scholarly journals The σ54 system directly regulates bacterial natural product genes

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muqing Ma ◽  
Roy D. Welch ◽  
Anthony G. Garza

AbstractBacterial-derived polyketide and non-ribosomal peptide natural products are crucial sources of therapeutics and yet little is known about the conditions that favor activation of natural product genes or the regulatory machinery controlling their transcription. Recent findings suggest that the σ54 system, which includes σ54-loaded RNA polymerase and transcriptional activators called enhancer binding proteins (EBPs), might be a common regulator of natural product genes. Here, we explored this idea by analyzing a selected group of putative σ54 promoters identified in Myxococcus xanthus natural product gene clusters. We show that mutations in putative σ54-RNA polymerase binding regions and in putative Nla28 EBP binding sites dramatically reduce in vivo promoter activities in growing and developing cells. We also show in vivo promoter activities are reduced in a nla28 mutant, that Nla28 binds to wild-type fragments of these promoters in vitro, and that in vitro binding is lost when the Nla28 binding sites are mutated. Together, our results indicate that M. xanthus uses σ54 promoters for transcription of at least some of its natural product genes. Interestingly, the vast majority of experimentally confirmed and putative σ54 promoters in M. xanthus natural product loci are located within genes and not in intergenic sequences.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muqing Ma ◽  
Roy Welch ◽  
Anthony Garza

Abstract Bacterial-derived polyketide and non-ribosomal peptide natural products are crucial sources of therapeutic agents and yet little is known about the conditions that favor activation of natural product genes or the regulatory machinery that controls their transcription. Recent findings suggest that the σ54 system, which includes σ54-loaded RNA polymerase and transcriptional activators called enhancer binding proteins (EBPs), might be a common regulator of natural product genes. Here, we explore this idea by analyzing four putative σ54 promoters identified in the sequences of Myxococcus xanthus natural product gene clusters. We show that mutations in the putative σ54-RNA polymerase binding regions reduce in vivo promoter activities during growth and development. We also show that the EBP Nla28 is important for the in vivo activities of three natural product promoters, that Nla28 binds to wild-type fragments of these promoters in vitro, and that in vitro binding is lost when the putative Nla28 binding sites are mutated. These results indicate that the natural product promoters are bona fide σ54 promoter elements and three are direct targets of Nla28. Interestingly, the vast majority of experimentally confirmed and putative σ54 promoters in M. xanthus natural product clusters are located within genes and not in intergenic sequences.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (9) ◽  
pp. 2842-2851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun Chau Sze ◽  
Andrew D. Laurie ◽  
Victoria Shingler

ABSTRACT Transcription from the Pseudomonas CF600-derived ς54-dependent promoter Po is controlled by the aromatic-responsive activator DmpR. Here we examine the mechanism(s) by which integration host factor (IHF) stimulates DmpR-activated transcriptional output of the Po promoter both in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, the Po promoter exhibits characteristics that typify many ς54-dependent promoters, namely, a phasing-dependent tolerance with respect to the distance from the regulator binding sites to the distally located RNA polymerase binding site, and a strong dependence on IHF for optimal promoter output. IHF is shown to affect transcription via structural repercussions mediated through binding to a single DNA signature located between the regulator and RNA polymerase binding sites. In vitro, using DNA templates that lack the regulator binding sites and thus bypass a role of IHF in facilitating physical interaction between the regulator and the transcriptional apparatus, IHF still mediates a DNA binding-dependent stimulation of Po transcription. This stimulatory effect is shown to be independent of previously described mechanisms for the effects of IHF at ς54 promoters such as aiding binding of the regulator or recruitment of ς54-RNA polymerase via UP element-like DNA. The effect of IHF could be traced to promotion and/or stabilization of open complexes within the nucleoprotein complex that may involve an A+T-rich region of the IHF binding site and promoter-upstream DNA. Mechanistic implications are discussed in the context of a model in which IHF binding results in transduction of DNA instability from an A+T-rich region to the melt region of the promoter.


Author(s):  
Bożena Bruhn-Olszewska ◽  
Vadim Molodtsov ◽  
Michał Sobala ◽  
Maciej Dylewski ◽  
Katsuhiko S. Murakami ◽  
...  

1966 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1157-1165 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. von Seefried ◽  
D. C. Jordan

Paromomycin (Humatin, Parke Davis & Co.), a broad-spectrum aminoglycosidic antibiotic, inhibits the incorporation of amino acids into the trypsinsoluble protein fraction of Staphylococcus aureus 257. Protein synthesis is inhibited immediately, but the synthesis of cell-wall mucopeptide and alcohol-soluble proteins and lipids is not affected for approximately 35 min after antibiotic addition to actively growing cells. Paromomycin, at the ribosomal level, prevents the attachment of amino acyl-s-RNA and causes accumulation of m-RNA.Divalent cations (Ca++ and Mg++) antagonize the bactericidal action of paromomycin and interfere with the in vivo binding of the antibiotic on both the cell surface and the intracellular binding sites. In vitro binding to free ribosomes can be prevented and reversed by both monovalent and divalent cations.Using a "cylinder-plate" method, involving the displacement of antibiotic from cellular fractions by 0.2 M MgCl2, the antibiotic can be recovered from the ribosomes, cytoplasm, and the cell wall of paromomycin-sensitive S. aureus cells, but is not found in any of these fractions isolated from paromomycin-resistant cells developed from the sensitive parent strain. The resistant mutants apparently have lost the ability to adsorb and transport the antibiotic into the cell.


mSphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bohdan Bilyk ◽  
Sora Kim ◽  
Asif Fazal ◽  
Tania A. Baker ◽  
Ryan F. Seipke

ABSTRACT The survival of any microbe relies on its ability to respond to environmental change. Use of extracytoplasmic function (ECF) RNA polymerase sigma (σ) factors is a major strategy enabling dynamic responses to extracellular signals. Streptomyces species harbor a large number of ECF σ factors, nearly all of which are uncharacterized, but those that have been characterized generally regulate genes required for morphological differentiation and/or response to environmental stress, except for σAntA, which regulates starter-unit biosynthesis in the production of antimycin, an anticancer compound. Unlike a canonical ECF σ factor, whose activity is regulated by a cognate anti-σ factor, σAntA is an orphan, raising intriguing questions about how its activity may be controlled. Here, we reconstituted in vitro ClpXP proteolysis of σAntA but not of a variant lacking a C-terminal di-alanine motif. Furthermore, we show that the abundance of σAntA in vivo was enhanced by removal of the ClpXP recognition sequence and that levels of the protein rose when cellular ClpXP protease activity was abolished. These data establish direct proteolysis as an alternative and, thus far, unique control strategy for an ECF RNA polymerase σ factor and expands the paradigmatic understanding of microbial signal transduction regulation. IMPORTANCE Natural products produced by Streptomyces species underpin many industrially and medically important compounds. However, the majority of the ∼30 biosynthetic pathways harbored by an average species are not expressed in the laboratory. This unrevealed biochemical diversity is believed to comprise an untapped resource for natural product drug discovery. Major roadblocks preventing the exploitation of unexpressed biosynthetic pathways are a lack of insight into their regulation and limited technology for activating their expression. Our findings reveal that the abundance of σAntA, which is the cluster-situated regulator of antimycin biosynthesis, is controlled by the ClpXP protease. These data link proteolysis to the regulation of natural product biosynthesis for the first time to our knowledge, and we anticipate that this will emerge as a major strategy by which actinobacteria regulate production of their natural products. Further study of this process will advance understanding of how expression of secondary metabolism is controlled and will aid pursuit of activating unexpressed biosynthetic pathways.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (17) ◽  
pp. 8310-8319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Sanchez-Vazquez ◽  
Colin N. Dewey ◽  
Nicole Kitten ◽  
Wilma Ross ◽  
Richard L. Gourse

The second messenger nucleotide ppGpp dramatically alters gene expression in bacteria to adjust cellular metabolism to nutrient availability. ppGpp binds to two sites on RNA polymerase (RNAP) inEscherichia coli, but it has also been reported to bind to many other proteins. To determine the role of the RNAP binding sites in the genome-wide effects of ppGpp on transcription, we used RNA-seq to analyze transcripts produced in response to elevated ppGpp levels in strains with/without the ppGpp binding sites on RNAP. We examined RNAs rapidly after ppGpp production without an accompanying nutrient starvation. This procedure enriched for direct effects of ppGpp on RNAP rather than for indirect effects on transcription resulting from starvation-induced changes in metabolism or on secondary events from the initial effects on RNAP. The transcriptional responses of all 757 genes identified after 5 minutes of ppGpp induction depended on ppGpp binding to RNAP. Most (>75%) were not reported in earlier studies. The regulated transcripts encode products involved not only in translation but also in many other cellular processes. In vitro transcription analysis of more than 100 promoters from the in vivo dataset identified a large collection of directly regulated promoters, unambiguously demonstrated that most effects of ppGpp on transcription in vivo were direct, and allowed comparison of DNA sequences from inhibited, activated, and unaffected promoter classes. Our analysis greatly expands our understanding of the breadth of the stringent response and suggests promoter sequence features that contribute to the specific effects of ppGpp.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (10) ◽  
pp. 3434-3443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umender K. Sharma ◽  
Dipankar Chatterji

ABSTRACT Anti-sigma factors Escherichia coli Rsd and bacteriophage T4 AsiA bind to the essential housekeeping sigma factor, σ70, of E. coli. Though both factors are known to interact with the C-terminal region of σ70, the physiological consequences of these interactions are very different. This study was undertaken for the purpose of deciphering the mechanisms by which E. coli Rsd and bacteriophage T4 AsiA inhibit or modulate the activity of E. coli RNA polymerase, which leads to the inhibition of E. coli cell growth to different amounts. It was found that AsiA is the more potent inhibitor of in vivo transcription and thus causes higher inhibition of E. coli cell growth. Measurements of affinity constants by surface plasmon resonance experiments showed that Rsd and AsiA bind to σ70 with similar affinity. Data obtained from in vivo and in vitro binding experiments clearly demonstrated that the major difference between AsiA and Rsd is the ability of AsiA to form a stable ternary complex with RNA polymerase. The binding patterns of AsiA and Rsd with σ70 studied by using the yeast two-hybrid system revealed that region 4 of σ70 is involved in binding to both of these anti-sigma factors; however, Rsd interacts with other regions of σ70 as well. Taken together, these results suggest that the higher inhibition of E. coli growth by AsiA expression is probably due to the ability of the AsiA protein to trap the holoenzyme RNA polymerase rather than its higher binding affinity to σ70.


1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 2437-2441
Author(s):  
F Della Seta ◽  
S A Ciafré ◽  
C Marck ◽  
B Santoro ◽  
C Presutti ◽  
...  

The same factor, ABF1, binds to the promoters of the two gene copies (L2A and L2B) coding for the ribosomal protein L2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In vitro binding experiments and in vivo functional analysis showed that the different affinities of the L2A and L2B promoters for the ABF1 factor are responsible for the differential transcriptional activities of the two gene copies. The presence of ABF1-binding sites in front of many housekeeping genes suggests a general role for ABF1 in the regulation of gene activity.


1975 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-306
Author(s):  
C. Brack ◽  
E. Delain

Partial alkaline denaturation of the circular kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) of Trypanosoma cruzi has shown the existence of 4 small, well-defined AT-rich regions with an average size of about 200 base pairs. They are almost equally distributed, separated by approximately 90 degrees on the circular molecule. All minicircles, whether free or linked in networks, have the same denaturation pattern and, therefore, seem to contain the same information. The long linear molecules present in low amounts in the kDNA samples do not show the same denaturation pattern. Partial denaturation of molecules in larger associations indicates that the circular units may be linked to each other by one strand only. kDNA can be transcribed in vitro by the RNA polymerase of E. coli. RNA polymerase-kDNA complexes have been studied in the electron microscope. By spreading the DNA-protein complexes by adhesion to positively charged carbon films and dark-field observation, it was possible to show the existence of 4 specific binding sites of the E. coli RNA polymerase on the kDNA circles. Comparing the position of the polymerase-binding sites and the AT-rich melted zones, it is suggested that a correlation exists between the two. As had been shown in earlier work, the replication of circular kDNA can be blocked by treating the trypanosomes with the trypanocidal drug Berenil. The comparison of the relative position of the Berenil-blocked replication forks with the position of the 4 denaturation loops shows that the DNA replication is stopped at these AT-rich regions. Since there is evidence that Berenil binds preferentially to AT-rich DNA and seems to be involved in inhibition of DNA replication, the following hypothetical model can be proposed. The replication of the circular kDNA molecules is discontinuous and involves the synthesis of RNA primers; when Berenil is bound to the AT-rich regions, synthesis of new RNA primers is inhibited and replication is blocked at these points, leading to the accumulation of replicating intermediates with defined branch lengths.


Author(s):  
Yee Siew Choong ◽  
Theam Soon Lim ◽  
Hanyun Liu ◽  
Rubin Jiang ◽  
Zimu Cai ◽  
...  

Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel member of the genus betacoronavirus in the Coronaviridae family. It has been identified as the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreading rapidly in Asia, America and Europe. Like some other RNA viruses, RNA replication and transcription of SARS-CoV-2 relies on its RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), which is a therapeutic target of clinical importance. Crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 that was solved recently (PDB ID 6M71) with some missing residues. Objective: We used SARS-CoV-2 RdRP as a target protein to screen for possible chemical molecules with potential antiviral effects. Method: Here we modelled the missing residues 896-905 via homology modelling and then analysed the interactions of Hepatitis C virus allosteric non-nucleoside inhibitors (NNIs) in the reported NNIs binding sites in SARS-CoV-2 RdRP. Results and Discussion: We found that MK-3281, filibuvir, setrobuvir and dasabuvir might be able to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 RdRP based on their binding affinities in the respective binding sites. Conclusion: Further in vitro and in vivo experimental research will be carried out to evaluate their effectiveness in COVID19 treatment in the near future.


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