scholarly journals Transcriptomic and functional analyses reveal roles of AclR, a luxR-type global regular in regulating motility and virulence of Acidovorax citrulli

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Guan ◽  
Wang Tielin ◽  
Qi Huang ◽  
Mei Zhao ◽  
Eryuan Tian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Transcriptional Regulators ◽  
Transcriptomic Analysis ◽  
Biological Functions ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Acidovorax Citrulli ◽  
Flagellar Assembly ◽  
Functional Analyses

LuxR-type transcriptional regulators are essential for many physiological processes in bacteria, including pathogenesis. Acidovorax citrulli is a seedborne bacterial pathogen responsible for bacterial fruit blotch, which causes great losses in melon and watermelon worldwide. However, the LuxR-type transcriptional factors in A. citrulli have not been well studied, except the previously reported LuxR-type regulatory protein, AcrR, involved inregulating virulence and motility. Here, we characterized a second LuxR-type regulator, AclR, in the group II strain Aac-5 of A. citrulli by mutagenesis, virulence and motility assays, and transcriptomic analysis. Deletion of aclR resulted in impaired twitching and swimming motility and flagellar formation and diminished virulence but increased biofilm formation. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that 1379 genes were differentially expressed in the aclR-mutant strain, including 29 genes involved in flagellar assembly and 3 involved in pili formation, suggesting a regulatory role for AclR in multiple important biological functions of A. citrulli. Together, our results not only indicate that AclR plays a global role in transcriptional regulation in A. citrulli influencing motility, biofilm formation, and virulence, but also provide perspective regarding the regulatory network of biological functions in A. citrulli.

scholarly journals The Response of Acinetobacter baumannii to Hydrogen Sulfide Reveals Two Independent Persulfide-Sensing Systems and a Connection to Biofilm Regulation

mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenna J. C. Walsh ◽  
Jiefei Wang ◽  
Katherine A. Edmonds ◽  
Lauren D. Palmer ◽  
Yixiang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Sulfide ◽  
Acinetobacter Baumannii ◽  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Sulfide Oxidation ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Transcriptional Regulators ◽  
Human Pathogen ◽  
Secondary System ◽  
Biofilm Growth ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACT Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic nosocomial pathogen that is the causative agent of several serious infections in humans, including pneumonia, sepsis, and wound and burn infections. A. baumannii is also capable of forming proteinaceous biofilms on both abiotic and epithelial cell surfaces. Here, we investigate the response of A. baumannii toward sodium sulfide (Na2S), known to be associated with some biofilms at oxic/anoxic interfaces. The addition of exogenous inorganic sulfide reveals that A. baumannii encodes two persulfide-sensing transcriptional regulators, a primary σ54-dependent transcriptional activator (FisR), and a secondary system controlled by the persulfide-sensing biofilm growth-associated repressor (BigR), which is only induced by sulfide in a fisR deletion strain. FisR activates an operon encoding a sulfide oxidation/detoxification system similar to that characterized previously in Staphylococcus aureus, while BigR regulates a secondary persulfide dioxygenase (PDO2) as part of yeeE-yedE-pdo2 sulfur detoxification operon, found previously in Serratia spp. Global S-sulfuration (persulfidation) mapping of the soluble proteome reveals 513 persulfidation targets well beyond FisR-regulated genes and includes five transcriptional regulators, most notably the master biofilm regulator BfmR and a poorly characterized catabolite regulatory protein (Crp). Both BfmR and Crp are well known to impact biofilm formation in A. baumannii and other organisms, respectively, suggesting that persulfidation of these regulators may control their activities. The implications of these findings on bacterial sulfide homeostasis, persulfide signaling, and biofilm formation are discussed. IMPORTANCE Although hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has long been known as a respiratory poison, recent reports in numerous bacterial pathogens reveal that H2S and more downstream oxidized forms of sulfur collectedly termed reactive sulfur species (RSS) function as antioxidants to combat host efforts to clear the infection. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptional and proteomic response of A. baumannii to exogenous sulfide as a model for how this important human pathogen manages sulfide/RSS homeostasis. We show that A. baumannii is unique in that it encodes two independent persulfide sensing and detoxification pathways that govern the speciation of bioactive sulfur in cells. The secondary persulfide sensor, BigR, impacts the expression of biofilm-associated genes; in addition, we identify two other transcriptional regulators known or projected to regulate biofilm formation, BfmR and Crp, as highly persulfidated in sulfide-exposed cells. These findings significantly strengthen the connection between sulfide homeostasis and biofilm formation in an important human pathogen.

scholarly journals Deciphering sex-specific miRNAs as heat-recorders in zebrafish

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tosca van Gelderen ◽  
Jerome Montfort ◽  
José Antonio Álvarez-Diós ◽  
Violette Thermes ◽  
Francesc Piferrer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change Scenario ◽  
Sex Differentiation ◽  
Transcriptional Regulators ◽  
Zebrafish Genome ◽  
Change Scenario ◽  
Environmental Cues ◽  
Chromosome 4 ◽  
Biological Functions ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
First Time

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression in a wide variety of physiological processes, including those related to the reproductive system. Although in the last decade a plethora of miRNAs has been reported, the miRNA alterations occurred by environmental cues and their biological functions have not yet been elucidated. With the aim to identify epigenetic regulations mediated by miRNAs in the gonads in a climate change scenario, zebrafish (Danio rerio) were subjected to high temperatures during sex differentiation (18-32 days post fertilization, dpf), a treatment that results in male-skewed sex ratios. Once the fish reached adulthood (90 dpf), ovaries and testes were sequenced by high-throughput technologies. About 101 million high-quality reads were obtained from gonadal samples. Analyses of the expression levels of the miRNAs identified a total of 23 and 1 differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs in ovaries and testes, respectively, two months after the heat treatment. Most of the identified miRNAs were involved in human sex-related cancer. After retrieving 3’ UTR regions, ~400 predicted targets of the 24 DE miRNAs were obtained, some with reproduction-related functions. Their synteny in the zebrafish genome was, for more than half of them, in the chromosomes 7, 2, 4, 3 and 11 in the ovaries, chromosome 4 being the place where the predicted sex-associated-region (sar) is localized in wild zebrafish. Further, spatial localization in the gonads of two selected miRNAs (miR-122-5p and miR-146-5p) showed exclusive expression in the ovarian germ cells. The present study expands the catalog of sex-specific miRNAs and deciphers, for the first time, thermosensitive miRNAs in the zebrafish gonads that might be used as potential epimarkers to predict environmental past events.

scholarly journals CD25890, a conserved protein that modulates sporulation initiation in Clostridioides difficile

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Martins ◽  
Michael A. DiCandia ◽  
Aristides L. Mendes ◽  
Daniela Wetzel ◽  
Shonna M. McBride ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Human Intestine ◽  
Healthy Humans ◽  
Clostridioides Difficile ◽  
Nutritional Conditions ◽  
Sporulation Initiation

AbstractBacteria that reside in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy humans are essential for our health, sustenance and well-being. About 50–60% of those bacteria have the ability to produce resilient spores that are important for the life cycle in the gut and for host-to-host transmission. A genomic signature for sporulation in the human intestine was recently described, which spans both commensals and pathogens such as Clostridioides difficile and contains several genes of unknown function. We report on the characterization of a signature gene, CD25890, which, as we show is involved in the control of sporulation initiation in C. difficile under certain nutritional conditions. Spo0A is the main regulatory protein controlling entry into sporulation and we show that an in-frame deletion of CD25890 results in increased expression of spo0A per cell and increased sporulation. The effect of CD25890 on spo0A is likely indirect and mediated through repression of the sinRR´ operon. Deletion of the CD25890 gene, however, does not alter the expression of the genes coding for the cytotoxins or the genes involved in biofilm formation. Our results suggest that CD25890 acts to modulate sporulation in response to the nutrients present in the environment.

Transcriptomic analysis of the process of biofilm formation in Rhizobium etli CFN42

2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (9) ◽  
pp. 847-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agustín Reyes-Pérez ◽  
María del Carmen Vargas ◽  
Magdalena Hernández ◽  
Eneas Aguirre-von-Wobeser ◽  
Ernesto Pérez-Rueda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Transcriptomic Analysis ◽  
Rhizobium Etli

scholarly journals Biofilm Formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Fimbrial cup Gene Clusters Are Controlled by the Transcriptional Regulator MvaT

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (9) ◽  
pp. 2880-2890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Vallet ◽  
Stephen P. Diggle ◽  
Rachael E. Stacey ◽  
Miguel Cámara ◽  
Isabelle Ventre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Dna Microarrays ◽  
Transcriptional Profiling ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Northern Blotting ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Regulatory Control ◽  
Homologous Gene

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen which poses a major threat to long-term-hospitalized patients and individuals with cystic fibrosis. The capacity of P. aeruginosa to form biofilms is an important requirement for chronic colonization of human tissues and for persistence in implanted medical devices. Various stages of biofilm formation by this organism are mediated by extracellular appendages, such as type IV pili and flagella. Recently, we identified three P. aeruginosa gene clusters that were termed cup (chaperone-usher pathway) based on their sequence relatedness to the chaperone-usher fimbrial assembly pathway in other bacteria. The cupA gene cluster, but not the cupB or cupC cluster, is required for biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces. In this study, we identified a gene (mvaT) encoding a negative regulator of cupA expression. Such regulatory control was confirmed by several approaches, including lacZ transcriptional fusions, Northern blotting, and transcriptional profiling using DNA microarrays. MvaT also represses the expression of the cupB and cupC genes, although the extent of the regulatory effect is not as pronounced as with cupA. Consistent with this finding, mvaT mutants exhibit enhanced biofilm formation. Although the P. aeruginosa genome contains a highly homologous gene, mvaU, the repression of cupA genes is MvaT specific. Thus, MvaT appears to be an important regulatory component within a complex network that controls biofilm formation and maturation in P. aeruginosa.

Putrescine and its metabolic precursor arginine promote biofilm and c-di-GMP synthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhexian Liu ◽  
Sarzana S. Hossain ◽  
Zayda Morales Moreira ◽  
Cara H. Haney
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Antimicrobial Agents ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Guanosine Monophosphate ◽  
Genetic Approach ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Host Immune Responses ◽  
Primary Mechanism

Pseudomonas aeruginosa , an opportunistic bacterial pathogen can synthesize and catabolize a number of small cationic molecules known as polyamines. In several clades of bacteria polyamines regulate biofilm formation, a lifestyle-switching process that confers resistance to environmental stress. The polyamine putrescine and its biosynthetic precursors, L-arginine and agmatine, promote biofilm formation in Pseudomonas spp. However, it remains unclear whether the effect is a direct effect of polyamines or through a metabolic derivative. Here we used a genetic approach to demonstrate that putrescine accumulation, either through disruption of the spermidine biosynthesis pathway or the catabolic putrescine aminotransferase pathway, promoted biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa . Consistent with this observation, exogenous putrescine robustly induced biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa that was dependent on putrescine uptake and biosynthesis pathways. Additionally, we show that L-arginine, the biosynthetic precursor of putrescine, also promoted biofilm formation, but via a mechanism independent of putrescine or agmatine conversion. We found that both putrescine and L-arginine induced a significant increase in the intracellular level of bis-(3′-5′)-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) (c-di-GMP), a bacterial second messenger widely found in Proteobacteria that upregulates biofilm formation. Collectively these data show that putrescine and its metabolic precursor arginine promote biofilm and c-di-GMP synthesis in P. aeruginosa . Importance: Biofilm formation allows bacteria to physically attach to a surface, confers tolerance to antimicrobial agents, and promotes resistance to host immune responses. As a result, regulation of biofilm is often crucial for bacterial pathogens to establish chronic infections. A primary mechanism of biofilm promotion in bacteria is the molecule c-di-GMP, which promotes biofilm formation. The level of c-di-GMP is tightly regulated by bacterial enzymes. In this study, we found that putrescine, a small molecule ubiquitously found in eukaryotic cells, robustly enhances P. aeruginosa biofilm and c-di-GMP. We propose that P. aeruginosa may sense putrescine as a host-associated signal that triggers a lifestyle switching that favors chronic infection.

Crystal structure of an Lrs14-like archaeal biofilm regulator fromSulfolobus acidocaldarius

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (11) ◽  
pp. 1105-1114
Author(s):  
Marian S. Vogt ◽  
Simon L. Völpel ◽  
Sonja-Verena Albers ◽  
Lars-Oliver Essen ◽  
Ankan Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structure ◽  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Transcriptional Regulators ◽  
Bioinformatic Analysis ◽  
Considerable Degree ◽  
Sulfolobus Acidocaldarius ◽  
Asymmetric Unit ◽  
Winged Helix ◽  
Structural Differences

The small winged helix–turn–helix (wHTH) proteins of the Lrs14 family are major transcriptional regulators and act as archaeal biofilm regulators (AbfRs) in the crenarchaeoteSulfolobus acidocaldarius. Here, the first crystal structure of an AbfR ortholog, AbfR2, the deletion of which is known to impair biofilm formation, is presented. Like most other wHTH orthologs, AbfR2 is dimeric in solution as well as in its 2.45 Å resolution crystal structure. Given the presence of three independent AbfR2 dimers in the asymmetric unit, the crystal structure shows a considerable degree of conformational variation within the dimer, the antiparallel orientations of which are stabilized by coiled-coil interaction between H4 helices. Conserved anchor interactions between helices H0 and H4 of AbfR2 further contribute to dimer stabilization. The combined structural and bioinformatic analysis reveals cluster-specific structural differences between different members of the Lrs14 protein family.

scholarly journals Transcriptional Analysis of the Toxin-Coding Plasmid pBtoxis from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis

2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 1771-1776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Stein ◽  
Gareth W. Jones ◽  
Tanya Chalmers ◽  
Colin Berry
Keyword(s):  
Gene Regulation ◽  
Bacillus Thuringiensis ◽  
Transcriptional Regulators ◽  
Transcriptional Analysis ◽  
Host Bacterium ◽  
Large Plasmid ◽  
Coding Sequences ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Insecticidal Toxins

ABSTRACT In Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis all of the insecticidal toxins are encoded on a single, large plasmid, pBtoxis. Sequencing of this plasmid revealed 125 potential coding sequences, many of which have predicted functions in gene regulation and physiological processes, such as germination. As a first step in understanding the possible role of pBtoxis in its host bacterium, a survey of the transcription of genes with predicted functions was carried out. Whereas many coding sequences, including those previously identified as probable pseudogenes, were not transcribed, mRNA was detected for 29 of the 40 sequences surveyed. Several of these sequences, including eight with similarities to the sequences of known transcriptional regulators, may influence wider gene regulation and thus may alter the phenotype of the host bacterium.

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