Cysteine desulphurase-encoding gene sufS2 is required for the repressor function of RirA and oxidative resistance in Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Microbiology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 160 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakkarin Bhubhanil ◽  
Phettree Niamyim ◽  
Rojana Sukchawalit ◽  
Skorn Mongkolsuk
Keyword(s):  
Agrobacterium Tumefaciens ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Physiological Function ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Cluster Assembly ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Oxidative Resistance ◽  
Small Colony ◽  
Encoding Gene ◽  
Assembly Proteins

The Agrobacterium tumefaciens genome contains a cluster of genes that are predicted to encode Fe–S cluster assembly proteins, and this cluster is known as the sufS2BCDS1XA operon. sufS2 is the first gene in the operon, and it was inactivated to determine its physiological function. The sufS2 mutant exhibited a small colony phenotype, grew slower than the wild-type strain and was more sensitive to various oxidants including peroxide, organic hydroperoxide and superoxide. The sufS2 gene was negatively regulated by iron response regulator (Irr) and rhizobial iron regulator (RirA) under low and high iron conditions, respectively, and was inducible in response to oxidative stress. The oxidant-induced expression of sufS2 was controlled by Irr, RirA and an additional but not yet identified mechanism. sufS2 was required for RirA activity in the repression of a sufS2 promoter-lacZ fusion. RirA may use Fe–S as its cofactor. sufS2 disruption may cause a defect in the Fe–S supply and could thereby affect the RirA activity. The three conserved cysteine residues (C91, C99 and C105) in RirA were predicted to coordinate with the Fe–S cluster and were shown to be essential for RirA repression of the sufS2-lacZ fusion. These results suggested that sufS2 is important for the survival of A. tumefaciens.

scholarly journals FixJ family regulator AcfR of Azorhizobium caulinodans is involved in symbiosis with the host plant

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Liu ◽  
Xue Bai ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Haikun Zhang ◽  
Xiaoke Hu
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Host Plant ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Azorhizobium Caulinodans ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Response Regulators ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Two Component

Abstract Background A wide variety of bacterial adaptative responses to environmental conditions are mediated by signal transduction pathways. Two-component signal transduction systems are one of the predominant means used by bacteria to sense the signals of the host plant and adjust their interaction behaviour. A total of seven open reading frames have been identified as putative two-component response regulators in the gram-negative nitrogen-fixing bacteria Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571. However, the biological functions of these response regulators in the symbiotic interactions between A. caulinodans ORS571 and the host plant Sesbania rostrata have not been elucidated to date. Results In this study, we identified and investigated a two-component response regulator, AcfR, with a phosphorylatable N-terminal REC (receiver) domain and a C-terminal HTH (helix-turn-helix) LuxR DNA-binding domain in A. caulinodans ORS571. Phylogenetic analysis showed that AcfR possessed close evolutionary relationships with NarL/FixJ family regulators. In addition, six histidine kinases containing HATPase_c and HisKA domains were predicted to interact with AcfR. Furthermore, the biological function of AcfR in free-living and symbiotic conditions was elucidated by comparing the wild-type strain and the ΔacfR mutant strain. In the free-living state, the cell motility behaviour and exopolysaccharide production of the ΔacfR mutant were significantly reduced compared to those of the wild-type strain. In the symbiotic state, the ΔacfR mutant showed a competitive nodule defect on the stems and roots of the host plant, suggesting that AcfR can provide A. caulinodans with an effective competitive ability for symbiotic nodulation. Conclusions Our results showed that AcfR, as a response regulator, regulates numerous phenotypes of A. caulinodans under the free-living conditions and in symbiosis with the host plant. The results of this study help to elucidate the involvement of a REC + HTH_LuxR two-component response regulator in the Rhizobium-host plant interaction.

scholarly journals Mutations of folC cause increased susceptibility to sulfamethoxazole in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruiqi Wang ◽  
Kun Li ◽  
Jifang Yu ◽  
Jiaoyu Deng ◽  
Yaokai Chen
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Aminobenzoic Acid ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Dihydropteroate Synthase ◽  
Expression Levels ◽  
Encoding Gene ◽  
Increased Susceptibility

AbstractPrevious studies showed that mutation of folC caused decreased expression of the dihydropteroate synthase encoding gene folP2 in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). We speculated that mutation of folC in M. tuberculosis might affect the susceptibility to sulfamethoxazole (SMX). To prove this, 53 clinical isolates with folC mutations were selected and two folC mutants (I43A, I43T) were constructed based on M. tuberculosis H37Ra. The results showed that 42 of the 53 clinical isolates (79.2%) and the two lab-constructed folC mutants were more sensitive to SMX. To probe the mechanism by which folC mutations make M. tuberculosis more sensitive to SMX, folP2 was deleted in H37Ra, and expression levels of folP2 were compared between H37Ra and the two folC mutants. Although deletion of folP2 resulted in increased susceptibility to SMX, no difference in folP2 expression was observed. Furthermore, production levels of para-aminobenzoic acid (pABA) were compared between the folC mutants and the wild-type strain, and results showed that folC mutation resulted in decreased production of pABA. Taken together, we show that folC mutation leads to decreased production of pABA in M. tuberculosis and thus affects its susceptibility to SMX, which broadens our understanding of mechanisms of susceptibilities to antifolates in this bacterium.

scholarly journals Mutations in Four Regulatory Genes Have Interrelated Effects on Heterocyst Maturation in Anabaena sp. Strain PCC 7120

2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (21) ◽  
pp. 7387-7395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigal Lechno-Yossef ◽  
Qing Fan ◽  
Shigeki Ehira ◽  
Naoki Sato ◽  
C. Peter Wolk
Keyword(s):  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Transcript Abundance ◽  
Regulatory Genes ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Serine Threonine Kinase ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Pcc 7120

ABSTRACT Regulatory genes hepK, hepN, henR, and hepS are required for heterocyst maturation in Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120. They presumptively encode two histidine kinases, a response regulator, and a serine/threonine kinase, respectively. To identify relationships between those genes, we compared global patterns of gene expression, at 14 h after nitrogen step-down, in corresponding mutants and in the wild-type strain. Heterocyst envelopes of mutants affected in any of those genes lack a homogeneous, polysaccharide layer. Those of a henR mutant also lack a glycolipid layer. patA, which encodes a positive effector of heterocyst differentiation, was up-regulated in all mutants except the hepK mutant, suggesting that patA expression may be inhibited by products related to heterocyst development. hepS and hepK were up-regulated if mutated and so appear to be negatively autoregulated. HepS and HenR regulated a common set of genes and so appear to belong to one regulatory system. Some nontranscriptional mechanism may account for the observation that henR mutants lack, and hepS mutants possess, a glycolipid layer, even though both mutations down-regulated genes involved in formation of the glycolipid layer. HepK and HepN also affected transcription of a common set of genes and therefore appear to share a regulatory pathway. However, the transcript abundance of other genes differed very significantly from expression in the wild-type strain in either the hepK or hepN mutant while differing very little from wild-type expression in the other of those two mutants. Therefore, hepK and hepN appear to participate also in separate pathways.

scholarly journals The Atypical Response Regulator AtvR Is a New Player in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Response to Hypoxia and Virulence

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilberto Hideo Kaihami ◽  
Leandro Carvalho Dantas Breda ◽  
José Roberto Fogaça de Almeida ◽  
Thays de Oliveira Pereira ◽  
Gianlucca Gonçalves Nicastro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Classical Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Macrophage Infection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Successful Infection

ABSTRACT Two-component systems are widespread in bacteria, allowing adaptation to environmental changes. The classical pathway is composed of a histidine kinase that phosphorylates an aspartate residue in the cognate response regulator (RR). RRs lacking the phosphorylatable aspartate also occur, but their function and contribution during host-pathogen interactions are poorly characterized. AtvR (PA14_26570) is the only atypical response regulator with a DNA-binding domain in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Macrophage infection with the atvR mutant strain resulted in higher levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha secretion as well as increased bacterial clearance compared to those for macrophages infected with the wild-type strain. In an acute pneumonia model, mice infected with the atvR mutant presented increased amounts of proinflammatory cytokines, increased neutrophil recruitment to the lungs, reductions in bacterial burdens, and higher survival rates in comparison with the findings for mice infected with the wild-type strain. Further, several genes involved in hypoxia/anoxia adaptation were upregulated upon atvR overexpression, as seen by high-throughput transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis. In addition, atvR was more expressed in hypoxia in the presence of nitrate and required for full expression of nitrate reductase genes, promoting bacterial growth under this condition. Thus, AtvR would be crucial for successful infection, aiding P. aeruginosa survival under conditions of low oxygen tension in the host. Taken together, our data demonstrate that the atypical response regulator AtvR is part of the repertoire of transcriptional regulators involved in the lifestyle switch from aerobic to anaerobic conditions. This finding increases the complexity of regulation of one of the central metabolic pathways that contributes to Pseudomonas ubiquity and versatility.

scholarly journals Survival of uropathogenic Escherichia coli in the murine urinary tract is dependent on OmpR

Microbiology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 155 (6) ◽  
pp. 1832-1839 ◽  
Author(s):  
William R. Schwan
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Urinary Tract ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Phosphorylation Site ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Growth Defect ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Log Reduction

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) can grow in environments with significantly elevated osmolarities, such as murine and human urinary tracts. OmpR is the response regulator part of a two-component OmpR–EnvZ regulatory system that responds to osmotic stresses. To determine the role of OmpR in UPEC survival, a ΔompR mutant was created in the UPEC clinical isolate NU149. The ΔompR mutant had a growth defect compared with the wild-type strain under osmotic stress conditions; this defect was complemented by the full-length ompR gene on a plasmid, but not with a mutant OmpR with an alanine substitution for aspartic acid at the phosphorylation site at position 55. Furthermore, the ΔompR mutant displayed up to 2-log reduction in bacterial cell numbers in murine bladders and kidneys compared with wild-type bacteria after 5 days of infection. The ability of the bacteria to survive was restored to wild-type levels when the ΔompR mutant strain was complemented with wild-type ompR, but not when the alanine-substituted ompR gene was used. This study has fulfilled molecular Koch's postulates by showing the pivotal role OmpR plays in UPEC survival within the murine urinary tract.

scholarly journals A Mutation in the 3-Phosphoglycerate Kinase Gene Allows Anaerobic Growth of Bacillus subtilis in the Absence of ResE Kinase

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (22) ◽  
pp. 7087-7097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiko M. Nakano ◽  
Yi Zhu ◽  
Koki Haga ◽  
Hirofumi Yoshikawa ◽  
Abraham L. Sonenshein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Anaerobic Respiration ◽  
Phosphoglycerate Kinase ◽  
Anaerobic Growth ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Kinase Gene ◽  
Glycolytic Intermediate

ABSTRACT The Bacillus subtilis ResD-ResE two-component signal transduction system is essential for aerobic and anaerobic respiration. A spontaneous suppressor mutant that expresses ResD-controlled genes and grows anaerobically in the absence of the ResE histidine kinase was isolated. In addition, aerobic expression of ResD-controlled genes in the suppressed strain was constitutive and occurred at a much higher level than that observed in the wild-type strain. The suppressing mutation, which mapped to pgk, the gene encoding 3-phosphoglycerate kinase, failed to suppress a resDmutation, suggesting that the suppressing mutation creates a pathway for phosphorylation of the response regulator, ResD, which is independent of the cognate sensor kinase, ResE. The pgk-1mutant exhibited very low but measurable 3-phosphoglycerate kinase activity compared to the wild-type strain. The results suggest that accumulation of a glycolytic intermediate, probably 1,3-diphosphoglycerate, is responsible for the observed effect of thepgk-1 mutation on anaerobiosis of resE mutant cells.

scholarly journals Serratia marcescensarn, a PhoP-Regulated Locus Necessary for Polymyxin B Resistance

2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 5181-5190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quei Yen Lin ◽  
Yi-Lin Tsai ◽  
Ming-Che Liu ◽  
Wei-Cheng Lin ◽  
Po-Ren Hsueh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Challenge Test ◽  
Polymyxin B ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mobility Shift ◽  
Content Type ◽  
In The Wild

ABSTRACTPolymyxins, which are increasingly being used to treat infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, perform poorly againstSerratia marcescens. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, Tn5mutagenesis was performed and two mutants exhibiting increased polymyxin B (PB) susceptibility were isolated. The mutants were found to have Tn5inserted into thearnBandarnCgenes. In other bacteria,arnBandarnCbelong to the seven-genearnoperon, which is involved in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) modification. LPSs ofarnmutants had greater PB-binding abilities than that of wild-type LPS. Further, we identified PhoP, a bacterial two-component response regulator, as a regulator of PB susceptibility inS. marcescens. By the reporter assay, we found PB- and low-Mg2+-induced expression ofphoPandarnin the wild-type strain but not in thephoPmutant. Complementation of thephoPmutant with the full-lengthphoPgene restored the PB MIC and induction by PB and low Mg2+levels, as in the wild type. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) further demonstrated that PhoP bound directly to thearnpromoter. The PB challenge test confirmed that pretreatment with PB and low Mg2+levels protectedS. marcescensfrom a PB challenge in the wild-type strain but not in thephoPmutant. Real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR also indicated that PB serves as a signal to regulate expression ofugd, a gene required for LPS modification, inS. marcescensthrough a PhoP-dependent pathway. Finally, we found that PB-resistant clinical isolates displayed greater expression ofarnAupon exposure to PB than did susceptible isolates. This is the first report to describe the role ofS. marcescensarnin PB resistance and its modulation by PB and Mg2+through the PhoP protein.

scholarly journals The role of two-component system response regulatorBceRin antimicrobial resistance, virulence, biofilm formation, and stress response of group B Streptococcus

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Yang ◽  
Mingjing Luo ◽  
Haokui ◽  
Carmen Li ◽  
Alison W. S. Luk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Group B Streptococcus ◽  
Invasive Disease ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Two Component ◽  
Group B

AbstractThe hypervirulent Group B Streptococcus (Streptococcus agalactiae, GBS) serogroup III clonal cluster 17 has been associated with neonatal GBS invasive disease and meningits. Serogroup III, ST283 has recently been implicated in invasive disease among non-pregnant adults in Asia. These strains cluster with strains from freshwater fishes from aquaculture and a foodborne outbreak of sepsis, especially with septic arthritis, had been linked to such consumption in Singapore in 2015. Through comparative genome analyses of invasive and non-invasive strains of ST283, we identified a truncated response regulator gene in the non-invasive strain. This two component response gene, previously named a DNA binding regulator, is conserved among GBS strains and is a homologue ofBacillus subtilis BceR, the response regulator of the BceRSAB system. Loss of function of theBceRresponse gene in the invasive GBS strain demonstrated bacitracin susceptibility inΔBceRmutant with MICs of 256-fold and four-fold reduction in bacitracin and human cathelicin LL-37 compared to wild type and complementation strains. Upregulation ofdltAof wild type strain vsΔBceRmutant was demonstrated (p<0.0001), and was previously shown inStaphylococcus aureusto resist and repel cationic peptides through excess positive charges with D-alanylation of teichoic acids on the cell wall. In addition,ΔBceRmutant was less susceptible under oxidative stress under H2O2stress when compared to wild type strain (p<0.001) and inhibited biofilm formation (p<0.05 andp< 0.0001 for crystal violet staining and cfu counts). TheΔBceRmutant also showed reduced mortality as compared to wild type strain (p<0.01) in a murine infection model. Taken together,BceRSis involved in bacitracin and antimicrobial peptide resistance, survival under oxidative stress, biofilm formation and play an important role in the virulence of GBS.Author SummaryTwo-component systems (TCSs) play an important role in virulence in bacteria, and are involved in detecting environmental changes. AlthoughS. agalactiaewas reported to contain more predicted TCSs thanStreptococcus pneumoniae,few have been studied in detail. In this work, comparative genomic analysis of GBS invasive (hyper-virulent) and non-invasive serotype III-4 strains were performed to determine any gene differences that may account for severity of disease in humans.BceR-likeTCS was selected and suspected to be involved in virulence, and thusBceRwas deleted in a hyper-virulent GBS serotype III-4 strain. We demonstrated that thisBceR-likeTCS is involved in GBS virulence and induced proinflammatory host immune responses. Our study of TCSBceRmay guide further research into the role of other TCSs in GBS pathogenicity, and further explore therapeutic targets for GBS disease.

scholarly journals Cutinase A of Botrytis cinerea is Expressed, but not Essential, During Penetration of Gerbera and Tomato

1997 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. L. van Kan ◽  
J. W. van 't Klooster ◽  
C. A. M. Wagemakers ◽  
D. C. T. Dees ◽  
C. J. B. van der Vlugt-Bergmans
Keyword(s):  
Botrytis Cinerea ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Gus Expression ◽  
Infection Process ◽  
Gus Activity ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Tomato Fruits ◽  
Fusion Construct ◽  
Gus Reporter ◽  
Encoding Gene

The plant pathogen Botrytis cinerea can infect undamaged plant tissue directly by penetration of the cuticle. This penetration has been suggested to be enzyme-mediated, and an important role for cutinase in the infection process has been proposed. In this study the expression of the cutinase encoding gene cutA of B. cinerea was analyzed using a cutA promoter-GUS reporter gene fusion. Transformants containing the fusion construct were examined for GUS expression on gerbera flowers and tomato fruits. High GUS activity was detected from the onset of conidial germination and during penetration into epidermal cells, indicating that cutA is expressed during the early stages of infection. To determine the biological relevance of cutinase A for successful penetration, cutinase A-deficient mutants were constructed by gene disruption. Pathogenicity of two transformants lacking a functional cutA gene was studied on gerbera flowers and tomato fruits. Their ability to penetrate and cause symptoms was unaltered compared to the wild-type strain. These results exclude an important role for cutinase A during direct penetration of host tissue by B. cinerea.

scholarly journals The Receiver Domain of Hybrid Histidine Kinase VirA: an Enhancing Factor for vir Gene Expression in Agrobacterium tumefaciens

2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (6) ◽  
pp. 1534-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlene A. Wise ◽  
Fang Fang ◽  
Yi-Han Lin ◽  
Fanglian He ◽  
David G. Lynn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Agrobacterium Tumefaciens ◽  
Histidine Kinase ◽  
Response Regulator ◽  
Multicopy Plasmid ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Receiver Domain ◽  
Native Promoter ◽  
Cognate Response Regulator ◽  
Hybrid Histidine Kinase

ABSTRACT The plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens expresses virulence (vir) genes in response to chemical signals found at the site of a plant wound. VirA, a hybrid histidine kinase, and its cognate response regulator, VirG, regulate vir gene expression. The receiver domain at the carboxyl end of VirA has been described as an inhibitory element because its removal increased vir gene expression relative to that of full-length VirA. However, experiments that characterized the receiver region as an inhibitory element were performed in the presence of constitutively expressed virG. We show here that VirA's receiver domain is an activating factor if virG is expressed from its native promoter on the Ti plasmid. When virAΔR was expressed from a multicopy plasmid, both sugar and the phenolic inducer were essential for vir gene expression. Replacement of wild-type virA on pTi with virAΔR precluded vir gene induction, and the cells did not accumulate VirG or induce transcription of a virG-lacZ fusion in response to acetosyringone. These phenotypes were corrected if the virG copy number was increased. In addition, we show that the VirA receiver domain can interact with the VirG DNA-binding domain.

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