Antibacterial effects of the lectin from pomegranate sarcotesta (PgTeL) against Listeria monocytogenes

AIMS

To investigate the effects of the lectin from Punica granatum sarcotesta (PgTeL) on growth, viability, cell structure, biofilm formation and chitinase activity of Listeria monocytogenes. In addition, the effect of PgTeL on the adhesion and invasion of human cells (HeLa) was determined.

METHODS AND RESULTS

PgTeL showed bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects on the strains L. monocytogenes N53-1 and EGD-e, causing morphometric alterations, cell aggregation, strong deformation and cell disruption. PgTeL inhibited biofilm formation by EGD-e and N53-1 and also interfered with the adhesion and invasion processes of EGD-e and N53-1 in HeLa cells. Finally, the chitinase activity of L. monocytogenes EGD-e was reduced in the presence of PgTeL, which can be involved in the inhibition of adhesion process.

CONCLUSION

PgTeL is an antibacterial agent against L. monocytogenes, inhibiting growth and promoting cell death, as well as impairing biofilm formation and bacterial adhesion and invasion into human cells.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

The results stimulate future investigations on the potential of PgTeL for protection of contamination in food products.

Anti-staphylococcal effects of Myracrodruon urundeuva lectins on nonresistant and multidrug resistant isolates

AIMS

To evaluate the anti-staphylococcal effects of lectins isolated from bark (MuBL), heartwood (MuHL) and leaves (MuLL) of Myracrodruon urundeuva.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The lectins were evaluated for: effects on growth, aggregation, haemolytic activity and biofilm-forming ability of Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates nonresistant (8325-4) and multidrug resistant (LAC USA300); interference with the expression of virulence genes (hla, rnaIII and spa) of the Agr system of S. aureus; and synergistic effect with the antibiotics cefoxitin and cefotaxime. MuBL, MuHL and MuLL reduced growth (minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC): 12·5-50 µg ml^-1 ) and viability (minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC): 100 µg ml^-1 ) of 8325-4 and LAC USA300 cells. MuLL (at ½MIC and MIC) reduced LAC USA300 agglutination. The lectins did not interfere with haemolytic activity and expression of hla, rnaIII and spa genes. Only MuHL was able to reduce the biofilm production by 8325-4 (50-400 µg ml^-1 ) and LAC USA300 (400 µg ml^-1 ).

CONCLUSION

The M. urundeuva lectins showed antibacterial activity against nonresistant and resistant clinical isolates of S. aureus and synergistic effects with antibiotics in reducing growth and biofilm formation.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This work reports bioactive molecules capable of acting as anti-staphylococcal agents, since there are increasing reports of multiresistant isolates of this bacterium.

Simple method for correct enumeration of Staphylococcus aureus

Optical density (OD) measurement is applied universally to estimate cell numbers of microorganisms growing in liquid cultures. It is a fast and reliable method but is based on the assumption that the bacteria grow as single cells of equal size and that the cells are dispersed evenly in the liquid culture. When grown in such liquid cultures, the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus is characterized by its aggregation of single cells into clusters of variable size. Here, we show that aggregation during growth in the laboratory standard medium tryptic soy broth (TSB) is common among clinical and laboratory S. aureus isolates and that aggregation may introduce significant bias when applying standard enumeration methods on S. aureus growing in laboratory batch cultures. We provide a simple and efficient sonication procedure, which can be applied prior to optical density measurements to give an accurate estimate of cellular numbers in liquid cultures of S. aureus regardless of the aggregation level of the given strain. We further show that the sonication procedure is applicable for accurate determination of cell numbers using agar plate counting of aggregating strains.

Prevalence, Antimicrobial Resistance and Risk Factors for Thermophilic Campylobacter Infections in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Humans in Tanzania

The genus Campylobacter comprises members known to be a leading cause of foodborne gastrointestinal illness worldwide. A study was conducted to determine the epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter in humans in Morogoro, Eastern Tanzania. Isolation of Campylobacter from stool specimens adopted the Cape Town protocol. Campylobacter isolates were preliminarily identified by conventional phenotypic tests and subsequently confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry and polymerase chain reaction. Antimicrobial resistance testing employed the disc diffusion method. A small proportion of the test isolates was also subjected to agar dilution method. Risk factors for human illness were determined in an unmatched case-control study. Thermophilic Campylobacter were isolated from 11.4% of the screened individuals (n = 1195). The agreement between PCR and MALDI-TOF was perfect (κ = 1.0). Symptomatics and young individuals were infected with higher numbers than asymptomatic and adults, respectively. The majority (84.6%) of the isolates were C. jejuni and the remaining were C. coli. Isolates had highest resistance (95.6%) for colistin sulphate and lowest for ciprofloxacin (22.1%). The rates of resistance for other antibiotics (azithromycin, erythromycin, tetracycline, cephalothin, gentamycin, nalidixic acid, ampicillin, amoxycillin, norfloxacin, chloramphenicol) ranged from 44.1% to 89%. Comparison between disc diffusion and agar dilution methods indicated a good correlation, and the tests were in agreement to each other (κ ≥ 0.75). Human illness was found to be associated with young age and consumption of chicken meat and pre-prepared salad. Our data indicate the presence of antibiotic-resistant thermophilic Campylobacter in humans in the study area. There is a need for routine investigation of the presence of the organisms in gastroenteritis aetiology, including determination of their antibiotic susceptibilities.

Campylobacter jejuni carbon starvation protein A (CstA) is involved in peptide utilization, motility and agglutination, and has a role in stimulation of dendritic cells

Campylobacter jejuni is the most frequent cause of severe gastroenteritis in the developed world. The major symptom of campylobacteriosis is inflammatory diarrhoea. The molecular mechanisms of this infection are poorly understood compared to those of less frequent disease-causing pathogens. In a previous study, we identified C. jejuni proteins that antibodies in human campylobacteriosis patients reacted with. One of the immunogenic proteins identified (Cj0917) displays homology to carbon starvation protein A (CstA) from Escherichia coli, where this protein is involved in the starvation response and peptide uptake. In contrast to many bacteria, C. jejuni relies on amino acids and organic acids for energy, but in vivo it is highly likely that peptides are also utilized, although their mechanisms of uptake are unknown. In this study, Biolog phenotype microarrays have been used to show that a ΔcstA mutant has a reduced ability to utilize a number of di- and tri-peptides as nitrogen sources. This phenotype was restored through genetic complementation, suggesting CstA is a peptide uptake system in C. jejuni. Furthermore, the ΔcstA mutant also displayed reduced motility and reduced agglutination compared to WT bacteria; these phenotypes were also restored through complementation. Murine dendritic cells exposed to UV-killed bacteria showed a reduced IL-12 production, but the same IL-10 response when encountering C. jejuni ΔcstA compared to the WT strain. The greater Th1 stimulation elicited by the WT as compared to ΔcstA mutant cells indicates an altered antigenic presentation on the surface, and thus an altered recognition of the mutant. Thus, we conclude that C. jejuni CstA is important not only for peptide utilization, but also it may influence host-pathogen interactions.

MLST clustering of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from patients with gastroenteritis, reactive arthritis and Guillain-Barré syndrome

AIMS

To determine the diversity and population structure of Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) isolates from Danish patients and to examine the association between multilocus sequence typing types and different clinical symptoms including gastroenteritis (GI), Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and reactive arthritis (RA).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to characterize 122 isolates, including 18 from patients with RA and 8 from patients with GBS. The GI and RA isolates were collected in Denmark during 2002-2003 and the GBS isolates were obtained from other countries. In overall, 51 sequence types (STs) were identified within 18 clonal complexes (CCs). Of these three CCs, ST-21, ST-45 and ST-22 clonal complexes accounted for 64 percent of all isolates. The GBS isolates in this study significantly grouped into the ST-22 clonal complex, consistent with the PubMLST database isolates. There was no significant clustering of the RA isolates.

CONCLUSIONS

Isolates from Denmark were found to be highly genetically diverse. GBS isolates grouped significantly with clonal complex ST-22, but the absence of clustering of RA isolates indicated that the phylogenetic background for this sequela could not be reconstructed using variation in MLST loci. Possibly, putative RA-associated genes may vary, by recombination or expression differences, independent of MLST loci.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

MLST typing of C. jejuni isolates from Danish patients with gastroenteritis confirmed that the diversity of clones in Denmark is comparable to that in other European countries. Furthermore, a verification of the grouping of GBS isolates compared to RA isolates provides information about evolution of the bacterial population resulting in this important sequela.

Cloning and comparison of phylogenetically related chitinases from Listeria monocytogenes EGD and Enterococcus faecalis V583

AIMS

To compare enzymatic activities of two related chitinases, ChiA and EF0361, encoded by Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus faecalis, respectively.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The chiA and EF0361 genes were amplified by PCR, cloned and expressed with histidine tags, allowing easy purification of the gene products. ChiA had a molecular weight as predicted from the amino acid sequence, whereas EF0361 was 1840 Da lower than expected because of C-terminal truncation. The ChiA and EF0361 enzymes showed activity towards 4-nitrophenyl N,N'-diacetyl-beta-D-chitobioside with K(m) values of 1.6 and 2.1 mmol l(-1), respectively, and k(cat) values of 21.6 and 6.5 s(-1). The enzymes also showed activity towards 4-nitrophenyl beta-D-N, N', N''-triacetylchitotriose and carboxy-methyl-chitin-Remazol Brilliant Violet but not towards 4-nitrophenyl N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminide. Chitinolytic specificities of the enzymes were supported by their inactivity towards the substrates 4-nitrophenyl beta-D-cellobioside and peptidoglycan. The pH and temperature profiles for catalytic activities were relatively similar for both the enzymes.

CONCLUSION

The ChiA and EF0361 enzymes show a high degree of similarity in their catalytic activities although their hosts share environmental preferences only to some extent.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study contributes to an understanding of the chitinolytic activities by L. monocytogenes and Ent. faecalis. Detailed information on their chitinolytic systems will help define potential reservoirs in the natural environment and possible transmission routes into food-manufacturing plants.

Chitin hydrolysis by Listeria spp., including L. monocytogenes

Listeria spp., including the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, are ubiquitous microorganisms in the environment and thus are difficult to exclude from food processing plants. The factors that contribute to their multiplication and survival in nature are not well understood, but the ability to catabolize various carbohydrates is likely to be very important. One major source of carbon and nitrogen in nature is chitin, an insoluble linear beta-1,4-linked polymer of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). Chitin is found in cell walls of fungi and certain algae, in the cuticles of arthropods, and in shells and radulae of molluscs. In the present study, we demonstrated that L. monocytogenes and other Listeria spp. are able to hydrolyze alpha-chitin. The chitinolytic activity is repressed by the presence of glucose in the medium, suggesting that chitinolytic activity is subjected to catabolite repression. Activity is also regulated by temperature and is higher at 30 degrees C than at 37 degrees C. In L. monocytogenes EGD, chitin hydrolysis depends on genes encoding two chitinases, lmo0105 (chiB) and lmo1883 (chiA), but not on a gene encoding a putative chitin binding protein (lmo2467). The chiB and chiA genes are phylogenetically related to various well-characterized chitinases. The potential biological implications of chitinolytic activity of Listeria are discussed.

Limitations in the use of Drosophila melanogaster as a model host for gram-positive bacterial infection

AIMS

To examine sensitivities of various Drosophila melanogaster strains towards human pathogenic and nonpathogenic gram-positive bacteria.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The D. melanogaster Oregon R strain was infected by injecting the thorax with a needle containing Escherichia coli (negative control), Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus (both food-borne pathogens), Listeria innocua, Bacillus subtilis, Carnobacterium maltaromaticum, Lactobacillus plantarum or Pediococcus acidilactici (all nonpathogenic bacteria). Listeria monocytogenes and S. aureus killed the host rapidly compared with the negative control. Infection with L. innocua, B. subtilis or C. maltaromaticum also resulted in a high fly mortality, whereas Lact. plantarum and P. acidilactici resulted in a slightly increased mortality. Four additional D. melanogaster lines, three of which had been selected for heat, cold and desiccation resistance respectively, were subjected to infection by L. monocytogenes, S. aureus and E. coli. Mortality rates were comparable with that of the Oregon R strain.

CONCLUSIONS

Use of the injection method shows the limitation of D. melanogaster as a model host for gram-positive bacteria as opportunistic infection by nonpathogenic gram-positive bacteria results in partial or high mortality. In addition, lines of fruit flies resistant to various stress exposures did not show an increased resistance to infection by gram-positive pathogens under the conditions tested.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study demonstrates the inadequacy of D. melanogaster infected by the injection method in order to distinguish between virulent and nonvirulent gram-positive bacteria.

Chicken juice, a food-based model system suitable to study survival of Campylobacter jejuni

AIMS

The purpose of this study was to develop a food-based model system that resembles the environment that Campylobacter jejuni experiences on raw poultry products and use this model system to investigate growth and survival of the bacterium.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Chicken juice was collected from frozen chickens and subsequently cleared by centrifugation and subjected to sterile filtration. At low temperatures (5 and 10 degrees C) C. jejuni NCTC11168 remained viable in chicken juice for a remarkably longer period of time than in the reference medium BHI. When exposed to heat stress (48 degrees C) C. jejuni NCTC11168 also showed increased viability in chicken juice compared with the reference medium. Furthermore, agar plates made with chicken juice supported growth of four clinical isolates of C. jejuni and a C. jejuni strain obtained from chicken at both 37 and 42 degrees C.

CONCLUSIONS

Our work shows that minimal processed and sterilized chicken juice is an ideal environment for survival of C. jejuni and that it is useful as a food-based model system.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

The developed model system may contribute to the understanding of C. jejuni viability on poultry products and can be instrumental in the development of alternative preservation strategies.

ClpP is involved in the stress response and degradation of misfolded proteins in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

Components of the ATP-dependent Clp protease complex are found in a wide range of prokaryotic cells and they are often expressed as part of the cellular stress response. To investigate the physiological role of the proteolytic subunit, ClpP, in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium) an in-frame deletion of the clpP gene was constructed. Growth experiments revealed that clpP is important for the ability of S. typhimurium to grow under various stressful conditions, such as low pH, elevated temperature and high salt concentrations. Since the stationary-phase sigma factor, RpoS, is a target of the Clp proteolytic complex, the effect of the clpP deletion in the absence of RpoS was examined; it was observed that growth of the S. typhimurium clpP mutant is affected in both an RpoS-dependent and an RpoS-independent manner. Analysis of the degradation of abnormal puromycyl-containing polypeptides showed that ClpP participates in the proteolysis of such proteins in S. typhimurium. These findings prompted an investigation of the growth of an Escherichia coli clpP mutant under various stress conditions. The growth of this E. coli mutant was affected by heat, salt and low pH, although not to the same extent as observed for the S. typhimurium clpP mutant. The results of this study indicate that the S. typhimurium clpP mutant is generally more sensitive to environmental stress than the E. coli clpP mutant and it is proposed that this is due to a reduced ability to degrade misfolded proteins generated under these conditions.

Listeria monocytogenes response regulators important for stress tolerance and pathogenesis

Environmental sensing by two-component signal transduction systems is likely to play a role for growth and survival of Listeria monocytogenes both during transmission in food products and within a host organism. Two-component systems typically consist of a membrane-associated sensor histidine kinase and a gene regulatory protein, the response regulator (RR). We have identified seven putative RR genes in L. monocytogenes LO28 by PCR using degenerate oligonucleotide primers. By insertional inactivation we obtained data suggesting that three of the putative RRs contribute to the pathogenicity of L. monocytogenes in mice. Strikingly, the mutants that were attenuated in virulence also had a decreased ability to grow in the presence of various stress conditions potentially encountered in an infection process. Thus, our data point to a connection between the ability of the putative two-component systems to sense and respond to certain environmental stimuli, and the virulence of L. monocytogenes.

The RepA protein of plasmid pSC101 controls Escherichia coli cell division through the SOS response

Although plasmid copy number varies widely among different plasmid species, normally copy number is maintained within a narrow range for any given plasmid. Such copy number control has been shown to occur by regulation of the rate of plasmid DNA replication. Here we report a novel mechanism by which the pSC101 plasmid also can detect an imbalance between the cellular level of its replication protein, RepA, and plasmid-borne RepA binding sites to inhibit bacterial DNA replication and delay host cell division when RepA is in relative excess. We show that delayed cell division occurs by RepA-mediated induction of the SOS response and can be reversed by over-expression of the host DNA primase, DnaG. The effects of RepA excess are prevented by introducing a surfeit of RepA binding sites. The mechanism reported here may help to limit variation in plasmid copy number and allow repopulation of cells with plasmids when copy number falls--potentially pre-empting plasmid loss in cultures of dividing cells.

Inactivation of a gene that is highly conserved in Gram-positive bacteria stimulates degradation of non-native proteins and concomitantly increases stress tolerance in Lactococcus lactis

Exposure of cells to elevated temperatures triggers the synthesis of chaperones and proteases including components of the conserved Clp protease complex. We demonstrated previously that the proteolytic subunit, ClpP, plays a major role in stress tolerance and in the degradation of non-native proteins in the Gram-positive bacterium Lactococcus lactis. Here, we used transposon mutagenesis to generate mutants in which the temperature- and puromycin-sensitive phenotype of a lactococcal clpP null mutant was partly alleviated. In all mutants obtained, the transposon was inserted in the L. lactis trmA gene. When analysing a clpP, trmA double mutant, we found that the expression normally induced from the clpP and dnaK promoters in the clpP mutant was reduced to wild-type level upon introduction of the trmA disruption. Additionally, the degradation of puromycyl-containing polypeptides was increased, suggesting that inactivation of trmA compensates for the absence of ClpP by stimulating an as yet unidentified protease that degrades misfolded proteins. When trmA was disrupted in wild-type cells, both stress tolerance and proteolysis of puromycyl peptides was enhanced above wild-type level. Based on our results, we propose that TrmA, which is well conserved in several Gram-positive bacteria, affects the degradation of non-native proteins and thereby controls stress tolerance.

Disruption and analysis of the clpB, clpC, and clpE genes in Lactococcus lactis: ClpE, a new Clp family in gram-positive bacteria

In the genome of the gram-positive bacterium Lactococcus lactis MG1363, we have identified three genes (clpC, clpE, and clpB) which encode Clp proteins containing two conserved ATP binding domains. The proteins encoded by two of the genes belong to the previously described ClpB and ClpC families. The clpE gene, however, encodes a member of a new Clp protein family that is characterized by a short N-terminal domain including a putative zinc binding domain (-CX2CX22CX2C-). Expression of the 83-kDa ClpE protein as well as of the two proteins encoded by clpB was strongly induced by heat shock and, while clpC mRNA synthesis was moderately induced by heat, we were unable to identify the ClpC protein. When we analyzed mutants with disruptions in clpB, clpC, or clpE, we found that although the genes are part of the L. lactis heat shock stimulon, the mutants responded like wild-type cells to heat and salt treatments. However, when exposed to puromycin, a tRNA analogue that results in the synthesis of truncated, randomly folded proteins, clpE mutant cells formed smaller colonies than wild-type cells and clpB and clpC mutant cells. Thus, our data suggest that ClpE, along with ClpP, which recently was shown to participate in the degradation of randomly folded proteins in L. lactis, could be necessary for degrading proteins generated by certain types of stress.

ClpP participates in the degradation of misfolded protein in Lactococcus lactis

ClpP proteins constitute a family of homologous proteins found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. In Escherichia coli, ClpP is the proteolytic component of a large complex also containing either the ClpA or the ClpX ATPases. We show here that the clpP gene from the Gram-positive bacterium Lactococcus lactis encodes a 22-kDa protein that is induced by low pH and by the t-RNA analogue puromycin, which interferes with translation, resulting in the production of misfolded puromycyl-containing peptides. Northern blot and primer extension analysis showed that clpP expression is also induced by heat shock and that stress induction occurs at the transcriptional level independent of the CIRCE regulatory element often implicated in stress regulation in Gram-positive bacteria. When we disrupted the L. lactis clpP gene by insertional inactivation, the resulting mutant was more sensitive to both heat and puromycin than wild-type cells. Furthermore, cells lacking ClpP had a reduced ability to degrade puromycyl-containing peptides, and they synthesized heat shock proteins constitutively in the absence of stress. Thus, our data suggest that ClpP plays a major role in the degradation of misfolded proteins.

Destabilized inheritance of pSC101 and other Escherichia coli plasmids by DpiA, a novel two-component system regulator

We identified a gene (dpiA, Destabilizer of Plasmid Inheritance) which, when overexpressed in Escherichia coli, destabilizes the inheritance of pSC101 and other iteron-containing plasmids as disparate as mini-F and RK6 but not the inheritance of P1, RSF1010 and ColD. These effects of DpiA, which functions like an effector protein for a previously undescribed two-component signal transduction system, were reduced by mutations known to promote pSC101 replication and partitioning. dpiB, a gene encoding the putative histidine kinase of this two-component system, is located immediately 5' to dpiA and adjacent to a DpiA-induced target promoter that transcribes genes having homology to citrate lyase operon genes, citC, citD and citE, of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Disruption of dpiB reversed or reduced the effect of DpiA overproduction on pSC101 inheritance. A second DpiA target, the promoter for a gene (appY) implicated in E. coli's response to anaerobiosis, is repressed by DpiA. A mutation in dpiA at a site commonly conserved and phosphorylated in two-component system effector proteins abolished the effects of DpiA overproduction on pSC101 inheritance and negative regulation of appY expression. Our findings suggest a possible mechanism by which environment and/or cellular stimuli may influence plasmid inheritance.

H-NS: a modulator of environmentally regulated gene expression

H-NS is a small chromatin-associated protein found in enterobacteria. H-NS has affinity for all types of nucleic acids but binds preferentially to intrinsically curved DNA. The major role of H-NS is to modulate the expression of a large number of genes, mostly by negatively affecting transcription. Many of the H-NS-modulated genes are regulated by environmental signals, and expression of most of these genes is positively regulated by specific transcription factors. Therefore one of the purposes of H-NS could be to repress expression of some genes under conditions characteristic of a non-intestinal environment, but allow expression of specific genes in response to certain stimuli in the intestinal environment. The hns gene is autoregulated. In vivo the H-NS to DNA ratio is fairly constant except during cold shock, when it increases three- to fourfold. In this review we propose that only the preferential binding to intrinsically curved DNA plays a role under normal growth conditions, and we discuss the different mechanisms by which H-NS might affect gene expression and how H-NS could be involved in the response to different stress situations. Finally, we summarize the evolutionary and functional relationship between H-NS and the homologous StpA.

Boundaries of the pSC101 minimal replicon are conditional

The DNA segment essential for plasmid replication commonly is referred to as the core or minimal replicon. We report here that host and plasmid genes and sites external to the core replicon of plasmid pSC101 determine the boundaries and competence of the replicon and also the efficiency of partitioning. Missense mutations in the plasmid-encoded RepA protein or mutation of the Escherichia coli topoisomerase I gene enable autonomous replication of a 310-bp pSC101 DNA fragment that contains only the actual replication origin plus binding sites for RepA and the host-encoded DnaA protein. However, in the absence of a repA or topA mutation, the DNA-bending protein integration host factor (IHF) and either of two cis-acting elements are required. One of these, the partitioning (par) locus, is known to promote negative DNA supercoiling; our data suggest that the effects of the other element, the inverted repeat (IR) sequences that overlap the repA promoter, are mediated through the IR's ability to bind RepA. The concentrations of RepA and DnaA, which interact with each other and with plasmid DNA in the origin region (T. T. Stenzel, T. MacAllister, and D. Bastia, Genes Dev. 5:1453-1463, 1991), also affect both replication and partitioning. Our results, which indicate that the sequence requirements for replication of pSC101 are conditional rather than absolute, compel reassessment of the definition of a core replicon. Additionally, they provide further evidence that the origin region RepA-DnaA-DNA complex initiating replication of pSC101 also mediates the partitioning of pSC101 plasmids at cell division.

Monomer-dimer equilibrium of the pSC101 RepA protein

The pSC101 RepA protein, which is required for plasmid DNA replication, but is inhibitory to replication at high concentration, has been found in both monomeric and dimeric forms. While RepA monomers bind to direct repeat iterons near the pSC101 replication origin, dimers bind to sequences that autoregulate RepA synthesis. We investigated the solution properties of purified RepA protein by analytical ultracentrifugation analysis, and found that RepA exists in Escherichia coli cells in a monomer-dimer equilibrium (Kd = 4 microM), and, moreover, that RepA is primarily in the monomeric form at the concentration (500 molecules per cell; 2 microM) we found by Western blot analysis to occur in cells carrying replicating wild-type pSC101 plasmids. However, at concentrations inhibitory to pSC101 DNA replication, the majority of RepA molecules exist as dimers. Our findings provide experimental support for the proposal that the equilibrium between monomer and dimer forms of RepA has a key role in determining its effect on the replication of pSC101.

Excess intracellular concentration of the pSC101 RepA protein interferes with both plasmid DNA replication and partitioning

RepA, a plasmid-encoded gene product required for pSC101 replication in Escherichia coli, is shown here to inhibit the replication of pSC101 in vivo when overproduced 4- to 20-fold in trans. Unlike plasmids whose replication is prevented by mutations in the repA gene, plasmids prevented from replicating by overproduction of the RepA protein were lost rapidly from the cell population instead of being partitioned evenly between daughter cells. Removal of the partition (par) locus increased the inhibitory effect of excess RepA on replication, while host and plasmid mutations that compensate for the absence of par, or overproduction of the E. coli DnaA protein, diminished it. A repA mutation (repA46) that elevates pSC101 copy number almost entirely eliminated the inhibitory effect of RepA at high concentration and stimulated replication when the protein was moderately overproduced. As the RepA protein can exist in both monomer and dimer forms, we suggest that overproduction promotes RepA dimerization, reducing the formation of replication initiation complexes that require the RepA monomer and DnaA; we propose that the repA46 mutation alters the ability of the mutant protein to dimerize. Our discovery that an elevated intracellular concentration of RepA specifically impedes plasmid partitioning implies that the RepA-containing complexes initiating pSC101 DNA replication participate also in the distribution of plasmids at cell division.

The pSC101 par locus alters protein-DNA interactions in vivo at the plasmid replication origin

We report here direct evidence that mutations in the par locus affect protein-DNA interactions in vivo at the replication origin of plasmid pSC101. Concomitant with par-mediated plasmid stabilization, two sites in the origin region show an altered methylation pattern as detected by in vivo footprinting with dimethyl sulfate. One site is located near an integration host factor-binding sequence adjacent to the first of three direct repeats known to be involved in the initiation of pSC101 replication; the second site is within the third direct repeat.

Expression and regulation of a dnaA homologue isolated from Pseudomonas putida

A gene homologous to the Escherichia coli dnaA gene was isolated from Pseudomonas putida and its transcription was investigated in E. coli as well as in P. putida. In both species the P. putida dnaA gene is transcribed from two promoters, one of which shows strong homology to promoters recognized by the sigma 54 factor found in both bacteria. In E. coli transcription of the P. putida dnaA gene can be repressed by overproduction of E. coli DnaA protein, presumably due to the presence of several DnaA-box-like sequences found in the promoter region. Likewise the P. putida DnaA protein is able to regulate expression of the E. coli dnaA gene but we failed to demonstrate autoregulation of the P. putida dnaA gene. A point mutation was introduced into the P. putida dnaA gene, equivalent to the ATP binding site mutation present in E. coli dnaA5 and dnaA46 mutants, and this alteration abolished the ability of the protein to repress the expression of the E. coli dnaA gene. These results indicate that DnaA proteins from other species than E. coli have maintained the ability to recognize the DnaA box sequence and that the conservation between the DnaA proteins reflects functionally similar domains.