Characterization of a conserved interaction between DNA glycosylase and ParA in Mycobacterium smegmatis and M. tuberculosis

Chromosome Segregation Proteins as Coordinators of Cell Cycle in Response to Environmental Conditions

Chromosome segregation is a crucial stage of the cell cycle. In general, proteins involved in this process are DNA-binding proteins, and in most bacteria, ParA and ParB are the main players; however, some bacteria manage this process by employing other proteins, such as condensins. The dynamic interaction between ParA and ParB drives movement and exerts positioning of the chromosomal origin of replication (oriC) within the cell. In addition, both ParA and ParB were shown to interact with the other proteins, including those involved in cell division or cell elongation. The significance of these interactions for the progression of the cell cycle is currently under investigation. Remarkably, DNA binding by ParA and ParB as well as their interactions with protein partners conceivably may be modulated by intra- and extracellular conditions. This notion provokes the question of whether chromosome segregation can be regarded as a regulatory stage of the cell cycle. To address this question, we discuss how environmental conditions affect chromosome segregation and how segregation proteins influence other cell cycle processes.

Cordycepin kills Mycobacterium tuberculosis through hijacking the bacterial adenosine kinase

Cordycepin is an efficient component of Cordyceps spp, a traditional Chinese medicine widely used for healthcare in China, and has been recently acted as a strong anticancer agent for clinic. However, whether and how it may play a role in combating tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, remains unknown. Here we report that cordycepin can kill Mycobacterium by hijacking the bacterial adenosine kinase (AdoK), a purine salvage enzyme responsible for the phosphorylation of adenosine (Ado) to adenosine monophosphate (AMP). We show that cordycepin is a poor AdoK substrate but it competitively inhibits the catalytic activity of AdoK for adenosine phosphorylation. Cordycepin does not affect the activity of the human adenosine kinase (hAdoK), whereas hAdoK phosphorylates cordycepin to produce a new monophosphate derivative. Co-use of cordycepin and deoxycoformycin, an inhibitor of adenosine deaminase (ADD), more efficiently kills M. bovis and M. tuberculosis. The add-deleted mycobacterium is more sensitive to cordycepin. This study characterized cordycepin as a new mycobactericidal compound and also uncovered a potential anti-mycobacterial mechanism.

Identification of protein partners in mycobacteria using a single-step affinity purification method

Tuberculosis is a leading cause of death in developing countries. Efforts are being made to both prevent its spread and improve curability rates. Understanding the biology of the bacteria causing the disease, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), is thus vital. We have implemented improved screening methods for protein–protein interactions based on affinity purification followed by high-resolution mass spectrometry. This method can be efficiently applied to both medium- and high-throughput studies aiming to characterize protein–protein interaction networks of tubercle bacilli. Of the 4 tested epitopes FLAG, enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP), protein A and haemagglutinin, the eGFP tag was found to be most useful on account of its easily monitored expression and its ability to function as a simultaneous tool for subcellular localization studies. It presents a relatively low background with cost-effective purification. RNA polymerase subunit A (RpoA) was used as a model for investigation of a large protein complex. When used as bait, it co-purified with all remaining RNA polymerase core subunits as well as many accessory proteins. The amount of RpoA strongly correlated with the amount of quantification peptide used as part of the tagging system in this study (SH), making it applicable for semi-quantification studies. Interactions between the components of the RpoA-eGFP protein complex were further confirmed using protein cross-linking. Dynamic changes in the composition of protein complexes under induction of UV damage were observed when UvrA-eGFP expressing cells treated with UV light were used to co-purify UvrA interaction partners.

DNA metabolism in mycobacterial pathogenesis

Fundamental aspects of the lifestyle of Mycobacterium tuberculosis implicate DNA metabolism in bacillary survival and adaptive evolution. The environments encountered by M. tuberculosis during successive cycles of infection and transmission are genotoxic. Moreover, as an obligate pathogen, M. tuberculosis has the ability to persist for extended periods in a subclinical state, suggesting that active DNA repair is critical to maintain genome integrity and bacterial viability during prolonged infection. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the major DNA metabolic pathways identified in M. tuberculosis, and situate key recent findings within the context of mycobacterial pathogenesis. Unlike many other bacterial pathogens, M. tuberculosis is genetically secluded, and appears to rely solely on chromosomal mutagenesis to drive its microevolution within the human host. In turn, this implies that a balance between high versus relaxed fidelity mechanisms of DNA metabolism ensures the maintenance of genome integrity, while accommodating the evolutionary imperative to adapt to hostile and fluctuating environments. The inferred relationship between mycobacterial DNA repair and genome dynamics is considered in the light of emerging data from whole-genome sequencing studies of clinical M. tuberculosis isolates which have revealed the potential for considerable heterogeneity within and between different bacterial and host populations.