scholarly journals Mutations in Novel Lipopolysaccharide Biogenesis Genes Confer Resistance to Amoebal Grazing in Synechococcus elongatus

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (9) ◽  
pp. 2738-2750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Simkovsky ◽  
Emily E. Effner ◽  
Maria José Iglesias-Sánchez ◽  
Susan S. Golden

ABSTRACTIn natural and artificial aquatic environments, population structures and dynamics of photosynthetic microbes are heavily influenced by the grazing activity of protistan predators. Understanding the molecular factors that affect predation is critical for controlling toxic cyanobacterial blooms and maintaining cyanobacterial biomass production ponds for generating biofuels and other bioproducts. We previously demonstrated that impairment of the synthesis or transport of the O-antigen component of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) enables resistance to amoebal grazing in the model predator-prey system consisting of the heterolobosean amoeba HGG1 and the cyanobacteriumSynechococcus elongatusPCC 7942 (R. S. Simkovsky et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109:16678–16683, 2012,http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1214904109). In this study, we used this model system to identify additional gene products involved in the synthesis of O antigen, the ligation of O antigen to the lipid A-core conjugated molecule (including a novel ligase gene), the generation of GDP-fucose, and the incorporation of sugars into the lipid A core oligosaccharide ofS. elongatus. Knockout of any of these genes enables resistance to HGG1, and of these, only disruption of the genes involved in synthesis or incorporation of GDP-fucose into the lipid A-core molecule impairs growth. Because these LPS synthesis genes are well conserved across the diverse range of cyanobacteria, they enable a broader understanding of the structure and synthesis of cyanobacterial LPS and represent mutational targets for generating resistance to amoebal grazers in novel biomass production strains.

2011 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 4227-4239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingke Kong ◽  
Jiseon Yang ◽  
Qing Liu ◽  
Praveen Alamuri ◽  
Kenneth L. Roland ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTLipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a major virulence factor ofSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium and is composed of lipid A, core oligosaccharide (C-OS), and O-antigen polysaccharide (O-PS). While the functions of the gene products involved in synthesis of core and O-antigen have been elucidated, the effect of removing O-antigen and core sugars on the virulence and immunogenicity ofSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium has not been systematically studied. We introduced nonpolar, defined deletion mutations inwaaG(rfaG),waaI(rfaI),rfaH,waaJ(rfaJ),wbaP(rfbP),waaL(rfaL), orwzy(rfc) into wild-typeS.Typhimurium. The LPS structure was confirmed, and a number ofin vitroandin vivoproperties of each mutant were analyzed. All mutants were significantly attenuated compared to the wild-type parent when administered orally to BALB/c mice and were less invasive in host tissues. Strains with ΔwaaGand ΔwaaImutations, in particular, were deficient in colonization of Peyer's patches and liver. This deficiency could be partially overcome in the ΔwaaImutant when it was administered intranasally. In the context of an attenuated vaccine strain delivering the pneumococcal antigen PspA, all of the mutations tested resulted in reduced immune responses against PspA andSalmonellaantigens. Our results indicate that nonreversible truncation of the outer core is not a viable option for developing a live oralSalmonellavaccine, while awzymutant that retains one O-antigen unit is adequate for stimulating the optimal protective immunity to homologous or heterologous antigens by oral, intranasal, or intraperitoneal routes of administration.


2014 ◽  
Vol 197 (2) ◽  
pp. 354-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry A. Sokol ◽  
Neil E. Olszewski

The posttranslational addition of a single O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) to serine or threonine residues regulates numerous metazoan cellular processes. The enzyme responsible for this modification,O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), is conserved among a wide variety of organisms and is critical for the viability of many eukaryotes. Although OGTs with domain structures similar to those of eukaryotic OGTs are predicted for many bacterial species, the cellular roles of these OGTs are unknown. We have identified a putative OGT in the cyanobacteriumSynechococcus elongatusPCC 7942 that shows active-site homology and similar domain structure to eukaryotic OGTs. An OGT deletion mutant was created and found to exhibit several phenotypes. Without agitation, mutant cells aggregate and settle out of the medium. The mutant cells have higher free inorganic phosphate levels, wider thylakoid lumen, and differential accumulation of electron-dense inclusion bodies. These phenotypes are rescued by reintroduction of the wild-type OGT but are not fully rescued by OGTs with single amino acid substitutions corresponding to mutations that reduce eukaryotic OGT activity.S. elongatusOGT purified fromEscherichia colihydrolyzed the sugar donor, UDP-GlcNAc, while the mutant OGTs that did not fully rescue the deletion mutant phenotypes had reduced or no activity. These results suggest that bacterial eukaryote-like OGTs, like their eukaryotic counterparts, influence multiple processes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 202 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anika Wiegard ◽  
Christin Köbler ◽  
Katsuaki Oyama ◽  
Anja K. Dörrich ◽  
Chihiro Azai ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Cyanobacteria form a heterogeneous bacterial group with diverse lifestyles, acclimation strategies, and differences in the presence of circadian clock proteins. In Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, a unique posttranslational KaiABC oscillator drives circadian rhythms. ATPase activity of KaiC correlates with the period of the clock and mediates temperature compensation. Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 expresses additional Kai proteins, of which KaiB3 and KaiC3 proteins were suggested to fine-tune the standard KaiAB1C1 oscillator. In the present study, we therefore characterized the enzymatic activity of KaiC3 as a representative of nonstandard KaiC homologs in vitro. KaiC3 displayed ATPase activity lower than that of the Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 KaiC protein. ATP hydrolysis was temperature dependent. Hence, KaiC3 is missing a defining feature of the model cyanobacterial circadian oscillator. Yeast two-hybrid analysis showed that KaiC3 interacts with KaiB3, KaiC1, and KaiB1. Further, KaiB3 and KaiB1 reduced in vitro ATP hydrolysis by KaiC3. Spot assays showed that chemoheterotrophic growth in constant darkness is completely abolished after deletion of ΔkaiAB1C1 and reduced in the absence of kaiC3. We therefore suggest a role for adaptation to darkness for KaiC3 as well as a cross talk between the KaiC1- and KaiC3-based systems. IMPORTANCE The circadian clock influences the cyanobacterial metabolism, and deeper understanding of its regulation will be important for metabolic optimizations in the context of industrial applications. Due to the heterogeneity of cyanobacteria, characterization of clock systems in organisms apart from the circadian model Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 is required. Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 represents a major cyanobacterial model organism and harbors phylogenetically diverged homologs of the clock proteins, which are present in various other noncyanobacterial prokaryotes. By our in vitro studies we unravel the interplay of the multiple Synechocystis Kai proteins and characterize enzymatic activities of the nonstandard clock homolog KaiC3. We show that the deletion of kaiC3 affects growth in constant darkness, suggesting its involvement in the regulation of nonphotosynthetic metabolic pathways.


2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
pp. 7124-7130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyndsay M. Schaeffer ◽  
Francis X. McCormack ◽  
Huixing Wu ◽  
Alison A. Weiss

ABSTRACT Surfactant proteins A (SP-A) and D (SP-D) play an important role in the innate immune defenses of the respiratory tract. SP-A binds to the lipid A region of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and SP-D binds to the core oligosaccharide region. Both proteins induce aggregation, act as opsonins for neutrophils and macrophages, and have direct antimicrobial activity. Bordetella pertussis LPS has a branched core structure and a nonrepeating terminal trisaccharide. Bordetella bronchiseptica LPS has the same structure, but lipid A is palmitoylated and there is a repeating O-antigen polysaccharide. The ability of SP-A and SP-D to agglutinate and permeabilize wild-type and LPS mutants of B. pertussis and B. bronchiseptica was examined. Previously, wild-type B. pertussis was shown to resist the effects of SP-A; however, LPS mutants lacking the terminal trisaccharide were susceptible to SP-A. In this study, SP-A was found to aggregate and permeabilize a B. bronchiseptica mutant lacking the terminal trisaccharide, while wild-type B. bronchiseptica and mutants lacking only the palmitoyl transferase or O antigen were resistant to SP-A. Wild-type B. pertussis and B. bronchiseptica were both resistant to SP-D; however, LPS mutants of either strain lacking the terminal trisaccharide were aggregated and permeabilized by SP-D. We conclude that the terminal trisaccharide protects Bordetella species from the bactericidal functions of SP-A and SP-D. The O antigen and palmitoylated lipid A of B. bronchiseptica play no role in this resistance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 573-586
Author(s):  
Eva Krzyżewska ◽  
Jacek Rybka

The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria is a biological structure with a unique composition that significantly contributes to the survival of bacteria in the unfavorable conditions of the host organism. The lipopolysaccharide constitutes about 70% of the external part of the outer membrane. The LPS molecule is composed of three different parts: lipid A, core oligosaccharide and O antigen. Despite the O-specific antigen being one of the most intensely studied surface structures of bacterial polysaccharides, a number of questions regarding the mechanism of the O antigen biosynthesis and its transport to the cell surface are still unanswered. The paper describes the biosynthesis of the lipopolysaccharide molecule, with particular emphasis on the O-specific chain biosynthesis, the mechanism of lipopolysaccharide length regulation and the influence of the type of synthesized O-specific chains on bacterial survival in adverse host organisms.


2015 ◽  
Vol 197 (10) ◽  
pp. 1735-1746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolay Paramonov ◽  
Joseph Aduse-Opoku ◽  
Ahmed Hashim ◽  
Minnie Rangarajan ◽  
Michael A. Curtis

ABSTRACTPorphyromonas gingivalissynthesizes two lipopolysaccharides (LPSs), O-LPS and A-LPS. The structure of the core oligosaccharide (OS) of O-LPS and the attachment site of the O-polysaccharide (O-PS) repeating unit [→3)-α-d-Galp-(1→6)-α-d-Glcp-(1→4)-α-l-Rhap-(1→3)-β-d-GalNAcp-(1→] to the core have been elucidated using the ΔPG1051 (WaaL, O-antigen ligase) and ΔPG1142 (Wzy, O-antigen polymerase) mutant strains, respectively. The core OS occurs as an “uncapped” glycoform devoid of O-PS and a “capped” glycoform that contains the attachment site of O-PS via β-d-GalNAc at position O-3 of the terminal α-(1→3)-linked mannose (Man) residue. In this study, the attachment site of A-PS to the core OS was determined based on structural analysis of SR-type LPS (O-LPS and A-LPS) isolated from aP. gingivalisΔPG1142 mutant strain by extraction with aqueous hot phenol to minimize the destruction of A-LPS. Application of one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in combination with methylation analysis showed that the A-PS repeating unit is linked to a nonterminal α-(1→3)-linked Man of the “capped core” glycoform of outer core OS at position O-4 via a →6)-[α-d-Man-α-(1→2)-α-d-Man-1-phosphate→2]-α-d-Man-(1→ motif. In order to verify that O-PS and A-PS are attached to almost identical core glycoforms, we identified a putative α-mannosyltransferase (PG0129) inP. gingivalisW50 that may be involved in the formation of core OS. Inactivation of PG0129 led to the synthesis of deep-R-type LPS with a truncated core that lacks α-(1→3)-linked mannoses and is devoid of either O-PS or A-PS. This indicated that PG0129 is an α-1,3-mannosyltransferase required for synthesis of the outer core regions of both O-LPS and A-LPS inP. gingivalis.IMPORTANCEPorphyromonas gingivalis, a Gram-negative anaerobe, is considered to be an important etiologic agent in periodontal disease, and among the virulence factors produced by the organism are two lipopolysaccharides (LPSs), O-LPS and A-LPS. The structures of the O-PS and A-PS repeating units, the core oligosaccharide (OS), and the linkage of the O-PS repeating unit to the core OS in O-LPS have been elucidated by our group. It is important to establish whether the attachment site of the A-PS repeating unit to the core OS in A-LPS is similar to or differs from that of the O-PS repeating unit in O-LPS. As part of understanding the biosynthetic pathway of the two LPSs inP. gingivalis, PG0129 was identified as an α-mannosyltransferase that is involved in the synthesis of the outer core regions of both O-LPS and A-LPS.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Dworaczek ◽  
Maria Kurzylewska ◽  
Magdalena A. Karaś ◽  
Monika Janczarek ◽  
Agnieszka Pękala-Safińska ◽  
...  

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the major glycolipid and virulence factor of Gram-negative bacteria, including Aeromonas spp. The O-specific polysaccharide (O-PS, O-chain, O-antigen), i.e., the surface-exposed part of LPS, which is a hetero- or homopolysaccharide, determines the serospecificity of bacterial strains. Here, chemical analyses, mass spectrometry, and 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy techniques were employed to study the O-PS of Aeromonas hydrophila strain JCM 3968, serogroup O6. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry revealed that the LPS of A. hydrophila JCM 3968 has a hexaacylated lipid A with conserved architecture of the backbone and a core oligosaccharide composed of Hep6Hex1HexN1HexNAc1Kdo1P1. To liberate the O-antigen, LPS was subjected to mild acid hydrolysis followed by gel-permeation-chromatography and revealed two O-polysaccharides that were found to contain a unique sugar 4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-l-mannose (N-acetyl-l-perosamine, l-Rhap4NAc), which may further determine the specificity of the serogroup. The first O-polysaccharide (O-PS1) was built up of trisaccharide repeating units composed of one α-d-GalpNAc and two α-l-Rhap4NAc residues, whereas the other one, O-PS2, is an α1→2 linked homopolymer of l-Rhap4NAc. The following structures of the O-polysaccharides were established: O-PS1 →3)-α-l-Rhap4NAc-(1→4)-α-d-GalpNAc-(1→3)-α-l-Rhap4NAc-(1→ O-PS2 →2)-α-l-Rhap4NAc-(1→ The present paper is the first work that reveals the occurrence of perosamine in the l-configuration as a component of bacterial O-chain polysaccharides.


2012 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 430-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Cullen ◽  
John P. O'Brien ◽  
David R. Hendrixson ◽  
David K. Giles ◽  
Rhonda I. Hobb ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCampylobacter jejuniis a natural commensal of the avian intestinal tract. However, the bacterium is also the leading cause of acute bacterial diarrhea worldwide and is implicated in development of Guillain-Barré syndrome. Like many bacterial pathogens,C. jejuniassembles complex surface structures that interface with the surrounding environment and are involved in pathogenesis. Recent work inC. jejuniidentified a gene encoding a novel phosphoethanolamine (pEtN) transferase, EptC (Cj0256), that plays a promiscuous role in modifying the flagellar rod protein, FlgG; the lipid A domain of lipooligosaccharide (LOS); and severalN-linked glycans. In this work, we report that EptC catalyzes the addition of pEtN to the first heptose sugar of the inner core oligosaccharide of LOS, a fourth enzymatic target. We also examine the role pEtN modification plays in circumventing detection and/or killing by host defenses. Specifically, we show that modification ofC. jejunilipid A with pEtN results in increased recognition by the human Toll-like receptor 4–myeloid differentiation factor 2 (hTLR4-MD2) complex, along with providing resistance to relevant mammalian and avian antimicrobial peptides (i.e., defensins). We also confirm the inability of aberrant forms of LOS to activate Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). Most exciting, we demonstrate that strains lackingeptCshow decreased commensal colonization of chick ceca and reduced colonization of BALB/cByJ mice compared to wild-type strains. Our results indicate that modification of surface structures with pEtN by EptC is key to its ability to promote commensalism in an avian host and to survive in the mammalian gastrointestinal environment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 198 (22) ◽  
pp. 3070-3079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew A. Jorgenson ◽  
Kevin D. Young

ABSTRACTUndecaprenyl phosphate (Und-P) is a member of the family of essential polyprenyl phosphate lipid carriers and in the Gram-negative bacteriumEscherichia coliis required for synthesizing the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall, enterobacterial common antigen (ECA), O antigen, and colanic acid. Previously, we found that interruption of ECA biosynthesis indirectly alters PG synthesis by sequestering Und-P via dead-end intermediates, causing morphological defects. To determine if competition for Und-P was a more general phenomenon, we determined if O-antigen intermediates caused similar effects. Indeed, disrupting the synthesis of O antigen or the lipopolysaccharide core oligosaccharide induced cell shape deformities, which were suppressed by preventing the initiation of O-antigen biosynthesis or by manipulating Und-P metabolism. We conclude that accumulation of O-antigen intermediates alters PG synthesis by sequestering Und-P. Importantly, many previous experiments addressed the physiological functions of various oligosaccharides and glycoconjugates, but these studies employed mutants that accumulate deleterious intermediates. Thus, conclusions based on these experiments must be reevaluated to account for possible indirect effects of Und-P sequestration.IMPORTANCEBacteria use long-chain isoprenoids like undecaprenyl phosphate (Und-P) as lipid carriers to assemble numerous glycan polymers that comprise the cell envelope. In any one bacterium, multiple oligosaccharide biosynthetic pathways compete for a common pool of Und-P, which means that disruptions in one pathway may produce secondary consequences that affect the others. Using the Gram-negative bacteriumEscherichia colias a model, we demonstrate that interruption of the biogenesis of O antigen, a major outer membrane component, indirectly impairs peptidoglycan synthesis by sequestering Und-P into dead-end intermediates. These results strongly argue that the functions of many Und-P-utilizing pathways must be reevaluated, because much of our current understanding is based on experiments that did not control for these unintended secondary effects.


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