scholarly journals Effects of the Chromosome Partitioning Protein Spo0J (ParB) on oriC Positioning and Replication Initiation in Bacillus subtilis

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (4) ◽  
pp. 1326-1337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philina S. Lee ◽  
Daniel Chi-Hong Lin ◽  
Shigeki Moriya ◽  
Alan D. Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Subcellular Location ◽  
Replication Initiation ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Protein Ratio ◽  
Chromosome Partitioning

ABSTRACT Spo0J (ParB) of Bacillus subtilis is a DNA-binding protein that belongs to a conserved family of proteins required for efficient plasmid and chromosome partitioning in many bacterial species. We found that Spo0J contributes to the positioning of the chromosomal oriC region, but probably not by recruiting the origin regions to specific subcellular locations. In wild-type cells during exponential growth, duplicated origin regions were generally positioned around the cell quarters. In a spo0J null mutant, sister origin regions were often closer together, nearer to midcell. We found, by using a Spo0J-green fluorescent protein [GFP] fusion, that the subcellular location of Spo0J was a consequence of the chromosomal positions of the Spo0J binding sites. When an array of binding sites (parS sites) were inserted at various chromosomal locations in the absence of six of the eight known parS sites, Spo0J-GFP was no longer found predominantly at the cell quarters, indicating that Spo0J is not sufficient to recruit chromosomal parS sites to the cell quarters. spo0J also affected chromosome positioning during sporulation. A spo0J null mutant showed an increase in the number of cells with some origin-distal regions located in the forespore. In addition, a spo0J null mutation caused an increase in the number of foci per cell of LacI-GFP bound to arrays of lac operators inserted in various positions in the chromosome, including the origin region, an increase in the DNA-protein ratio, and an increase in origins per cell, as determined by flow cytometry. These results indicate that the spo0J mutant produced a significant proportion of cells with increased chromosome content, probably due to increased and asynchronous initiation of DNA replication.

scholarly journals Rules and Exceptions: The Role of Chromosomal ParB in DNA Segregation and Other Cellular Processes

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Kawalek ◽  
Pawel Wawrzyniak ◽  
Aneta Agnieszka Bartosik ◽  
Grazyna Jagura-Burdzy
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Replication Initiation ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Dna Segregation ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Chromosome Partitioning ◽  
Structural Maintenance Of Chromosome ◽  
Dna Partitioning

The segregation of newly replicated chromosomes in bacterial cells is a highly coordinated spatiotemporal process. In the majority of bacterial species, a tripartite ParAB-parS system, composed of an ATPase (ParA), a DNA-binding protein (ParB), and its target(s) parS sequence(s), facilitates the initial steps of chromosome partitioning. ParB nucleates around parS(s) located in the vicinity of newly replicated oriCs to form large nucleoprotein complexes, which are subsequently relocated by ParA to distal cellular compartments. In this review, we describe the role of ParB in various processes within bacterial cells, pointing out interspecies differences. We outline recent progress in understanding the ParB nucleoprotein complex formation and its role in DNA segregation, including ori positioning and anchoring, DNA condensation, and loading of the structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) proteins. The auxiliary roles of ParBs in the control of chromosome replication initiation and cell division, as well as the regulation of gene expression, are discussed. Moreover, we catalog ParB interacting proteins. Overall, this work highlights how different bacterial species adapt the DNA partitioning ParAB-parS system to meet their specific requirements.

scholarly journals Control of Sporulation Gene Expression in Bacillus subtilis by the Chromosome Partitioning Proteins Soj (ParA) and Spo0J (ParB)

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (12) ◽  
pp. 3446-3451 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Quisel ◽  
Alan D. Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Promoter Region ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Promoter Regions ◽  
Heterologous Promoter ◽  
Phosphorylated Form ◽  
Chromosome Partitioning ◽  
Inhibit Gene Expression

ABSTRACT Two chromosome partitioning proteins, Soj (ParA) and Spo0J (ParB), regulate the initiation of sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. In a spo0J null mutant, sporulation is inhibited by the action of Soj. Soj negatively regulates expression of several sporulation genes by binding to the promoter regions and inhibiting transcription. All of the genes known to be inhibited by Soj are also activated by the phosphorylated form of the transcription factor Spo0A (Spo0A∼P). We found that, in a spo0J null mutant, Soj affected sporulation, in part, by decreasing the level of Spo0A protein. Soj negatively regulated transcription ofspo0A and associated with the spo0A promoter region in vivo. Expression of spo0A from a heterologous promoter in a spo0J null mutant restored Spo0A levels and partly bypassed the sporulation and gene expression defects. Soj did not appear to significantly affect phosphorylation of Spo0A. Thus, in the absence of Spo0J, Soj inhibits sporulation and sporulation gene expression by inhibiting accumulation of the activator protein Spo0A and by acting downstream of Spo0A to inhibit gene expression directly.

scholarly journals Autoregulation of SafA Assembly through Recruitment of a Protein Cross-Linking Enzyme

2018 ◽  
Vol 200 (14) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina G. Fernandes ◽  
Charles P. Moran ◽  
Adriano O. Henriques
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Subcellular Location ◽  
Cross Linking ◽  
Coat Proteins ◽  
Lytic Enzymes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Peptidoglycan Layer ◽  
Protein Cross Linking

ABSTRACTThe coat ofBacillus subtilisspores is a multiprotein protective structure that also arbitrates many of the environmental interactions of the spore. The coat assembles around the cortex peptidoglycan layer and is differentiated into an inner and an outer layer and a crust. SafA governs assembly of the inner coat, whereas CotE drives outer coat assembly. SafA localizes to the cortex-coat interface. Both SafA and its short form C30 are substrates for Tgl, a coat-associated transglutaminase that cross-links proteins through ε-(γ-glutamyl)lysyl isopeptide bonds. We show that SafA and C30 are distributed between the coat and cortex layers. The deletion oftglincreases the extractability of SafA, mainly from the cortex. Tgl itself is mostly located in the inner coat and cortex. The localization of Tgl-cyan fluorescent protein (Tgl-CFP) is strongly, but not exclusively, dependent onsafA. However, the association of Tgl with the cortex requiressafA. Together, our results suggest an assembly pathway in which Tgl is first recruited to the forming spore in a manner that is only partially dependent on SafA and then is drafted to the cortex by SafA. Tgl, in turn, promotes the conversion of coat- and cortex-associated SafA into forms that resist extraction, possibly by catalyzing the cross-linking of SafA to other coat proteins, to the cortex, and/or to cortex-associated proteins. Therefore, the final assembly state of SafA relies on an autoregulatory pathway that requires the subcellular localization of a protein cross-linking enzyme. Tgl most likely exerts a “spotwelding” activity, cross-linking preformed complexes in the cortex and inner coat layers of spores.IMPORTANCEIn this work, we show how two proteins work together to determine their subcellular location within the coat of bacterial endospores.Bacillus subtilisendospores are surrounded by a multilayer protein coat composed of over 80 proteins, which surrounds an underlying peptidoglycan layer (the spore cortex) protecting it from lytic enzymes. How specific coat proteins are targeted to specific layers of the coat is not well understood. We found that the protein SafA recruits a protein-cross-linking enzyme (a transglutaminase) to the cortex and inner layers of the coat, where both are cemented, by cross-linking, into macromolecular complexes.

scholarly journals Multicopy Plasmids Affect Replisome Positioning in Bacillus subtilis

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (21) ◽  
pp. 7084-7090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jue D. Wang ◽  
Megan E. Rokop ◽  
Melanie M. Barker ◽  
Nathaniel R. Hanson ◽  
Alan D. Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Dna Polymerase ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Subcellular Location ◽  
Multicopy Plasmid ◽  
Bacterial Cells ◽  
Initiation Of Replication ◽  
A Cell ◽  
A Subunit ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT The DNA replication machinery, various regions of the chromosome, and some plasmids occupy characteristic subcellular positions in bacterial cells. We visualized the location of a multicopy plasmid, pHP13, in living cells of Bacillus subtilis using an array of lac operators and LacI-green fluorescent protein (GFP). In the majority of cells, plasmids appeared to be highly mobile and randomly distributed. In a small fraction of cells, there appeared to be clusters of plasmids located predominantly at or near a cell pole. We also monitored the effects of the presence of multicopy plasmids on the position of DNA polymerase using a fusion of a subunit of DNA polymerase to GFP. Many of the plasmid-containing cells had extra foci of the replisome, and these were often found at uncharacteristic locations in the cell. Some of the replisome foci were dynamic and highly mobile, similar to what was observed for the plasmid. In contrast, replisome foci in plasmid-free cells were relatively stationary. Our results indicate that in B. subtilis, plasmid-associated replisomes are recruited to the subcellular position of the plasmid. Extending this notion to the chromosome, we postulated that the subcellular position of the chromosomally associated replisome is established by the subcellular location of oriC at the time of initiation of replication.

scholarly journals Polar Positioning of a Conjugation Protein from the Integrative and Conjugative Element ICEBs1 of Bacillus subtilis

2009 ◽  
Vol 192 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie B. Berkmen ◽  
Catherine A. Lee ◽  
Emma-Kate Loveday ◽  
Alan D. Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Donor Cell ◽  
Subcellular Location ◽  
Conjugative Transfer ◽  
Protein Fusion ◽  
Cell Pole ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Integrative And Conjugative Element

ABSTRACT ICEBs1 is an integrative and conjugative element found in the chromosome of Bacillus subtilis. ICEBs1 encodes functions needed for its excision and transfer to recipient cells. We found that the ICEBs1 gene conE (formerly yddE) is required for conjugation and that conjugative transfer of ICEBs1 requires a conserved ATPase motif of ConE. ConE belongs to the HerA/FtsK superfamily of ATPases, which includes the well-characterized proteins FtsK, SpoIIIE, VirB4, and VirD4. We found that a ConE-GFP (green fluorescent protein) fusion associated with the membrane predominantly at the cell poles in ICEBs1 donor cells. At least one ICEBs1 product likely interacts with ConE to target it to the membrane and cell poles, as ConE-GFP was dispersed throughout the cytoplasm in a strain lacking ICEBs1. We also visualized the subcellular location of ICEBs1. When integrated in the chromosome, ICEBs1 was located near midcell along the length of the cell, a position characteristic of that chromosomal region. Following excision, ICEBs1 was more frequently found near a cell pole. Excision of ICEBs1 also caused altered positioning of at least one component of the replisome. Taken together, our findings indicate that ConE is a critical component of the ICEBs1 conjugation machinery, that conjugative transfer of ICEBs1 from B. subtilis likely initiates at a donor cell pole, and that ICEBs1 affects the subcellular position of the replisome.

scholarly journals Increasing the Ratio of Soj to Spo0J Promotes Replication Initiation in Bacillus subtilis

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (21) ◽  
pp. 6316-6324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitoshi Ogura ◽  
Naotake Ogasawara ◽  
Elizabeth J. Harry ◽  
Shigeki Moriya
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Replication Initiation ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Protein Families ◽  
Tight Control ◽  
Mutant Proteins ◽  
Cell Cycle Genes ◽  
Initiation Of Replication ◽  
Mutant Cells

ABSTRACT The ParA and ParB protein families are well conserved in bacteria. However, their functions are still unclear. In Bacillus subtilis, Soj and Spo0J are members of these two protein families, respectively. A previous report revealed that replication initiated early and asynchronously in spo0J null mutant cells, as determined by flow cytometry. In this study, we examined the cause of this promotion of replication initiation. Deletion of both the soj and spo0J genes restored the frequency of replication initiation to almost the wild-type level, suggesting that production of Soj in the absence of Spo0J leads to early and asynchronous initiation of replication. Consistent with this suggestion, overproduction of Soj in wild-type cells had the same effect on replication initiation as in the spo0J null mutant, and overproduction of both Soj and Spo0J did not. These results indicate that when the ratio of Soj to Spo0J increases, Soj interferes with tight control of replication initiation and causes early and asynchronous initiation. Whereas replication initiation also occurred significantly earlier in the two spo0J mutants, spo0J14 and spo0J17, it occurred only slightly early in the sojK16Q mutant and was delayed in the sojG12V mutant. Although Soj localized to nucleoids in the spo0J mutants, the two Soj mutant proteins were distributed throughout the cell or localized to cell poles. Thus, interestingly, the promotion of replication initiation seems to correlate with localization of Soj to nucleoids. This may suggest that Soj inhibits transcription of some cell cycle genes and leads to early and asynchronous initiation of replication. In wild-type cells Spo0J counteracts this Soj function.

scholarly journals The Conservation of Low Complexity Regions in Bacterial Proteins Depends on the Pathogenicity of the Strain and Subcellular Location of the Protein

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 451
Author(s):  
Pablo Mier ◽  
Miguel A. Andrade-Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Outer Membrane ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Outer Membrane Proteins ◽  
Subcellular Location ◽  
Low Complexity ◽  
Extracellular Proteins ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Bacterial Proteins ◽  
Protein Subcellular Location

Low complexity regions (LCRs) in proteins are characterized by amino acid frequencies that differ from the average. These regions evolve faster and tend to be less conserved between homologs than globular domains. They are not common in bacteria, as compared to their prevalence in eukaryotes. Studying their conservation could help provide hypotheses about their function. To obtain the appropriate evolutionary focus for this rapidly evolving feature, here we study the conservation of LCRs in bacterial strains and compare their high variability to the closeness of the strains. For this, we selected 20 taxonomically diverse bacterial species and obtained the completely sequenced proteomes of two strains per species. We calculated all orthologous pairs for each of the 20 strain pairs. Per orthologous pair, we computed the conservation of two types of LCRs: compositionally biased regions (CBRs) and homorepeats (polyX). Our results show that, in bacteria, Q-rich CBRs are the most conserved, while A-rich CBRs and polyA are the most variable. LCRs have generally higher conservation when comparing pathogenic strains. However, this result depends on protein subcellular location: LCRs accumulate in extracellular and outer membrane proteins, with conservation increased in the extracellular proteins of pathogens, and decreased for polyX in the outer membrane proteins of pathogens. We conclude that these dependencies support the functional importance of LCRs in host–pathogen interactions.

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