scholarly journals Characterization of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis ESX-3 Conditional Mutant: Essentiality and Rescue by Iron and Zinc

2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (20) ◽  
pp. 6340-6344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnese Serafini ◽  
Francesca Boldrin ◽  
Giorgio Palù ◽  
Riccardo Manganelli

ABSTRACT Recently, a novel type of secretory pathway, type VII secretion systems (T7SSs), has been characterized in mycobacteria. The chromosomes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis encode five T7SSs (ESX-1 to ESX-5). The best characterized of them, ESX-1, is involved in host-pathogen interactions, and its deletion is one of the main causes of M. bovis BCG attenuation. Another T7SS, ESX-3, has been previously shown to be transcriptionally controlled by the zinc uptake repressor (Zur) and by the iron-dependent transcriptional repressor (IdeR), suggesting that it might be involved in zinc and iron homeostasis. In this study, we characterized an M. tuberculosis conditional mutant in which transcription of the ESX-3 gene cluster can be downregulated by anhydrotetracycline. We showed that this T7SS is essential for growth and that this phenotype can be complemented by zinc, iron, or supernatant from a wild-type parental strain culture, demonstrating that the ESX-3 secretion system is responsible for the secretion of some soluble factor(s) required for growth that is probably involved in optimal iron and zinc uptake.

2012 ◽  
Vol 80 (9) ◽  
pp. 3132-3144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Casonato ◽  
Axel Cervantes Sánchez ◽  
Hirohito Haruki ◽  
Monica Rengifo González ◽  
Roberta Provvedi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe proteins belonging to the WhiB superfamily are small global transcriptional regulators typical of actinomycetes. In this paper, we characterize the role of WhiB5, aMycobacterium tuberculosisprotein belonging to this superfamily. A null mutant was constructed inM. tuberculosisH37Rv and was shown to be attenuated during both progressive and chronic mouse infections. Mice infected with the mutant had smaller bacillary burdens in the lungs but a larger inflammatory response, suggesting a role of WhiB5 in immunomodulation. Most interestingly, thewhiB5mutant was not able to resume growth after reactivation from chronic infection, suggesting that WhiB5 controls the expression of genes involved in this process. The mutant was also more sensitive than the wild-type parental strain toS-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) and was less metabolically active following prolonged starvation, underscoring the importance of GSNO and starvation in development and maintenance of chronic infection. DNA microarray analysis identified 58 genes whose expression is influenced by WhiB5, includingsigM, encoding an alternative sigma factor, and genes encoding the constituents of two type VII secretion systems, namely, ESX-2 and ESX-4.


2016 ◽  
Vol 84 (8) ◽  
pp. 2255-2263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emir Tinaztepe ◽  
Jun-Rong Wei ◽  
Jenelle Raynowska ◽  
Cynthia Portal-Celhay ◽  
Victor Thompson ◽  
...  

More people die every year fromMycobacterium tuberculosisinfection than from infection by any other bacterial pathogen. Type VII secretion systems (T7SS) are used by both environmental and pathogenic mycobacteria to secrete proteins across their complex cell envelope. In the nonpathogenMycobacterium smegmatis, the ESX-1 T7SS plays a role in conjugation, and the ESX-3 T7SS is involved in metal homeostasis. InM. tuberculosis, these secretion systems have taken on roles in virulence, and they also are targets of the host immune response. ESX-3 secretes a heterodimer composed of EsxG (TB9.8) and EsxH (TB10.4), which impairs phagosome maturation in macrophages and is essential for virulence in mice. Given the importance of EsxG and EsxH during infection, we examined their regulation. WithM. tuberculosis, the secretion of EsxG and EsxH was regulated in response to iron and zinc, in accordance with the previously described transcriptional response of theesx-3locus to these metals. While iron regulated theesx-3expression in bothM. tuberculosisandM. smegmatis, there is a significant difference in the dynamics of this regulation. InM. smegmatis, theesx-3locus behaved like other iron-regulated genes such asmbtB. InM. tuberculosis, both iron and zinc modestly repressedesx-3expression. Diminished secretion of EsxG and EsxH in response to these metals altered the interaction ofM. tuberculosiswith macrophages, leading to impaired intracellularM. tuberculosissurvival. Our findings detail the regulatory differences ofesx-3inM. tuberculosisandM. smegmatisand demonstrate the importance of metal-dependent regulation of ESX-3 for virulence inM. tuberculosis.


2002 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 3080-3084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhavna G. Gordhan ◽  
Debbie A. Smith ◽  
Heidi Alderton ◽  
Ruth A. McAdam ◽  
Gregory J. Bancroft ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A mutant of Mycobacterium tuberculosis defective in the metabolism of l-arginine was constructed by allelic exchange mutagenesis. The argF mutant strain required exogenous l-arginine for growth in vitro, and in the presence of 0.96 mM l-arginine, it achieved a growth rate and cell density in stationary phase comparable to those of the wild type. The mutant strain was also able to grow in the presence of high concentrations of argininosuccinate, but its auxotrophic phenotype could not be rescued by l-citrulline, suggesting that the ΔargF::hyg mutation exerted a polar effect on the downstream argG gene but not on argH. The mutant strain displayed reduced virulence in immunodeficient SCID mice and was highly attenuated in immunocompetent DBA/2 mice, suggesting that l-arginine availability is restricted in vivo.


Author(s):  
Catalin M. Bunduc ◽  
Dirk Fahrenkamp ◽  
Jiri Wald ◽  
Roy Ummels ◽  
Wilbert Bitter ◽  
...  

AbstractMycobacterium tuberculosis causes one of the most important infectious diseases in humans, leading to 1.5 million deaths every year. Specialized protein transport systems, called type VII secretion systems (T7SSs), are central for its virulence, but also crucial for nutrient and metabolite transport across the mycobacterial cell envelope. Here we present the first structure of an intact T7SS inner membrane complex of M. tuberculosis. We show how the 2.32 MDa, 165 transmembrane helices-containing ESX-5 assembly is restructured and stabilized as a trimer of dimers by the MycP5 protease. A trimer of MycP5 caps a central periplasmic dome-like chamber formed by three EccB5 dimers, with the proteolytic sites facing towards the cavity. This chamber suggests a central secretion and processing conduit. Complexes without MycP5 show disruption of the EccB5 periplasmic assembly and increased flexibility, highlighting the importance of this component for complex integrity. Beneath the EccB5-MycP5 chamber, dimers of the EccC5 ATPase assemble into three four-transmembrane helix bundles, which together seal the potential central secretion channel. Individual cytoplasmic EccC5 domains adopt two distinctive conformations, likely reflecting different secretion states. Our work suggests a novel mechanism of protein transport and provides a structural scaffold to aid drug development against the major human pathogen.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-55
Author(s):  
A. V. Chandran ◽  
R. Srikalaivani ◽  
A. Paul ◽  
M. Vijayan

LexA is a protein that is involved in the SOS response. The protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its mutants have been biochemically characterized and the structures of their catalytic segments have been determined. The protein is made up of an N-terminal segment, which includes the DNA-binding domain, and a C-terminal segment encompassing much of the catalytic domain. The two segments are defined by a cleavage site. Full-length LexA, the two segments, two point mutants involving changes in the active-site residues (S160A and K197A) and another mutant involving a change at the cleavage site (G126D) were cloned and purified. The wild-type protein autocleaves at basic pH, while the mutants do not. The wild-type and the mutant proteins dimerize and bind DNA with equal facility. The C-terminal segment also dimerizes, and it also shows a tendency to form tetramers. The C-terminal segment readily crystallized. The crystals obtained from attempts involving the full-length protein and its mutants contained only the C-terminal segment including the catalytic core and a few residues preceding it, in a dimeric or tetrameric form, indicating protein cleavage during the long period involved in crystal formation. Modes of tetramerization of the full-length protein similar to those observed for the catalytic core are feasible. A complex of M. tuberculosis LexA and the cognate SOS box could be modeled in which the mutual orientation of the two N-terminal domains differs from that in the Escherichia coli LexA–DNA complex. These results represent the first thorough characterization of M. tuberculosis LexA and provide definitive information on its structure and assembly. They also provide leads for further exploration of this important protein.


2011 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 4042-4049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swapna Uplekar ◽  
Beate Heym ◽  
Véronique Friocourt ◽  
Jacques Rougemont ◽  
Stewart T. Cole

ABSTRACTThe 23-membered Esx protein family is involved in the host-pathogen interactions ofMycobacterium tuberculosis. These secreted proteins are among the most immunodominant antigens recognized by the human immune system and have thus been used to develop vaccines and immunodiagnostic tests for tuberculosis (TB). Gene pairs for 10 Esx proteins are contained in the ESX-1 to ESX-5 loci, encoding type VII secretion systems. A subset of Esx proteins can be further classified into the Mtb9.9, QILSS, and TB10.4 subfamilies. To survey genetic diversity in the Esx family and its potential for antigenic variation, we sequenced allesxgenes from 108 clinical isolates ofM. tuberculosisfrom different clades by using a targeted approach. A total of 109 unique single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were observed, and 59 of these were nonsynonymous. Some of the resultant amino acid substitutions affect known Esx epitopes, including two in the EsxB (CFP-10) and EsxH (TB10.4) antigens. Assessment of the SNP distribution across the Esx proteins revealed high genetic variability, especially in the Mtb9.9 and QILSS subfamilies, and more conservation in the ESX-1 to ESX-4 loci. Comparison of the DNA sequences of variableesxgenes provided clear evidence for recombination events between different genes in the same strain, some of which are predicted to truncate the corresponding protein. Many of these polymorphisms escape detection by ultrahigh-throughput sequencing using short sequence reads, as such approaches cannot distinguish between closely related genes. Theesxgene family is dynamic, and sequence changes likely lead to immune variation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang-Yang Li ◽  
Rong-Jun Cai ◽  
Jia-Ying Yang ◽  
Tamara L. Hendrickson ◽  
Ye Xiang ◽  
...  

AbstractMost bacteria employ a two-step indirect tRNA aminoacylation pathway for the synthesis of aminoacylated tRNAGln and tRNAAsn. The heterotrimeric enzyme GatCAB performs a critical amidotransferase reaction in the second step of this pathway. We have previously demonstrated in mycobacteria that this two-step pathway is error-prone and translational errors contribute to adaptive phenotypes such as antibiotic tolerance. Furthermore, we identified clinical isolates of the globally important pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis with partial loss-of-function mutations in gatA, and demonstrated that these mutations result in high, specific rates of translational error and increased rifampicin tolerance. However, the mechanisms by which these clinically-derived mutations in gatA impact GatCAB function was unknown. Here, we describe biochemical and biophysical characterization of M. tuberculosis GatCAB, containing either wild-type gatA or one of two gatA mutants from clinical strains. We show that these mutations have minimal impact on enzymatic activity of GatCAB; however, they result in destabilization of the GatCAB complex as well as that of the ternary asparaginyl-transamidosome. Stabilizing complex formation with the solute trehalose increases specific translational fidelity of not only the mutant strains, but also of wild-type mycobacteria. Therefore, our data suggest that alteration of GatCAB stability may be a mechanism for modulation of translational fidelity.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 2009-2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiva Bakonyte ◽  
Aurelija Baranauskaite ◽  
Jurate Cicenaite ◽  
Anaida Sosnovskaja ◽  
Petras Stakenas

ABSTRACT Mutations at codon 315 of the katG gene were detected in 312 of 364 (85.7%) isoniazid-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates. Seven of 52 (13.5%) isoniazid-resistant isolates with the wild-type Ser315 codon and 10 of 52 (19.2%) isoniazid-resistant isolates with a mutated katG allele had mutation −15C→T in the promoter of the mabA-inhA operon.


2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 4068-4074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Lavender ◽  
Maria Globan ◽  
Aina Sievers ◽  
Helen Billman-Jacobe ◽  
Janet Fyfe

ABSTRACT Elucidation of the molecular basis of isoniazid (INH) resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis has led to the development of different genotypic approaches for the rapid detection of INH resistance in clinical isolates. Mutations in katG, in particular the S315T substitution, are responsible for INH resistance in a large proportion of tuberculosis cases. However, the frequency of the katG S315T substitution varies with population samples. In this study, 52 epidemiologically unrelated clinical INH-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates collected in Australia were screened for mutations at katG codon 315 and the fabG1-inhA regulatory region. Importantly, 52 INH-sensitive isolates, selected to reflect the geographic and genotypic diversity of the isolates, were also included for comparison. The katG S315T substitution and fabG1-inhA −15 C-to-T mutation were identified in 34 and 13 of the 52 INH-resistant isolates, respectively, and none of the INH-sensitive isolates. Three novel katG mutations, D117A, M257I, and G491C, were identified in three INH-resistant strains with a wild-type katG codon 315, fabG1-inhA regulatory region, and inhA structural gene. When analyzed for possible associations between resistance mechanisms, resistance phenotype, and genotypic groups, it was found that neither the katG S315T nor fabG1-inhA −15 C-to-T mutation clustered with any one genotypic group, but that the −15 C-to-T substitution was associated with isolates with intermediate INH resistance and isolates coresistant to ethionamide. In total, 90.4% of unrelated INH-resistant isolates could be identified by analysis of just two loci: katG315 and the fabG1-inhA regulatory region.


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