ABSTRACTAs with most annotated two-component systems (TCSs) ofStreptomyces coelicolor, the function of TCS SCO2120/2121 was unknown. Based on our findings, we have designated this TCS MacRS, formorphogenesis andactinorhodin regulator/sensor. Our study indicated that either single or double mutation of MacRS largely blocked production of actinorhodin but enhanced formation of aerial mycelium. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) sequencing, using anS. coelicolorstrain expressing MacR-Flag fusion protein, identifiedin vivotargets of MacR, and DNase I footprinting of these targets revealed a consensus sequence for MacR binding, TGAGTACnnGTACTCA, containing two 7-bp inverted repeats. A genome-wide search revealed sites identical or highly similar to this consensus sequence upstream of six genes encoding putative membrane proteins or lipoproteins. These predicted sites were confirmed as MacR binding sites by DNase I footprinting and electrophoretic mobility shift assaysin vitroand by ChIP-quantitative PCRin vivo, and transcriptional analyses demonstrated that MacR significantly impacts expression of these target genes. Disruption of three of these genes,sco6728,sco4924, andsco4011, markedly accelerated aerial mycelium formation, indicating that their gene products are novel morphogenic factors. Two-hybrid assays indicated that these three proteins, which we have named morphogenic membrane protein A (MmpA; SCO6728), MmpB (SCO4924), and MmpC (SCO4011), interact with one another and with the putative membrane protein and MacR target SCO4225. Notably, SAV6081/82 and SVEN1780/81, homologs of MacRS TCS fromS. avermitilisandS. venezuelae, respectively, can substitute for MacRS, indicating functional conservation. Our findings reveal a role for MacRS in cellular morphogenesis and secondary metabolism inStreptomyces.IMPORTANCETCSs help bacteria adapt to environmental stresses by altering gene expression. However, the roles and corresponding regulatory mechanisms of most TCSs in theStreptomycesmodel strainS. coelicolorare unknown. We investigated the previously uncharacterized MacRS TCS and identified the core DNA recognition sequence, two seven-nucleotide inverted repeats, for the DNA-binding protein MacR. We further found that MacR directly controls a group of membrane proteins, including MmpA-C, which are novel morphogenic factors that delay formation of aerial mycelium. We also discovered that these membrane proteins interact with one another and that otherStreptomycesspecies have conserved MacRS homologs. Our findings suggest a conserved role for MacRS in morphogenesis and/or other membrane-associated activities. Additionally, our study showed that MacRS impacts, albeit indirectly, the production of the signature metabolite actinorhodin, further suggesting that MacRS and its homologs function as novel pleiotropic regulatory systems inStreptomyces.
Cruciform DNA structure formed at short inverted repeats: A source of genetic instability
in vivo
