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Kawalek A, Wawrzyniak P, Bartosik AA, Jagura-Burdzy G. Rules and Exceptions: The Role of Chromosomal ParB in DNA Segregation and Other Cellular Processes. Microorganisms 2020; 8:E105. [PMID: 31940850 PMCID: PMC7022226 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8010105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The segregation of newly replicated chromosomes in bacterial cells is a highly coordinated spatiotemporal process. In the majority of bacterial species, a tripartite ParAB-parS system, composed of an ATPase (ParA), a DNA-binding protein (ParB), and its target(s) parS sequence(s), facilitates the initial steps of chromosome partitioning. ParB nucleates around parS(s) located in the vicinity of newly replicated oriCs to form large nucleoprotein complexes, which are subsequently relocated by ParA to distal cellular compartments. In this review, we describe the role of ParB in various processes within bacterial cells, pointing out interspecies differences. We outline recent progress in understanding the ParB nucleoprotein complex formation and its role in DNA segregation, including ori positioning and anchoring, DNA condensation, and loading of the structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) proteins. The auxiliary roles of ParBs in the control of chromosome replication initiation and cell division, as well as the regulation of gene expression, are discussed. Moreover, we catalog ParB interacting proteins. Overall, this work highlights how different bacterial species adapt the DNA partitioning ParAB-parS system to meet their specific requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Grazyna Jagura-Burdzy
- Department of Microbial Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Pawińskiego 5a, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland; (A.K.); (P.W.); (A.A.B.)
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Uhía I, Priestman M, Joyce G, Krishnan N, Shahrezaei V, Robertson BD. Analysis of ParAB dynamics in mycobacteria shows active movement of ParB and differential inheritance of ParA. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0199316. [PMID: 29920558 PMCID: PMC6007833 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199316] [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: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Correct chromosomal segregation, coordinated with cell division, is crucial for bacterial survival, but despite extensive studies, the mechanisms underlying this remain incompletely understood in mycobacteria. We report a detailed investigation of the dynamic interactions between ParA and ParB partitioning proteins in Mycobacterium smegmatis using microfluidics and time-lapse fluorescence microscopy to observe both proteins simultaneously. During growth and division, ParB presents as a focused fluorescent spot that subsequently splits in two. One focus moves towards a higher concentration of ParA at the new pole, while the other moves towards the old pole. We show ParB movement is in part an active process that does not rely on passive movement associated with cell growth. In some cells, another round of ParB segregation starts before cell division is complete, consistent with initiation of a second round of chromosome replication. ParA fluorescence distribution correlates with cell size, and in sister cells, the larger cell inherits a local peak of concentrated ParA, while the smaller sister inherits more homogeneously distributed protein. Cells which inherit more ParA grow faster than their sister cell, raising the question of whether inheritance of a local concentration of ParA provides a growth advantage. Alterations in levels of ParA and ParB were also found to disturb cell growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iria Uhía
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Miles Priestman
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Graham Joyce
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nitya Krishnan
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Vahid Shahrezaei
- Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Brian D. Robertson
- MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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3
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Logsdon MM, Aldridge BB. Stable Regulation of Cell Cycle Events in Mycobacteria: Insights From Inherently Heterogeneous Bacterial Populations. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:514. [PMID: 29619019 PMCID: PMC5871693 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Model bacteria, such as E. coli and B. subtilis, tightly regulate cell cycle progression to achieve consistent cell size distributions and replication dynamics. Many of the hallmark features of these model bacteria, including lateral cell wall elongation and symmetric growth and division, do not occur in mycobacteria. Instead, mycobacterial growth is characterized by asymmetric polar growth and division. This innate asymmetry creates unequal birth sizes and growth rates for daughter cells with each division, generating a phenotypically heterogeneous population. Although the asymmetric growth patterns of mycobacteria lead to a larger variation in birth size than typically seen in model bacterial populations, the cell size distribution is stable over time. Here, we review the cellular mechanisms of growth, division, and cell cycle progression in mycobacteria in the face of asymmetry and inherent heterogeneity. These processes coalesce to control cell size. Although Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) utilize a novel model of cell size control, they are similar to previously studied bacteria in that initiation of DNA replication is a key checkpoint for cell division. We compare the regulation of DNA replication initiation and strategies used for cell size homeostasis in mycobacteria and model bacteria. Finally, we review the importance of cellular organization and chromosome segregation relating to the physiology of mycobacteria and consider how new frameworks could be applied across the wide spectrum of bacterial diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle M Logsdon
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States.,Department of Molecular Microbiology, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Bree B Aldridge
- Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States.,Department of Molecular Microbiology, Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University, Boston, MA, United States.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering, Medford, MA, United States
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4
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Dual-Reporter Mycobacteriophages (Φ2DRMs) Reveal Preexisting Mycobacterium tuberculosis Persistent Cells in Human Sputum. mBio 2016; 7:mBio.01023-16. [PMID: 27795387 PMCID: PMC5080378 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01023-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Persisters are the minor subpopulation of bacterial cells that lack alleles conferring resistance to a specific bactericidal antibiotic but can survive otherwise lethal concentrations of that antibiotic. In infections with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, such persisters underlie the need for long-term antibiotic therapy and contribute to treatment failure in tuberculosis cases. Here, we demonstrate the value of dual-reporter mycobacteriophages (Φ2DRMs) for characterizing M. tuberculosis persisters. The addition of isoniazid (INH) to exponentially growing M. tuberculosis cells consistently resulted in a 2- to 3-log decrease in CFU within 4 days, and the remaining ≤1% of cells, which survived despite being INH sensitive, were INH-tolerant persisters with a distinct transcriptional profile. We fused the promoters of several genes upregulated in persisters to the red fluorescent protein tdTomato gene in Φ2GFP10, a mycobacteriophage constitutively expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP), thus generating Φ2DRMs. A population enriched in INH persisters exhibited strong red fluorescence, by microscopy and flow cytometry, using a Φ2DRM with tdTomato controlled from the dnaK promoter. Interestingly, we demonstrated that, prior to INH exposure, a population primed for persistence existed in M. tuberculosis cells from both cultures and human sputa and that this population was highly enriched following INH exposure. We conclude that Φ2DRMs provide a new tool to identify and quantitate M. tuberculosis persister cells. IMPORTANCE Tuberculosis (TB) is again the leading cause of death from a single infectious disease, having surpassed HIV. The recalcitrance of the TB pandemic is largely due to the ability of the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis to enter a persistent state in which it is less susceptible to antibiotics and immune effectors, necessitating lengthy treatment. It has been difficult to study persister cells, as we have lacked tools to isolate these rare cells. In this article, we describe the development of dual-reporter mycobacteriophages that encode a green fluorescent marker of viability and in which the promoters of genes we have identified as induced in the persister state are fused to a gene encoding a red fluorescent protein. We show that these tools can identify heterogeneity in a cell population that correlates with propensity to survive antibiotic treatment and that the proportions of these subpopulations change in M. tuberculosis cells within human sputum during the course of treatment.
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Abstract
Traditionally eukaryotes exclusive cytoskeleton has been found in bacteria and other prokaryotes. FtsZ, MreB and CreS are bacterial counterpart of eukaryotic tubulin, actin filaments and intermediate filaments, respectively. FtsZ can assemble to a Z-ring at the cell division site, regulate bacterial cell division; MreB can form helical structure, and involve in maintaining cell shape, regulating chromosome segregation; CreS, found in Caulobacter crescentus (C. crescentus), can form curve or helical filaments in intracellular membrane. CreS is crucial for cell morphology maintenance. There are also some prokaryotic unique cytoskeleton components playing crucial roles in cell division, chromosome segregation and cell morphology. The cytoskeleton components of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), together with their dynamics during exposure to antibiotics are summarized in this article to provide insights into the unique organization of this formidable pathogen and druggable targets for new antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan Wang
- a Institute of Modern Biopharmaceuticals, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Eco-Environment and Bio-Resource of the Three Gorges Area, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education Eco-Environment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University , Chongqing , China
| | - Longxiang Xie
- a Institute of Modern Biopharmaceuticals, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Eco-Environment and Bio-Resource of the Three Gorges Area, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education Eco-Environment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University , Chongqing , China
| | - Hongping Luo
- a Institute of Modern Biopharmaceuticals, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Eco-Environment and Bio-Resource of the Three Gorges Area, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education Eco-Environment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University , Chongqing , China
| | - Jianping Xie
- a Institute of Modern Biopharmaceuticals, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Eco-Environment and Bio-Resource of the Three Gorges Area, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education Eco-Environment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University , Chongqing , China
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Uhía I, Williams KJ, Shahrezaei V, Robertson BD. Mycobacterial Growth. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2015; 5:cshperspect.a021097. [PMID: 25957314 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a021097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we review progress made in understanding the molecular underpinnings of growth and division in mycobacteria, concentrating on work published since the last comprehensive review ( Hett and Rubin 2008). We have focused on exciting work making use of new time-lapse imaging technologies coupled with reporter-gene fusions and antimicrobial treatment to generate insights into how mycobacteria grow and divide in a heterogeneous manner. We try to reconcile the different observations reported, providing a model of how they might fit together. We also review the topic of mycobacterial spores, which has generated considerable discussion during the last few years. Resuscitation promoting factors, and regulation of growth and division, have also been actively researched, and we summarize progress in these areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iria Uhía
- Department of Medicine, MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Kerstin J Williams
- Department of Medicine, MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Vahid Shahrezaei
- Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Brian D Robertson
- Department of Medicine, MRC Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom
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7
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Phosphorylation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis ParB participates in regulating the ParABS chromosome segregation system. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0119907. [PMID: 25807382 PMCID: PMC4373775 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2014] [Accepted: 02/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we present for the first time that Mycobacterium tuberculosis ParB is phosphorylated by several mycobacterial Ser/Thr protein kinases in vitro. ParB and ParA are the key components of bacterial chromosome segregation apparatus. ParB is a cytosolic conserved protein that binds specifically to centromere-like DNA parS sequences and interacts with ParA, a weak ATPase required for its proper localization. Mass spectrometry identified the presence of ten phosphate groups, thus indicating that ParB is phosphorylated on eight threonines, Thr32, Thr41, Thr53, Thr110, Thr195, and Thr254, Thr300, Thr303 as well as on two serines, Ser5 and Ser239. The phosphorylation sites were further substituted either by alanine to prevent phosphorylation or aspartate to mimic constitutive phosphorylation. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed a drastic inhibition of DNA-binding by ParB phosphomimetic mutant compared to wild type. In addition, bacterial two-hybrid experiments showed a loss of ParA-ParB interaction with the phosphomimetic mutant, indicating that phosphorylation is regulating the recruitment of the partitioning complex. Moreover, fluorescence microscopy experiments performed in the surrogate Mycobacterium smegmatis ΔparB strain revealed that in contrast to wild type Mtb ParB, which formed subpolar foci similar to M. smegmatis ParB, phoshomimetic Mtb ParB was delocalized. Thus, our findings highlight a novel regulatory role of the different isoforms of ParB representing a molecular switch in localization and functioning of partitioning protein in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
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Ramachandran R, Jha J, Chattoraj DK. Chromosome segregation in Vibrio cholerae. J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol 2015; 24:360-70. [PMID: 25732338 DOI: 10.1159/000368853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of chromosome segregation is currently one of the most exciting research frontiers in cell biology. In this review, we discuss our current knowledge of the chromosome segregation process in Vibrio cholerae, based primarily on findings from fluorescence microscopy experiments. This bacterium is of special interest because of its eukaryotic feature of having a divided genome, a feature shared with 10% of known bacteria. We also discuss how the segregation mechanisms of V. cholerae compare with those in other bacteria, and highlight some of the remaining questions regarding the process of bacterial chromosome segregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Revathy Ramachandran
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., USA
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Stella EJ, Franceschelli JJ, Tasselli SE, Morbidoni HR. Analysis of novel mycobacteriophages indicates the existence of different strategies for phage inheritance in mycobacteria. PLoS One 2013; 8:e56384. [PMID: 23468864 PMCID: PMC3585329 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2012] [Accepted: 01/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Mycobacteriophages have been essential in the development of mycobacterial genetics through their use in the construction of tools for genetic manipulation. Due to the simplicity of their isolation and variety of exploitable molecular features, we searched for and isolated 18 novel mycobacteriophages from environmental samples collected from several geographic locations. Characterization of these phages did not differ from most of the previously described ones in the predominant physical features (virion size in the 100–400 nm, genome size in the 50–70 kbp, morphological features compatible with those corresponding to the Siphoviridae family), however novel characteristics for propagation were noticed. Although all the mycobacteriophages propagated at 30°C, eight of them failed to propagate at 37°C. Since some of our phages yielded pinpoint plaques, we improved plaque detection by including sub-inhibitory concentrations of isoniazid or ampicillin-sulbactam in the culture medium. Thus, searches for novel mycobacteriophages at low temperature and in the presence of these drugs would allow for the isolation of novel members that would otherwise not be detected. Importantly, while eight phages lysogenized Mycobacterium smegmatis, four of them were also capable of lysogenizing Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Analysis of the complete genome sequence obtained for twelve mycobacteriophages (the remaining six rendered partial genomic sequences) allowed for the identification of a new singleton. Surprisingly, sequence analysis revealed the presence of parA or parA/parB genes in 7/18 phages including four that behaved as temperate in M. tuberculosis. In summary, we report here the isolation and preliminary characterization of mycobacteriophages that bring new information to the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma J. Stella
- Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Jorgelina J. Franceschelli
- Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Sabrina E. Tasselli
- Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Héctor R. Morbidoni
- Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
- * E-mail:
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10
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Ginda K, Bezulska M, Ziółkiewicz M, Dziadek J, Zakrzewska-Czerwińska J, Jakimowicz D. ParA ofMycobacterium smegmatisco-ordinates chromosome segregation with the cell cycle and interacts with the polar growth determinant DivIVA. Mol Microbiol 2013; 87:998-1012. [DOI: 10.1111/mmi.12146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/24/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Ginda
- Faculty of Biotechnology; University of Wrocław; Wrocław; Poland
| | - Martyna Bezulska
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy; Polish Academy of Sciences; Wrocław; Poland
| | | | - Jarosław Dziadek
- Medical Biology Institute; Polish Academy of Sciences; Lodowa 106; 93-232; Łódź; Poland
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Newton-Foot M, Gey van Pittius NC. The complex architecture of mycobacterial promoters. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2012; 93:60-74. [PMID: 23017770 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2012.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2012] [Revised: 07/31/2012] [Accepted: 08/06/2012] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The genus Mycobacterium includes a variety of species with differing phenotypic properties, including growth rate, pathogenicity and environment- and host-specificity. Although many mycobacterial species have been extensively studied and their genomes sequenced, the reasons for phenotypic variation between closely related species remain unclear. Variation in gene expression may contribute to these characteristics and enable the bacteria to respond to changing environmental conditions. Gene expression is controlled primarily at the level of transcription, where the main element of regulation is the promoter. Transcriptional regulation and associated promoter sequences have been studied extensively in E. coli. This review describes the complex structure and characteristics of mycobacterial promoters, in comparison to the classical E. coli prokaryotic promoter structure. Some components of mycobacterial promoters are similar to those of E. coli. These include the predominant guanine residue at the transcriptional start point, conserved -10 hexamer, similar interhexameric distances, the use of ATG as a start codon, the guanine- and adenine-rich ribosome binding site and the presence of extended -10 (TGn) motifs in strong promoters. However, these components are much more variable in sequence in mycobacterial promoters and no conserved -35 hexamer sequence (clearly defined in E. coli) can be identified. This may be a result of the high G+C content of mycobacterial genomes, as well as the large number of sigma factors present in mycobacteria, which may recognise different promoter sequences. Mycobacteria possess a complex transcriptional regulatory network. Numerous regulatory motifs have been identified in mycobacterial promoters, predominantly in the interhexameric region. These are bound by specific transcriptional regulators in response to environmental changes. The combination of specific promoter sequences, transcriptional regulators and a variety of sigma factors enables rapid and specific responses to diverse conditions and different stages of infection. This review aims to provide an overview of the complex architecture of mycobacterial transcriptional regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mae Newton-Foot
- DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research/MRC Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, PO Box 19063, Francie van Zijl Drive, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa.
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Roy S, Anand D, Vijay S, Gupta P, Ajitkumar P. The ftsZ Gene of Mycobacterium smegmatis is expressed Through Multiple Transcripts. Open Microbiol J 2011; 5:43-53. [PMID: 21772930 PMCID: PMC3139271 DOI: 10.2174/1874285801105010043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2011] [Revised: 06/03/2011] [Accepted: 06/07/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The principal essential bacterial cell division gene ftsZ is differentially expressed through multiple transcripts in diverse genera of bacteria in order to meet cell division requirements in compliance with the physiological niche of the organism under different environmental conditions. We initiated transcriptional analyses of ftsZ gene of the fast growing saprophytic mycobacterium, Mycobacterium smegmatis, as the first step towards understanding the requirements for FtsZ for cell division under different growth phases and stress conditions. Primer extension analyses identified four transcripts, T1, T2, T3, and T4. Transcriptional fusion studies using gfp showed that the respective putative promoter regions, P1, P2, P3, and P4, possessed promoter activity. T1, T2, and T3 were found to originate from the intergenic region between ftsZ and the upstream gene, ftsQ. T4 was initiated from the 3' portion of the open reading frame of ftsQ. RT-PCR analyses indicated co-transcription of ftsQ and ftsZ. The four transcripts were present in the cells at all growth phases and at different levels in the cells exposed to a variety of stress conditions in vitro. T2 and T3 were absent under hypoxia and nutrient-depleted stationary phase conditions, while the levels of T1 and T4 remained unaffected. These studies showed that ftsZ gene expression through multiple transcripts and differential expression of the transcripts at different growth phases and under stress conditions are conserved in M. smegmatis, like in other Actinomycetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sougata Roy
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560012, India
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13
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Mutations in gidB confer low-level streptomycin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2011; 55:2515-22. [PMID: 21444711 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01814-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The global threat posed by drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis demands a greater understanding of the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms that govern how such strains develop resistance against various antituberculous drugs. In this report, we examine a new genetic basis for resistance to one of the oldest and most widely used second-line drugs employed in tuberculosis therapy, streptomycin (SM). This marker for SM resistance was first discovered on the basis of genomic data obtained from drug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains collected in Japan, wherein an association was observed between SM resistance and a mutation in gidB, a putative 16S rRNA methyltransferase. By evaluating an isogenic ΔgidB mutant strain constructed from strain H37Rv, we demonstrate the causal role of gidB in conferring a low-level SM-resistant phenotype in M. tuberculosis with a 16-fold increase in the MIC over the parent strain. Among clinical isolates, the modest increase in SM resistance conferred by a gidB mutation leads to an MIC distribution of gidB mutation-containing strains that spans the recommended SM breakpoint concentration currently used in drug susceptibility testing protocols. As such, some gidB mutation-containing isolates are found to be SM sensitive, while others are SM resistant. On the basis of a pharmacodynamic analysis and Monte Carlo simulation, those isolates that are found to be SM sensitive should still respond favorably to SM treatment, while nearly half of those found to be SM resistant will likely respond poorly. This report provides the first microbiological evidence for the contribution of gidB in streptomycin resistance and examines the clinical implications of mutations in the gidB gene.
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14
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Variable number of tandem repeat sequences act as regulatory elements in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2010; 90:311-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2010.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2009] [Revised: 06/29/2010] [Accepted: 08/05/2010] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Abstract
Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes more deaths in humans than any other bacterial pathogen. The most recent data from the World Health Organization reveal that over 9million new cases of tuberculosis occur each year and that the incidence appears to be increasing with population growth. Despite the global burden of tuberculosis, we are still reliant on relatively dated measures to prevent, diagnose, and treat the disease. New, more effective tools are needed to diminish the incidence of tuberculosis. M. tuberculosis lacks a natural host beyond humans and, hence, surrogate models have been employed in the study of the pathogen. The discovery and development of new vaccines, diagnostics, or antitubercular drugs are dependent upon the validity of any experimental model used and its relevance to tuberculosis in humans. In this review, a range of experimental models, from in vitro studies with fast-growing low-pathogenic species of mycobacteria to the infection of nonhuman primates with virulent M. tuberculosis, will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronan O'Toole
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
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Gola S, Manganelli R, García MJ, Vicente M. News from the antituberculosis front at two recent European meetings. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s11274-009-0056-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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