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Brückner S, Müller F, Schadowski L, Kalle T, Weber S, Marino EC, Kutscher B, Möller AM, Adler S, Begerow D, Steinchen W, Bange G, Narberhaus F. (p)ppGpp and moonlighting RNases influence the first step of lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis in Escherichia coli. Microlife 2023; 4:uqad031. [PMID: 37426605 PMCID: PMC10326835 DOI: 10.1093/femsml/uqad031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
The outer membrane (OM) protects Gram-negative bacteria from harsh environmental conditions and provides intrinsic resistance to many antimicrobial compounds. The asymmetric OM is characterized by phospholipids in the inner leaflet and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in the outer leaflet. Previous reports suggested an involvement of the signaling nucleotide ppGpp in cell envelope homeostasis in Escherichia coli. Here, we investigated the effect of ppGpp on OM biosynthesis. We found that ppGpp inhibits the activity of LpxA, the first enzyme of LPS biosynthesis, in a fluorometric in vitro assay. Moreover, overproduction of LpxA resulted in elongated cells and shedding of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) with altered LPS content. These effects were markedly stronger in a ppGpp-deficient background. We further show that RnhB, an RNase H isoenzyme, binds ppGpp, interacts with LpxA, and modulates its activity. Overall, our study uncovered new regulatory players in the early steps of LPS biosynthesis, an essential process with many implications in the physiology and susceptibility to antibiotics of Gram-negative commensals and pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Brückner
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum, Germany
| | - Fabian Müller
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum, Germany
| | - Laura Schadowski
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum, Germany
| | - Tyll Kalle
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sophia Weber
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum, Germany
| | - Emily C Marino
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum, Germany
| | - Blanka Kutscher
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum, Germany
| | - Anna-Maria Möller
- Microbial Biology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sabine Adler
- Evolution of Plants and Fungi, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum, Germany
| | - Dominik Begerow
- Evolution of Plants and Fungi, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, Bochum, Germany
- Organismische Botanik und Mykologie, Institut für Planzenwissenschaften und Mikrobiologie, Fachbereich Biologie, Universität Hamburg,Ohnhorststrasse 18, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Wieland Steinchen
- Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO) and Department of Chemistry, Philipps-University Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Strasse 14, Marburg, Germany
| | - Gert Bange
- Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO) and Department of Chemistry, Philipps-University Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Strasse 14, Marburg, Germany
| | - Franz Narberhaus
- Corresponding author. Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Microbial Biology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, NDEF 06/784, 44780 Bochum, Germany. Tel: +492343223100; Fax: +492343214620; E-mail:
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