Influence of homologous phasins (PhaP) on PHA accumulation and regulation of their expression by the transcriptional repressor PhaR in Ralstonia eutropha H16

Microbiology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 151 (3) ◽  
pp. 825-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Pötter ◽  
Helena Müller ◽  
Alexander Steinbüchel

Phasins play an important role in the formation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [poly(3HB)] granules and affect their size. Recently, three homologues of the phasin protein PhaP1 were identified in Ralstonia eutropha strain H16. The functions of PhaP2, PhaP3 and PhaP4 were examined by analysis of R. eutropha H16 deletion strains (ΔphaP1, ΔphaP2, ΔphaP3, ΔphaP4, ΔphaP12, ΔphaP123 and ΔphaP1234). When cells were grown under conditions permissive for poly(3HB) accumulation, the wild-type strain and all single-phasin negative mutants (ΔphaP2, ΔphaP3 and ΔphaP4), with the exception of ΔphaP1, showed similar growth and poly(3HB) accumulation behaviour, and also the size and number of the granules were identical. The single ΔphaP1 mutant and the ΔphaP12, ΔphaP123 and ΔphaP1234 mutants showed an almost identical growth behaviour; however, they accumulated poly(3HB) at a significantly lower level than wild-type and the single ΔphaP2, ΔphaP3 or ΔphaP4 mutants. Gel-mobility-shift assays and DNaseI footprinting experiments demonstrated the capability of the transcriptional repressor PhaR to bind to a DNA region +36 to +46 bp downstream of the phaP3 start codon. The protected sequence exhibited high similarity to the binding sites of PhaR upstream of phaP1, which were identified recently. In contrast, PhaR did not bind to the upstream or intergenic regions of phaP2 and phaP4, thus indicating that the expression of these two phasins is regulated in a different way. Our current model for the regulation of phasins in R. eutropha strain H16 was extended and confirmed.

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 7046-7058
Author(s):  
Y Liu ◽  
A B Beedle ◽  
L Lin ◽  
A W Bell ◽  
R Zarnegar

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a cytokine with multiple functions, exhibits cell-type-specific as well as cytokine- and steroid hormone-regulated expression. The HGF gene is known to be expressed predominately in mesenchymal but not in epithelial cells. In this study, we report the identification of a cell-type-specific transcriptional repressor in the promoter region of the mouse HGF gene, which is evidently responsible for the suppression of HGF expression in epithelial cells. Gel mobility shift assays and DNase I footprinting studies revealed that a 27-bp element (-16 to +11) around the transcription initiation site is responsible for the binding of a nuclear protein which is present in epithelial but not in mesenchymally derived cells. Further analysis of the binding activity of the DNA region with nuclear protein revealed that an approximately 19-bp sequence containing a unique palindromic structure (5'-AACCGACCGGTT-3') overlapped by a CAP box is essential for binding. Substitution of a single base (the contact site) within this region by site-directed mutagenesis resulted in total abrogation of the binding of the nuclear protein and a concomitant increase in the transcriptional activity of various lengths of HGF-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase fused genes when transfected into the epithelial cell line RL95-2 but not the mesenchymal cell line NIH 3T3. Southwestern (DNA-protein) analyses revealed that the nuclear protein which binds to this repressor element is a single polypeptide of approximately 70 kDa. Analysis of the nuclear extract prepared from regenerating mouse liver at various times after two-thirds partial hepatectomy by gel mobility shift assay revealed a substantial reduction (more than 75% within 3 h) in the binding of the repressor to its cognate binding site. Our results suggest that a cis-acting transcriptional repressor in the promoter region of the mouse HGF gene is involved in cell-type-specific regulation through binding to its cognate trans-acting protein which exists in epithelial cells but is absent in fibroblast cells.


1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 7046-7058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Liu ◽  
A B Beedle ◽  
L Lin ◽  
A W Bell ◽  
R Zarnegar

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a cytokine with multiple functions, exhibits cell-type-specific as well as cytokine- and steroid hormone-regulated expression. The HGF gene is known to be expressed predominately in mesenchymal but not in epithelial cells. In this study, we report the identification of a cell-type-specific transcriptional repressor in the promoter region of the mouse HGF gene, which is evidently responsible for the suppression of HGF expression in epithelial cells. Gel mobility shift assays and DNase I footprinting studies revealed that a 27-bp element (-16 to +11) around the transcription initiation site is responsible for the binding of a nuclear protein which is present in epithelial but not in mesenchymally derived cells. Further analysis of the binding activity of the DNA region with nuclear protein revealed that an approximately 19-bp sequence containing a unique palindromic structure (5'-AACCGACCGGTT-3') overlapped by a CAP box is essential for binding. Substitution of a single base (the contact site) within this region by site-directed mutagenesis resulted in total abrogation of the binding of the nuclear protein and a concomitant increase in the transcriptional activity of various lengths of HGF-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase fused genes when transfected into the epithelial cell line RL95-2 but not the mesenchymal cell line NIH 3T3. Southwestern (DNA-protein) analyses revealed that the nuclear protein which binds to this repressor element is a single polypeptide of approximately 70 kDa. Analysis of the nuclear extract prepared from regenerating mouse liver at various times after two-thirds partial hepatectomy by gel mobility shift assay revealed a substantial reduction (more than 75% within 3 h) in the binding of the repressor to its cognate binding site. Our results suggest that a cis-acting transcriptional repressor in the promoter region of the mouse HGF gene is involved in cell-type-specific regulation through binding to its cognate trans-acting protein which exists in epithelial cells but is absent in fibroblast cells.


2015 ◽  
Vol 197 (20) ◽  
pp. 3339-3353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jihong Li ◽  
John C. Freedman ◽  
Bruce A. McClane

ABSTRACTClostridium perfringenstype D strains are usually associated with diseases of livestock, and their virulence requires the production of epsilon toxin (ETX). We previously showed (J. Li, S. Sayeed, S. Robertson, J. Chen, and B. A. McClane, PLoS Pathog 7:e1002429, 2011,http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1002429) that BMC202, ananInull mutant of type D strain CN3718, produces less ETX than wild-type CN3718 does. The current study proved that the lower ETX production by strain BMC202 is due tonanIgene disruption, since both genetic and physical (NanI or sialic acid) complementation increased ETX production by BMC202. Furthermore, a sialidase inhibitor that interfered with NanI activity also reduced ETX production by wild-type CN3718. The NanI effect on ETX production was shown to involve reductions incodYandccpAgene transcription levels in BMC202 versus wild-type CN3718. Similar to CodY, CcpA was found to positively control ETX production. A doublecodYccpAnull mutant produced even less ETX than acodYorccpAsingle null mutant. CcpA bound directly to sequences upstream of theetxorcodYstart codon, and bioinformatics identified putative CcpA-bindingcresites immediately upstream of both thecodYandetxstart codons, suggesting possible direct CcpA regulatory effects. AccpAmutation also decreasedcodYtranscription, suggesting that CcpA effects on ETX production can be both direct and indirect, including effects oncodYtranscription. Collectively, these results suggest that NanI, CcpA, and CodY work together to regulate ETX production, with NanI-generated sialic acid from the intestines possibly signaling type D strains to upregulate their ETX production and induce disease.IMPORTANCEClostridium perfringensNanI was previously shown to increase ETX binding to, and cytotoxicity for, MDCK host cells. The current study demonstrates that NanI also regulates ETX production via increased transcription of genes encoding the CodY and CcpA global regulators. Results obtained using singleccpAorcodYnull mutants and accpAcodYdouble null mutant showed thatcodYandccpAregulate ETX production independently of one another but thatccpAalso affectscodYtranscription. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and bioinformatic analyses suggest that both CodY and CcpA may directly regulateetxtranscription. Collectively, results of this study suggest that sialic acid generated by NanI from intestinal sources signals ETX-producingC. perfringensstrains, via CcpA and CodY, to upregulate ETX production and cause disease.


1997 ◽  
Vol 328 (2) ◽  
pp. 635-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola GRUARIN ◽  
Roberto SITIA ◽  
Massimo ALESSIO

In monocytes/macrophages, CD36 is thought to have a role as a scavenger receptor, mediating the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells and the endocytic uptake of oxidized low-density lipoproteins and fatty acids. The proposed topology of CD36 predicts that, of ten cysteine residues, six lie in the extracellular domain, whereas four are equally distributed in the two short terminal tails flanking the N-terminal and C-terminal hydrophobic stretches. Here we investigate the formation of intrachain disulphide bonds, on the basis of the assumption that the cysteine residues present in the luminal domains are generally oxidized, whereas those in the cytosol are reduced. As revealed by gel mobility-shift assays, disulphide bonds are present in the extracellular domain of the CD36 molecule. The formation of these bonds is required for the transport of CD36 from endoplasmic reticulum to Golgi. Furthermore reactive thiol groups are present in the CD36 sequence, which upon lysis form an intrachain extra loop as an artifact. This disulphide bond is not formed in either (1) truncated CD36 lacking the two C-terminal cysteine residues or (2) Triton X-100-insoluble wild-type CD36 molecules, suggesting that, in this fraction, the C-terminal thiol groups are modified.


1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1416-1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Cauthron ◽  
Karen B. Carter ◽  
Susanne Liauw ◽  
Robert A. Steinberg

ABSTRACT Phosphorylation of the catalytic subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, or protein kinase A, on Thr-197 is required for optimal enzyme activity, and enzyme isolated from either animal sources or bacterial expression strains is found phosphorylated at this site. Autophosphorylation of Thr-197 occurs in Escherichia coliand in vitro but is an inefficient intermolecular reaction catalyzed primarily by active, previously phosphorylated molecules. In contrast, the Thr-197 phosphorylation of newly synthesized protein kinase A in intact S49 mouse lymphoma cells is both efficient and insensitive to activators or inhibitors of intracellular protein kinase A. Using [35S]methionine-labeled, nonphosphorylated, recombinant catalytic subunit as the substrate in a gel mobility shift assay, we have identified an activity in extracts of protein kinase A-deficient S49 cells that phosphorylates catalytic subunit on Thr-197. The protein kinase A kinase activity partially purified by anion-exchange and hydroxylapatite chromatography is an efficient catalyst of protein kinase A phosphorylation in terms of both a lowKm for ATP and a rapid time course. Phosphorylation of wild-type catalytic subunit by the kinase kinase activates the subunit for binding to a pseudosubstrate peptide inhibitor of protein kinase A. By both the gel shift assay and a [γ-32P]ATP incorporation assay, the enzyme is active on wild-type catalytic subunit and on an inactive mutant with Met substituted for Lys-72 but inactive on a mutant with Ala substituted for Thr-197. Combined with the results from mutant subunits, phosphoamino acid analysis suggests that the enzyme is specific for phosphorylation of Thr-197.


Microbiology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 151 (5) ◽  
pp. 1707-1716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dagmar Rother ◽  
Grazyna Orawski ◽  
Frank Bardischewsky ◽  
Cornelius G. Friedrich

Paracoccus pantotrophus GB17 requires thiosulfate for induction of the sulfur-oxidizing (Sox) enzyme system. The soxRS genes are divergently oriented to the soxVWXYZA–H genes. soxR predicts a transcriptional regulator of the ArsR family and soxS a periplasmic thioredoxin. The homogenote mutant GBΩS carrying a disruption of soxS by the Ω-kanamycin-resistance-encoding interposon expressed a low thiosulfate-oxidizing activity under heterotrophic and mixotrophic growth conditions. This activity was repressed by complementation with soxR, suggesting that SoxR acts as a repressor and SoxS is essential for full expression. Sequence analysis uncovered operator characteristics in the intergenic regions soxS–soxV and soxW–soxX. In each region a transcription start site was identified by primer extension analysis. Both regions were cloned into the vector pRI1 and transferred to P. pantotrophus. Strains harbouring pRI1 with soxS–soxV or soxW–soxX expressed the sox genes under heterotrophic conditions at a low rate, indicating repressor titration. Sequence analysis of SoxR suggested a helix–turn–helix (HTH) motif at position 87–108 and uncovered an invariant Cys-80 and a cysteine residue at the C-terminus. SoxR was overproduced in Escherichia coli with an N-terminal His6-tag and purified to near homogeneity. Electrophoretic gel mobility shift assays with SoxR retarded the soxS–soxV region as a single band while the soxW–soxX region revealed at least two protein–DNA complexes. These data demonstrated binding of SoxR to the relevant DNA. This is believed to be the first report of regulation of chemotrophic sulfur oxidation at the molecular level.


Author(s):  
Denise Perone ◽  
Geraldo Medeiros-Neto ◽  
Célia Regina Nogueira ◽  
Antonio José Chagas ◽  
Vera Maria Alves Dias ◽  
...  

AbstractThe molecular basis underlying the development of thyroid dysgenesis remains largely unknown. The objective of this study was to analyze theThe 5′-untranslated region and the entire coding region of theThirty children did not have any sequence alterations. Two individuals had a previously identified monoallelic cytosine to thymine transition at position -983 in the promoter (-983C>T; mutant P. A of the ATG of the initiator codon is designated as +1), and a novel guanine to cytosine transversion in the non-coding exon 1 (-465G>C; mutant E). Functional analysis revealed that the basal transcriptional activity of the mutants is decreased compared to the wild type. Gel mobility shift assays indicated that mutant P does not interact with a transacting factor whose nature remains to be elucidated. The DNA binding property of mutant E were similar compared to the wild type.These results suggest that mutations in


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (11) ◽  
pp. 3402-3408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Dussurget ◽  
Juliano Timm ◽  
Manuel Gomez ◽  
Benjamin Gold ◽  
Shengwei Yu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Exochelin is the primary extracellular siderophore ofMycobacterium smegmatis, and the iron-regulatedfxbA gene encodes a putative formyltransferase, an essential enzyme in the exochelin biosynthetic pathway (E. H. Fiss, Y. Yu, and W. R. Jacobs, Jr., Mol. Microbiol. 14:557–569, 1994). We investigated the regulation of fxbA by the mycobacterial IdeR, a homolog of the Corynebacterium diphtheriae iron regulator DtxR (M. P. Schmitt, M. Predich, L. Doukhan, I. Smith, and R. K. Holmes, Infect. Immun. 63:4284–4289, 1995). Gel mobility shift experiments showed that IdeR binds to the fxbA regulatory region in the presence of divalent metals. DNase I footprinting assays indicated that IdeR binding protects a 28-bp region containing a palindromic sequence of the fxbA promoter that was identified in primer extension assays. fxbA regulation was measured in M. smegmatis wild-type and ideR mutant strains containing fxbA promoter-lacZ fusions. These experiments confirmed that fxbA expression is negatively regulated by iron and showed that inactivation of ideRresults in iron-independent expression of fxbA. However, the levels of its expression in the ideR mutant were approximately 50% lower than those in the wild-type strain under iron limitation, indicating an undefined positive role of IdeR in the regulation of fxbA.


2002 ◽  
Vol 282 (3) ◽  
pp. G491-G500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaleh Malakooti ◽  
V. C. Memark ◽  
Pradeep K. Dudeja ◽  
Krishnamurthy Ramaswamy

Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) isoforms NHE2 and NHE3, colocalized to the brush border membrane of the epithelial cells, exhibit differences in their pattern of tissue expression and regulation by various molecular signals. To investigate the mechanisms involved in regulation of NHE3 gene expression, the human NHE3 promoter region was cloned and characterized. Primer extension experiments located the transcription start site to a position 116 nucleotides upstream from the translation start codon. The 5′-flanking region lacked a CCAAT box but contained a TATA-like sequence. Nucleotide sequencing of the 5′-flanking region revealed the presence of a number of cis elements including Sp1, AP-2, MZF-1, CdxA, Cdx-2, steroid and nonsteroid hormone receptor half sites, and a phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-response element. Transient transfection experiments using C2/bbe cell line defined a maximal promoter activity in −95/+5 region. The regulatory response elements clustered within this region include a potential transcription factor IID (TF IID), a CACCC, two Sp1, and two AP-2 motifs. Deletion of a fragment containing the AP-2 and Sp1 motifs resulted in a drastic decrease in promoter activity. In gel mobility shift assays, an oligonucleotide spanning from −78 to −56 bp bound a recombinant AP-2, and the corresponding binding activity in nuclear extracts was supershifted with anti-AP2α antibody. Our studies suggest that the NHE3 expression is regulated by a combination of ciselements and their cognate transcription factors that include the AP-2 and Sp1 family members.


2004 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 2146-2153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérôme Gury ◽  
Lise Barthelmebs ◽  
Ngoc Phuong Tran ◽  
Charles Diviès ◽  
Jean-François Cavin

ABSTRACT Lactobacillus plantarum displays a substrate-inducible padA gene encoding a phenolic acid decarboxylase enzyme (PadA) that is considered a specific chemical stress response to the inducing substrate. The putative regulator of padA was located in the padA locus based on its 52% identity with PadR, the padA gene transcriptional regulator of Pediococcus pentosaceus (L. Barthelmebs, B. Lecomte, C. Diviès, and J.-F. Cavin, J. Bacteriol. 182:6724-6731, 2000). Deletion of the L. plantarum padR gene clearly demonstrates that the protein it encodes is the transcriptional repressor of divergently oriented padA. The padR gene is cotranscribed with a downstream open reading frame (ORF1), the product of which may belong to a group of universal stress proteins (Usp). The padR deletion mutant overexpressed padA constitutively, and the padA promoter appears to be tightly regulated in this bacterium. Gel mobility shift assays using the padA gene promoter region and purified PadR expressed in Escherichia coli indicated that operator DNA binding by PadR was not eliminated by addition of p-coumarate. Gel mobility shift assays using partially purified extracts of native PadR protein from both phenolic acid-induced and noninduced L. plantarum cells demonstrate that inactivation of PadR by phenolic acids requires the integrity of L. plantarum and mediation by a specific protein absent in E. coli.


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