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Álvarez-Rodríguez I, Ugarte-Uribe B, de la Arada I, Arrondo JLR, Garbisu C, Alkorta I. Conjugative Coupling Proteins and the Role of Their Domains in Conjugation, Secondary Structure and in vivo Subcellular Location. Front Mol Biosci 2020; 7:185. [PMID: 32850972 PMCID: PMC7431656 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.00185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Type IV Coupling Proteins (T4CPs) are essential elements in many type IV secretion systems (T4SSs). The members of this family display sequence, length, and domain architecture heterogeneity, being the conserved Nucleotide-Binding Domain the motif that defines them. In addition, most T4CPs contain a Transmembrane Domain (TMD) in the amino end and an All-Alpha Domain facing the cytoplasm. Additionally, a few T4CPs present a variable domain at the carboxyl end. The structural paradigm of this family is TrwBR388, the T4CP of conjugative plasmid R388. This protein has been widely studied, in particular the role of the TMD on the different characteristics of TrwBR388. To gain knowledge about T4CPs and their TMD, in this work a chimeric protein containing the TMD of TraJpKM101 and the cytosolic domain of TrwBR388 has been constructed. Additionally, one of the few T4CPs of mobilizable plasmids, MobBCloDF13 of mobilizable plasmid CloDF13, together with its TMD-less mutant MobBΔTMD have been studied. Mating studies showed that the chimeric protein is functional in vivo and that it exerted negative dominance against the native proteins TrwBR388 and TraJpKM101. Also, it was observed that the TMD of MobBCloDF13 is essential for the mobilization of CloDF13 plasmid. Analysis of the secondary structure components showed that the presence of a heterologous TMD alters the structure of the cytosolic domain in the chimeric protein. On the contrary, the absence of the TMD in MobBCloDF13 does not affect the secondary structure of its cytosolic domain. Subcellular localization studies showed that T4CPs have a unipolar or bipolar location, which is enhanced by the presence of the remaining proteins of the conjugative system. Unlike what has been described for TrwBR388, the TMD is not an essential element for the polar location of MobBCloDF13. The main conclusion is that the characteristics described for the paradigmatic TrwBR388 T4CP should not be ascribed to the whole T4CP family. Specifically, it has been proven that the mobilizable plasmid-related MobBCloDF13 presents different characteristics regarding the role of its TMD. This work will contribute to better understand the T4CP family, a key element in bacterial conjugation, the main mechanism responsible for antibiotic resistance spread.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itxaso Álvarez-Rodríguez
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain.,Instituto Biofisika (UPV/EHU, CSIC), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spanish Research Council (CSIC), Leioa, Spain
| | - Begoña Ugarte-Uribe
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain
| | - Igor de la Arada
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain.,Instituto Biofisika (UPV/EHU, CSIC), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spanish Research Council (CSIC), Leioa, Spain
| | - José Luis R Arrondo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain.,Instituto Biofisika (UPV/EHU, CSIC), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spanish Research Council (CSIC), Leioa, Spain
| | - Carlos Garbisu
- NEIKER, Soil Microbial Ecology Group, Department of Conservation of Natural Resources, Derio, Spain
| | - Itziar Alkorta
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain.,Instituto Biofisika (UPV/EHU, CSIC), University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spanish Research Council (CSIC), Leioa, Spain
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Bleves S, Galán JE, Llosa M. Bacterial injection machines: Evolutionary diverse but functionally convergent. Cell Microbiol 2020; 22:e13157. [PMID: 31891220 DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Many human pathogens use Type III, Type IV, and Type VI secretion systems to deliver effectors into their target cells. The contribution of these secretion systems to microbial virulence was the main focus of a workshop organised by the International University of Andalusia in Spain. The meeting addressed structure-function, substrate recruitment, and translocation processes, which differ widely on the different secretion machineries, as well as the nature of the translocated effectors and their roles in subverting the host cell. An excellent panel of worldwide speakers presented the state of the art of the field, highlighting the involvement of bacterial secretion in human disease and discussing mechanistic aspects of bacterial pathogenicity, which can provide the bases for the development of novel antivirulence strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Bleves
- LISM (Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Systèmes Macromoléculaires-UMR7255), IMM (Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée), Aix-Marseille Univ and CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Jorge E Galán
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Matxalen Llosa
- Instituto de Biomedicina y Biotecnología de Cantabria (IBBTEC), Universidad de Cantabria-CSIC-SODERCAN, Santander, Spain
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Guzmán-Herrador DL, Llosa M. The secret life of conjugative relaxases. Plasmid 2019; 104:102415. [PMID: 31103521 DOI: 10.1016/j.plasmid.2019.102415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 04/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Conjugative relaxases are well-characterized proteins responsible for the site- and strand-specific endonucleolytic cleavage and strand transfer reactions taking place at the start and end of the conjugative DNA transfer process. Most of the relaxases characterized biochemically and structurally belong to the HUH family of endonucleases. However, an increasing number of new families of relaxases are revealing a variety of protein folds and catalytic alternatives to accomplish conjugative DNA processing. Relaxases show high specificity for their cognate target DNA sequences, but several recent reports underscore the importance of their activity on secondary targets, leading to widespread mobilization of plasmids containing an oriT-like sequence. Some relaxases perform other functions associated with their nicking and strand transfer ability, such as catalyzing site-specific recombination or initiation of plasmid replication. They perform these roles in the absence of conjugation, and the validation of these functions in several systems strongly suggest that they are not mere artifactual laboratory observations. Other unexpected roles recently assigned to relaxases include controlling plasmid copy number and promoting retrotransposition. Their capacity to mediate promiscuous mobilization and genetic reorganizations can be exploited for a number of imaginative biotechnological applications. Overall, there is increasing evidence that conjugative relaxases are not only key enzymes for horizontal gene transfer, but may have been adapted to perform other roles which contribute to prokaryotic genetic plasticity. Relaxed target specificity may be key to this versatility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dolores Lucía Guzmán-Herrador
- Instituto de Biomedicina y Biotecnología de Cantabria (IBBTEC), Universidad de Cantabria-CSIC-SODERCAN, Santander, Spain
| | - Matxalen Llosa
- Instituto de Biomedicina y Biotecnología de Cantabria (IBBTEC), Universidad de Cantabria-CSIC-SODERCAN, Santander, Spain.
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