CELL SURFACE POLYSACCHARIDES OF THE RED ALGA PORPHYRIDIUM

Author(s):  
J. Ramus
PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. e63929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa M. Reis ◽  
Louisi S. Oliveira ◽  
Raoni M. F. Passos ◽  
Nathan B. Viana ◽  
Cláudia Mermelstein ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (23) ◽  
pp. 6681-6689 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Keating ◽  
Michael G. Willits ◽  
Sharon R. Long

ABSTRACT The Rhizobium-legume symbiosis involves the formation of a novel plant organ, the nodule, in which intracellular bacteria reduce molecular dinitrogen in exchange for plant photosynthates. Nodule development requires a bacterial signal referred to as Nod factor, which in Sinorhizobium meliloti is a β-(1,4)-linked tetramer of N-acetylglucosamine containing N-acyl and O-acetyl modifications at the nonreducing end and a critical 6-O-sulfate at the reducing end. This sulfate modification requires the action of three gene products: nodH, which catalyzes the sulfonyl transfer, and nodPQ, which produce the activated form of sulfate, 3′-phosphoadenosine-5′-phosphosulfate. It was previously reported that S. meliloti cell surface polysaccharides are also covalently modified by sulfate in a reaction dependent on NodPQ. We have further characterized this unique form of bacterial carbohydrate modification. Our studies have determined that one of the nodPQ mutant strains used in the initial study of sulfation of cell surface harbored a second unlinked mutation. We cloned the gene affected by this mutation (referred to as lps-212) and found it to be an allele of lpsL, a gene previously predicted to encode a UDP-glucuronic acid epimerase. We demonstrated that lpsL encoded a UDP-glucuronic acid epimerase activity that was reduced in the lps-212 mutant. The lps-212 mutation resulted in an altered lipopolysaccharide structure that was reduced in sulfate modification in vitro and in vivo. Finally, we determined that the lps-212 mutation resulted in a reduced ability to elicit the formation of plant nodules and by altered infection thread structures that aborted prematurely.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 2905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulina Lipa ◽  
José-María Vinardell ◽  
Monika Janczarek

Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii is a soil bacterium capable of establishing symbiotic associations with clover plants (Trifolium spp.). Surface polysaccharides, transport systems, and extracellular components synthesized by this bacterium are required for both the adaptation to changing environmental conditions and successful infection of host plant roots. The pssZ gene located in the Pss-I region, which is involved in the synthesis of extracellular polysaccharide, encodes a protein belonging to the group of serine/threonine protein phosphatases. In this study, a comparative transcriptomic analysis of R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii wild-type strain Rt24.2 and its derivative Rt297 carrying a pssZ mutation was performed. RNA-Seq data identified a large number of genes differentially expressed in these two backgrounds. Transcriptome profiling of the pssZ mutant revealed a role of the PssZ protein in several cellular processes, including cell signalling, transcription regulation, synthesis of cell-surface polysaccharides and components, and bacterial metabolism. In addition, we show that inactivation of pssZ affects the rhizobial ability to grow in the presence of different sugars and at various temperatures, as well as the production of different surface polysaccharides. In conclusion, our results identified a set of genes whose expression was affected by PssZ and confirmed the important role of this protein in the rhizobial regulatory network.


Microbiology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 155 (4) ◽  
pp. 1282-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Sato ◽  
Nobuo Kido ◽  
Yukitaka Murakami ◽  
Charles I. Hoover ◽  
Koji Nakayama ◽  
...  

The periodontopathic bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis forms pigmented colonies when incubated on blood agar plates as a result of accumulation of μ-oxo haem dimer on the cell surface. Gingipain–adhesin complexes are responsible for production of μ-oxo haem dimer from haemoglobin. Non-pigmented mutants (Tn6-5, Tn7-1, Tn7-3 and Tn10-4) were isolated from P. gingivalis by Tn4351 transposon mutagenesis [Hoover & Yoshimura (1994), FEMS Microbiol Lett 124, 43–48]. In this study, we found that the Tn6-5, Tn7-1 and Tn7-3 mutants carried Tn4351 DNA in a gene homologous to the ugdA gene encoding UDP-glucose 6-dehydrogenase, a gene encoding a putative group 1 family glycosyltransferase and a gene homologous to the rfa gene encoding ADP heptose-LPS heptosyltransferase, respectively. The Tn10-4 mutant carried Tn4351 DNA at the same position as that for Tn7-1. Gingipain activities associated with cells of the Tn7-3 mutant (rfa) were very weak, whereas gingipain activities were detected in the culture supernatants. Immunoblot and mass spectrometry analyses also revealed that gingipains, including their precursor forms, were present in the culture supernatants. A lipopolysaccharide (LPS) fraction of the rfa deletion mutant did not show the ladder pattern that was usually seen for the LPS of the wild-type P. gingivalis. A recombinant chimera gingipain was able to bind to an LPS fraction of the wild-type P. gingivalis in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that the rfa gene product is associated with biosynthesis of LPS and/or cell-surface polysaccharides that can function as an anchorage for gingipain–adhesin complexes.


Nature ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 273 (5659) ◽  
pp. 250-250
Author(s):  
H. J. Rogers

2015 ◽  
Vol 197 (7) ◽  
pp. 1208-1220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian W. Bainbridge ◽  
Takanori Hirano ◽  
Nicole Grieshaber ◽  
Mary E. Davey

ABSTRACTBacterial cell surface glycans, such as capsular polysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), influence host recognition and are considered key virulence determinants. The periodontal pathogenPorphyromonas gingivalisis known to display at least three different types of surface glycans: O-LPS, A-LPS, and K-antigen capsule. We have shown that PG0121 (in strain W83) encodes a DNABII histone-like protein and that this gene is transcriptionally linked to the K-antigen capsule synthesis genes, generating a large ∼19.4-kb transcript (PG0104-PG0121). Furthermore, production of capsule is deficient in a PG0121 mutant strain. In this study, we report on the identification of an antisense RNA (asRNA) molecule located within a 77-bp inverted repeat (77bpIR) element located near the 5′ end of the locus. We show that overexpression of this asRNA decreases the amount of capsule produced, indicating that this asRNA can impact capsule synthesisin trans. We also demonstrate that deletion of the 77bpIR element and thereby synthesis of the large 19.4-kb transcript also diminishes, but does not eliminate, capsule synthesis. Surprisingly, LPS structures were also altered by deletion of the 77bpIR element, and reactivity to monoclonal antibodies specific to both O-LPS and A-LPS was eliminated. Additionally, reduced reactivity to these antibodies was also observed in a PG0106 mutant, indicating that this putative glycosyltransferase, which is required for capsule synthesis, is also involved in LPS synthesis in strain W83. We discuss our finding in the context of how DNABII proteins, an antisense RNA molecule, and the 77bpIR element may modulate expression of surface polysaccharides inP. gingivalis.IMPORTANCEThe periodontal pathogenPorphyromonas gingivalisdisplays at least three different types of cell surface glycans: O-LPS, A-LPS, and K-antigen capsule. We have shown using Northern analysis that the K-antigen capsule locus encodes a large transcript (∼19.4 kb), encompassing a 77-bp inverted repeat (77bpIR) element near the 5′ end. Here, we report on the identification of an antisense RNA (asRNA) encoded within the 77bpIR. We show that overexpression of this asRNA or deletion of the element decreases the amount of capsule. LPS structures were also altered by deletion of the 77bpIR, and reactivity to monoclonal antibodies to both O-LPS and A-LPS was eliminated. Our data indicate that the 77bpIR element is involved in modulating both LPS and capsule synthesis inP. gingivalis.


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