontally acquired genes are located in mobile genetic elements, elements that promote their own transfer from one cell to another. These elements include viruses and conjugative elements that are parts of the host genome and they can contain genes involved in metabolism, pathogenesis, symbiosis, and antibiotic resistances. Interactions between these elements are poorly understood. Furthermore, the majority of these elements confer no obvious benefit to host cells. We found that the presence of an integrative and conjugative element (ICE) in a bacterial genome protects host cells from predation by a bacteriophage (virus). There is a single gene in the integrative and conjugative element that confers this protection, and one gene in the bacteriophage that likely works together with the ICE gene. When expressed at the same time, these two genes cause cell death, before functional viruses can be made and released to kill other cells. We postulate that other ICEs may confer selective advantage to their host cells by protecting against other mobile elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M. Johnson
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - M. Michael Harden
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Alan D. Grossman
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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21
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Aviram N, Thornal AN, Zeevi D, Marraffini LA. Different modes of spacer acquisition by the Staphylococcus epidermidis type III-A CRISPR-Cas system. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:1661-1672. [PMID: 35048966 PMCID: PMC8860600 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab1299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas systems provide prokaryotic organisms with an adaptive defense mechanism that acquires immunological memories of infections. This is accomplished by integration of short fragments from the genome of invaders such as phages and plasmids, called ‘spacers’, into the CRISPR locus of the host. Depending on their genetic composition, CRISPR-Cas systems can be classified into six types, I-VI, however spacer acquisition has been extensively studied only in type I and II systems. Here, we used an inducible spacer acquisition assay to study this process in the type III-A CRISPR-Cas system of Staphylococcus epidermidis, in the absence of phage selection. Similarly to type I and II spacer acquisition, this type III system uses Cas1 and Cas2 to preferentially integrate spacers from the chromosomal terminus and free dsDNA ends produced after DNA breaks, in a manner that is enhanced by the AddAB DNA repair complex. Surprisingly, a different mode of spacer acquisition from rRNA and tRNA loci, which spans only the transcribed sequences of these genes and is not enhanced by AddAB, was also detected. Therefore, our findings reveal both common mechanistic principles that may be conserved in all CRISPR-Cas systems, as well as unique and intriguing features of type III spacer acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naama Aviram
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, the Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Ashley N Thornal
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, the Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - David Zeevi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Luciano A Marraffini
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, the Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave, New York, NY 10065, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave, New York, NY 10065, USA
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22
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Distinct Interaction Mechanism of RNAP and ResD and Distal Subsites for Transcription Activation of Nitrite Reductase in Bacillus subtilisψ. J Bacteriol 2021; 204:e0043221. [PMID: 34898263 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00432-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The ResD-ResE signal transduction system plays a pivotal role in anaerobic nitrate respiration in Bacillus subtilis. The nasD operon encoding nitrite reductase is essential for nitrate respiration and is tightly controlled by the ResD response regulator. To understand the mechanism of ResD-dependent transcription activation of the nasD operon, we explored ResD-RNA polymerase (RNAP), ResD-DNA, and RNAP-DNA interactions required for nasD transcription. Full transcriptional activation requires the upstream promoter region where five molecules of ResD bind. The distal ResD-binding subsite at -87 to -84 partially overlaps a sequence similar to the consensus distal subsite of the upstream (UP) element with which the Escherichia coli C-terminal domain of the α subunit (αCTD) of RNAP interacts to stimulate transcription. We propose that interaction between αCTD and ResD at the promoter-distal site is essential for stimulating nasD transcription. Although nasD has an extended -10 promoter, it lacks a reasonable -35 element. Genetic analysis and structural simulations predicted that the absence of the -35 element might be compensated by interactions between σA and αCTD, and between αCTD and ResD at the promoter-proximal ResD-binding subsite. Thus, our work suggested that ResD likely participates in nasD transcription activation by binding to two αCTD subunits at the proximal and distal promoter sites, representing a unique configuration for transcription activation. IMPORTANCE A significant number of ResD-controlled genes have been identified and transcription regulatory pathways in which ResD participates have emerged. Nevertheless, the mechanism of how ResD activates transcription of different genes in a nucleotide sequence-specific manner has been less explored. This study suggested that among the five ResD-binding subsites in the promoter of the nasD operon, the promoter-proximal and -distal ResD-binding subsites play important roles in nasD activation by adapting different modes of protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions. The finding of a new-type of protein-promoter architecture provides insight into the understanding of transcription activation mechanisms controlled by transcription factors including the ubiquitous response regulators of two-component regulatory systems particularly in Gram-positive bacteria.
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23
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DnaJ and ClpX are required for HitRS and HssRS two-component system signaling in Bacillus anthracis. Infect Immun 2021; 90:e0056021. [PMID: 34748369 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00560-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax. This Gram-positive bacterium poses a substantial risk to human health due to high mortality rates and the potential for malicious use as a bioterror weapon. To survive within the vertebrate host, B. anthracis relies on two-component system (TCS) signaling to sense host-induced stresses and respond to alterations in the environment through changes in target gene expression. HitRS and HssRS are cross-regulating TCSs in B. anthracis that respond to cell envelope disruptions and high heme levels, respectively. In this study, an unbiased and targeted genetic selection was designed to identify gene products that are involved in HitRS and HssRS signaling. This selection led to the identification of inactivating mutations within dnaJ and clpX that disrupt HitRS- and HssRS-dependent gene expression. DnaJ and ClpX are the substrate-binding subunits of the DnaJK protein chaperone and ClpXP protease, respectively. DnaJ regulates the levels of HitR and HitS to facilitate signal transduction, while ClpX specifically regulates HitS levels. Together these results reveal that the protein homeostasis regulators, DnaJ and ClpX, function to maintain B. anthracis signal transduction activities through TCS regulation. One sentence summary: Use of a genetic selection strategy to identify modulators of two-component system signaling in Bacillus anthracis.
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24
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Zheng CR, Singh A, Libby A, Silver PA, Libby EA. Modular and Single-Cell Sensors of Bacterial Ser/Thr Kinase Activity. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:2340-2350. [PMID: 34463482 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
At the single-cell level, protein kinase activity is typically inferred from downstream transcriptional reporters. However, promoters are often coregulated by several pathways, making the activity of a specific kinase difficult to deconvolve. Here, we present modular, direct, and specific sensors of bacterial kinase activity, including FRET-based sensors, as well as a synthetic transcription factor based on the lactose repressor (LacI) that has been engineered to respond to phosphorylation. We demonstrate the utility of these sensors in measuring the activity of PrkC, a conserved bacterial Ser/Thr kinase, in different growth conditions from single cells to colonies. We also show that PrkC activity increases in response to a cell-wall active antibiotic that blocks the late steps in peptidoglycan synthesis (cefotaxime), but not the early steps (fosfomycin). These sensors have a modular design that should generalize to other bacterial signaling systems in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine R. Zheng
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Abhyudai Singh
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Alexandra Libby
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Pamela A. Silver
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
| | - Elizabeth A. Libby
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
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25
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Kuznetsova A, Masrati G, Vigonsky E, Livnat-Levanon N, Rose J, Grupper M, Baloum A, Yang JG, Rees DC, Ben-Tal N, Lewinson O. Titratable transmembrane residues and a hydrophobic plug are essential for manganese import via the Bacillus anthracis ABC transporter MntBC-A. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:101087. [PMID: 34416234 PMCID: PMC8487065 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
All extant life forms require trace transition metals (e.g., Fe2/3+, Cu1/2+, and Mn2+) to survive. However, as these are environmentally scarce, organisms have evolved sophisticated metal uptake machineries. In bacteria, high-affinity import of transition metals is predominantly mediated by ABC transporters. During bacterial infection, sequestration of metal by the host further limits the availability of these ions, and accordingly, bacterial ABC transporters (importers) of metals are key virulence determinants. However, the structure–function relationships of these metal transporters have not been fully elucidated. Here, we used metal-sensitivity assays, advanced structural modeling, and enzymatic assays to study the ABC transporter MntBC-A, a virulence determinant of the bacterial human pathogen Bacillus anthracis. We find that despite its broad metal-recognition profile, MntBC-A imports only manganese, whereas zinc can function as a high-affinity inhibitor of MntBC-A. Computational analysis shows that the transmembrane metal permeation pathway is lined with six titratable residues that can coordinate the positively charged metal, and mutagenesis studies show that they are essential for manganese transport. Modeling suggests that access to these titratable residues is blocked by a ladder of hydrophobic residues, and ATP-driven conformational changes open and close this hydrophobic seal to permit metal binding and release. The conservation of this arrangement of titratable and hydrophobic residues among ABC transporters of transition metals suggests a common mechanism. These findings advance our understanding of transmembrane metal recognition and permeation and may aid the design and development of novel antibacterial agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasiya Kuznetsova
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and the Rappaport Institute for Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Gal Masrati
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Elena Vigonsky
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and the Rappaport Institute for Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Nurit Livnat-Levanon
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and the Rappaport Institute for Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Jessica Rose
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and the Rappaport Institute for Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Moti Grupper
- Infectious Disease Unit, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel
| | - Adan Baloum
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and the Rappaport Institute for Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Janet G Yang
- Department of Chemistry, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Douglas C Rees
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Nir Ben-Tal
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Oded Lewinson
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and the Rappaport Institute for Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
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26
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(p)ppGpp controls stringent factors by exploiting antagonistic allosteric coupling between catalytic domains. Mol Cell 2021; 81:3310-3322.e6. [PMID: 34416138 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2021.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Amino acid starvation is sensed by Escherichia coli RelA and Bacillus subtilis Rel through monitoring the aminoacylation status of ribosomal A-site tRNA. These enzymes are positively regulated by their product-the alarmone nucleotide (p)ppGpp-through an unknown mechanism. The (p)ppGpp-synthetic activity of Rel/RelA is controlled via auto-inhibition by the hydrolase/pseudo-hydrolase (HD/pseudo-HD) domain within the enzymatic N-terminal domain region (NTD). We localize the allosteric pppGpp site to the interface between the SYNTH and pseudo-HD/HD domains, with the alarmone stimulating Rel/RelA by exploiting intra-NTD autoinhibition dynamics. We show that without stimulation by pppGpp, starved ribosomes cannot efficiently activate Rel/RelA. Compromised activation by pppGpp ablates Rel/RelA function in vivo, suggesting that regulation by the second messenger (p)ppGpp is necessary for mounting an acute starvation response via coordinated enzymatic activity of individual Rel/RelA molecules. Control by (p)ppGpp is lacking in the E. coli (p)ppGpp synthetase SpoT, thus explaining its weak synthetase activity.
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27
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Takada H, Crowe-McAuliffe C, Polte C, Sidorova ZY, Murina V, Atkinson GC, Konevega AL, Ignatova Z, Wilson DN, Hauryliuk V. RqcH and RqcP catalyze processive poly-alanine synthesis in a reconstituted ribosome-associated quality control system. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:8355-8369. [PMID: 34255840 PMCID: PMC8373112 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
In the cell, stalled ribosomes are rescued through ribosome-associated protein quality-control (RQC) pathways. After splitting of the stalled ribosome, a C-terminal polyalanine 'tail' is added to the unfinished polypeptide attached to the tRNA on the 50S ribosomal subunit. In Bacillus subtilis, polyalanine tailing is catalyzed by the NEMF family protein RqcH, in cooperation with RqcP. However, the mechanistic details of this process remain unclear. Here we demonstrate that RqcH is responsible for tRNAAla selection during RQC elongation, whereas RqcP lacks any tRNA specificity. The ribosomal protein uL11 is crucial for RqcH, but not RqcP, recruitment to the 50S subunit, and B. subtilis lacking uL11 are RQC-deficient. Through mutational mapping, we identify critical residues within RqcH and RqcP that are important for interaction with the P-site tRNA and/or the 50S subunit. Additionally, we have reconstituted polyalanine-tailing in vitro and can demonstrate that RqcH and RqcP are necessary and sufficient for processivity in a minimal system. Moreover, the in vitro reconstituted system recapitulates our in vivo findings by reproducing the importance of conserved residues of RqcH and RqcP for functionality. Collectively, our findings provide mechanistic insight into the role of RqcH and RqcP in the bacterial RQC pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiraku Takada
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo, Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan.,Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden.,Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Caillan Crowe-McAuliffe
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christine Polte
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Zhanna Yu Sidorova
- Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute named by B.P. Konstantinov of National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", 188300 Gatchina, Russia.,Russian Research Institute of Hematology and Transfusiology of FMBA, 191024 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Victoriia Murina
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden.,Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Gemma C Atkinson
- National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", 123182 Moscow, Russia
| | - Andrey L Konevega
- Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute named by B.P. Konstantinov of National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", 188300 Gatchina, Russia.,Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, 195251 Saint Petersburg, Russia.,National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", 123182 Moscow, Russia
| | - Zoya Ignatova
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Daniel N Wilson
- Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Vasili Hauryliuk
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden.,Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden.,Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.,University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
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28
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von Wachenfeldt C, Hallgren J, Hederstedt L. YtkA (CtaK) and YozB (CtaM) function in the biogenesis of cytochrome c oxidase in Bacillus subtilis. Mol Microbiol 2021; 116:184-199. [PMID: 33590545 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Cytochrome c oxidase in the respiratory chain of bacteria and mitochondria couples the reduction of molecular oxygen to form water with the generation of a transmembrane proton gradient. Bacillus subtilis has two heme A-containing heme-copper oxidases: the menaquinol oxidase cytochrome aa3 and the cytochrome c oxidase cytochrome caa3 . By screening three collections of mutants for defective cytochrome c oxidase, we found the genes for two, new membrane-bound assembly factors in B. subtilis: ytkA and yozB (renamed ctaK and ctaM, respectively). CtaK is a lipoprotein without sequence similarity to any protein of known function. We show that CtaK functions together with Sco1 (YpmQ) in a pathway, leading to the assembly of the CuA center in cytochrome caa3 and seems to be a functional analogue to proteins of the periplasmic CuA chaperone family (PCuA C). CtaM is required for the activity of both cytochrome caa3 and cytochrome aa3 and dispensable for the insertion of heme A into these oxidases. The orthologous Bacillus anthracis protein and the distantly related Staphylococcus aureus CtaM complemented CtaM deficiency in B. subtilis, establishing a common function of CtaM in these bacteria. As the overall result of our work, 12 different proteins are known to function in the biosynthesis of cytochrome c oxidase in B. subtilis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joel Hallgren
- The Microbiology Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Lars Hederstedt
- The Microbiology Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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29
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Antibacterial Activity of Bacillus inaquosorum Strain T1 against pirABVp -Bearing Vibrio parahaemolyticus: Genetic and Physiological Characterization. Appl Environ Microbiol 2020; 86:AEM.01950-20. [PMID: 32859595 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01950-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) is caused by PirAB toxin-producing Vibrio parahaemolyticus and has devastated the global shrimp aquaculture industry. One approach for preventing the growth of AHPND-producing Vibrio spp. is through the application of beneficial bacteria capable of inhibiting these pathogens. In this study, we focused on the inhibitory activity of Bacillus inaquosorum strain T1, which hinders V. parahaemolyticus growth in coculture experiments in a density-dependent manner; inhibition was also observed using cell-free supernatants from T1 stationary-phase cultures. Using mariner-based transposon mutagenesis, 17 mutants having a complete or partial loss of inhibitory activity were identified. Of those displaying a total loss of activity, 13 had insertions within a 42.6-kb DNA region comprising 15 genes whose deduced products were homologous to nonribosomal polypeptide synthetases (NRPSs), polyketide synthases (PKSs), and related activities, which were mapped as one transcriptional unit. Mutants with partial activity contained insertions in spo0A and oppA, indicating stationary-phase control. The levels of expression of NRPS and PKS lacZ transcriptional fusions were negligible during growth and were the highest during early stationary phase. Inactivation of sigH resulted in a loss of inhibitor activity, indicating a role for σH in transcription. Disruption of abrB resulted in NRPS and PKS gene overexpression during growth as well as enhanced growth inhibition. Our characterization of the expression and control of an NRPS-PKS gene cluster in B. inaquosorum T1 provides an understanding of the factors involved in inhibitor production, enabling this strain's development for use as a tool against AHPND-causing Vibrio pathogens in shrimp aquaculture.IMPORTANCE The shrimp aquaculture industry has been significantly impacted by acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND), resulting in significant financial losses annually. AHPND is caused by strains of the bacterial pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and treatment of AHPND involves the use of antibiotics, which leads to a rise in the number of antibiotic-resistant strains. Alternative treatments include the application of beneficial microorganisms having inhibitory activities against pathogens causing AHPND. In this study, we examined the ability of Bacillus inaquosorum strain T1 to inhibit the growth of an AHPND-causing Vibrio strain, and we show that this activity involves a gene cluster associated with antibacterial compound production. We found that gene expression is under stationary-phase control and that enhanced activity occurs upon inactivation of a global transition state regulator. Our approach for understanding the factors involved in producing B. inaquosorum strain T1 inhibitory activity will allow for the development of this strain as a tool for AHPND prevention and treatment.
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30
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Rap-Phr Systems from Plasmids pAW63 and pHT8-1 Act Together To Regulate Sporulation in the Bacillus thuringiensis Serovar kurstaki HD73 Strain. Appl Environ Microbiol 2020; 86:AEM.01238-20. [PMID: 32680861 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01238-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium pathogenic to various insect species. This property is due to the Cry toxins encoded by plasmid genes and mostly produced during sporulation. B. thuringiensis contains a remarkable number of extrachromosomal DNA molecules and a great number of plasmid rap-phr genes. Rap-Phr quorum-sensing systems regulate different bacterial processes, notably the commitment to sporulation in Bacillus species. Rap proteins are quorum sensors acting as phosphatases on Spo0F, an intermediate of the sporulation phosphorelay, and are inhibited by Phr peptides that function as signaling molecules. In this study, we characterize the Rap63-Phr63 system encoded by the pAW63 plasmid from the B. thuringiensis serovar kurstaki HD73 strain. Rap63 has moderate activity on sporulation and is inhibited by the Phr63 peptide. The rap63-phr63 genes are cotranscribed, and the phr63 gene is also transcribed from a σH-specific promoter. We show that Rap63-Phr63 regulates sporulation together with the Rap8-Phr8 system harbored by plasmid pHT8_1 of the HD73 strain. Interestingly, the deletion of both phr63 and phr8 genes in the same strain has a greater negative effect on sporulation than the sum of the loss of each phr gene. Despite the similarities in the Phr8 and Phr63 sequences, there is no cross talk between the two systems. Our results suggest a synergism of these two Rap-Phr systems in the regulation of the sporulation of B. thuringiensis at the end of the infectious cycle in insects, thus pointing out the roles of the plasmids in the fitness of the bacterium.IMPORTANCE The life cycle of Bacillus thuringiensis in insect larvae is regulated by quorum-sensing systems of the RNPP family. After the toxemia caused by Cry insecticidal toxins, the sequential activation of these systems allows the bacterium to trigger first a state of virulence (regulated by PlcR-PapR) and then a necrotrophic lifestyle (regulated by NprR-NprX); ultimately, sporulation is controlled by the Rap-Phr systems. Our study describes a new rap-phr operon carried by a B. thuringiensis plasmid and shows that the Rap protein has a moderate effect on sporulation. However, this system, in combination with another plasmidic rap-phr operon, provides effective control of sporulation when the bacteria develop in the cadavers of infected insect larvae. Overall, this study highlights the important adaptive role of the plasmid Rap-Phr systems in the developmental fate of B. thuringiensis and its survival within its ecological niche.
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31
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Parker DJ, Lalanne JB, Kimura S, Johnson GE, Waldor MK, Li GW. Growth-Optimized Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetase Levels Prevent Maximal tRNA Charging. Cell Syst 2020; 11:121-130.e6. [PMID: 32726597 DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2020.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Revised: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) serve a dual role in charging tRNAs. Their enzymatic activities both provide protein synthesis flux and reduce uncharged tRNA levels. Although uncharged tRNAs can negatively impact bacterial growth, substantial concentrations of tRNAs remain deacylated even under nutrient-rich conditions. Here, we show that tRNA charging in Bacillus subtilis is not maximized due to optimization of aaRS production during rapid growth, which prioritizes demands in protein synthesis over charging levels. The presence of uncharged tRNAs is alleviated by precisely tuned translation kinetics and the stringent response, both insensitive to aaRS overproduction but sharply responsive to underproduction, allowing for just enough aaRS production atop a "fitness cliff." Notably, we find that the stringent response mitigates fitness defects at all aaRS underproduction levels even without external starvation. Thus, adherence to minimal, flux-satisfying protein production drives limited tRNA charging and provides a basis for the sensitivity and setpoints of an integrated growth-control network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren J Parker
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Jean-Benoît Lalanne
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Satoshi Kimura
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Grace E Johnson
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Matthew K Waldor
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Gene-Wei Li
- Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
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32
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Takada H, Roghanian M, Murina V, Dzhygyr I, Murayama R, Akanuma G, Atkinson GC, Garcia-Pino A, Hauryliuk V. The C-Terminal RRM/ACT Domain Is Crucial for Fine-Tuning the Activation of 'Long' RelA-SpoT Homolog Enzymes by Ribosomal Complexes. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:277. [PMID: 32184768 PMCID: PMC7058999 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The (p)ppGpp-mediated stringent response is a bacterial stress response implicated in virulence and antibiotic tolerance. Both synthesis and degradation of the (p)ppGpp alarmone nucleotide are mediated by RelA-SpoT Homolog (RSH) enzymes which can be broadly divided in two classes: single-domain 'short' and multi-domain 'long' RSH. The regulatory ACT (Aspartokinase, Chorismate mutase and TyrA)/RRM (RNA Recognition Motif) domain is a near-universal C-terminal domain of long RSHs. Deletion of RRM in both monofunctional (synthesis-only) RelA as well as bifunctional (i.e., capable of both degrading and synthesizing the alarmone) Rel renders the long RSH cytotoxic due to overproduction of (p)ppGpp. To probe the molecular mechanism underlying this effect we characterized Escherichia coli RelA and Bacillus subtilis Rel RSHs lacking RRM. We demonstrate that, first, the cytotoxicity caused by the removal of RRM is counteracted by secondary mutations that disrupt the interaction of the RSH with the starved ribosomal complex - the ultimate inducer of (p)ppGpp production by RelA and Rel - and, second, that the hydrolytic activity of Rel is not abrogated in the truncated mutant. Therefore, we conclude that the overproduction of (p)ppGpp by RSHs lacking the RRM domain is not explained by a lack of auto-inhibition in the absence of RRM or/and a defect in (p)ppGpp hydrolysis. Instead, we argue that it is driven by misregulation of the RSH activation by the ribosome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiraku Takada
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Mohammad Roghanian
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Victoriia Murina
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Ievgen Dzhygyr
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Rikinori Murayama
- Akita Prefectural Research Center for Public Health and Environment, Akita, Japan
| | - Genki Akanuma
- Department of Life Science, Graduate School of Science, Gakushuin University, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Abel Garcia-Pino
- Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- WELBIO, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Vasili Hauryliuk
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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33
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Bier N, Hammerstrom TG, Koehler TM. Influence of the phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system on toxin gene expression and virulence in Bacillus anthracis. Mol Microbiol 2019; 113:237-252. [PMID: 31667937 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
AtxA, the master virulence gene regulator of Bacillus anthracis, is a PRD-Containing Virulence Regulator (PCVR) as indicated by the crystal structure, post-translational modifications and activity of the protein. PCVRs are transcriptional regulators, named for PTS Regulatory Domains (PRDs) subject to phosphorylation by the phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (PEP-PTS) and for their impact on virulence gene expression. Here we present data from experiments employing physiological, genetic and biochemical approaches that support a model in which the PTS proteins HPr and Enzyme I (EI) are required for transcription of the atxA gene, rather than phosphorylation of AtxA. We show that atxA transcription is reduced 2.5-fold in a mutant lacking HPr and EI, and that this change is sufficient to affect anthrax toxin production. Mutants harboring HPr proteins altered for phosphotransfer activity were unable to restore atxA transcription to parent levels, suggesting that phosphotransfer activity of HPr and EI is important for regulation of atxA. In a mouse model for anthrax, a HPr- EI- mutant was attenuated for virulence. Virulence was restored by expressing atxA from an alternative, PTS-independent, promoter. Our data support a model in which HPr transfers a phosphate to an unidentified downstream transcriptional regulator to influence atxA gene transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi Bier
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, McGovern Medical School of the University of Texas - Houston Health Science Center, UTHealth M.D. Anderson Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Troy G Hammerstrom
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, McGovern Medical School of the University of Texas - Houston Health Science Center, UTHealth M.D. Anderson Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Theresa M Koehler
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, McGovern Medical School of the University of Texas - Houston Health Science Center, UTHealth M.D. Anderson Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA
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Adusei-Danso F, Khaja FT, DeSantis M, Jeffrey PD, Dubnau E, Demeler B, Neiditch MB, Dubnau D. Structure-Function Studies of the Bacillus subtilis Ric Proteins Identify the Fe-S Cluster-Ligating Residues and Their Roles in Development and RNA Processing. mBio 2019; 10:e01841-19. [PMID: 31530674 PMCID: PMC6751060 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01841-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
In Bacillus subtilis, the RicA (YmcA), RicF (YlbF), and RicT (YaaT) proteins accelerate the phosphorylation of the transcription factor Spo0A, contributing to genetic competence, sporulation, and biofilm formation, and are also essential for the correct maturation of several protein-encoding and riboswitch RNAs. These proteins form a stable complex (RicAFT) that carries two [4Fe-4S]+2 clusters. We show here that the complex is a 1:1:1 heterotrimer, and we present the X-ray crystal structures of a RicAF heterotetramer and of a RicA dimer. We also demonstrate that one of the Fe-S clusters (cluster 1) is ligated by cysteine residues donated exclusively by RicT and can be retained when the RicT monomer is purified by itself. Cluster 2 is ligated by C167 from RicT, by C134 and C146 located near the C terminus of RicF, and by C141 at the C terminus of RicA. These findings imply the following novel arrangement: adjacent RicT residues C166 and 167 ligate clusters 1 and 2, respectively, while cluster 2 is ligated by cysteine residues from RicT, RicA, and RicF. Thus, the two clusters must lie close to one another and at the interface of the RicAFT protomers. We also show that the cluster-ligating cysteine residues, and therefore most likely both Fe-S clusters, are essential for cggR-gapA mRNA maturation, for the regulation of ricF transcript stability, and for several Ric-associated developmental phenotypes, including competence for transformation, biofilm formation, and sporulation. Finally, we present evidence that RicAFT, RicAF, and RicA and the RicT monomer may play distinct regulatory roles in vivoIMPORTANCE The RicA, RicF, and RicT proteins are widely conserved among the firmicute bacteria and play multiple roles in Bacillus subtilis Among the phenotypes associated with the inactivation of these proteins are the inability to be genetically transformed or to form biofilms, a decrease in sporulation frequency, and changes in the stability and maturation of multiple RNA species. Despite their importance, the molecular mechanisms of Ric protein activities have not been elucidated and the roles of the two iron-sulfur clusters on the complex of the three proteins are not understood. To unravel the mechanisms of Ric action, molecular characterization of the complex and of its constituent proteins is essential. This report represents a major step toward understanding the structures of the Ric proteins, the arrangement and roles of the Fe-S clusters, and the phenotypes associated with Ric mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Adusei-Danso
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Faisal Tarique Khaja
- Public Health Research Center of New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Micaela DeSantis
- Public Health Research Center of New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Philip D Jeffrey
- Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Eugenie Dubnau
- Public Health Research Center of New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Borries Demeler
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Matthew B Neiditch
- Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - David Dubnau
- Public Health Research Center of New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA
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35
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A DNA-Binding Protein Tunes Septum Placement during Bacillus subtilis Sporulation. J Bacteriol 2019; 201:JB.00287-19. [PMID: 31160399 PMCID: PMC6657595 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00287-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 05/15/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacillus subtilis is a bacterium capable of differentiating into a spore form more resistant to environmental stress. Early in sporulation, each cell possesses two copies of a circular chromosome. A polar FtsZ ring (Z ring) directs septation over one of the chromosomes, generating two cell compartments. The smaller "forespore" compartment initially contains only 25 to 30% of one chromosome, and this transient genetic asymmetry is required for differentiation. Timely assembly of polar Z rings and precise capture of the chromosome in the forespore both require the DNA-binding protein RefZ. To mediate its role in chromosome capture, RefZ must bind to specific DNA motifs (RBMs) that localize near the poles at the time of septation. Cells artificially induced to express RefZ during vegetative growth cannot assemble Z rings, an effect that also requires DNA binding. We hypothesized that RefZ-RBM complexes mediate precise chromosome capture by modulating FtsZ function. To investigate, we isolated 10 RefZ loss-of-function (rLOF) variants unable to inhibit cell division yet still capable of binding RBMs. Sporulating cells expressing the rLOF variants in place of wild-type RefZ phenocopied a ΔrefZ mutant, suggesting that RefZ acts through an FtsZ-dependent mechanism. The crystal structure of RefZ was solved, and wild-type RefZ and the rLOF variants were further characterized. Our data suggest that RefZ's oligomerization state and specificity for the RBMs are critical determinants influencing RefZ's ability to affect FtsZ dynamics. We propose that RBM-bound RefZ complexes function as a developmentally regulated nucleoid occlusion system for fine-tuning the position of the septum relative to the chromosome during sporulation.IMPORTANCE The bacterial nucleoid forms a large, highly organized structure. Thus, in addition to storing the genetic code, the nucleoid harbors positional information that can be leveraged by DNA-binding proteins to spatially constrain cellular activities. During B. subtilis sporulation, the nucleoid undergoes reorganization, and the cell division protein FtsZ assembles polarly to direct septation over one chromosome. The TetR family protein RefZ binds DNA motifs (RBMs) localized near the poles at the time of division and is required for both timely FtsZ assembly and precise capture of DNA in the future spore compartment. Our data suggest that RefZ exploits nucleoid organization by associating with polarly localized RBMs to modulate the positioning of FtsZ relative to the chromosome during sporulation.
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36
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Castillo-Hair SM, Fujita M, Igoshin OA, Tabor JJ. An Engineered B. subtilis Inducible Promoter System with over 10 000-Fold Dynamic Range. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8:1673-1678. [PMID: 31181163 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Bacillus subtilis is the leading model Gram-positive bacterium, and a widely used chassis for industrial protein production. However, B. subtilis research is limited by a lack of inducible promoter systems with low leakiness and high dynamic range. Here, we engineer an inducible promoter system based on the T7 RNA Polymerase (T7 RNAP), the lactose repressor LacI, and the chimeric promoter PT7lac, integrated as a single copy in the B. subtilis genome. In the absence of IPTG, LacI strongly represses T7 RNAP and PT7lac and minimizes leakiness. Addition of IPTG derepresses PT7lac and simultaneously induces expression of T7RNAP, which results in very high output expression. Using green fluorescent and β-galactosidase reporter proteins, we estimate that this LacI-T7 system can regulate expression with a dynamic range of over 10 000, by far the largest reported for an inducible B. subtilis promoter system. Furthermore, LacI-T7 responds to similar IPTG concentrations and with similar kinetics as the widely used Phy-spank IPTG-inducible system, which we show has a dynamic range of at most 300 in a similar genetic context. Due to its superior performance, our LacI-T7 system should have broad applications in fundamental B. subtilis biology studies and biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Masaya Fujita
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun Road, Houston, Texas 77004, United States
| | - Oleg A. Igoshin
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
- Center for Theoretical Biophysics, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Jeffrey J. Tabor
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
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37
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Castillo-Hair SM, Baerman EA, Fujita M, Igoshin OA, Tabor JJ. Optogenetic control of Bacillus subtilis gene expression. Nat Commun 2019; 10:3099. [PMID: 31308373 PMCID: PMC6629627 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10906-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis exhibits complex spatial and temporal gene expression signals. Although optogenetic tools are ideal for studying such processes, none has been engineered for this organism. Here, we port a cyanobacterial light sensor pathway comprising the green/red photoreversible two-component system CcaSR, two metabolic enzymes for production of the chromophore phycocyanobilin (PCB), and an output promoter to control transcription of a gene of interest into B. subtilis. Following an initial non-functional design, we optimize expression of pathway genes, enhance PCB production via a translational fusion of the biosynthetic enzymes, engineer a strong chimeric output promoter, and increase dynamic range with a miniaturized photosensor kinase. Our final design exhibits over 70-fold activation and rapid response dynamics, making it well-suited to studying a wide range of gene regulatory processes. In addition, the synthetic biology methods we develop to port this pathway should make B. subtilis easier to engineer in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elliot A Baerman
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005, USA
| | - Masaya Fujita
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun Rd., Houston, TX, 77004, USA
| | - Oleg A Igoshin
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005, USA
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005, USA
- Center for Theoretical Biophysics, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005, USA
| | - Jeffrey J Tabor
- Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005, USA.
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005, USA.
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38
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Bervoets I, Van Brempt M, Van Nerom K, Van Hove B, Maertens J, De Mey M, Charlier D. A sigma factor toolbox for orthogonal gene expression in Escherichia coli. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:2133-2144. [PMID: 29361130 PMCID: PMC5829568 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 01/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Synthetic genetic sensors and circuits enable programmable control over timing and conditions of gene expression and, as a result, are increasingly incorporated into the control of complex and multi-gene pathways. Size and complexity of genetic circuits are growing, but stay limited by a shortage of regulatory parts that can be used without interference. Therefore, orthogonal expression and regulation systems are needed to minimize undesired crosstalk and allow for dynamic control of separate modules. This work presents a set of orthogonal expression systems for use in Escherichia coli based on heterologous sigma factors from Bacillus subtilis that recognize specific promoter sequences. Up to four of the analyzed sigma factors can be combined to function orthogonally between each other and toward the host. Additionally, the toolbox is expanded by creating promoter libraries for three sigma factors without loss of their orthogonal nature. As this set covers a wide range of transcription initiation frequencies, it enables tuning of multiple outputs of the circuit in response to different sensory signals in an orthogonal manner. This sigma factor toolbox constitutes an interesting expansion of the synthetic biology toolbox and may contribute to the assembly of more complex synthetic genetic systems in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indra Bervoets
- Research Group of Microbiology, Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Maarten Van Brempt
- Centre for Synthetic Biology (CSB), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Katleen Van Nerom
- Research Group of Microbiology, Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Bob Van Hove
- Centre for Synthetic Biology (CSB), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Jo Maertens
- Centre for Synthetic Biology (CSB), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marjan De Mey
- Centre for Synthetic Biology (CSB), Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Daniel Charlier
- Research Group of Microbiology, Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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39
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Ehling-Schulz M, Lereclus D, Koehler TM. The Bacillus cereus Group: Bacillus Species with Pathogenic Potential. Microbiol Spectr 2019; 7:10.1128/microbiolspec.gpp3-0032-2018. [PMID: 31111815 PMCID: PMC6530592 DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.gpp3-0032-2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 235] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The Bacillus cereus group includes several Bacillus species with closely related phylogeny. The most well-studied members of the group, B. anthracis, B. cereus, and B. thuringiensis, are known for their pathogenic potential. Here, we present the historical rationale for speciation and discuss shared and unique features of these bacteria. Aspects of cell morphology and physiology, and genome sequence similarity and gene synteny support close evolutionary relationships for these three species. For many strains, distinct differences in virulence factor synthesis provide facile means for species assignment. B. anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax. Some B. cereus strains are commonly recognized as food poisoning agents, but strains can also cause localized wound and eye infections as well as systemic disease. Certain B. thuringiensis strains are entomopathogens and have been commercialized for use as biopesticides, while some strains have been reported to cause infection in immunocompromised individuals. In this article we compare and contrast B. anthracis, B. cereus, and B. thuringiensis, including ecology, cell structure and development, virulence attributes, gene regulation and genetic exchange systems, and experimental models of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Ehling-Schulz
- Institute of Microbiology, Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Didier Lereclus
- Micalis Institute, INRA, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - Theresa M Koehler
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center - Houston, Houston, TX 77030
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40
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Nouri H, Monnier AF, Fossum-Raunehaug S, Maciag-Dorszynska M, Cabin-Flaman A, Képès F, Wegrzyn G, Szalewska-Palasz A, Norris V, Skarstad K, Janniere L. Multiple links connect central carbon metabolism to DNA replication initiation and elongation in Bacillus subtilis. DNA Res 2019; 25:641-653. [PMID: 30256918 PMCID: PMC6289782 DOI: 10.1093/dnares/dsy031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA replication is coupled to growth by an unknown mechanism. Here, we investigated this coupling by analyzing growth and replication in 15 mutants of central carbon metabolism (CCM) cultivated in three rich media. In about one-fourth of the condition tested, defects in replication resulting from changes in initiation or elongation were detected. This uncovered 11 CCM genes important for replication and showed that some of these genes have an effect in one, two or three media. Additional results presented here and elsewhere (Jannière, L., Canceill, D., Suski, C., et al. (2007), PLoS One, 2, e447.) showed that, in the LB medium, the CCM genes important for DNA elongation (gapA and ackA) are genetically linked to the lagging strand polymerase DnaE while those important for initiation (pgk and pykA) are genetically linked to the replication enzymes DnaC (helicase), DnaG (primase) and DnaE. Our work thus shows that the coupling between growth and replication involves multiple, medium-dependent links between CCM and replication. They also suggest that changes in CCM may affect initiation by altering the functional recruitment of DnaC, DnaG and DnaE at the chromosomal origin, and may affect elongation by altering the activity of DnaE at the replication fork. The underlying mechanism is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Nouri
- iSSB, Génopole, CNRS, UEVE, Université Paris-Saclay, Evry France.,MICALIS, INRA, Jouy en Josas, France
| | | | | | | | | | - François Képès
- iSSB, Génopole, CNRS, UEVE, Université Paris-Saclay, Evry France
| | - Grzegorz Wegrzyn
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland
| | | | - Vic Norris
- Laboratoire MERCI, AMMIS, Faculté des Sciences, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France
| | - Kirsten Skarstad
- Department of Cell Biology, Oslo University Hospital, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Laurent Janniere
- iSSB, Génopole, CNRS, UEVE, Université Paris-Saclay, Evry France.,MICALIS, INRA, Jouy en Josas, France
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Abstract
Bacteria encode a variety of adaptations that enable them to survive during zinc starvation, a condition which is encountered both in natural environments and inside the human host. In Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the diarrheal disease cholera, we have identified a novel member of this zinc starvation response, a cell wall hydrolase that retains function and is conditionally essential for cell growth in low-zinc environments. Other Gram-negative bacteria contain homologs that appear to be under similar regulatory control. These findings are significant because they represent, to our knowledge, the first evidence that zinc homeostasis influences cell wall turnover. Anti-infective therapies commonly target the bacterial cell wall; therefore, an improved understanding of how the cell wall adapts to host-induced zinc starvation could lead to new antibiotic development. Such therapeutic interventions are required to combat the rising threat of drug-resistant infections. The cell wall is a strong, yet flexible, meshwork of peptidoglycan (PG) that gives a bacterium structural integrity. To accommodate a growing cell, the wall is remodeled by both PG synthesis and degradation. Vibrio cholerae encodes a group of three nearly identical zinc-dependent endopeptidases (EPs) that are predicted to hydrolyze PG to facilitate cell growth. Two of these (ShyA and ShyC) are conditionally essential housekeeping EPs, while the third (ShyB) is not expressed under standard laboratory conditions. To investigate the role of ShyB, we conducted a transposon screen to identify mutations that activate shyB transcription. We found that shyB is induced as part of the Zur-mediated zinc starvation response, a mode of regulation not previously reported for cell wall lytic enzymes. In vivo, ShyB alone was sufficient to sustain cell growth in low-zinc environments. In vitro, ShyB retained its d,d-endopeptidase activity against purified sacculi in the presence of the metal chelator EDTA at concentrations that inhibit ShyA and ShyC. This insensitivity to metal chelation is likely what enables ShyB to substitute for other EPs during zinc starvation. Our survey of transcriptomic data from diverse bacteria identified other candidate Zur-regulated EPs, suggesting that this adaptation to zinc starvation is employed by other Gram-negative bacteria.
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42
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Kaundinya CR, Savithri HS, Rao KK, Balaji PV. EpsN from Bacillus subtilis 168 has UDP-2,6-dideoxy 2-acetamido 4-keto glucose aminotransferase activity in vitro. Glycobiology 2019; 28:802-812. [PMID: 29982582 DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwy063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The gene epsN of Bacillus subtilis 168 was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. Purified recombinant EpsN is shown to be a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent aminotransferase by absorption spectroscopy, l-cycloserine inhibition and reverse phase HPLC studies. EpsN catalyzes the conversion of UDP-2,6-dideoxy 2-acetamido 4-keto glucose to UDP-2,6-dideoxy 2-acetamido 4-amino glucose. Lys190 was found by sequence comparison and site-directed mutagenesis to form Schiff base with PLP. Mutagenesis studies showed that, in addition to Lys190, Ser185, Glu164, Gly58 and Thr59 are essential for aminotransferase activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chinmayi R Kaundinya
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, India
| | - Handanahal S Savithri
- Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, CV Raman Road, Bengaluru, India
| | - K Krishnamurthy Rao
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, India
| | - Petety V Balaji
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, India
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Price MA, Cruz R, Baxter S, Escalettes F, Rosser SJ. CRISPR-Cas9 In Situ engineering of subtilisin E in Bacillus subtilis. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0210121. [PMID: 30615645 PMCID: PMC6322745 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas systems have become widely used across all fields of biology as a genome engineering tool. With its recent demonstration in the Gram positive industrial workhorse Bacillus subtilis, this tool has become an attractive option for rapid, markerless strain engineering of industrial production hosts. Previously described strategies for CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in B. subtilis have involved chromosomal integrations of Cas9 and single guide RNA expression cassettes, or construction of large plasmids for simultaneous transformation of both single guide RNA and donor DNA. Here we use a flexible, co-transformation approach where the single guide RNA is inserted in a plasmid for Cas9 co-expression, and the donor DNA is supplied as a linear PCR product observing an editing efficiency of 76%. This allowed multiple, rapid rounds of in situ editing of the subtilisin E gene to incorporate a salt bridge triad present in the Bacillus clausii thermotolerant homolog, M-protease. A novel subtilisin E variant was obtained with increased thermotolerance and activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus A. Price
- Department of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Ingenza Ltd., Roslin Innovation Centre, Roslin, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (MAP); (SJR)
| | - Rita Cruz
- Ingenza Ltd., Roslin Innovation Centre, Roslin, United Kingdom
| | - Scott Baxter
- Ingenza Ltd., Roslin Innovation Centre, Roslin, United Kingdom
| | | | - Susan J. Rosser
- Department of Quantitative Biology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (MAP); (SJR)
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Murina V, Kasari M, Takada H, Hinnu M, Saha CK, Grimshaw JW, Seki T, Reith M, Putrinš M, Tenson T, Strahl H, Hauryliuk V, Atkinson GC. ABCF ATPases Involved in Protein Synthesis, Ribosome Assembly and Antibiotic Resistance: Structural and Functional Diversification across the Tree of Life. J Mol Biol 2018; 431:3568-3590. [PMID: 30597160 PMCID: PMC6723617 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2018.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/15/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Within the larger ABC superfamily of ATPases, ABCF family members eEF3 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and EttA in Escherichia coli have been found to function as ribosomal translation factors. Several other ABCFs including biochemically characterized VgaA, LsaA and MsrE confer resistance to antibiotics that target the peptidyl transferase center and exit tunnel of the ribosome. However, the diversity of ABCF subfamilies, the relationships among subfamilies and the evolution of antibiotic resistance (ARE) factors from other ABCFs have not been explored. To address this, we analyzed the presence of ABCFs and their domain architectures in 4505 genomes across the tree of life. We find 45 distinct subfamilies of ABCFs that are widespread across bacterial and eukaryotic phyla, suggesting that they were present in the last common ancestor of both. Surprisingly, currently known ARE ABCFs are not confined to a distinct lineage of the ABCF family tree, suggesting that ARE can readily evolve from other ABCF functions. Our data suggest that there are a number of previously unidentified ARE ABCFs in antibiotic producers and important human pathogens. We also find that ATPase-deficient mutants of all four E. coli ABCFs (EttA, YbiT, YheS and Uup) inhibit protein synthesis, indicative of their ribosomal function, and demonstrate a genetic interaction of ABCFs Uup and YheS with translational GTPase BipA involved in assembly of the 50S ribosome subunit. Finally, we show that the ribosome-binding resistance factor VmlR from Bacillus subtilis is localized to the cytoplasm, ruling out a role in antibiotic efflux.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoriia Murina
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden; Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Marje Kasari
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Hiraku Takada
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden; Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Mariliis Hinnu
- University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, Nooruse 1, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Chayan Kumar Saha
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - James W Grimshaw
- Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences Newcastle University, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4AX, United Kingdom
| | - Takahiro Seki
- Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Chiba University, 263-8522 Chiba, Japan
| | - Michael Reith
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Marta Putrinš
- University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, Nooruse 1, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Tanel Tenson
- University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, Nooruse 1, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Henrik Strahl
- Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences Newcastle University, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4AX, United Kingdom
| | - Vasili Hauryliuk
- Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden; Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden; University of Tartu, Institute of Technology, Nooruse 1, 50411 Tartu, Estonia
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Leiser OP, Blackburn JK, Hadfield TL, Kreuzer HW, Wunschel DS, Bruckner-Lea CJ. Laboratory strains of Bacillus anthracis exhibit pervasive alteration in expression of proteins related to sporulation under laboratory conditions relative to genetically related wild strains. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0209120. [PMID: 30557394 PMCID: PMC6296524 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 11/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The spore forming pathogen Bacillus anthracis is the etiologic agent of anthrax in humans and animals. It cycles through infected hosts as vegetative cells and is eventually introduced into the environment where it generates an endospore resistant to many harsh conditions. The endospores are subsequently taken up by another host to begin the next cycle. Outbreaks of anthrax occur regularly worldwide in wildlife and livestock, and the potential for human infection exists whenever humans encounter infected animals. It is also possible to encounter intentional releases of anthrax spores, as was the case in October 2001. Consequently, it is important to be able to rapidly establish the provenance of infectious strains of B. anthracis. Here, we compare protein expression in seven low-passage wild isolates and four laboratory strains of B. anthracis grown under identical conditions using LC-MS/MS proteomic analysis. Of the 1,023 total identified proteins, 96 had significant abundance differences between wild and laboratory strains. Of those, 28 proteins directly related to sporulation were upregulated in wild isolates, with expression driven by Spo0A, CodY, and AbrB/ScoC. In addition, we observed evidence of changes in cell division and fatty acid biosynthesis between the two classes of strains, despite being grown under identical experimental conditions. These results suggest wild B. anthracis cells are more highly tuned to sporulate than their laboratory cousins, and this difference should be exploited as a method to differentiate between laboratory and low passage wild strains isolated during an anthrax outbreak. This knowledge should distinguish between intentional releases and exposure to strains in nature, providing a basis for the type of response by public health officials and investigators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Owen P. Leiser
- Chemical and Biological Signature Science, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, United States of America
| | - Jason K. Blackburn
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
- Spatial Epidemiology & Ecology Research Laboratory, Department of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
| | - Ted L. Hadfield
- Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
- Spatial Epidemiology & Ecology Research Laboratory, Department of Geography, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
| | - Helen W. Kreuzer
- Chemical and Biological Signature Science, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, United States of America
| | - David S. Wunschel
- Chemical and Biological Signature Science, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, United States of America
| | - Cindy J. Bruckner-Lea
- Chemical and Biological Signature Science, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, United States of America
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Petrobactin Protects against Oxidative Stress and Enhances Sporulation Efficiency in Bacillus anthracis Sterne. mBio 2018; 9:mBio.02079-18. [PMID: 30401780 PMCID: PMC6222121 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.02079-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacillus anthracis causes the disease anthrax, which is transmitted via its dormant, spore phase. However, conversion from bacillus to spore is a complex, energetically costly process that requires many nutrients, including iron. B. anthracis requires the siderophore petrobactin to scavenge iron from host environments. We show that, in the Sterne strain, petrobactin is required for efficient sporulation, even when ample iron is available. The petrobactin biosynthesis operon is expressed during sporulation, and petrobactin is biosynthesized during growth in high-iron sporulation medium, but instead of being exported, the petrobactin remains intracellular to protect against oxidative stress and improve sporulation. It is also required for full growth and sporulation in blood (bovine), an essential step for anthrax transmission between mammalian hosts. Bacillus anthracis is a Gram-positive bacillus that under conditions of environmental stress, such as low nutrients, can convert from a vegetative bacillus to a highly durable spore that enables long-term survival. The sporulation process is regulated by a sequential cascade of dedicated transcription factors but requires key nutrients to complete, one of which is iron. Iron acquisition by the iron-scavenging siderophore petrobactin is required for vegetative growth of B. anthracis under iron-depleted conditions and in the host. However, the extent to which petrobactin is involved in spore formation is unknown. This work shows that efficient in vitro sporulation of B. anthracis requires petrobactin, that the petrobactin biosynthesis operon (asbA to -F) is induced prior to sporulation, and that the siderophore itself associates with spores. Petrobactin is also required for oxidative stress protection during late-stage growth and for wild-type levels of sporulation in sporulation medium. Sporulation in bovine blood was found to be petrobactin dependent. Collectively, the in vitro contributions of petrobactin to sporulation as well as growth imply that petrobactin may be required for B. anthracis transmission via the spore during natural infections, in addition to its key known functions during active anthrax infections.
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Single-step production of arabino-xylooligosaccharides by recombinant Bacillus subtilis 3610 cultivated in brewers’ spent grain. Carbohydr Polym 2018; 199:546-554. [DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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Kaundinya CR, Savithri HS, Rao KK, Balaji PV. EpsM from Bacillus subtilis 168 has UDP-2,4,6-trideoxy-2-acetamido-4-amino glucose acetyltransferase activity in vitro. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2018; 505:1057-1062. [PMID: 30314705 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2018.09.185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2018] [Accepted: 09/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Bacillus subtilis 168 EpsM (UniProt id P71063) has been electronically annotated as putative acetyltransferase in the UniProt database. The gene epsM was cloned and overexpressed in E. coli with an N-terminal GST tag. The purified fusion protein was shown by absorption spectroscopy, autoradiography and reverse phase HPLC to catalyse the conversion of UDP-2,4,6-trideoxy-2-acetamido-4-amino glucose to UDP-2,4,6-trideoxy-2,4-diacetamido glucose, commonly known as N,N'-diacetylbacillosamine, using acetyl coenzyme A as the donor substrate. His146 was shown by site-directed mutagenesis to be essential for acetyltransferase activity. It is hypothesized that EpsC (NAD+ dependent UDP GlcNAc 4,6-dehydratase), EpsN (PLP dependent aminotransferase) and EpsM, all of which are part of the eps operon, are involved in the biosynthesis of N,N'-diacetylbacillosamine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chinmayi R Kaundinya
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India
| | - Handanahal S Savithri
- Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, CV Raman Road, Bengaluru 560012, India
| | - K Krishnamurthy Rao
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India.
| | - Petety V Balaji
- Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India.
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Haggett L, Bhasin A, Srivastava P, Fujita M. A revised model for the control of fatty acid synthesis by master regulator Spo0A in
Bacillus subtilis. Mol Microbiol 2018; 108:424-442. [DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13945] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey Haggett
- Department of Biology and BiochemistryUniversity of HoustonHouston TX 77204‐5001 USA
| | - Archna Bhasin
- Department of Biology and BiochemistryUniversity of HoustonHouston TX 77204‐5001 USA
| | - Priyanka Srivastava
- Department of Biology and BiochemistryUniversity of HoustonHouston TX 77204‐5001 USA
| | - Masaya Fujita
- Department of Biology and BiochemistryUniversity of HoustonHouston TX 77204‐5001 USA
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50
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Cambridge JM, Blinkova AL, Salvador Rocha EI, Bode Hernández A, Moreno M, Ginés-Candelaria E, Goetz BM, Hunicke-Smith S, Satterwhite E, Tucker HO, Walker JR. Genomics of Clostridium taeniosporum, an organism which forms endospores with ribbon-like appendages. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0189673. [PMID: 29293521 PMCID: PMC5749712 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2016] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Clostridium taeniosporum, a non-pathogenic anaerobe closely related to the C. botulinum Group II members, was isolated from Crimean lake silt about 60 years ago. Its endospores are surrounded by an encasement layer which forms a trunk at one spore pole to which about 12–14 large, ribbon-like appendages are attached. The genome consists of one 3,264,813 bp, circular chromosome (with 26.6% GC) and three plasmids. The chromosome contains 2,892 potential protein coding sequences: 2,124 have specific functions, 147 have general functions, 228 are conserved but without known function and 393 are hypothetical based on the fact that no statistically significant orthologs were found. The chromosome also contains 101 genes for stable RNAs, including 7 rRNA clusters. Over 84% of the protein coding sequences and 96% of the stable RNA coding regions are oriented in the same direction as replication. The three known appendage genes are located within a single cluster with five other genes, the protein products of which are closely related, in terms of sequence, to the known appendage proteins. The relatedness of the deduced protein products suggests that all or some of the closely related genes might code for minor appendage proteins or assembly factors. The appendage genes might be unique among the known clostridia; no statistically significant orthologs were found within other clostridial genomes for which sequence data are available. The C. taeniosporum chromosome contains two functional prophages, one Siphoviridae and one Myoviridae, and one defective prophage. Three plasmids of 5.9, 69.7 and 163.1 Kbp are present. These data are expected to contribute to future studies of developmental, structural and evolutionary biology and to potential industrial applications of this organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M. Cambridge
- Department of Molecular Biosciences and Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Alexandra L. Blinkova
- Department of Molecular Biosciences and Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Erick I. Salvador Rocha
- Department of Natural Sciences, Health & Wellness, Miami Dade College-Wolfson Campus, Miami, FL, United States of America
| | - Addys Bode Hernández
- Department of Natural Sciences, Health & Wellness, Miami Dade College-Wolfson Campus, Miami, FL, United States of America
| | - Maday Moreno
- Department of Natural Sciences, Health & Wellness, Miami Dade College-Wolfson Campus, Miami, FL, United States of America
| | - Edwin Ginés-Candelaria
- Department of Natural Sciences, Health & Wellness, Miami Dade College-Wolfson Campus, Miami, FL, United States of America
| | - Benjamin M. Goetz
- Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Scott Hunicke-Smith
- Genomic Sequencing and Analysis Facility, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Ed Satterwhite
- Department of Molecular Biosciences and Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - Haley O. Tucker
- Department of Molecular Biosciences and Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States of America
| | - James R. Walker
- Department of Molecular Biosciences and Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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