scholarly journals C-terminal domain of the RNA chaperone Hfq drives sRNA competition and release of target RNA

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (41) ◽  
pp. E6089-E6096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Santiago-Frangos ◽  
Kumari Kavita ◽  
Daniel J. Schu ◽  
Susan Gottesman ◽  
Sarah A. Woodson

The bacterial Sm protein and RNA chaperone Hfq stabilizes small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) and facilitates their annealing to mRNA targets involved in stress tolerance and virulence. Although an arginine patch on the Sm core is needed for Hfq’s RNA chaperone activity, the function of Hfq’s intrinsically disordered C-terminal domain (CTD) has remained unclear. Here, we use stopped flow spectroscopy to show that the CTD of Escherichia coli Hfq is not needed to accelerate RNA base pairing but is required for the release of dsRNA. The Hfq CTD also mediates competition between sRNAs, offering a kinetic advantage to sRNAs that contact both the proximal and distal faces of the Hfq hexamer. The change in sRNA hierarchy caused by deletion of the Hfq CTD in E. coli alters the sRNA accumulation and the kinetics of sRNA regulation in vivo. We propose that the Hfq CTD displaces sRNAs and annealed sRNA⋅mRNA complexes from the Sm core, enabling Hfq to chaperone sRNA–mRNA interactions and rapidly cycle between competing targets in the cell.

eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Santiago-Frangos ◽  
Jeliazko R Jeliazkov ◽  
Jeffrey J Gray ◽  
Sarah A Woodson

The RNA chaperone Hfq is an Sm protein that facilitates base pairing between bacterial small RNAs (sRNAs) and mRNAs involved in stress response and pathogenesis. Hfq possesses an intrinsically disordered C-terminal domain (CTD) that may tune the function of the Sm domain in different organisms. In Escherichia coli, the Hfq CTD increases kinetic competition between sRNAs and recycles Hfq from the sRNA-mRNA duplex. Here, de novo Rosetta modeling and competitive binding experiments show that the acidic tip of the E. coli Hfq CTD transiently binds the basic Sm core residues necessary for RNA annealing. The CTD tip competes against non-specific RNA binding, facilitates dsRNA release, and prevents indiscriminate DNA aggregation, suggesting that this acidic peptide mimics nucleic acid to auto-regulate RNA binding to the Sm ring. The mechanism of CTD auto-inhibition predicts the chaperone function of Hfq in bacterial genera and illuminates how Sm proteins may evolve new functions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6865
Author(s):  
Eun Seon Lee ◽  
Joung Hun Park ◽  
Seong Dong Wi ◽  
Ho Byoung Chae ◽  
Seol Ki Paeng ◽  
...  

The thioredoxin-h (Trx-h) family of Arabidopsis thaliana comprises cytosolic disulfide reductases. However, the physiological function of Trx-h2, which contains an additional 19 amino acids at its N-terminus, remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the molecular function of Trx-h2 both in vitro and in vivo and found that Arabidopsis Trx-h2 overexpression (Trx-h2OE) lines showed significantly longer roots than wild-type plants under cold stress. Therefore, we further investigated the role of Trx-h2 under cold stress. Our results revealed that Trx-h2 functions as an RNA chaperone by melting misfolded and non-functional RNAs, and by facilitating their correct folding into active forms with native conformation. We showed that Trx-h2 binds to and efficiently melts nucleic acids (ssDNA, dsDNA, and RNA), and facilitates the export of mRNAs from the nucleus to the cytoplasm under cold stress. Moreover, overexpression of Trx-h2 increased the survival rate of the cold-sensitive E. coli BX04 cells under low temperature. Thus, our data show that Trx-h2 performs function as an RNA chaperone under cold stress, thus increasing plant cold tolerance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
György Schneider ◽  
Nikolett Szentes ◽  
Marianna Horváth ◽  
Ágnes Dorn ◽  
Alysia Cox ◽  
...  

Escherichia (E.) coliK1 strains remain common causative agents of neonatal sepsis and meningitis. We have isolated a lytic bacteriophage (ΦIK1) againstE. colistrain IHE3034 and tested its specificityin vitro, as well as distribution and protective efficacyin vivo. The phage was shown to be specific to the K1 capsular polysaccharide. In the lethal murine model, a high level of protection was afforded by the phage with strict kinetics. A single dose of 1 x 108phage particles administered 10 and 60 minutes following the bacterial challenge elicited 100 % and 95 % survival, respectively. No mice could be rescued if phage administration occurred 3 hours postinfection. Tissue distribution surveys in the surviving mice revealed that the spleen was the primary organ in which accumulation of active ΦIK1 phages could be detected two weeks after phage administration. These results suggest that bacteriophages have potential as therapeutic agents in the control of systemic infections.


Author(s):  
Margaux R. Audett ◽  
Erin L. Johnson ◽  
Jessica M. McGory ◽  
Dylan M. Barcelos ◽  
Evelin Oroszne Szalai ◽  
...  

KNL1 is a large intrinsically disordered kinetochore (KT) protein that recruits spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) components to mediate SAC signaling. The N-terminal region (NTR) of KNL1 possesses two activities that have been implicated in SAC silencing: microtubule (MT) binding and protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) recruitment. The NTR of D. melanogaster KNL1 (Spc105) has never been shown to bind MTs nor to recruit PP1. Furthermore, the phospho-regulatory mechanisms known to control SAC protein binding to KNL1 orthologues is absent in D. melanogaster. Here, these apparent discrepancies are resolved using in vitro and cell based-assays. A phospho-regulatory circuit, which utilizes Aurora B kinase (ABK), promotes SAC protein binding to the central disordered region of Spc105 while the NTR binds directly to MTs in vitro and recruits PP1-87B to KTs in vivo. Live-cell assays employing an optogenetic oligomerization tag, and deletion/chimera mutants are used to define the interplay of MT- and PP1-binding by Spc105 and the relative contributions of both activities to the kinetics of SAC satisfaction. [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text]


Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1856
Author(s):  
Nikoletta Murvai ◽  
Lajos Kalmar ◽  
Bianka Szalaine Agoston ◽  
Beata Szabo ◽  
Agnes Tantos ◽  
...  

Details of the functional mechanisms of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) in living cells is an area not frequently investigated. Here, we dissect the molecular mechanism of action of an IDP in cells by detailed structural analyses based on an in-cell nuclear magnetic resonance experiment. We show that the ID stress protein (IDSP) A. thaliana Early Response to Dehydration (ERD14) is capable of protecting E. coli cells under heat stress. The overexpression of ERD14 increases the viability of E. coli cells from 38.9% to 73.9% following heat stress (50 °C × 15 min). We also provide evidence that the protection is mainly achieved by protecting the proteome of the cells. In-cell NMR experiments performed in E. coli cells show that the protective activity is associated with a largely disordered structural state with conserved, short sequence motifs (K- and H-segments), which transiently sample helical conformations in vitro and engage in partner binding in vivo. Other regions of the protein, such as its S segment and its regions linking and flanking the binding motifs, remain unbound and disordered in the cell. Our data suggest that the cellular function of ERD14 is compatible with its residual structural disorder in vivo.


2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (23) ◽  
pp. 3186-3199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Pathania ◽  
Arvind Kumar Gupta ◽  
Swati Dubey ◽  
Balasubramanian Gopal ◽  
Abhijit A. Sardesai

ABSTRACTArgO and LysE are members of the LysE family of exporter proteins and ordinarily mediate the export ofl-arginine (Arg) inEscherichia coliandl-lysine (Lys) and Arg inCorynebacterium glutamicum, respectively. Under certain conditions, ArgO also mediates Lys export. To delineate the arrangement of ArgO in the cytoplasmic membrane ofE. coli, we have employed a combination of cysteine accessibilityin situ, alkaline phosphatase fusion reporters, and protein modeling to arrive at a topological model of ArgO. Our studies indicate that ArgO assumes an Nin-Coutconfiguration, potentially forming a five-transmembrane helix bundle flanked by a cytoplasmic N-terminal domain (NTD) comprising roughly its first 38 to 43 amino acyl residues and a short periplasmic C-terminal region (CTR). Mutagenesis studies indicate that the CTR, but not the NTD, is dispensable for ArgO functionin vivoand that a pair of conserved aspartate residues, located near the opposing edges of the cytoplasmic membrane, may play a pivotal role in facilitating transmembrane Arg flux. Additional studies on amino acid substitutions that impair ArgO functionin vivoand their derivatives bearing compensatory amino acid alterations indicate a role for intramolecular interactions in the Arg export mechanism, and some interactions are corroborated by normal-mode analyses. Lastly, our studies suggest that ArgO may exist as a monomerin vivo, thus highlighting the requirement for intramolecular interactions in ArgO, as opposed to interactions across multiple ArgO monomers, in the formation of an Arg-translocating conduit.IMPORTANCEThe orthologous proteins LysE ofC. glutamicumand ArgO ofE. colifunction as exporters of the basic amino acidsl-arginine andl-lysine and the basic amino acidl-arginine, respectively, and LysE can functionally substitute for ArgO when expressed inE. coli. Notwithstanding this functional equivalence, studies reported here show that ArgO possesses a membrane topology that is distinct from that reported for LysE, with substantial variation in the topological arrangement of the proximal one-third portions of the two exporters. Additional genetic andin silicostudies reveal the importance of (i) the cytoplasmic N-terminal domain, (ii) a pair of conserved aspartate residues, and (iii) potential intramolecular interactions in ArgO function and indicate that an Arg-translocating conduit is formed by a monomer of ArgO.


2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 950-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Binolfi ◽  
Francois-Xavier Theillet ◽  
Philipp Selenko

The notion that human α-synuclein is an intrinsically disordered monomeric protein was recently challenged by a postulated α-helical tetramer as the physiologically relevant protein structure. The fact that this alleged conformation had evaded detection for so many years was primarily attributed to a widely used denaturation protocol to purify recombinant α-synuclein. In the present paper, we provide in-cell NMR evidence obtained directly in intact Escherichia coli cells that challenges a tetrameric conformation under native in vivo conditions. Although our data cannot rule out the existence of other intracellular protein states, especially in cells of higher organisms, they indicate clearly that inside E. coli α-synuclein is mostly monomeric and disordered.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumari Kavita ◽  
Aixia Zhang ◽  
Chin-Hsien Tai ◽  
Nadim Majdalani ◽  
Gisela Storz ◽  
...  

Hfq, a bacterial RNA chaperone, stabilizes small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) and facilitates sRNA base-pairing with target mRNAs. Hfq has a conserved N-terminal domain and a poorly conserved disordered C-terminal domain (CTD). In a transcriptome-wide examination of the effects of a chromosomal CTD deletion (Hfq1-65), the Escherichia coli mutant was most defective for the accumulation of sRNAs that bind the proximal and distal faces of Hfq (Class II sRNAs), but other sRNAs also were affected. There were only modest effects on the levels of mRNAs, suggesting little disruption of sRNA-dependent regulation. However, cells expressing Hfq lacking the CTD deletion in combination with a weak distal face mutation were defective for the function of the Class II sRNA ChiX and repression of mutS, both dependent upon distal face RNA binding. Loss of the region between amino acids 66-72 was critical for this defect. The CTD region beyond amino acid 72 was not necessary for distal face-dependent regulation, but was needed for functions associated with the Hfq rim, seen most clearly in combination with a rim mutant. Our results suggest that the C-terminus collaborates in various ways with different binding faces of Hfq, leading to distinct outcomes for individual sRNAs.


2003 ◽  
Vol 121 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andriy Anishkin ◽  
Vyacheslav Gendel ◽  
Neda A. Sharifi ◽  
Chien-Sung Chiang ◽  
Lena Shirinian ◽  
...  

COOH-terminal (S3) domains are conserved within the MscL family of bacterial mechanosensitive channels, but their function remains unclear. The X-ray structure of MscL from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TbMscL) revealed cytoplasmic domains forming a pentameric bundle (Chang, G., R.H. Spencer, A.T. Lee, M.T. Barclay, and D.C. Rees. 1998. Science. 282:2220–2226). The helices, however, have an unusual orientation in which hydrophobic sidechains face outside while charged residues face inside, possibly due to specific crystallization conditions. Based on the structure of pentameric cartilage protein , we modeled the COOH-terminal region of E. coli MscL to better satisfy the hydrophobicity criteria, with sidechains of conserved aliphatic residues all inside the bundle. Molecular dynamic simulations predicted higher stability for this conformation compared with one modeled after the crystal structure of TbMscL, and suggested distances for disulfide trapping experiments. The single cysteine mutants L121C and I125C formed dimers under ambient conditions and more so in the presence of an oxidant. The double-cysteine mutants, L121C/L122C and L128C/L129C, often cross-link into tetrameric and pentameric structures, consistent with the new model. Patch-clamp examination of these double mutants under moderately oxidizing or reducing conditions indicated that the bundle cross-linking neither prevents the channel from opening nor changes thermodynamic parameters of gating. Destabilization of the bundle by replacing conservative leucines with small polar residues, or complete removal of COOH-terminal domain (Δ110–136 mutation), increased the occupancy of subconducting states but did not change gating parameters substantially. The Δ110–136 truncation mutant was functional in in vivo osmotic shock assays; however, the amount of ATP released into the shock medium was considerably larger than in controls. The data strongly suggest that in contrast to previous gating models (Sukharev, S., M. Betanzos, C.S. Chiang, and H.R. Guy. 2001a. Nature. 409:720–724.), S3 domains are stably associated in both closed and open conformations. The bundle-like assembly of cytoplasmic helices provides stability to the open conformation, and may function as a size-exclusion filter at the cytoplasmic entrance to the MscL pore, preventing loss of essential metabolites.


2009 ◽  
Vol 418 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia S. López ◽  
R. Sean Peacock ◽  
Jorge H. Crosa ◽  
Hans J. Vogel

In the fish pathogen Vibrio anguillarum the TonB2 protein is essential for the uptake of the indigenous siderophore anguibactin. Here we describe deletion mutants and alanine replacements affecting the final six amino acids of TonB2. Deletions of more than two amino acids of the TonB2 C-terminus abolished ferric-anguibactin transport, whereas replacement of the last three residues resulted in a protein with wild-type transport properties. We have solved the high-resolution solution structure of the TonB2 C-terminal domain by NMR spectroscopy. The core of this domain (residues 121–206) has an αββαβ structure, whereas residues 76–120 are flexible and extended. This overall folding topology is similar to the Escherichia coli TonB C-terminal domain, albeit with two differences: the β4 strand found at the C-terminus of TonB is absent in TonB2, and loop 3 is extended by 9 Å (0.9 nm) in TonB2. By examining several mutants, we determined that a complete loop 3 is not essential for TonB2 activity. Our results indicate that the β4 strand of E. coli TonB is not required for activity of the TonB system across Gram-negative bacterial species. We have also determined, through NMR chemical-shift-perturbation experiments, that the E. coli TonB binds in vitro to the TonB box from the TonB2-dependent outer membrane transporter FatA; moreover, it can substitute in vivo for TonB2 during ferric-anguibactin transport in V. anguillarum. Unexpectedly, TonB2 did not bind in vitro to the FatA TonB-box region, suggesting that additional factors may be required to promote this interaction. Overall our results indicate that TonB2 is a representative of a different class of TonB proteins.


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