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Guan J, Jakob U. The Protein Scaffolding Functions of Polyphosphate. J Mol Biol 2024; 436:168504. [PMID: 38423453 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2024.168504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP), one of the first high-energy compound on earth, defies its extreme compositional and structural simplicity with an astoundingly wide array of biological activities across all domains of life. However, the underlying mechanism of such functional pleiotropy remains largely elusive. In this review, we will summarize recent studies demonstrating that this simple polyanion stabilizes protein folding intermediates and scaffolds select native proteins. These functions allow polyP to act as molecular chaperone that protects cells against protein aggregation, as pro-amyloidogenic factor that accelerates both physiological and disease-associated amyloid formation, and as a modulator of liquid-liquid phase separation processes. These activities help to explain polyP's known roles in bacterial stress responses and pathogenicity, provide the mechanistic foundation for its potential role in human neurodegenerative diseases, and open a new direction regarding its influence on gene expression through condensate formation. We will highlight critical unanswered questions and point out potential directions that will help to further understand the pleiotropic functions of this ancient and ubiquitous biopolymer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Guan
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Ursula Jakob
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Biological Chemistry Department, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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2
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Rojas D, Marcoleta AE, Gálvez-Silva M, Varas MA, Díaz M, Hernández M, Vargas C, Nourdin-Galindo G, Koch E, Saldivia P, Vielma J, Gan YH, Chen Y, Guiliani N, Chávez FP. Inorganic Polyphosphate Affects Biofilm Assembly, Capsule Formation, and Virulence of Hypervirulent ST23 Klebsiella pneumoniae. ACS Infect Dis 2024; 10:606-623. [PMID: 38205780 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.3c00509] [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: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
The emergence of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) strains poses a significant threat to public health due to high mortality rates and propensity to cause severe community-acquired infections in healthy individuals. The ability to form biofilms and produce a protective capsule contributes to its enhanced virulence and is a significant challenge to effective antibiotic treatment. Polyphosphate kinase 1 (PPK1) is an enzyme responsible for inorganic polyphosphate synthesis and plays a vital role in regulating various physiological processes in bacteria. In this study, we investigated the impact of polyP metabolism on the biofilm and capsule formation and virulence traits in hvKP using Dictyostelium discoideum amoeba as a model host. We found that the PPK1 null mutant was impaired in biofilm and capsule formation and showed attenuated virulence in D. discoideum compared to the wild-type strain. We performed a proteomic analysis to gain further insights into the underlying molecular mechanism. The results revealed that the PPK1 mutant had a differential expression of proteins involved in capsule synthesis (Wzi-Ugd), biofilm formation (MrkC-D-H), synthesis of the colibactin genotoxin precursor (ClbB), as well as proteins associated with the synthesis and modification of lipid A (ArnB-LpxC-PagP). These proteomic findings corroborate the phenotypic observations and indicate that the PPK1 mutation is associated with impaired biofilm and capsule formation and attenuated virulence in hvKP. Overall, our study highlights the importance of polyP synthesis in regulating extracellular biomolecules and virulence in K. pneumoniae and provides insights into potential therapeutic targets for treating K. pneumoniae infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Rojas
- Laboratorio de Microbiología de Sistemas, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
| | - Andrés E Marcoleta
- Grupo de Microbiología Integrativa, Laboratorio de Biología Estructural y Molecular, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
| | - Matías Gálvez-Silva
- Laboratorio de Microbiología de Sistemas, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
- Grupo de Microbiología Integrativa, Laboratorio de Biología Estructural y Molecular, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
| | - Macarena A Varas
- Laboratorio de Microbiología de Sistemas, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
- Grupo de Microbiología Integrativa, Laboratorio de Biología Estructural y Molecular, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
| | - Mauricio Díaz
- Laboratorio de Comunicación Microbiana, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
| | - Mauricio Hernández
- División Biotecnología, Instituto Melisa, San Pedro de la Paz CP 9660000, Chile
| | - Cristian Vargas
- División Biotecnología, Instituto Melisa, San Pedro de la Paz CP 9660000, Chile
| | | | - Elard Koch
- División Biotecnología, Instituto Melisa, San Pedro de la Paz CP 9660000, Chile
| | - Pablo Saldivia
- División Biotecnología, Instituto Melisa, San Pedro de la Paz CP 9660000, Chile
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción CP 4070389, Chile
| | - Jorge Vielma
- Laboratorio de Microbiología de Sistemas, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
- Grupo de Microbiología Integrativa, Laboratorio de Biología Estructural y Molecular, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
| | - Yunn-Hwen Gan
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore CP 119077, Singapore
| | - Yahua Chen
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore CP 119077, Singapore
| | - Nicolás Guiliani
- Laboratorio de Comunicación Microbiana, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
| | - Francisco P Chávez
- Laboratorio de Microbiología de Sistemas, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago CP 7800003, Chile
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Recalde A, González-Madrid G, Acevedo-López J, Jerez CA. Sessile Lifestyle Offers Protection against Copper Stress in Saccharolobus solfataricus. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1421. [PMID: 37374923 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11061421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Some archaea from the genus Sulfolobus are important for bioleaching of copper, where metal resistant microorganisms are required. Biofilm generation is one of the ways microorganisms cope with some stimuli in nature, including heavy metals. The response to external factors, particularly in the biofilm form of life, is still underexplored in archaea. To explore how model thermoacidophilic archaeon Saccharolobus solfataricus faces copper stress during this lifestyle, changes in biofilms were studied using crystal violet staining, confocal fluorescence microscopy, and qPCR approaches. It was found that biofilm formation reached a maximum at 0.5 mM Cu, before starting to decrease at higher metal concentrations. The morphology of biofilms at 0.5 mM Cu was observed to be different, displaying lower thickness, different sugar patterns, and higher amounts of cells compared to standard growing conditions. Furthermore, copA, which is responsive to intracellular Cu concentration, was downregulated in biofilm cells when compared with planktonic cells exposed to the same metal concentration. The latest results suggests that cells in biofilms are less exposed to Cu than those in planktonic culture. In a PolyP-deficient strain, Cu was not able to induce biofilm formation at 0.5 mM. In summary, the findings reported here suggest that the biofilm form of life confers S. solfataricus advantages to face stress caused by Cu.Biofilm formation remains a relatively unexplored topic in archaeal research. Therefore, this knowledge in model organisms such as S. solfataricus, and how they use it to face stress, could be of great importance to engineer organisms with improved capabilities to be applied in biotechnological processes, such as bioleaching of metals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Recalde
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile, 8330111 Santiago, Chile
- Molecular Biology of Archaea, Institute of Biology II-Microbiology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Gabriela González-Madrid
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile, 8330111 Santiago, Chile
| | - José Acevedo-López
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile, 8330111 Santiago, Chile
| | - Carlos A Jerez
- Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Chile, 8330111 Santiago, Chile
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Kuschmierz L, Meyer M, Bräsen C, Wingender J, Schmitz OJ, Siebers B. Exopolysaccharide composition and size in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius biofilms. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:982745. [PMID: 36225367 PMCID: PMC9549778 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.982745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) comprise mainly carbohydrates, proteins and extracellular DNA (eDNA) in biofilms formed by the thermoacidophilic Crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. However, detailed information on the carbohydrates in the S. acidocaldarius biofilm EPS, i.e., the exopolysaccharides (PS), in terms of identity, composition and size were missing. In this study, a set of methods was developed and applied to study the PS in S. acidocaldarius biofilms. It was initially shown that addition of sugars, most significantly of glucose, to the basal N-Z-amine-based growth medium enhanced biofilm formation. For the generation of sufficient amounts of biomass suitable for chemical analyses, biofilm growth was established and optimized on the surface of membrane filters. EPS were isolated and the contents of carbohydrates, proteins and eDNA were determined. PS purification was achieved by enzymatic digestion of other EPS components (nucleic acids and proteins). After trifluoroacetic acid-mediated hydrolysis of the PS fraction, the monosaccharide composition was analyzed by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS). Main sugar constituents detected were mannose, glucose and ribose, as well as minor proportions of rhamnose, N-acetylglucosamine, glucosamine and galactosamine. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) revealed the presence of one single PS fraction with a molecular mass of 4-9 × 104 Da. This study provides detailed information on the PS composition and size of S. acidocaldarius MW001 biofilms and methodological tools for future studies on PS biosynthesis and secretion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Kuschmierz
- Molecular Enzyme Technology and Biochemistry, Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Martin Meyer
- Applied Analytical Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Teaching and Research Center for Separation, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Christopher Bräsen
- Molecular Enzyme Technology and Biochemistry, Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Jost Wingender
- Aquatic Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Oliver J. Schmitz
- Applied Analytical Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Teaching and Research Center for Separation, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Oliver J. Schmitz,
| | - Bettina Siebers
- Molecular Enzyme Technology and Biochemistry, Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Bettina Siebers,
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5
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Grillo-Puertas M, Villegas JM, Pankievicz VCS, Tadra-Sfeir MZ, Teles Mota FJ, Hebert EM, Brusamarello-Santos L, Pedraza RO, Pedrosa FO, Rapisarda VA, Souza EM. Transcriptional Responses of Herbaspirillum seropedicae to Environmental Phosphate Concentration. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:666277. [PMID: 34177845 PMCID: PMC8222739 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.666277] [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: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Herbaspirillum seropedicae is a nitrogen-fixing endophytic bacterium associated with important cereal crops, which promotes plant growth, increasing their productivity. The understanding of the physiological responses of this bacterium to different concentrations of prevailing nutrients as phosphate (Pi) is scarce. In some bacteria, culture media Pi concentration modulates the levels of intracellular polyphosphate (polyP), modifying their cellular fitness. Here, global changes of H. seropedicae SmR1 were evaluated in response to environmental Pi concentrations, based on differential intracellular polyP levels. Cells grown in high-Pi medium (50 mM) maintained high polyP levels in stationary phase, while those grown in sufficient Pi medium (5 mM) degraded it. Through a RNA-seq approach, comparison of transcriptional profiles of H. seropedicae cultures revealed that 670 genes were differentially expressed between both Pi growth conditions, with 57% repressed and 43% induced in the high Pi condition. Molecular and physiological analyses revealed that aspects related to Pi metabolism, biosynthesis of flagella and chemotaxis, energy production, and polyhydroxybutyrate metabolism were induced in the high-Pi condition, while those involved in adhesion and stress response were repressed. The present study demonstrated that variations in environmental Pi concentration affect H. seropedicae traits related to survival and other important physiological characteristics. Since environmental conditions can influence the effectiveness of the plant growth-promoting bacteria, enhancement of bacterial robustness to withstand different stressful situations is an interesting challenge. The obtained data could serve not only to understand the bacterial behavior in respect to changes in rhizospheric Pi gradients but also as a base to design strategies to improve different bacterial features focusing on biotechnological and/or agricultural purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Grillo-Puertas
- Instituto de Química Biológica, “Dr. Bernabé Bloj”, Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) and Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO), CONICET-UNT, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Josefina M. Villegas
- Instituto de Química Biológica, “Dr. Bernabé Bloj”, Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) and Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO), CONICET-UNT, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Vânia C. S. Pankievicz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Michelle Z. Tadra-Sfeir
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Francisco J. Teles Mota
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Elvira M. Hebert
- Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos (CERELA-CONICET), San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
| | | | - Raul O. Pedraza
- Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Fabio O. Pedrosa
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Viviana A. Rapisarda
- Instituto de Química Biológica, “Dr. Bernabé Bloj”, Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT) and Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas (INSIBIO), CONICET-UNT, San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Emanuel M. Souza
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil
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Vogt MS, Ngouoko Nguepbeu RR, Mohr MKF, Albers SV, Essen LO, Banerjee A. The archaeal triphosphate tunnel metalloenzyme SaTTM defines structural determinants for the diverse activities in the CYTH protein family. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:100820. [PMID: 34029589 PMCID: PMC8233210 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
CYTH proteins make up a large superfamily that is conserved in all three domains of life. These enzymes have a triphosphate tunnel metalloenzyme (TTM) fold, which typically results in phosphatase functions, e.g., RNA triphosphatase, inorganic polyphosphatase, or thiamine triphosphatase. Some CYTH orthologs cyclize nucleotide triphosphates to 3′,5′-cyclic nucleotides. So far, archaeal CYTH proteins have been annotated as adenylyl cyclases, although experimental evidence to support these annotations is lacking. To address this gap, we characterized a CYTH ortholog, SaTTM, from the crenarchaeote Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. Our in silico studies derived ten major subclasses within the CYTH family implying a close relationship between these archaeal CYTH enzymes and class IV adenylyl cyclases. However, initial biochemical characterization reveals inability of SaTTM to produce any cyclic nucleotides. Instead, our structural and functional analyses show a classical TTM behavior, i.e., triphosphatase activity, where pyrophosphate causes product inhibition. The Ca2+-inhibited Michaelis complex indicates a two-metal-ion reaction mechanism analogous to other TTMs. Cocrystal structures of SaTTM further reveal conformational dynamics in SaTTM that suggest feedback inhibition in TTMs due to tunnel closure in the product state. These structural insights combined with further sequence similarity network–based in silico analyses provide a firm molecular basis for distinguishing CYTH orthologs with phosphatase activities from class IV adenylyl cyclases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marian S Vogt
- Department of Chemistry, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | | | - Michael K F Mohr
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sonja-Verena Albers
- Institute of Biology II, Molecular Biology of Archaea, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Lars-Oliver Essen
- Department of Chemistry, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
| | - Ankan Banerjee
- Department of Chemistry, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany; Department of Genetics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
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Inorganic Polyphosphate in Host and Microbe Biology. Trends Microbiol 2021; 29:1013-1023. [PMID: 33632603 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2021.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is produced by both bacteria and their eukaryotic hosts, and it appears to play multiple important roles in the interactions between those organisms. However, the detailed mechanisms of how polyP synthesis is regulated in bacteria, and how it influences both bacterial and host biology, remain largely unexplored. In this review, we examine recent developments in the understanding of how bacteria regulate the synthesis of polyP, what roles polyP plays in controlling virulence in pathogenic bacteria, and the effects of polyP on the mammalian immune system, as well as progress on developing drugs that may be able to target bacterial polyP synthesis as novel means of treating infectious disease.
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