scholarly journals The Transcription Factor Mlc Promotes Vibrio cholerae Biofilm Formation through Repression of Phosphotransferase System Components

2014 ◽  
Vol 196 (13) ◽  
pp. 2423-2430 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. S. Pickering ◽  
J. E. Lopilato ◽  
D. R. Smith ◽  
P. I. Watnick
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyoo Heo ◽  
Young-Ha Park ◽  
Kyung-Ah Lee ◽  
Joonwon Kim ◽  
Hyeong-In Ham ◽  
...  

AbstractBiofilm formation protects bacteria from stresses including antibiotics and host immune responses. Carbon sources can modulate biofilm formation and host colonization in Vibrio cholerae, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that EIIAGlc, a component of the phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP):carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS), regulates the intracellular concentration of the cyclic dinucleotide c-di-GMP, and thus biofilm formation. The availability of preferred sugars such as glucose affects EIIAGlc phosphorylation state, which in turn modulates the interaction of EIIAGlc with a c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase (hereafter referred to as PdeS). In a Drosophila model of V. cholerae infection, sugars in the host diet regulate gut colonization in a manner dependent on the PdeS-EIIAGlc interaction. Our results shed light into the mechanisms by which some nutrients regulate biofilm formation and host colonization.


2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Tze Horng ◽  
Chi-Jen Wang ◽  
Wen-Ting Chung ◽  
Huei-Jen Chao ◽  
Yih-Yuan Chen ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 200 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin R. Pursley ◽  
Michael M. Maiden ◽  
Meng-Lun Hsieh ◽  
Nicolas L. Fernandez ◽  
Geoffrey B. Severin ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT3′,5′-Cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) is a bacterial second messenger molecule that is a key global regulator inVibrio cholerae, but the molecular mechanisms by which this molecule regulates downstream phenotypes have not been fully characterized. One such regulatory factor that may respond to c-di-GMP is the Vc2 c-di-GMP-binding riboswitch that is hypothesized to control the expression of the downstream putative transcription factor TfoY. Although much is known about the physical and structural properties of the Vc2 riboswitch aptamer, the nature of its expression and function inV. choleraehas not been investigated. Here, we show that Vc2 functions as an off switch to inhibit TfoY production at intermediate and high concentrations of c-di-GMP. At low c-di-GMP concentrations, TfoY production is induced to stimulate dispersive motility. We also observed increased transcription oftfoYat high intracellular concentrations of c-di-GMP, but this induction is independent of the Vc2 riboswitch and occurs via transcriptional control of promoters upstream oftfoYby the previously identified c-di-GMP dependent transcription factor VpsR. Our results show that TfoY is induced by c-di-GMP at both low and high intracellular concentrations of c-di-GMP via posttranscriptional and transcriptional mechanisms, respectively. This regulation contributes to the formation of three distinct c-di-GMP signaling states inV. cholerae.IMPORTANCEThe bacterial pathogenVibrio choleraemust transition between life in aquatic environmental reservoirs and life in the gastrointestinal tract. Biofilm formation and bacterial motility, and their control by the second messenger molecule c-di-GMP, play integral roles in this adaptation. Here, we define the third major mechanism by which c-di-GMP controls bacterial motility. This pathway utilizes a noncoding RNA element known as a riboswitch that, when bound to c-di-GMP, inhibits the expression of the transcription factor TfoY. TfoY production switchesV. choleraemotility from a dense to a dispersive state. Our results suggest that the c-di-GMP signaling network ofV. choleraecan exist in at least three distinct states to regulate biofilm formation and motility.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (15) ◽  
pp. 4675-4683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Ymele-Leki ◽  
Laetitia Houot ◽  
Paula I. Watnick

ABSTRACTVibrio choleraeis a halophilic, Gram-negative rod found in marine environments. Strains that produce cholera toxin cause the diarrheal disease cholera.V. choleraeuse a highly conserved, multicomponent signal transduction cascade known as the phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (PTS) to regulate carbohydrate uptake and biofilm formation. Regulation of biofilm formation by the PTS is complex, involving many different regulatory pathways that incorporate distinct PTS components. The PTS consists of the general components enzyme I (EI) and histidine protein (HPr) and carbohydrate-specific enzymes II. Mannitol transport byV. choleraerequires the mannitol-specific EII (EIIMtl), which is expressed only in the presence of mannitol. Here we show that mannitol activatesV. choleraebiofilm formation and transcription of thevpsbiofilm matrix exopolysaccharide synthesis genes. This regulation is dependent on mannitol transport. However, we show that, in the absence of mannitol, ectopic expression of the B subunit of EIIMtlis sufficient to activate biofilm accumulation. Mannitol, a common compatible solute and osmoprotectant of marine organisms, is a main photosynthetic product of many algae and is secreted by algal mats. We propose that the ability ofV. choleraeto respond to environmental mannitol by forming a biofilm may play an important role in habitat selection.


2010 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 1482-1494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laetitia Houot ◽  
Sarah Chang ◽  
Cedric Absalon ◽  
Paula I. Watnick

ABSTRACT The bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (PTS) is a highly conserved phosphotransfer cascade whose components modulate many cellular functions in response to carbohydrate availability. Here, we further elucidate PTS control of Vibrio cholerae carbohydrate transport and activation of biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces. We then define the role of the PTS in V. cholerae colonization of the adult germfree mouse intestine. We report that V. cholerae colonizes both the small and large intestines of the mouse in a distribution that does not change over the course of a month-long experiment. Because V. cholerae possesses many PTS-independent carbohydrate transporters, the PTS is not essential for bacterial growth in vitro. However, we find that the PTS is essential for colonization of the germfree adult mouse intestine and that this requirement is independent of PTS regulation of biofilm formation. Therefore, competition for PTS substrates may be a dominant force in the success of V. cholerae as an intestinal pathogen. Because the PTS plays a role in colonization of environmental surfaces and the mammalian intestine, we propose that it may be essential to successful transit of V. cholerae through its life cycle of pathogenesis and environmental persistence.


2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (12) ◽  
pp. 3055-3067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laetitia Houot ◽  
Sarah Chang ◽  
Bradley S. Pickering ◽  
Cedric Absalon ◽  
Paula I. Watnick

ABSTRACT The bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (PTS) is a highly conserved phosphotransfer cascade that participates in the transport and phosphorylation of selected carbohydrates and modulates many cellular functions in response to carbohydrate availability. It plays a role in the virulence of many bacterial pathogens. Components of the carbohydrate-specific PTS include the general cytoplasmic components enzyme I (EI) and histidine protein (HPr), the sugar-specific cytoplasmic components enzymes IIA (EIIA) and IIB (EIIB), and the sugar-specific membrane-associated multisubunit components enzymes IIC (EIIC) and IID (EIID). Many bacterial genomes also encode a parallel PTS pathway that includes the EI homolog EINtr, the HPr homolog NPr, and the EIIA homolog EIIANtr. This pathway is thought to be nitrogen specific because of the proximity of the genes encoding this pathway to the genes encoding the nitrogen-specific σ factor σ54. We previously reported that phosphorylation of HPr and FPr by EI represses Vibrio cholerae biofilm formation in minimal medium supplemented with glucose or pyruvate. Here we report two additional PTS-based biofilm regulatory pathways that are active in LB broth but not in minimal medium. These pathways involve the glucose-specific enzyme EIIA (EIIAGlc) and two nitrogen-specific EIIA homologs, EIIANtr1 and EIIANtr2. The presence of multiple, independent biofilm regulatory circuits in the PTS supports the hypothesis that the PTS and PTS-dependent substrates have a central role in sensing environments suitable for a surface-associated existence.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (11) ◽  
pp. 3504-3516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan S. Mueller ◽  
Sinem Beyhan ◽  
Simran G. Saini ◽  
Fitnat H. Yildiz ◽  
Douglas H. Bartlett

ABSTRACT Indole has been proposed to act as an extracellular signal molecule influencing biofilm formation in a range of bacteria. For this study, the role of indole in Vibrio cholerae biofilm formation was examined. It was shown that indole activates genes involved in vibrio polysaccharide (VPS) production, which is essential for V. cholerae biofilm formation. In addition to activating these genes, it was determined using microarrays that indole influences the expression of many other genes, including those involved in motility, protozoan grazing resistance, iron utilization, and ion transport. A transposon mutagenesis screen revealed additional components of the indole-VPS regulatory circuitry. The indole signaling cascade includes the DksA protein along with known regulators of VPS production, VpsR and CdgA. A working model is presented in which global control of gene expression by indole is coordinated through σ54 and associated transcriptional regulators.


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