scholarly journals The Sinorhizobium meliloti EmrR Regulator Is Required for Efficient Colonization of Medicago sativa Root Nodules

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 388-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mário R. Santos ◽  
Andreia T. Marques ◽  
Jörg D. Becker ◽  
Leonilde M. Moreira
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Heat Shock ◽  
Medicago Sativa ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Sinorhizobium Meliloti ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Major Facilitator Superfamily ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Expression Of Genes

The nitrogen-fixing bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti must adapt to diverse conditions encountered during its symbiosis with leguminous plants. We characterized a new symbiotically relevant gene, emrR (SMc03169), whose product belongs to the TetR family of repressors and is divergently transcribed from emrAB genes encoding a putative major facilitator superfamily–type efflux pump. An emrR deletion mutant produced more succinoglycan, displayed increased cell-wall permeability, and exhibited higher tolerance to heat shock. It also showed lower tolerance to acidic conditions, a reduced production of siderophores, and lower motility and biofilm formation. The simultaneous deletion of emrA and emrR genes restored the mentioned traits to the wild-type phenotype, except for survival under heat shock, which was lower than that displayed by the wild-type strain. Furthermore, the ΔemrR mutant as well as the double ΔemrAR mutant was impaired in symbiosis with Medicago sativa; it formed fewer nodules and competed poorly with the wild-type strain for nodule colonization. Expression profiling of the ΔemrR mutant showed decreased expression of genes involved in Nod-factor and rhizobactin biosynthesis and in stress responses. Expression of genes directing the biosynthesis of succinoglycan and other polysaccharides were increased. EmrR may therefore be involved in a regulatory network targeting membrane and cell wall modifications in preparation for colonization of root hairs during symbiosis.

scholarly journals The Ser/Thr Kinase PrkC Participates in Cell Wall Homeostasis and Antimicrobial Resistance inClostridium difficile

2019 ◽  
Vol 87 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elodie Cuenot ◽  
Transito Garcia-Garcia ◽  
Thibaut Douche ◽  
Olivier Gorgette ◽  
Pascal Courtin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Hamster Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Signal Transduction Networks ◽  
Mean Size

ABSTRACTClostridium difficileis the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea in adults. During infection,C. difficilemust detect the host environment and induce an appropriate survival strategy. Signal transduction networks involving serine/threonine kinases (STKs) play key roles in adaptation, as they regulate numerous physiological processes. PrkC ofC. difficileis an STK with two PASTA domains. We showed that PrkC is membrane associated and is found at the septum. We observed that deletion ofprkCaffects cell morphology with an increase in mean size, cell length heterogeneity, and presence of abnormal septa. A ΔprkCmutant was able to sporulate and germinate but was less motile and formed more biofilm than the wild-type strain. Moreover, a ΔprkCmutant was more sensitive to antimicrobial compounds that target the cell envelope, such as the secondary bile salt deoxycholate, cephalosporins, cationic antimicrobial peptides, and lysozyme. This increased susceptibility was not associated with differences in peptidoglycan or polysaccharide II composition. However, the ΔprkCmutant had less peptidoglycan and released more polysaccharide II into the supernatant. A proteomic analysis showed that the majority ofC. difficileproteins associated with the cell wall were less abundant in the ΔprkCmutant than the wild-type strain. Finally, in a hamster model of infection, the ΔprkCmutant had a colonization delay that did not significantly affect overall virulence.

scholarly journals Role of CpALS4790 and CpALS0660 in Candida parapsilosis Virulence: Evidence from a Murine Model of Vaginal Candidiasis

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Marina Zoppo ◽  
Fabrizio Fiorentini ◽  
Cosmeri Rizzato ◽  
Mariagrazia Di Luca ◽  
Antonella Lupetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Murine Model ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Candida Parapsilosis ◽  
Vaginal Candidiasis ◽  
Phenotypic Characterization ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mutant Strains

The Candida parapsilosis genome encodes for five agglutinin-like sequence (Als) cell-wall glycoproteins involved in adhesion to biotic and abiotic surfaces. The work presented here is aimed at analyzing the role of the two still uncharacterized ALS genes in C. parapsilosis, CpALS4790 and CpALS0660, by the generation and characterization of CpALS4790 and CpALS066 single mutant strains. Phenotypic characterization showed that both mutant strains behaved as the parental wild type strain regarding growth rate in liquid/solid media supplemented with cell-wall perturbing agents, and in the ability to produce pseudohyphae. Interestingly, the ability of the CpALS0660 null mutant to adhere to human buccal epithelial cells (HBECs) was not altered when compared with the wild-type strain, whereas deletion of CpALS4790 led to a significant loss of the adhesion capability. RT-qPCR analysis performed on the mutant strains in co-incubation with HBECs did not highlight significant changes in the expression levels of others ALS genes. In vivo experiments in a murine model of vaginal candidiasis indicated a significant reduction in CFUs recovered from BALB/C mice infected with each mutant strain in comparison to those infected with the wild type strain, confirming the involvement of CpAls4790 and CpAls5600 proteins in C. parapsilosis vaginal candidiasis in mice.

scholarly journals A heat shock-resistant mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae shows constitutive synthesis of two heat shock proteins and altered growth.

1984 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 1441-1450 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Iida ◽  
I Yahara
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Heat Shock ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Growth Control ◽  
Protein S ◽  
Resistant Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Sulfur Starvation

A heat shock-resistant mutant of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was isolated at the mutation frequency of 10(-7) from a culture treated with ethyl methane sulfonate. Cells of the mutant are approximately 1,000-fold more resistant to lethal heat shock than those of the parental strain. Tetrad analysis indicates that phenotypes revealed by this mutant segregated together in the ratio 2+:2- from heterozygotes constructed with the wild-type strain of the opposite mating type, and are, therefore, attributed to a single nuclear mutation. The mutated gene in the mutant was herein designated hsr1 (heat shock response). The hsr1 allele is recessive to the HSR1+ allele of the wild-type strain. Exponentially growing cells of hsr1 mutant were found to constitutively synthesize six proteins that are not synthesized or are synthesized at reduced rates in HSR1+ cells unless appropriately induced. These proteins include one hsp/G0-protein (hsp48A), one hsp (hsp48B), and two G0-proteins (p73, p56). Heterozygous diploid (hsr1/HSR1+) cells do not synthesize the proteins constitutively induced in hsr1 cells, which suggests that the product of the HSR1 gene might negatively regulate the synthesis of these proteins. The hsr1 mutation also led to altered growth of the mutant cells. The mutation elongated the duration of G1 period in the cell cycle and affected both growth arrest by sulfur starvation and growth recovery from it. We discuss the problem of which protein(s) among those constitutively expressed in growing cells of the hsr1 mutant is responsible for heat shock resistance and alterations in the growth control.

scholarly journals Redox-Dependent Gene Regulation inRhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1T: Effects on Dimethyl Sulfoxide Reductase (dor) Gene Expression

1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (21) ◽  
pp. 5612-5618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel J. Mouncey ◽  
Samuel Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dimethyl Sulfoxide ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Strictly Aerobic ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Dmso Reductase ◽  
Regulatory Cascade ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Genes Encoding

ABSTRACT The ability of Rhodobacter sphaeroides2.4.1T to respire anaerobically with the alternative electron acceptor dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or trimethylamineN-oxide (TMAO) is manifested by the molybdoenzyme DMSO reductase, which is encoded by genes of the dor locus. Previously, we have demonstrated that dor expression is regulated in response to lowered oxygen tensions and the presence of DMSO or TMAO in the growth medium. Several regulatory proteins have been identified as key players in this regulatory cascade: FnrL, DorS-DorR, and DorX-DorY. To further examine the role of redox potentiation in the regulation of dor expression, we measured DMSO reductase synthesis and β-galactosidase activity fromdor::lacZ fusions in strains containing mutations in the redox-active proteins CcoP and RdxB, which have previously been implicated in the generation of a redox signal affecting photosynthesis gene expression. Unlike the wild-type strain, both mutants were able to synthesize DMSO reductase under strictly aerobic conditions, even in the absence of DMSO. When cells were grown photoheterotrophically, dorC::lacZexpression was stimulated by increasing light intensity in the CcoP mutant, whereas it is normally repressed in the wild-type strain under such conditions. Furthermore, the expression of genes encoding the DorS sensor kinase and DorR response regulator proteins was also affected by the ccoP mutation. By using CcoP-DorR and CcoP-DorY double mutants, it was shown that the DorR protein is strictly required for altered dor expression in CcoP mutants. These results further demonstrate a role for redox-generated responses in the expression of genes encoding DMSO reductase in R. sphaeroides and identify the DorS-DorR proteins as a redox-dependent regulatory system controlling dorexpression.

scholarly journals Improvement of Phosphate Solubilization and Medicago Plant Yield by an Indole-3-Acetic Acid-Overproducing Strain of Sinorhizobium meliloti

2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (14) ◽  
pp. 4626-4632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Bianco ◽  
Roberto Defez
Keyword(s):  
Acetic Acid ◽  
Plant Growth ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Sinorhizobium Meliloti ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
System A ◽  
Indole 3 Acetic Acid

ABSTRACT Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are the most limiting factors for plant growth. Some microorganisms improve the uptake and availability of N and P, minimizing chemical fertilizer dependence. It has been published that the RD64 strain, a Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021 strain engineered to overproduce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), showed improved nitrogen fixation ability compared to the wild-type 1021 strain. Here, we present data showing that RD64 is also highly effective in mobilizing P from insoluble sources, such as phosphate rock (PR). Under P-limiting conditions, the higher level of P-mobilizing activity of RD64 than of the 1021 wild-type strain is connected with the upregulation of genes coding for the high-affinity P transport system, the induction of acid phosphatase activity, and the increased secretion into the growth medium of malic, succinic, and fumaric acids. Medicago truncatula plants nodulated by RD64 (Mt-RD64), when grown under P-deficient conditions, released larger amounts of another P-solubilizing organic acid, 2-hydroxyglutaric acid, than plants nodulated by the wild-type strain (Mt-1021). It has already been shown that Mt-RD64 plants exhibited higher levels of dry-weight production than Mt-1021 plants. Here, we also report that P-starved Mt-RD64 plants show significant increases in both shoot and root fresh weights when compared to P-starved Mt-1021 plants. We discuss how, in a Rhizobium-legume model system, a balanced interplay of different factors linked to bacterial IAA overproduction rather than IAA production per se stimulates plant growth under stressful environmental conditions and, in particular, under P starvation.

scholarly journals Environmental Regulation of Exopolysaccharide Production in Sinorhizobium meliloti

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiprian E. Mendrygal ◽  
Juan E. González
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Sinorhizobium Meliloti ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Root Nodules ◽  
Weight Fraction ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Exopolysaccharide Production ◽  
Successful Establishment ◽  
High Phosphate

ABSTRACT Exopolysaccharide production by Sinorhizobium melilotiis required for invasion of root nodules on alfalfa and successful establishment of a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis between the two partners.S. meliloti wild-type strain Rm1021 requires production of either succinoglycan, a polymer of repeating octasaccharide subunits, or EPS II, an exopolysaccharide of repeating dimer subunits. The reason for the production of two functional exopolysaccharides is not clear. Earlier reports suggested that low-phosphate conditions stimulate the production of EPS II in Rm1021. We found that phosphate concentrations determine which exopolysaccharide is produced by S. meliloti. The low-phosphate conditions normally found in the soil (1 to 10 μM) stimulate EPS II production, while the high-phosphate conditions inside the nodule (20 to 100 mM) block EPS II synthesis and induce the production of succinoglycan. Interestingly, the EPS II produced by S. meliloti in low-phosphate conditions does not allow the invasion of alfalfa nodules. We propose that this invasion phenotype is due to the lack of the active molecular weight fraction of EPS II required for nodule invasion. An analysis of the function of PhoB in this differential exopolysaccharide production is presented.

scholarly journals Megaplasmid pRme2011a of Sinorhizobium meliloti Is Not Required for Viability

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (12) ◽  
pp. 3582-3586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan J. Oresnik ◽  
Shu-Lin Liu ◽  
Christopher K. Yost ◽  
Michael F. Hynes
Keyword(s):  
Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Sinorhizobium Meliloti ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Sole Source ◽  
Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Selection Strategy ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Defined Media

ABSTRACT We report the curing of the 1,360-kb megaplasmid pRme2011a fromSinorhizobium meliloti strain Rm2011. With a positive selection strategy that utilized Tn5B12-S containing thesacB gene, we were able to cure this replicon by successive rounds of selecting for deletion formation in vivo. Subsequent Southern blot, Eckhardt gel, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analyses were consistent with the hypothesis that the resultant strain was indeed missing pRme2011a. The cured derivative grew as well as the wild-type strain in both complex and defined media but was unable to use a number of substrates as a sole source of carbon on defined media.

scholarly journals VdSNF1, the Sucrose Nonfermenting Protein Kinase Gene of Verticillium dahliae, Is Required for Virulence and Expression of Genes Involved in Cell-Wall Degradation

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliki K. Tzima ◽  
Epaminondas J. Paplomatas ◽  
Payungsak Rauyaree ◽  
Manuel D. Ospina-Giraldo ◽  
Seogchan Kang
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Verticillium Dahliae ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Cell Wall Degrading Enzymes ◽  
Catabolic Repression ◽  
Kinase Gene ◽  
Fluid Medium

Verticillium dahliae is a soilborne fungus causing vascular wilt in a diverse array of plant species. Its virulence has been attributed, among other factors, to the activity of hydrolytic cell wall–degrading enzymes (CWDE). The sucrose nonfermenting 1 gene (VdSNF1), which regulates catabolic repression, was disrupted in V. dahliae tomato race 1. Expression of CWDE in the resulting mutants was not induced in inductive medium and in simulated xylem fluid medium. Growth of the mutants was significantly reduced when grown with pectin or galactose as a carbon source whereas, with glucose, sucrose, and xylose, they grew similarly to wild-type and ectopic transformants. The mutants were severely impaired in virulence on tomato and eggplant (final disease severity reduced by an average of 87%). Microscopic observation of the infection behavior of a green fluorescent protein (gfp)-labeled VdSNF1 mutant (70ΔSF-gfp1) showed that it was defective in initial colonization of roots. Cross sections of tomato stem at the cotyledonary level showed that 70ΔSF-gfp1 colonized xylem vessels considerably less than the wild-type strain. The wild-type strain heavily colonized xylem vessels and adjacent parenchyma cells. Quantification of fungal biomass in plant tissues further confirmed reduced colonization of roots, stems, and cotyledons by 70ΔSF-gfp1 relative to that by the wild-type strain.

scholarly journals The Sinorhizobium meliloti Lon Protease Is Involved in Regulating Exopolysaccharide Synthesis and Is Required for Nodulation of Alfalfa

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (9) ◽  
pp. 2551-2558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael L. Summers ◽  
Lina M. Botero ◽  
Scott C. Busse ◽  
Timothy R. McDermott
Keyword(s):  
Mutant Strain ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Sinorhizobium Meliloti ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Insertion Site ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Phosphate Limitation ◽  
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Analysis ◽  
Lon Protease ◽  
Wild Type

ABSTRACT While screening for Sinorhizobium meliloti Pho regulatory mutants, a transposon mutant was isolated that constitutively expressed higher levels of acid and alkaline phosphatase enzymes. This mutant was also found to form pseudonodules on alfalfa that were delayed in appearance relative to those formed by the wild-type strain, it contained few bacteroids, and it did not fix nitrogen. Sequence analysis of the transposon insertion site revealed the affected gene to have high homology to Lon proteases from a number of organisms. In minimal succinate medium, the mutant strain was found to grow more slowly, reach lower maximal optical density, and produce more extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) than the wild-type strain. The mutant fluoresced brightly on minimal succinate agar containing calcofluor (which binds to EPSI, a constitutively expressed succinoglycan), and gas chromotographic analysis of purified total EPS showed that the glucose-to-galactose ratio in the lonmutant total EPS was 5.0 ± 0.2 (mean ± standard error), whereas the glucose-to-galactose ratio in the wild-type strain was 7.1 ± 0.5. These data suggested that in addition to EPSI, thelon mutant also constitutively synthesized EPSII, a galactoglucan which is the second major EPS known to be produced byS. meliloti, but typically is expressed only under conditions of phosphate limitation. 13C nuclear magnetic resonance analysis showed no major differences between EPS purified from the mutant and wild-type strains. Normal growth, EPS production, and the symbiotic phenotype were restored in the mutant strain when the wild-type lon gene was present intrans. The results of this study suggest that the S. meliloti Lon protease is important for controlling turnover of a constitutively expressed protein(s) that, when unregulated, disrupts normal nodule formation and normal growth.

scholarly journals Role of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ser/Thr Kinase PknF: Implications in Glucose Transport and Cell Division

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (10) ◽  
pp. 3415-3420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parampal Deol ◽  
Reena Vohra ◽  
Adesh Kumar Saini ◽  
Amit Singh ◽  
Harish Chandra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽  
Glucose Transport ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Physiological Role ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Bacterial Physiology ◽  
Transport Analysis

ABSTRACT Protein kinases have a diverse array of functions in bacterial physiology, with a distinct role in the regulation of development, stress responses, and pathogenicity. pknF, one of the 11 kinases of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, encodes an autophosphorylating, transmembrane serine/threonine protein kinase, which is absent in the fast-growing, nonpathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis. Herein, we investigate the physiological role of PknF using an antisense strategy with M. tuberculosis and expressing PknF and its kinase mutant (K41M) in M. smegmatis. Expression of PknF in M. smegmatis led to reduction in the growth rate and shortening and swelling of cells with constrictions. Interestingly, an antisense strain of M. tuberculosis expressing a low level of PknF displayed fast growth and a deformed cell morphology compared to the wild-type strain. Electron microscopy showed that most of the cells of the antisense strain were of a smaller size with an aberrant septum. Furthermore, nutrient transport analysis of these strains was conducted using 3H-labeled and 14C-labeled substrates. A significant increase in the uptake of d-glucose but not of glycerol, leucine, or oleic acid was observed in the antisense strain compared to the wild-type strain. The results suggest that PknF plays a direct/indirect role in the regulation of glucose transport, cell growth, and septum formation in M. tuberculosis.

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