The Morphogenetic Protein CotE Positions Exosporium Proteins CotY and ExsY during Sporulation of Bacillus cereus

Mechanism of deltamethrin biodegradation by Brevibacillus parabrevis BCP-09 with proteomic methods

Ester-containing deltamethrin pesticides are widely used in farmland and have inevitable side effects on the biosphere and human health. Microbia have been used for efficient degradation of deltamethrin, but the related mechanism and enzyme characteristics have not been elucidated. In this study, a species Brevibacillus parabrevis BCP-09 could degrade up to 75 mg L-1 deltamethrin with a degradation efficiency of 95.41%. Proteomic and genomic methods were used to explore its degradation mechanism. Enzymes belonged to hydrolases, oxidases and aromatic compound degrading enzymes were expressed enhanced and might participate in the deltamethrin degradtion. RT-PCR experiment and enzyme activity analysis verified the degradation of deltamethrin by bacterial protein. Additionally, the formation of endospores can help strain BCP-09 resist the toxicity of deltamethrin and enhance its degradation. This study supplies a scientific evidence for the application of Brevibacillus parabrevis BCP-09 in the bioremediation of environmental pollution and enriches the resources of deltamethrin-biodegradable proteins.

Comparing divisome organization between vegetative and sporulating Bacillus subtilis at the nanoscale using DNA-PAINT

Spore-forming bacteria have two distinct division modes: sporulation and vegetative division. The placement of the foundational division machinery component (Z-ring) within the division plane is contingent on the division mode. However, investigating if and how division is performed differently between sporulating and vegetative cells remains challenging, particularly at the nanoscale. Here, we use DNA-PAINT super-resolution microscopy to compare the 3D assembly and distribution patterns of key division proteins SepF, ZapA, DivIVA, and FtsZ. We determine that ZapA and SepF placement within the division plane mimics that of the Z-ring in vegetative and sporulating cells. We find that DivIVA assemblies differ between vegetative and sporulating cells. Furthermore, we reveal that SepF assembles into ~50-nm arcs independent of division mode. We propose a nanoscale model in which symmetric or asymmetric placement of the Z-ring and early divisome proteins is a defining characteristic of vegetative or sporulating cells, respectively, and regulation of septal thickness differs between division modes.

A new fluorescence-based approach for direct visualization of coat formation during sporulation in Bacillus cereus

The human pathogenic bacteria Bacillus cereus, Bacillus anthracis and the entomopathogenic Bacillus thuringiensis form spores encased in a protein coat surrounded by a balloon-like exosporium. These structures mediate spore interactions with its environment, including the host immune system, control the transit of molecules that trigger germination and thus are essential for the spore life cycle. Formation of the coat and exosporium has been traditionally visualized by transmission electronic microscopy on fixed cells. Recently, we showed that assembly of the exosporium can be directly observed in live B. cereus cells by super resolution-structured illumination microscopy (SR-SIM) using the membrane MitoTrackerGreen (MTG) dye. Here, we demonstrate that the different steps of coat formation can also be visualized by SR-SIM using MTG and SNAP-cell TMR-star dyes during B. cereus sporulation. We used these markers to characterize a subpopulation of engulfment-defective B. cereus cells that develops at a suboptimal sporulation temperature. Importantly, we predicted and confirmed that synthesis and accumulation of coat material, as well as synthesis of the σK-dependent protein BxpB, occur in cells arrested during engulfment. These results suggest that, unlike the well-studied model organism Bacillus subtilis, the activity of σK is not strictly linked to the state of forespore development in B. cereus.

Roles and Organization of BxpB (ExsFA) and ExsFB in the Exosporium Outer Basal Layer of Bacillus anthracis

BxpB (also known as ExsFA) and ExsFB are an exosporium basal layer structural protein and a putative interspace protein of Bacillus anthracis that are known to be required for proper incorporation of the BclA collagen-like glycoprotein on the spore surface. Despite extensive similarity of the two proteins, their distribution in the spore is markedly different. We utilized a fluorescent fusion approach to examine features of the two genes that affect spore localization. The timing of expression of the bxpB and exsFB genes and their distinct N-terminal sequences were both found to be important for proper assembly into the exosporium basal layer. Results of this study provided evidence that the BclA nap glycoprotein is not covalently attached to BxpB protein despite the key role that the latter plays in BclA incorporation. Assembly of the BxpB- and ExsFB-containing outer basal layer appears not to be completely abolished in mutants lacking the ExsY and CotY basal layer structural proteins despite these spores lacking a visible exosporium. The BxpB and, to a lesser extent, the ExsFB proteins, were found to be capable of self-assembly in vitro into higher-molecular-weight forms that are stable to boiling in SDS under reducing conditions. IMPORTANCE The genus Bacillus consists of spore-forming bacteria. Some species of this genus, especially those that are pathogens of animals or insects, contain an outermost spore layer called the exosporium. The zoonotic pathogen B. anthracis is an example of this group. The exosporium likely contributes to virulence and environmental persistence of these pathogens. This work provides important new insights into the exosporium assembly process and the interplay between BclA and BxpB in this process.

ExsY, CotY, and CotE Effects on Bacillus anthracis Outer Spore Layer Architecture

Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus thuringiensis are the major pathogens of the spore-forming genus Bacillus and possess an outer spore layer, the exosporium, not found in many of the nonpathogenic species. The exosporium consists of a basal layer with the ExsY, CotY, and BxpB proteins being the major structural components and an exterior nap layer containing the BclA glycoprotein. During the assembly process, the nascent exosporium basal layer is attached to the spore coat by a protein linker that includes the CotO and CotE proteins. Using transmission electron microscopy, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and fluorescent fusion protein approaches, we examined the impact of single, double, and triple mutants of the major exosporium proteins on exosporium protein content and distribution. Plasmid-based expression of exsY and cotE resulted in increased production of exosporium lacking spores, and the former also resulted in outer spore coat disruptions. The exosporium bottlecap produced by exsY null spores was found to be more stable than previously reported, and its spore association was partially dependent on CotE. Deletion mutants of five putative spore genes (bas1131, bas1142, bas1143, bas2277, and bas3594) were created and shown not to have obvious effects on spore morphology or BclA and BxpB content. The BclC collagen-like glycoprotein was found to be present in the spore and possibly localized to the interspace region. IMPORTANCE B. anthracis is an important zoonotic animal pathogen causing sporadic outbreaks of anthrax worldwide. Spores are the infectious form of the bacterium and can persist in soil for prolonged periods of time. The outermost B. anthracis spore layer is the exosporium, a protein shell that is the site of interactions with both the soil and with the innate immune system of infected hosts. Although much is known regarding the sporulation process among members of the genus Bacillus, significant gaps in our understanding of the exosporium assembly process exist. This study provides evidence for the properties of key exosporium basal layer structural proteins. The results of this work will guide future studies on exosporium protein-protein interactions during the assembly process.

Localization of the CotY and ExsY proteins to the exosporium basal layer of Bacillus anthracis

Spores are an infectious form of the zoonotic bacterial pathogen, Bacillus anthracis. The outermost spore layer is the exosporium, comprised of a basal layer and an external glycoprotein nap layer. The major structural proteins of the inner basal layer are CotY (at the mother cell central pole or bottlecap) and ExsY around the rest of the spore. The basis for the cap or noncap specificity of the CotY and ExsY proteins is currently unknown. We investigated the role of sequence differences between these proteins in localization during exosporium assembly. We found that sequence differences were less important than the timing of expression of the respective genes in the positioning of these inner basal layer structural proteins. Fusion constructs with the fluorescent protein fused at the N-terminus resulted in poor incorporation whereas fusions at the carboxy terminus of CotY or ExsY resulted in good incorporation. However, complementation studies revealed that fusion constructs, although accurate indicators of protein localization, were not fully functional. A model is presented that explains the localization patterns observed. Bacterial two-hybrid studies in Escherichia coli hosts were used to examine protein-protein interactions with full-length and truncated proteins. The N-terminus amino acid sequences of ExsY and CotY appear to be recognized by spore proteins located in the spore interspace, consistent with interactions seen with ExsY and CotY with the interspace proteins CotE and CotO, known to be involved with exosporium attachment.

Changes in the Spore Proteome of Bacillus cereus in Response to Introduction of Plasmids

Fluorescent fusion proteins were expressed in Bacillus cereus to visualize the germinosome by introducing a plasmid that carries fluorescent fusion proteins of germinant receptor GerR subunits or germinosome scaffold protein GerD. The effects of plasmid insertion and recombinant protein expression on the spore proteome were investigated. Proteomic analysis showed that overexpression of the target proteins had negligible effects on the spore proteome. However, plasmid-bearing spores displayed dramatic abundance changes in spore proteins involved in signaling and metabolism. Our findings indicate that the introduction of a plasmid alone alters the spore protein composition dramatically, with 993 proteins significantly down-regulated and 415 proteins significantly up-regulated among 3323 identified proteins. This shows that empty vector controls are more appropriate to compare proteome changes due to plasmid-encoded genes than is the wild-type strain, when using plasmid-based genetic tools. Therefore, researchers should keep in mind that molecular cloning techniques can alter more than their intended targets in a biological system, and interpret results with this in mind.