scholarly journals Differential Expression of the CO2 Fixation Operons of Rhodobacter sphaeroides by the Prr/Reg Two-Component System during Chemoautotrophic Growth

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (23) ◽  
pp. 6654-6664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet L. Gibson ◽  
James M. Dubbs ◽  
F. Robert Tabita

ABSTRACT In Rhodobacter sphaeroides, the two cbb operons encoding duplicated Calvin-Benson Bassham (CBB) CO2 fixation reductive pentose phosphate cycle structural genes are differentially controlled. In attempts to define the molecular basis for the differential regulation, the effects of mutations in genes encoding a subunit of Cbb3 cytochrome oxidase, ccoP, and a global response regulator, prrA (regA), were characterized with respect to CO2 fixation (cbb) gene expression by using translational lac fusions to the R. sphaeroides cbb I and cbbII promoters. Inactivation of the ccoP gene resulted in derepression of both promoters during chemoheterotophic growth, where cbb expression is normally repressed; expression was also enhanced over normal levels during phototrophic growth. The prrA mutation effected reduced expression of cbbI and cbbII promoters during chemoheterotrophic growth, whereas intermediate levels of expression were observed in a double ccoP prrA mutant. PrrA and ccoP1 prrA strains cannot grow phototrophically, so it is impossible to examine cbb expression in these backgrounds under this growth mode. In this study, however, we found that PrrA mutants of R. sphaeroides were capable of chemoautotrophic growth, allowing, for the first time, an opportunity to directly examine the requirement of PrrA for cbb gene expression in vivo under growth conditions where the CBB cycle and CO2 fixation are required. Expression from the cbbII promoter was severely reduced in the PrrA mutants during chemoautotrophic growth, whereas cbbI expression was either unaffected or enhanced. Mutations in ccoQ had no effect on expression from either promoter. These observations suggest that the Prr signal transduction pathway is not always directly linked to Cbb3 cytochrome oxidase activity, at least with respect to cbb gene expression. In addition, lac fusions containing various lengths of the cbbI promoter demonstrated distinct sequences involved in positive regulation during photoautotrophic versus chemoautotrophic growth, suggesting that different regulatory proteins may be involved. In Rhodobacter capsulatus, ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (RubisCO) expression was not affected by cco mutations during photoheterotrophic growth, suggesting that differences exist in signal transduction pathways regulating cbb genes in the related organisms.

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (6) ◽  
pp. 2274-2282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Jäger ◽  
Stephan Braatsch ◽  
Kerstin Haberzettl ◽  
Sebastian Metz ◽  
Lisa Osterloh ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The AppA protein of Rhodobacter sphaeroides has the unique ability to sense and transmit redox and light signals. In response to decreasing oxygen tension, AppA antagonizes the transcriptional regulator PpsR, which represses the expression of photosynthesis genes, including the puc operon. This mechanism, which is based on direct protein-protein interaction, is prevented by blue-light absorption of the BLUF domain located in the N-terminal part of AppA. In order to test whether AppA and PpsR are sufficient to transmit redox and light signals, we expressed these proteins in three different bacterial species and monitored oxygen- and blue-light-dependent puc expression either directly or by using a luciferase-based reporter construct. The AppA/PpsR system could mediate redox-dependent gene expression in the alphaproteobacteria Rhodobacter capsulatus and Paracoccus denitrificans but not in the gammaproteobacterium Escherichia coli. Analysis of a prrA mutant strain of R. sphaeroides strongly suggests that light-dependent gene expression requires a balanced interplay of the AppA/PpsR system with the PrrA response regulator. Therefore, the AppA/PpsR system was unable to establish light signaling in other bacteria. Based on our data, we present a model for the interdependence of AppA/PpsR signaling and the PrrA transcriptional activator.


2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 995-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanette M. Quinn ◽  
Janette Kropat ◽  
Sabeeha Merchant

ABSTRACT The Cpx1 and Cyc6 genes of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are activated in copper-deficient cells via a signal transduction pathway that requires copper response elements (CuREs) and a copper response regulator defined by the CRR1 locus. The two genes can also be activated by provision of nickel or cobalt ions in the medium. The response to nickel ions requires at least one CuRE and also CRR1 function, suggesting that nickel interferes with a component in the nutritional copper signal transduction pathway. Nickel does not act by preventing copper uptake/utilization because (i) holoplastocyanin formation is unaffected in Ni2+-treated cells and (ii) provision of excess copper cannot reverse the Ni-dependent activation of the target genes. The CuRE is sufficient for conferring Ni-responsive expression to a reporter gene, which suggests that the system has practical application as a vehicle for inducible gene expression. The inducer can be removed either by replacing the medium or by chelating the inducer with excess EDTA, either of which treatments reverses the activation of the target genes.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (7) ◽  
pp. 1905-1915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary A. Tichi ◽  
F. Robert Tabita

ABSTRACT Various mutant strains were used to examine the regulation and metabolic control of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) reductive pentose phosphate pathway in Rhodobacter capsulatus. Previously, a ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO)-deficient strain (strain SBI/II) was found to show enhanced levels of cbb I and cbb II promoter activities during photoheterotrophic growth in the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide. With this strain as the starting point, additional mutations were made in genes encoding phosphoribulokinase and transketolase and in the gene encoding the LysR-type transcriptional activator, CbbRII. These strains revealed that a product generated by phosphoribulokinase was involved in control of CbbR-mediated cbb gene expression in SBI/II. Additionally, heterologous expression experiments indicated that Rhodobacter sphaeroides CbbR responded to the same metabolic signal in R. capsulatus SBI/II and mutant strain backgrounds.


1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (16) ◽  
pp. 4044-4050 ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. O’Gara ◽  
Jesus M. Eraso ◽  
Samuel Kaplan

ABSTRACT To further understand the proposed signal transduction pathway involving the presumed redox proteins RdxBH andcbb 3 cytochrome oxidase in Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1, a series of mutants lacking components of both the Prr two-component activation system and thecbb 3-type cytochrome oxidase or RdxBH were constructed. We report that under highly aerobic conditions, aberrant photosynthesis gene expression and spectral complex formation typical of cbb 3- or RdxBH-deficient mutants were no longer observed when either prrA (encoding the response regulator of the Prr system) or prrB (encoding the presumed sensor kinase) was also deleted. These double-mutant strains are phenotypically identical to single-mutant PrrA and PrrB strains, suggesting that the signal(s) originating from thecbb 3 terminal oxidase affects downstreampuc and puf operon expression by acting exclusively through the Prr system. When the same double-mutant strains were examined under anaerobic dark dimethyl sulfoxide growth conditions, photosynthesis gene expression was obligatorily linked to the two-component activation system. However, photosynthesis gene expression under the same growth conditions was significantly higher in the cbb 3 mutant strain when compared to that in the wild type. Similarly, under anaerobic photosynthetic conditions the high levels of the oxidized carotenoid, spheroidenone, which accumulate in cbb 3-deficient mutants were nearly restored to normal in a PrrB− CcoP− double mutant. This observation, together with previously published results, suggests that the regulation of the CrtA-catalyzed reaction possesses both transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulatory effectors. We propose that the cbb 3 cytochrome oxidase, which by definition can interact with external oxygen, serves to control the activity of the Prr two-component activation system under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Although independent from thecbb 3 oxidase, the RdxBH proteins are also required for normal functioning of the Prr two-component activation system and are therefore believed to lie between thecbb 3 oxidase in this oxygen-sensing, redox signaling pathway and the Prr activation system.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (14) ◽  
pp. 4334-4341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shouying Du ◽  
Jean-Louis K. Kouadio ◽  
Carl E. Bauer

ABSTRACT We utilized primer extension analysis to demonstrate that the divergently transcribed regB and senC-regA-hvrAtranscripts contain stable 5′ ends 43 nucleotides apart within theregB-senC intergenic region. DNA sequence analysis indicates that this region contains two divergent promoters with overlapping ς70 type −35 and −10 promoter recognition sequences. In vivo analysis of expression patterns ofregB::lacZ andsenC-regA-hvrA::lacZ reporter gene fusions demonstrates that the regB andsenC-regA-hvrA transcripts are both negatively regulated by the phosphorylated form of the global response regulator RegA. DNase I protection assays with a constitutively active variant of RegA indicate that RegA binds between regB and senCoverlapping −10 and −35 promoter recognition sequences. Two mutations were also isolated in a regB-deficient background that increased expression of the senC-regA-hvrA operon 10- and 5-fold, respectively. As a consequence of increased RegA expression, these mutants exhibited elevated aerobic and anaerobic photosynthesis (puf) gene expression, even in the absence of the sensor kinase RegB. These results indicate that autoregulation by RegA is a factor contributing to the maintenance of an optimal low level of RegA expression that allows responsiveness to activation by phosphorylation.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 6016-6025
Author(s):  
X K Zhang ◽  
K N Wills ◽  
M Husmann ◽  
T Hermann ◽  
M Pfahl

Many essential biological pathways, including cell growth, development, and metabolism, are regulated by thyroid hormones (THs). TH action is mediated by intracellular receptors that belong to a large family of ligand-dependent transcription factors, including the steroid hormone and retinoic acid receptors. So far it has been assumed that TH receptors (TRs) regulate gene transcription only through the classical protein-DNA interaction mechanism. Here we provide evidence for a regulatory pathway that allows cross-talk between TRs and the signal transduction pathway used by many growth factors, oncogenes, and tumor promoters. In transient transfection studies, we observed that the oncogenes c-jun and c-fos inhibit TR activities, while TRs inhibit induction of the c-fos promoter and repress AP-1 site-dependent gene activation. A truncated TR that lacks only 17 amino acids from the carboxy terminus can no longer antagonize AP-1 activity. The cross-regulation between TRs and the signal transduction pathway appears to be based on the ability of TRs to inhibit DNA binding of the transcription factor AP-1 in the presence of THs. The constituents of AP-1, c-Jun, and c-Fos, vice versa, can inhibit TR-induced gene activation in vivo, and c-Jun inhibits TR DNA binding in vitro. This novel regulatory pathway is likely to play a major role in growth control and differentiation by THs.


Blood ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 1690-1700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lies H. Hoefsloot ◽  
Martine P. van Amelsvoort ◽  
Lianne C.A.M. Broeders ◽  
Dorien C. van der Plas ◽  
Kirsten van Lom ◽  
...  

Abstract Patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) have ineffective in vivo and in vitro erythropoiesis, characterized by an impaired response to erythropoietin (Epo). We examined proliferation and maturation of MDS marrow cells in response to Epo in more detail. Epo-dependent DNA synthesis as well as induction of GATA-1 binding activity in marrow cells from 15 MDS cases were severely reduced as compared with normal bone marrow (NBM). Additionally, the appearance of morphologically identifiable erythroid cells was decreased in MDS cell cultures. These data indicate that both the Epo-dependent proliferation as well as the differentiation induction by Epo is suppressed. To study more upstream events of the Epo signal transduction route we investigated activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 5. In all 15 MDS samples tested, STAT5 activation was absent or greatly suppressed in response to Epo. In contrast, interleukin-3 induced a normal STAT5 response in MDS cells. Further, in MDS the subset of CD71+ BM cells that is phenotypically similar to Epo-responsive cells in normal marrow, was present. We conclude that the Epo response in MDS is disturbed at an early point in the Epo receptor (EpoR) signal transduction pathway.


1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (5) ◽  
pp. R1525-R1533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianzhong Meng ◽  
Brian D. Shames ◽  
Edward J. Pulido ◽  
Daniel R. Meldrum ◽  
Lihua Ao ◽  
...  

This study tested the hypothesis that in vivo norepinephrine (NE) treatment induces bimodal cardiac functional protection against ischemia and examined the roles of α1-adrenoceptors, protein kinase C (PKC), and cardiac gene expression in cardiac protection. Rats were treated with NE (25 μg/kg iv). Cardiac functional resistance to ischemia-reperfusion (25/40 min) injury was examined 30 min and 1, 4, and 24 h after NE treatment with the Langendorff technique, and effects of α1-adrenoceptor antagonism and PKC inhibition on the protection were determined. Northern analysis was performed to examine cardiac expression of mRNAs encoding α-actin and myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms. Immunofluorescent staining was performed to localize PKC-βI in the ventricular myocardium. NE treatment improved postischemic functional recovery at 30 min, 4 h, and 24 h but not at 1 h. Pretreatment with prazosin or chelerythrine abolished both the early adaptive response at 30 min and the delayed adaptive response at 24 h. NE treatment induced intranuclear translocation of PKC-βI in cardiac myocytes at 10 min and increased skeletal α-actin and β-MHC mRNAs in the myocardium at 4–24 h. These results demonstrate that in vivo NE treatment induces bimodal myocardial functional adaptation to ischemia in a rat model. α1-Adrenoceptors and PKC appear to be involved in signal transduction for inducing both the early and delayed adaptive responses. The delayed adaptive response is associated with the expression of cardiac genes encoding fetal contractile proteins, and PKC-βI may transduce the signal for reprogramming of cardiac gene expression.


2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (15) ◽  
pp. 5172-5177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axelle Ferré ◽  
Javier de la Mora ◽  
Teresa Ballado ◽  
Laura Camarena ◽  
Georges Dreyfus

ABSTRACT The six copies of the response regulator CheY from Rhodobacter sphaeroides bind to the switch protein FliM. Phosphorylation by acetyl phosphate (AcP) was detected by tryptophan fluorescence quenching in three of the four CheYs that contain this residue. Autophosphorylation with Ac32P was observed in five CheY proteins. We also show that all of the cheY genes are expressed simultaneously; therefore, in vivo all of the CheY proteins could bind to FliM to control the chemotactic response. Consequently, we hypothesize that in this complex chemotactic system, the binding of some CheY proteins to FliM, does not necessarily imply switching of the flagellar motor.


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