scholarly journals Control of the Streptomyces Subtilisin Inhibitor Gene by AdpA in the A-Factor Regulatory Cascade in Streptomyces griseus

2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (17) ◽  
pp. 6207-6216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Setsu Hirano ◽  
Jun-ya Kato ◽  
Yasuo Ohnishi ◽  
Sueharu Horinouchi

ABSTRACT AdpA in the A-factor regulatory cascade in Streptomyces griseus activates a number of genes required for secondary metabolism and morphological differentiation, forming an AdpA regulon. The Streptomyces subtilisin inhibitor (SSI) gene, sgiA, in S. griseus was transcribed in response to AdpA, showing that sgiA is a member of the AdpA regulon. AdpA bound a single site upstream of the sgiA promoter at approximately position −70 with respect to its transcriptional start point. Mutational analysis of the AdpA-binding site showed that the AdpA-binding site was essential for transcriptional activation. Mutants in which sgiA was disrupted had higher trypsin, chymotrypsin, metalloendopeptidase, and total protease activities than the wild-type strain, which showed that SgiA modulated the activities of these extracellularly produced proteases. Because a number of genes encoding chymotrypsins, trypsins, and metalloendopeptidases, most of which are SSI-sensitive proteases, are also under the control of AdpA, the A-factor regulatory cascade was thought to play a crucial role in modulating the extracellular protease activities by triggering simultaneous production of the proteases and their inhibitor at a specific timing during growth. Mutants in which sgiA was disrupted grew normally and formed aerial hyphae and spores with the same time course as the wild-type strain. However, exogenous addition of purified SgiA to substrate mycelium grown on agar medium resulted in a delay in aerial mycelium formation, indicating that SgiA is involved in aerial hypha formation in conjunction with proteases.

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (1) ◽  
pp. 286-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun-ya Kato ◽  
Won-Jae Chi ◽  
Yasuo Ohnishi ◽  
Soon-Kwang Hong ◽  
Sueharu Horinouchi

ABSTRACT AdpA is the key transcriptional activator for a number of genes of various functions in the A-factor regulatory cascade in Streptomyces griseus, forming an AdpA regulon. Trypsin-like activity was detected at a late stage of growth in the wild-type strain but not in an A-factor-deficient mutant. Consistent with these observations, two trypsin genes, sprT and sprU, in S. griseus were found to be members of the AdpA regulon; AdpA activated the transcription of both genes by binding to the operators located at about −50 nucleotide positions with respect to the transcriptional start point. The transcription of sprT and sprU, induced by AdpA, was most active at the onset of sporulation. Most trypsin activity exerted by S. griseus was attributed to SprT, because trypsin activity in an sprT-disrupted mutant was greatly reduced but that in an sprU-disrupted mutant was only slightly reduced. This was consistent with the observation that the amount of the sprT mRNA was much greater than that of the sprU transcript. Disruption of both sprT and sprU (mutant ΔsprTU) reduced trypsin activity to almost zero, indicating that no trypsin genes other than these two were present in S. griseus. Even the double mutant ΔsprTU grew normally and developed aerial hyphae and spores over the same time course as the wild-type strain.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (18) ◽  
pp. 6341-6353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayami Tomono ◽  
Yisan Tsai ◽  
Yasuo Ohnishi ◽  
Sueharu Horinouchi

ABSTRACT AdpA is a key transcriptional activator in the A-factor regulatory cascade in Streptomyces griseus, activating a number of genes required for secondary metabolism and morphological differentiation. Of the five chymotrypsin-type serine protease genes, sprA, sprB, and sprD were transcribed in response to AdpA, showing that these protease genes are members of the AdpA regulon. These proteases were predicted to play the same physiological role, since these protease genes were transcribed in a similar time course during growth and the matured enzymes showed high end-to-end similarity to one another. AdpA bound two sites upstream of the sprA promoter approximately at positions −375 and −50 with respect to the transcriptional start point of sprA. Mutational analysis of the AdpA-binding sites showed that both AdpA-binding sites were essential for transcriptional activation. AdpA bound a single site at position −50 in front of the sprB promoter and greatly enhanced the transcription of sprB. The AdpA-binding site at position −40 was essential for transcription of sprD, although there was an additional AdpA-binding site at position −180. Most chymotrypsin activity excreted by S. griseus was attributed to SprA and SprB, because mutant ΔsprAB, having a deletion in both sprA and sprB, lost almost all chymotrypsin activity, as did mutant ΔadpA. Even the double mutant ΔsprAB and triple mutant ΔsprABD grew normally and developed aerial hyphae and spores over the same time course as the wild-type strain.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (15) ◽  
pp. 4896-4904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeaki Tezuka ◽  
Hirofumi Hara ◽  
Yasuo Ohnishi ◽  
Sueharu Horinouchi

ABSTRACT Small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) have been shown to control diverse cellular processes in prokaryotes. To identify and characterize novel bacterial sRNAs, a gram-positive, soil-inhabiting, filamentous bacterium, Streptomyces griseus, was examined, on the assumption that Streptomyces should express sRNAs as important regulators of morphological and physiological differentiation. By bioinformatics investigation, 54 sRNA candidates, which were encoded on intergenic regions of the S. griseus chromosome and were highly conserved in those of both Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) and Streptomyces avermitilis, were selected. Of these 54 sRNA candidates, 17 transcripts were detected by Northern blot analysis of the total RNAs isolated from cells grown on solid medium. Then, the direction of transcription of each sRNA candidate gene was determined by S1 nuclease mapping, followed by exclusion of four sRNA candidates that were considered riboswitches of their downstream open reading frames (ORFs). Finally, a further sRNA candidate was excluded because it was cotranscribed with the upstream ORF determined by reverse transcription-PCR. Thus, 12 sRNAs ranging in size from 40 to 300 nucleotides were identified in S. griseus. Seven of them were apparently transcribed in a growth phase-dependent manner. Furthermore, of the 12 sRNAs, the expression profiles of 7 were significantly influenced by a mutation of adpA, which encodes the central transcriptional regulator of the A-factor regulatory cascade involved in both morphological differentiation and secondary metabolism in S. griseus. However, disruption of all 12 sRNA genes showed no detectable phenotypic changes; all the disruptants grew and formed aerial mycelium and spores with the same time course as the wild-type strain on various media and produced streptomycin similarly to the wild-type strain.


1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (21) ◽  
pp. 5612-5618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel J. Mouncey ◽  
Samuel Kaplan

ABSTRACT The ability of Rhodobacter sphaeroides2.4.1T to respire anaerobically with the alternative electron acceptor dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or trimethylamineN-oxide (TMAO) is manifested by the molybdoenzyme DMSO reductase, which is encoded by genes of the dor locus. Previously, we have demonstrated that dor expression is regulated in response to lowered oxygen tensions and the presence of DMSO or TMAO in the growth medium. Several regulatory proteins have been identified as key players in this regulatory cascade: FnrL, DorS-DorR, and DorX-DorY. To further examine the role of redox potentiation in the regulation of dor expression, we measured DMSO reductase synthesis and β-galactosidase activity fromdor::lacZ fusions in strains containing mutations in the redox-active proteins CcoP and RdxB, which have previously been implicated in the generation of a redox signal affecting photosynthesis gene expression. Unlike the wild-type strain, both mutants were able to synthesize DMSO reductase under strictly aerobic conditions, even in the absence of DMSO. When cells were grown photoheterotrophically, dorC::lacZexpression was stimulated by increasing light intensity in the CcoP mutant, whereas it is normally repressed in the wild-type strain under such conditions. Furthermore, the expression of genes encoding the DorS sensor kinase and DorR response regulator proteins was also affected by the ccoP mutation. By using CcoP-DorR and CcoP-DorY double mutants, it was shown that the DorR protein is strictly required for altered dor expression in CcoP mutants. These results further demonstrate a role for redox-generated responses in the expression of genes encoding DMSO reductase in R. sphaeroides and identify the DorS-DorR proteins as a redox-dependent regulatory system controlling dorexpression.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeong-Woo Seo ◽  
Yasuo Ohnishi ◽  
Aiko Hirata ◽  
Sueharu Horinouchi

ABSTRACT Streptomyces griseus NP4, which was derived by UV mutagenesis from strain IFO13350, showed a bald and wrinkled colony morphology in response to glucose. Mutant NP4 formed ectopic septa at intervals along substrate hyphae, and each of the compartments developed into a spore which was indistinguishable from an aerial spore in size, shape, and thickness of the spore wall and in susceptibility to lysozyme and heat. The ectopic spores of NP4 formed in liquid medium differed from “submerged spores” in lysozyme sensitivity. Shotgun cloning experiments with a library of the chromosomal DNA of the parental strain and mutant NP4 as the host gave rise to DNA fragments giving two different phenotypes; one complementing the bald phenotype of the host, and the other causing much severe wrinkled morphology in the host. Subcloning identified a gene (dasR) encoding a transcriptional repressor belonging to the GntR family that was responsible for the reversal of the bald phenotype and a gene (dasA) encoding a lipoprotein probably serving as a substrate-binding protein in an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transport system that was responsible for the severe wrinkled morphology. These genes were adjacent but divergently encoded. Two genes, named dasB and dasC, encoding a membrane-spanning protein were present downstream of dasA, which suggested that dasRABC comprises a gene cluster for an ABC transporter, probably for sugar import. dasR was transcribed actively during vegetative growth, and dasA was transcribed just after commencement of aerial hypha formation and during sporulation, indicating that both were developmentally regulated. Transcriptional analysis and direct sequencing of dasRA in mutant NP4 suggested a defect of this mutant in the regulatory system to control the expression of these genes. Introduction of multicopies of dasA into the wild-type strain caused ectopic septation in very young substrate hyphae after only 1 day of growth and subsequent sporulation in response to glucose. The ectopic spores of the wild type had a thinner wall than those of mutant NP4, in agreement with the observation that the former was sensitive to lysozyme and heat. Disruption of the chromosomal dasA or dasR in the wild-type strain resulted in growth as substrate mycelium, suggesting an additional role of these genes in aerial mycelium formation. The ectopic septation and sporulation in mutant NP4 and the wild-type strain carrying multicopies of dasA were independent of a microbial hormone, A-factor (2-isocapryloyl-3R-hydroxymethyl-γ-butyrolactone), that acts as a master switch of aerial mycelium formation and secondary metabolism.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (19) ◽  
pp. 5930-5940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuya Marushima ◽  
Yasuo Ohnishi ◽  
Sueharu Horinouchi

ABSTRACT Streptomyces griseus mutants exhibiting deficient glucose repression of β-galactosidase activity on lactose-containing minimal medium supplemented with a high concentration of glucose were isolated. One of these mutants had a 12-bp deletion in cebR, which encodes a LacI/GalR family regulator. Disruption of cebR in the wild-type strain caused the same phenotype as the mutant, indicating that CebR is required for glucose repression of β-galactosidase activity. Recombinant CebR protein bound to a 14-bp inverted-repeat sequence (designated the CebR box) present in the promoter regions of cebR and the putative cellobiose utilization operon, cebEFG-bglC. The DNA-binding activity of CebR was impaired by cellooligosaccharides, including cellobiose, cellotriose, cellotetraose, cellopentaose, and cellohexaose. In agreement with this observation, transcription from the cebE and cebR promoters was greatly enhanced by the addition of cellobiose to the medium. Seven other genes containing one or two CebR boxes in their upstream regions were found in the S. griseus genome. Five of these genes encode putative secreted proteins: two cellulases, a cellulose-binding protein, a pectate lyase, and a protein of unknown function. These five genes and cebEFG-bglC were transcribed at levels 4 to 130 times higher in the ΔcebR mutant than in the wild-type strain, as determined by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. These findings indicate that CebR is a master regulator of cellulose/cellooligosaccharide catabolism. Unexpectedly, the ΔcebR mutant formed very few aerial hyphae on lactose-containing medium, demonstrating a link between carbon source utilization and morphological development.


Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasumasa Tsukamoto ◽  
Jun-ichi Kato ◽  
Hideo Ikeda

Abstract To examine the mechanism of illegitimate recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we have developed a plasmid system for quantitative analysis of deletion formation. A can1 cyh2 cell carrying two negative selection markers, the CAN1 and CYH2 genes, on a YCp plasmid is sensitive to canavanine and cycloheximide, but the cell becomes resistant to both drugs when the plasmid has a deletion over the CAN1 and CYH2 genes. Structural analysis of the recombinant plasmids obtained from the resistant cells showed that the plasmids had deletions at various sites of the CAN1-CYH2 region and there were only short regions of homology (1-5 bp) at the recombination junctions. The results indicated that the deletion detected in this system were formed by illegitimate recombination. Study on the effect of several rad mutations showed that the recombination rate was reduced by 30-, 10-, 10-, and 10-fold in the rad52, rad50, mre11, and xrs2 mutants, respectively, while in the rud51, 54, 55, and 57 mutants, the rate was comparable to that in the wild-type strain. The rad52 mutation did not affect length of homology at junction sites of illegitimate recombination.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nayeong Kim ◽  
Hyo Jeong Kim ◽  
Man Hwan Oh ◽  
Se Yeon Kim ◽  
Mi Hyun Kim ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Zinc uptake-regulator (Zur)-regulated lipoprotein A (ZrlA) plays a role in bacterial fitness and overcoming antimicrobial exposure in Acinetobacter baumannii. This study further characterized the zrlA gene and its encoded protein and investigated the roles of the zrlA gene in bacterial morphology, antimicrobial susceptibility, and production of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) in A. baumannii ATCC 17978. Results In silico and polymerase chain reaction analyses showed that the zrlA gene was conserved among A. baumannii strains with 97–100% sequence homology. Recombinant ZrlA protein exhibited a specific enzymatic activity of D-alanine-D-alanine carboxypeptidase. Wild-type A. baumannii exhibited more morphological heterogeneity than a ΔzrlA mutant strain during stationary phase. The ΔzrlA mutant strain was more susceptible to gentamicin than the wild-type strain. Sizes and protein profiles of OMVs were similar between the wild-type and ΔzrlA mutant strains, but the ΔzrlA mutant strain produced 9.7 times more OMV particles than the wild-type strain. OMVs from the ΔzrlA mutant were more cytotoxic in cultured epithelial cells than OMVs from the wild-type strain. Conclusions The present study demonstrated that A. baumannii ZrlA contributes to bacterial morphogenesis and antimicrobial resistance, but its deletion increases OMV production and OMV-mediated host cell cytotoxicity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Liu ◽  
Xue Bai ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Haikun Zhang ◽  
Xiaoke Hu

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 676
Author(s):  
Ting-Yu Liu ◽  
Sheng-Hui Tsai ◽  
Jenn-Wei Chen ◽  
Yu-Ching Wang ◽  
Shiau-Ting Hu ◽  
...  

Mycobacterium abscessus is an opportunistic pathogen causing human diseases, especially in immunocompromised patients. M. abscessus strains with a rough morphotype are more virulent than those with a smooth morphotype. Morphotype switch may occur during a clinical infection. To investigate the genes involved in colony morphotype switching, we performed transposon mutagenesis in a rough clinical strain of M. abscessus. A morphotype switching mutant (smooth) named mab_3083c::Tn was obtained. This mutant was found to have a lower aggregative ability and a higher sliding motility than the wild type strain. However, its glycopeptidolipid (GPL) content remained the same as those of the wild type. Complementation of the mutant with a functional mab_3083c gene reverted its morphotype back to rough, indicating that mab_3083c is associated with colony morphology of M. abscessus. Bioinformatic analyses showed that mab_3083c has a 75.4% identity in amino acid sequence with the well-characterized ribonuclease J (RNase J) of M. smegmatis (RNase JMsmeg). Complementation of the mutant with the RNase J gene of M. smegmatis also switched its colony morphology from smooth back to rough. These results suggest that Mab_3083c is a homologue of RNase J and involved in regulating M. abscessus colony morphotype switching.


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