scholarly journals Methylation of two-component response regulator MtrA in mycobacteria negatively modulates its DNA binding and transcriptional activation

2020 ◽  
Vol 477 (23) ◽  
pp. 4473-4489
Author(s):  
Anshika Singhal ◽  
Richa Virmani ◽  
Saba Naz ◽  
Gunjan Arora ◽  
Mohita Gaur ◽  
...  

Post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation, nitrosylation, and pupylation modulate multiple cellular processes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. While protein methylation at lysine and arginine residues is widespread in eukaryotes, to date only two methylated proteins in Mtb have been identified. Here, we report the identification of methylation at lysine and/or arginine residues in nine mycobacterial proteins. Among the proteins identified, we chose MtrA, an essential response regulator of a two-component signaling system, which gets methylated on multiple lysine and arginine residues to examine the functional consequences of methylation. While methylation of K207 confers a marginal decrease in the DNA-binding ability of MtrA, methylation of R122 or K204 significantly reduces the interaction with the DNA. Overexpression of S-adenosyl homocysteine hydrolase (SahH), an enzyme that modulates the levels of S-adenosyl methionine in mycobacteria decreases the extent of MtrA methylation. Most importantly, we show that decreased MtrA methylation results in transcriptional activation of mtrA and sahH promoters. Collectively, we identify novel methylated proteins, expand the list of modifications in mycobacteria by adding arginine methylation, and show that methylation regulates MtrA activity. We propose that protein methylation could be a more prevalent modification in mycobacterial proteins.

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (8) ◽  
pp. 2192-2203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelley E. Haydel ◽  
William H. Benjamin ◽  
Nancy E. Dunlap ◽  
Josephine E. Clark-Curtiss

ABSTRACT The TrcRS two-component system of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is comprised of the TrcS histidine kinase and the TrcR response regulator, which is homologous to the OmpR class of DNA binding response regulators. Reverse transcription-PCRs with total RNA showed that the trcR and trcS two-component system genes are transcribed in broth-grown M. tuberculosis. Analysis of the trcR and trcS genes using various SCOTS (selective capture of transcribed sequences) probes also confirmed that these genes are expressed in broth-grown cultures and after 18 h of M. tuberculosis growth in cultured human primary macrophages. To determine if the TrcR response regulator is autoregulated, a trcR-lacZ fusion plasmid and a TrcR expression plasmid were cotransformed into Escherichia coli. Upon induction of the TrcR protein, there was a >500-fold increase in β-galactosidase activity from the trcR-lacZ fusion, indicating that TrcR is involved in transcriptional autoactivation. Gel mobility shift assays with the trcR promoter and TrcR established that the response regulator was autoregulating via direct binding. By use of a delimiting series of overlapping trcR PCR fragments in gel mobility shift assays with TrcR, an AT-rich region of the trcR promoter was shown to be essential for TrcR binding. Additionally, this AT-rich sequence was protected by TrcR in DNase I protection assays. To further analyze the role of the AT-rich region in TrcR autoregulation, the trcR promoter was mutated and analyzed in lacZ transcriptional fusions in the presence of TrcR. Alteration of the AT-rich sequence in the trcR promoter resulted in the loss of trcR transcriptional activation in the presence of TrcR. This report indicates that the M. tuberculosis TrcR response regulator activates its own expression by interacting with the AT-rich sequence of the trcR promoter.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 2872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Janczarek ◽  
José-María Vinardell ◽  
Paulina Lipa ◽  
Magdalena Karaś

Reversible phosphorylation is a key mechanism that regulates many cellular processes in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In prokaryotes, signal transduction includes two-component signaling systems, which involve a membrane sensor histidine kinase and a cognate DNA-binding response regulator. Several recent studies indicate that alternative regulatory pathways controlled by Hanks-type serine/threonine kinases (STKs) and serine/threonine phosphatases (STPs) also play an essential role in regulation of many different processes in bacteria, such as growth and cell division, cell wall biosynthesis, sporulation, biofilm formation, stress response, metabolic and developmental processes, as well as interactions (either pathogenic or symbiotic) with higher host organisms. Since these enzymes are not DNA-binding proteins, they exert the regulatory role via post-translational modifications of their protein targets. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of STKs and STPs, and discuss how these enzymes mediate gene expression in prokaryotes. Many studies indicate that regulatory systems based on Hanks-type STKs and STPs play an essential role in the regulation of various cellular processes, by reversibly phosphorylating many protein targets, among them several regulatory proteins of other signaling cascades. These data show high complexity of bacterial regulatory network, in which the crosstalk between STK/STP signaling enzymes, components of TCSs, and the translational machinery occurs. In this regulation, the STK/STP systems have been proved to play important roles.


2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (24) ◽  
pp. 6975-6982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet K. Hatt ◽  
Philip Youngman

ABSTRACT The Spo0A protein of Bacillus subtilis is a DNA-binding protein that is required for the expression of genes involved in the initiation of sporulation. Spo0A binds directly to and both activates and represses transcription from the promoters of several genes required during the onset of endospore formation. The C-terminal 113 residues are known to contain the DNA-binding activity of Spo0A. Previous studies identified a region of the C-terminal half of Spo0A that is highly conserved among species of endospore-formingBacillus and Clostridium and which encodes a putative helix-turn-helix DNA-binding domain. To test the functional significance of this region and determine if this motif is involved in DNA binding, we changed three conserved residues, S210, E213, and R214, to Gly and/or Ala by site-directed mutagenesis. We then isolated and analyzed the five substitution-containing Spo0A proteins for DNA binding and sporulation-specific gene activation. The S210A Spo0A mutant exhibited no change from wild-type binding, although it was defective in spoIIA and spoIIE promoter activation. In contrast, both the E213G and E213A Spo0A variants showed decreased binding and completely abolished transcriptional activation of spoIIA and spoIIE, while the R214G and R214A variants completely abolished both DNA binding and transcriptional activation. These data suggest that these conserved residues are important for transcriptional activation and that the E213 residue is involved in DNA binding.


Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Tapparel ◽  
Antoinette Monod ◽  
William L. Kelley

Two-component systems (TCS) based on a sensor histidine kinase and a phosphorylated cognate target regulator allow rapid responses to environmental changes. TCS are highly evolutionarily conserved, though in only a few cases are the inducing signals understood. This study focuses on the Escherichia coli CpxR response regulator that responds to periplasmic and outer-membrane stress. N-terminal deletion mutations have been isolated that render the transcription factor constitutively active, indicating that the N terminus functions, in part, to keep the C-terminal winged-helix DNA-binding effector domain in an inactive state. Analysis of truncations spanning the CpxR interdomain region revealed that mutants retaining the α5 helix significantly augment activation. Hybrid proteins obtained by fusing the CpxR effector domain to structurally similar heterologous N-terminal regulatory domains, or even GFP, failed to restore repression to the C-terminal domain. These findings shed light on the mechanism of CpxR effector domain activation and on the investigation of constitutive mutants obtained by truncation in other TCS.


2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (8) ◽  
pp. 2111-2127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Sun ◽  
Chunling Li ◽  
Dowon Jeong ◽  
Changmo Sohn ◽  
Chuan He ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus uses the SaeRS two-component system to control the expression of many virulence factors such as alpha-hemolysin and coagulase; however, the molecular mechanism of this signaling has not yet been elucidated. Here, using the P1 promoter of the sae operon as a model target DNA, we demonstrated that the unphosphorylated response regulator SaeR does not bind to the P1 promoter DNA, while its C-terminal DNA binding domain alone does. The DNA binding activity of full-length SaeR could be restored by sensor kinase SaeS-induced phosphorylation. Phosphorylated SaeR is more resistant to digestion by trypsin, suggesting conformational changes. DNase I footprinting assays revealed that the SaeR protection region in the P1 promoter contains a direct repeat sequence (GTTAAN6GTTAA [where N is any nucleotide]). This sequence is critical to the binding of phosphorylated SaeR. Mutational changes in the repeat sequence greatly reduced both the in vitro binding of SaeR and the in vivo function of the P1 promoter. From these results, we concluded that SaeR recognizes the direct repeat sequence as a binding site and that binding requires phosphorylation by SaeS.


1995 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 3892-3903 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Rainwater ◽  
D Parks ◽  
M E Anderson ◽  
P Tegtmeyer ◽  
K Mann

Previous studies of p53 have implicated cysteine residues in site-specific DNA binding via zinc coordination and redox regulation (P. Hainaut and J. Milner, Cancer Res. 53:4469-4473, 1993; T. R. Hupp, D. W. Meek, C. A. Midgley, and D. P. Lane, Nucleic Acids Res. 21:3167-3174, 1993). We show here that zinc binding and redox regulation are, at least in part, distinct determinants of the binding of p53 to DNA. Moreover, by substituting serine for each cysteine in murine p53, we have investigated the roles of individual cysteines in the regulation of p53 function. Substitution of serine for cysteine at position 40, 179, 274, 293, or 308 had little or no effect on p53 function. In contrast, replacement of cysteine at position 173, 235, or 239 markedly reduced in vitro DNA binding, completely blocked transcriptional activation, and led to a striking enhancement rather than a suppression of transformation by p53. These three cysteines have been implicated in zinc binding by X-ray diffraction studies (Y. Cho, S. Gorina, P.D. Jeffrey, and N.P. Pavletich, Science 265:346-355, 1994); our studies demonstrate the functional consequences of the inability of the central DNA-binding domain of p53 to studies demonstrate the functional consequences of the inability of the central DNA-binding domain of p53 to bind zinc. Lastly, substitutions for cysteines at position 121, 132, 138, or 272 partially blocked both transactivation and the suppression of transformation by p53. These four cysteines are located in the loop-sheet-helix region of the site-specific DNA-binding domain of p53. Like the cysteines in the zinc-binding region, therefore, these cysteines may cooperate to modulate the structure of the DNA-binding domain. Our findings argue that p53 is subject to more than one level of conformational modulation through oxidation-reduction of cysteines at or near the p53-DNA interface.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (52) ◽  
pp. 33530-33539
Author(s):  
Oscar J. Vázquez-Ciros ◽  
Adrián F. Alvarez ◽  
Dimitris Georgellis

Two-component systems (TCSs) in bacteria are molecular circuits that allow the perception of and response to diverse stimuli. These signaling circuits rely on phosphoryl-group transfers between transmitter and receiver domains of sensor kinase and response regulator proteins, and regulate several cellular processes in response to internal or external cues. Phosphorylation, and thereby activation, of response regulators has been demonstrated to occur by their cognate histidine kinases but also by low molecular weight phosphodonors such as acetyl phosphate and carbamoyl phosphate. Here, we present data indicating that the intermediates of the de novo syntheses of purines and histidine, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl 5′-monophosphate (ZMP) and/or 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranosyl 5′-triphosphate (ZTP), activate the response regulator UvrY, by promoting its autophosphorylation at the conserved aspartate at position 54. Moreover, these Z nucleotides are shown to also activate the nonrelated response regulators ArcA, CpxR, RcsB, and PhoQ. We propose that ZMP and/or ZTP act as alarmones for a wide range of response regulators in vivo, providing a novel mechanism by which they could impact gene expression in response to metabolic cues.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
JASON D. MAARSINGH ◽  
SHANSHAN YANG ◽  
JIN G. PARK ◽  
SHELLEY E HAYDEL

Abstract Background Mycobacterium smegmatis is a saprophytic bacterium frequently used as a genetic surrogate to study pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The PrrAB two-component genetic regulatory system is essential in M. tuberculosis and represents an attractive therapeutic target. In this study, transcriptomic analysis (RNA-seq) of an M. smegmatis ΔprrAB mutant was used to define the PrrAB regulon and provide insights into the essential nature of PrrAB in M. tuberculosis. Results RNA-seq differential expression analysis of M. smegmatis wild-type (WT), ΔprrAB mutant, and complementation strains revealed that during in vitro exponential growth, PrrAB regulates 167 genes (q < 0.05), 57% of which are induced in the WT background. Gene ontology and cluster of orthologous groups analyses showed that PrrAB regulates genes participating in ion homeostasis, redox balance, metabolism, and energy production. PrrAB induced transcription of dosR (devR), a response regulator gene that promotes latent infection in M. tuberculosis and 21 of the 25 M. smegmatis DosRS regulon homologues. Compared to the WT and complementation strains, the ΔprrAB mutant exhibited an exaggerated delayed growth phenotype upon exposure to potassium cyanide and respiratory inhibition. Gene expression profiling correlated with these growth deficiency results, revealing that PrrAB induces transcription of the high-affinity cytochrome bd oxidase genes under both aerobic and hypoxic conditions. ATP synthesis was ~64% lower in the ΔprrAB mutant relative to WT strain, further demonstrating that PrrAB regulates energy production. Conclusions The M. smegmatis PrrAB two-component system regulates respiratory and oxidative phosphorylation pathways, potentially to provide tolerance against the dynamic environmental conditions experienced in its natural ecological niche. PrrAB positively regulates ATP levels during exponential growth, presumably through transcriptional activation of both terminal respiratory branches (cytochrome c bc1 - aa3 and cytochrome bd oxidases), despite transcriptional repression of ATP synthase genes. Additionally, PrrAB positively regulates expression of the dormancy-associated dosR response regulator genes in an oxygen-independent manner, which may serve to fine-tune sensory perception of environmental stimuli associated with metabolic repression.


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