scholarly journals Peptidoglycan degradation by specialized lytic transglycosylases associated with type III and type IV secretion systems

Microbiology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 151 (11) ◽  
pp. 3455-3467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Zahrl ◽  
Maria Wagner ◽  
Karin Bischof ◽  
Michaela Bayer ◽  
Barbara Zavecz ◽  
...  

Specialized lytic transglycosylases are muramidases capable of locally degrading the peptidoglycan meshwork of Gram-negative bacteria. Specialized lytic transglycosylase genes are present in clusters encoding diverse macromolecular transport systems. This paper reports the analysis of selected members of the specialized lytic transglycosylase family from type III and type IV secretion systems. These proteins were analysed in vivo by assaying their ability to complement the DNA transfer defect of the conjugative F-like plasmid R1-16 lacking a functional P19 protein, the specialized lytic transglycosylase of this type IV secretion system. Heterologous complementation was accomplished using IpgF from the plasmid-encoded type III secretion system of Shigella sonnei and TrbN from the type IV secretion system of the conjugative plasmid RP4. In contrast, neither VirB1 proteins (Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Brucella suis) nor IagB (Salmonella enterica) could functionally replace P19. In vitro, IpgF, IagB, both VirB1 proteins, HP0523 (Helicobacter pylori) and P19 displayed peptidoglycanase activity in zymogram analyses. Using an established test system and a newly developed assay it was shown that IpgF degraded peptidoglycan in solution. IpgF was active only after removal of the chaperonin GroEL, which co-purified with IpgF and inhibited its enzymic activity. A mutant IpgF protein in which the predicted catalytic amino acid, Glu42, was replaced by Gln, was completely inactive. IpgF-catalysed peptidoglycan degradation was optimal at pH 6 and was inhibited by the lytic transglycosylase inhibitors hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose and bulgecin A.

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (15) ◽  
pp. 5421-5428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra L. Kohler ◽  
Holly L. Hamilton ◽  
Karen Cloud-Hansen ◽  
Joseph P. Dillard

ABSTRACT Type IV secretion systems require peptidoglycan lytic transglycosylases for efficient secretion, but the function of these enzymes is not clear. The type IV secretion system gene cluster of Neisseria gonorrhoeae encodes two peptidoglycan transglycosylase homologues. One, LtgX, is similar to peptidoglycan transglycosylases from other type IV secretion systems. The other, AtlA, is similar to endolysins from bacteriophages and is not similar to any described type IV secretion component. We characterized the enzymatic function of AtlA in order to examine its role in the type IV secretion system. Purified AtlA was found to degrade macromolecular peptidoglycan and to produce 1,6-anhydro peptidoglycan monomers, characteristic of lytic transglycosylase activity. We found that AtlA can functionally replace the lambda endolysin to lyse Escherichia coli. In contrast, a sensitive measure of lysis demonstrated that AtlA does not lyse gonococci expressing it or gonococci cocultured with an AtlA-expressing strain. The gonococcal type IV secretion system secretes DNA during growth. A deletion of ltgX or a substitution in the putative active site of AtlA severely decreased DNA secretion. These results indicate that AtlA and LtgX are actively involved in type IV secretion and that AtlA is not involved in lysis of gonococci to release DNA. This is the first demonstration that a type IV secretion peptidoglycanase has lytic transglycosylase activity. These data show that AtlA plays a role in type IV secretion of DNA that requires peptidoglycan breakdown without cell lysis.


2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 890-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Baron

Type IV secretion systems are used by many Gram-negative bacteria for the translocation of macromolecules (proteins, DNA, or DNA–protein complexes) across the cell envelope. Among them are many pathogens for which type IV secretion systems are essential virulence factors. Type IV secretion systems comprise 8–12 conserved proteins, which assemble into a complex spanning the inner and the outer membrane, and many assemble extracellular appendages, such as pili, which initiate contact with host and recipient cells followed by substrate translocation. VirB8 is an essential assembly factor for all type IV secretion systems. Biochemical, cell biological, genetic, and yeast two-hybrid analyses showed that VirB8 undergoes multiple interactions with other type IV secretion system components and that it directs polar assembly of the membrane-spanning complex in the model organism Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The availability of the VirB8 X-ray structure has enabled a detailed structure–function analysis, which identified sites for the binding of VirB4 and VirB10 and for self-interaction. Due to its multiple interactions, VirB8 is an excellent model for the analysis of assembly factors of multiprotein complexes. In addition, VirB8 is a possible target for drugs that target its protein–protein interactions, which would disarm bacteria by depriving them of their essential virulence functions.


mBio ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julieta Aguilar ◽  
Todd A. Cameron ◽  
John Zupan ◽  
Patricia Zambryski

ABSTRACTType IV secretion systems (T4SS) transfer DNA and/or proteins into recipient cells. Here we performed immunofluorescence deconvolution microscopy to localize the assembled T4SS by detection of its native components VirB1, VirB2, VirB4, VirB5, VirB7, VirB8, VirB9, VirB10, and VirB11 in the C58 nopaline strain ofAgrobacterium tumefaciens, following induction of virulence (vir) gene expression. These different proteins represent T4SS components spanning the inner membrane, periplasm, or outer membrane. Native VirB2, VirB5, VirB7, and VirB8 were also localized in theA. tumefaciensoctopine strain A348. Quantitative analyses of the localization of all the above Vir proteins in nopaline and octopine strains revealed multiple foci in single optical sections in over 80% and 70% of the bacterial cells, respectively. Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-VirB8 expression followingvirinduction was used to monitor bacterial binding to live host plant cells; bacteria bind predominantly along their lengths, with few bacteria binding via their poles or subpoles.vir-induced attachment-defective bacteria or bacteria without the Ti plasmid do not bind to plant cells. These data support a model where multiplevir-T4SS around the perimeter of the bacterium maximize effective contact with the host to facilitate efficient transfer of DNA and protein substrates.IMPORTANCETransfer of DNA and/or proteins to host cells through multiprotein type IV secretion system (T4SS) complexes that span the bacterial cell envelope is critical to bacterial pathogenesis. Early reports suggested that T4SS components localized at the cell poles. Now, higher-resolution deconvolution fluorescence microscopy reveals that all structural components of theAgrobacterium tumefaciens vir-T4SS, as well as its transported protein substrates, localize to multiple foci around the cell perimeter. These results lead to a new model ofA. tumefaciensattachment to a plant cell, whereA. tumefacienstakes advantage of the multiplevir-T4SS along its length to make intimate lateral contact with plant cells and thereby effectively transfer DNA and/or proteins through thevir-T4SS. The T4SS ofA. tumefaciensis among the best-studied T4SS, and the majority of its components are highly conserved in different pathogenic bacterial species. Thus, the results presented can be applied to a broad range of pathogens that utilize T4SS.


2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (18) ◽  
pp. 6015-6024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda S. Engledow ◽  
Enrique G. Medrano ◽  
Eshwar Mahenthiralingam ◽  
John J. LiPuma ◽  
Carlos F. Gonzalez

ABSTRACT Burkholderia cenocepacia strain K56-2, a representative of the Burkholderia cepacia complex, is part of the epidemic and clinically problematic ET12 lineage. The strain produced plant tissue watersoaking (ptw) on onion tissue, which is a plant disease-associated trait. Using plasposon mutagenesis, mutants in the ptw phenotype were generated. The translated sequence of a disrupted gene (ptwD4) from a ptw-negative mutant showed homology to VirD4-like proteins. Analysis of the region proximal to the transfer gene homolog identified a gene cluster located on the 92-kb resident plasmid that showed homology to type IV secretion systems. The role of ptwD4, ptwC, ptwB4, and ptwB10 in the expression of ptw activity was determined by conducting site-directed mutagenesis. The ptw phenotype was not expressed by K56-2 derivatives with a disruption in ptwD4, ptwB4, or ptwB10 but was observed in a derivative with a disruption in ptwC. Complementation of ptw-negative K56-2 derivatives in trans resulted in complete restoration of the ptw phenotype. In addition, analysis of culture supernatants revealed that the putative ptw effector(s) was a secreted, heat-stable protein(s) that caused plasmolysis of plant protoplasts. A second chromosomally encoded type IV secretion system with complete homology to the VirB-VirD system was identified in K56-2. Site-directed mutagenesis of key secretory genes in the VirB-VirD system did not affect expression of the ptw phenotype. Our findings indicate that in strain K56-2, the plasmid-encoded Ptw type IV secretion system is responsible for the secretion of a plant cytotoxic protein(s).


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana X Byndloss ◽  
Fabian Rivera-Chávez ◽  
Renée M Tsolis ◽  
Andreas J Bäumler

2006 ◽  
Vol 189 (3) ◽  
pp. 761-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Juhas ◽  
Derrick W. Crook ◽  
Ioanna D. Dimopoulou ◽  
Gerton Lunter ◽  
Rosalind M. Harding ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) mediate horizontal gene transfer, thus contributing to genome plasticity, evolution of infectious pathogens, and dissemination of antibiotic resistance and other virulence traits. A gene cluster of the Haemophilus influenzae genomic island ICEHin1056 has been identified as a T4SS involved in the propagation of genomic islands. This T4SS is novel and evolutionarily distant from the previously described systems. Mutation analysis showed that inactivation of key genes of this system resulted in a loss of phenotypic traits provided by a T4SS. Seven of 10 mutants with a mutation in this T4SS did not express the type IV secretion pilus. Correspondingly, disruption of the genes resulted in up to 100,000-fold reductions in conjugation frequencies compared to those of the parent strain. Moreover, the expression of this T4SS was found to be positively regulated by one of its components, the tfc24 gene. We concluded that this gene cluster represents a novel family of T4SSs involved in propagation of genomic islands.


2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (18) ◽  
pp. 6551-6563 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Zupan ◽  
Cheryl A. Hackworth ◽  
Julieta Aguilar ◽  
Doyle Ward ◽  
Patricia Zambryski

ABSTRACT The vir-type IV secretion system of Agrobacterium is assembled from 12 proteins encoded by the virB operon and virD4. VirB1 is one of the least-studied proteins encoded by the virB operon. Its N terminus is a lytic transglycosylase. The C-terminal third of the protein, VirB1*, is cleaved from VirB1 and secreted to the outside of the bacterial cell, suggesting an additional function. We show that both nopaline and octopine strains produce abundant amounts of VirB1* and perform detailed studies on nopaline VirB1*. Both domains are required for wild-type virulence. We show here that the nopaline type VirB1* is essential for the formation of the T pilus, a subassembly of the vir-T4SS composed of processed and cyclized VirB2 (major subunit) and VirB5 (minor subunit). A nopaline virB1 deletion strain does not produce T pili. Complementation with full-length VirB1 or C-terminal VirB1*, but not the N-terminal lytic transglycosylase domain, restores T pili containing VirB2 and VirB5. T-pilus preparations also contain extracellular VirB1*. Protein-protein interactions between VirB1* and VirB2 and VirB5 were detected in the yeast two-hybrid assay. We propose that VirB1 is a bifunctional protein required for virT4SS assembly. The N-terminal lytic transglycosylase domain provides localized lysis of the peptidoglycan cell wall to allow insertion of the T4SS. The C-terminal VirB1* promotes T-pilus assembly through protein-protein interactions with T-pilus subunits.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (6) ◽  
pp. 2161-2171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Kutter ◽  
Renate Buhrdorf ◽  
Jürgen Haas ◽  
Wulf Schneider-Brachert ◽  
Rainer Haas ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Type IV secretion systems are possibly the most versatile protein transport systems in gram-negative bacteria, with substrates ranging from small proteins to large nucleoprotein complexes. In many cases, such as the cag pathogenicity island of Helicobacter pylori, genes encoding components of a type IV secretion system have been identified due to their sequence similarities to prototypical systems such as the VirB system of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The Cag type IV secretion system contains at least 14 essential apparatus components and several substrate translocation and auxiliary factors, but the functions of most components cannot be inferred from their sequences due to the lack of similarities. In this study, we have performed a comprehensive sequence analysis of all essential or auxiliary Cag components, and we have used antisera raised against a subset of components to determine their subcellular localization. The results suggest that the Cag system contains functional analogues to all VirB components except VirB5. Moreover, we have characterized mutual stabilization effects and performed a comprehensive yeast two-hybrid screening for potential protein-protein interactions. Immunoprecipitation studies resulted in identification of a secretion apparatus subassembly at the outer membrane. Combining these data, we provide a first low-resolution model of the Cag type IV secretion apparatus.


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