Phenotype microarray screening of carbon sources used by Vibrio cholerae identifies genes regulated by the cAMP receptor protein

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (7) ◽  
pp. 472-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baoli Chen ◽  
Weili Liang ◽  
Rui Wu ◽  
Pu Liang ◽  
Biao Kan

The cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) regulates genes involved in carbon source metabolism, iron uptake, and virulence in bacteria. Identifying the carbon sources utilized by bacteria that are regulated by CRP will help elucidate the CRP regulation cascade and associated responses to environmental stimuli. CRP-dependent regulation of carbon source metabolism in Vibrio cholerae is not thoroughly understood. To identify the candidate carbon sources utilized by V. cholerae that are affected by CRP, we used high-throughput screening to compare the metabolic differences between wild-type and CRP mutant strains of V. cholerae O1 El Tor. Phenotype microarray was used for primary screening of the wild-type and mutant strains, followed by minimal media growth assays and quantitative RT-PCR to validate the candidate carbon sources. In total, 24 carbon sources were subject to CRP regulation, 11 of which have not been previously reported in bacteria. The genes known to be involved in the metabolism of 4 of the carbon sources identified were verified by quantitative RT-PCR. In addition, gel shift experiments showed that CRP bound directly to VCA0053 and VC0391 promoters. Overall, this comprehensive analysis of CRP-mediated catabolite control in V. cholerae has identified new candidate carbon sources for in-depth experimental studies.

1990 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 484-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. C. Papavizas ◽  
D. P. Roberts ◽  
K. K. Kim

Aqueous suspensions of conidia of Gliocladium virens strains Gl-3 and Gl-21 were exposed to both ultraviolet radiation and ethyl methanesulfonate. Two mutants of Gl-3 and three of Gl-21 were selected for tolerance to benomyl at 10 μg∙mL−1, as indicated by growth and conidial germination on benomyl-amended potato dextrose agar. The mutants differed considerably from their respective wild-type strains in appearance, growth habit, sporulation, carbon-source utilization, and enzyme activity profiles. Of 10 carbon sources tested, cellobiose, xylose, and xylan were the best for growth, galactose and glucose were intermediate, and arabinose, ribose, and rhamnose were poor sources of carbon. The wild-type strains and the mutants did not utilize cellulose as the sole carbon source for growth. Two benomyl-tolerant mutants of Gl-3 produced less cellulase (β-1,4-glucosidase, carboxymethylcellulase, filter-paper cellulase) than Gl-3. In contrast, mutants of Gl-21 produced more cellulase than the wild-type strain. Only Gl-3 provided control of blight on snapbean caused by Sclerotium rolfsii. Wild-type strain Gl-21 and all mutants from both strains were ineffective biocontrol agents. Key words: Gliocladium, benomyl tolerance, Sclerotium, rhizosphere competence.


mBio ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy T. Ritzert ◽  
George Minasov ◽  
Ryan Embry ◽  
Matthew J. Schipma ◽  
Karla J. F. Satchell

ABSTRACT Cyclic AMP (cAMP) receptor protein (Crp) is an important transcriptional regulator of Yersinia pestis. Expression of crp increases during pneumonic plague as the pathogen depletes glucose and forms large biofilms within lungs. To better understand control of Y. pestis Crp, we determined a 1.8-Å crystal structure of the protein-cAMP complex. We found that compared to Escherichia coli Crp, C helix amino acid substitutions in Y. pestis Crp did not impact the cAMP dependency of Crp to bind DNA promoters. To investigate Y. pestis Crp-regulated genes during plague pneumonia, we performed RNA sequencing on both wild-type and Δcrp mutant bacteria growing in planktonic and biofilm states in minimal media with glucose or glycerol. Y. pestis Crp was found to dramatically alter expression of hundreds of genes in a manner dependent upon carbon source and growth state. Gel shift assays confirmed direct regulation of the malT and ptsG promoters, and Crp was then linked to Y. pestis growth on maltose as a sole carbon source. Iron regulation genes ybtA and fyuA were found to be indirectly regulated by Crp. A new connection between carbon source and quorum sensing was revealed as Crp was found to regulate production of acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) through direct and indirect regulation of genes for AHL synthetases and receptors. AHLs were subsequently identified in the lungs of Y. pestis-infected mice when crp expression was highest in Y. pestis biofilms. Thus, in addition to the well-studied pla gene, other Crp-regulated genes likely have important functions during plague infection. IMPORTANCE Bacterial pathogens have evolved extensive signaling pathways to translate environmental signals into changes in gene expression. While Crp has long been appreciated for its role in regulating metabolism of carbon sources in many bacterial species, transcriptional profiling has revealed that this protein regulates many other aspects of bacterial physiology. The plague pathogen Y. pestis requires this global regulator to survive in blood, skin, and lungs. During disease progression, this organism adapts to changes within these niches. In addition to regulating genes for metabolism of nonglucose sugars, we found that Crp regulates genes for virulence, metal acquisition, and quorum sensing by direct or indirect mechanisms. Thus, this single transcriptional regulator, which responds to changes in available carbon sources, can regulate multiple critical behaviors for causing disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 2800-2807
Author(s):  
IDA ZAHOVIĆ ◽  
JELENA DODIĆ ◽  
SINIŠA MARKOV ◽  
JOVANA GRAHOVAC ◽  
MILA GRAHOVAC ◽  
...  

In this study the screening of different Xanthomonas strains, isolated from infected crucifers and pepper leaves, for xanthan biosynthesis on semi-synthetic media containing different carbon sources was performed. The success of xanthan biosynthesis was estimated based on xanthan concentration in media and its molecular weight. Glucose and glycerol were investigated as carbon sources in a quantity of 20.0 g/L. Xanthan biosynthesis by different Xanthomonas isolates on two different cultivation media was carried out in Erlenmeyer flasks under aerobic conditions for 168 h. According to the obtained results selection of the carbon source, producing strain and their combination have a statistically significant effect on xanthan quantity and quality. The results obtained in this study indicate that local wild-type Xanthomonas strains isolated from pepper leaves have a great potential for application in biotechnological production of good-quality xanthan on glycerol-based media.


Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (7) ◽  
pp. 2003-2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verena Seidl ◽  
Irina S. Druzhinina ◽  
Christian P. Kubicek

To identify carbon sources that trigger β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGase) formation in Hypocrea atroviridis (anamorph Trichoderma atroviride), a screening system was designed that consists of a combination of Biolog Phenotype MicroArray plates, which contain 95 different carbon sources, and specific enzyme activity measurements using a chromogenic substrate. The results revealed growth-dependent kinetics of NAGase formation and it was shown that NAGase activities were enhanced on carbon sources sharing certain structural properties, especially on α-glucans (e.g. glycogen, dextrin and maltotriose) and oligosaccharides containing galactose. Enzyme activities were assessed in the wild-type and a H. atroviridis Δnag1 strain to investigate the influence of the two NAGases, Nag1 and Nag2, on total NAGase activity. Reduction of NAGase levels in the Δnag1 strain in comparison to the wild-type was strongly carbon-source and growth-phase dependent, indicating the distinct physiological roles of the two proteins. The transcript abundance of nag1 and nag2 was increased on carbon sources with elevated NAGase activity, indicating transcriptional regulation of these genes. The screening method for the identification of carbon sources that induce enzymes or a gene of interest, as presented in this paper, can be adapted for other purposes if appropriate enzyme or reporter assays are available.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (15) ◽  
pp. 4450-4460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashok K. Dubey ◽  
Carol S. Baker ◽  
Kazushi Suzuki ◽  
A. Daniel Jones ◽  
Pallavi Pandit ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT CsrA is a global regulator that binds to two sites in the glgCAP leader transcript, thereby blocking ribosome access to the glgC Shine-Dalgarno sequence. The upstream CsrA binding site (GCACACGGAU) was used to search the Escherichia coli genomic sequence for other genes that might be regulated by CsrA. cstA contained an exact match that overlapped its Shine-Dalgarno sequence. cstA was previously shown to be induced by carbon starvation and to encode a peptide transporter. Expression of a cstA′-′lacZ translational fusion in wild-type and csrA mutant strains was examined. Expression levels in the csrA mutant were approximately twofold higher when cells were grown in Luria broth (LB) and 5- to 10-fold higher when LB was supplemented with glucose. It was previously shown that cstA is regulated by the cyclic AMP (cAMP)-cAMP receptor protein complex and transcribed by Εσ70. We investigated the influence of σS on cstA expression and found that a σS deficiency resulted in a threefold increase in cstA expression in wild-type and csrA mutant strains; however, CsrA-dependent regulation was retained. The mechanism of CsrA-mediated cstA regulation was also examined in vitro. Cross-linking studies demonstrated that CsrA is a homodimer. Gel mobility shift results showed that CsrA binds specifically to cstA RNA, while coupled-transcription-translation and toeprint studies demonstrated that CsrA regulates CstA synthesis by inhibiting ribosome binding to cstA transcripts. RNA footprint and boundary analyses revealed three or four CsrA binding sites, one of which overlaps the cstA Shine-Dalgarno sequence, as predicted. These results establish that CsrA regulates translation of cstA by sterically interfering with ribosome binding.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea N.W. Lim ◽  
Minmin Yen ◽  
Kimberley D. Seed ◽  
David W. Lazinski ◽  
Andrew Camilli

ICP2 is a virulent bacteriophage (phage) that preys on Vibrio cholerae. ICP2 was first isolated from cholera patient stool samples. Some of these stools also contained ICP2-resistant isogenic V. cholerae strains harboring missense mutations in the trimeric outer membrane porin protein OmpU, identifying it as the ICP2 receptor. In this study, we identify the ICP2 proteins that mediate interactions with OmpU by selecting for ICP2 host-range mutants within infant rabbits infected with a mixture of wild type and OmpU mutant strains. ICP2 host-range mutants, that can now infect OmpU mutant strains, had missense mutations in putative tail fiber gene gp25 and putative adhesin gp23. Using site-specific mutagenesis we show that single or double mutations in gp25 are sufficient to generate the host-range mutant phenotype. However, at least one additional mutation in gp23 is required for robust plaque formation on specific OmpU mutants. Mutations in gp23 alone were insufficient to give a host-range mutant phenotype. All ICP2 host-range mutants retained the ability to plaque on wild type V. cholerae cells. The strength of binding of host-range mutants to V. cholerae correlated with plaque morphology, indicating that the selected mutations in gp25 and gp23 restore molecular interactions with the receptor. We propose that ICP2 host-range mutants evolve by a two-step process where, first, gp25 mutations are selected for their broad host-range, albeit accompanied by low level phage adsorption. Subsequent selection occurs for gp23 mutations that further increase productive binding to specific OmpU alleles, allowing for near wild type efficiencies of adsorption and subsequent phage multiplication. Importance Concern over multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens, including Vibrio cholerae, has led to a renewed interest in phage biology and their potential for phage therapy. ICP2 is a genetically unique virulent phage isolated from cholera patient stool samples. It is also one of three phages in a prophylactic cocktail shown to be effective in animal models of infection and the only one of the three that requires a protein receptor (OmpU). This study identifies an ICP2 tail fiber and a receptor binding protein and examines how ICP2 responds to the selective pressures of phage-resistant OmpU mutants. We found that this particular co-evolutionary arms race presents fitness costs to both ICP2 and V. cholerae.


Microbiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 157 (11) ◽  
pp. 3014-3023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Hernandez-Eligio ◽  
Mildred Castellanos ◽  
Soledad Moreno ◽  
Guadalupe Espín

We previously showed that in Azotobacter vinelandii, accumulation of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) occurs mainly during the stationary phase, and that a mutation in phbR, encoding a transcriptional regulator of the AraC family, reduces PHB accumulation. In this study, we characterized the roles of PhbR and RpoS, a central regulator during stationary phase in bacteria, in the regulation of expression of the PHB biosynthetic operon phbBAC and phbR. We showed that inactivation of rpoS reduced PHB accumulation, similar to the phbR mutation, and inactivation of both rpoS and phbR resulted in an inability to produce PHB. We carried out expression studies with the wild-type, and the rpoS, phbR and double rpoS-phbR mutant strains, using quantitative RT-PCR, as well as phbB : : gusA and phbR : : gusA gene fusions. These studies showed that both PhbR and RpoS act as activators of phbB and phbR, and revealed a role for PhbR as an autoactivator. We also demonstrated that PhbR binds specifically to two almost identical 18 bp sites, TGTCACCAA-N4-CACTA and TGTCACCAA-N4-CAGTA, present in the phbB promoter region. The activation of phbB and phbR transcription by RpoS reported here is in agreement with the observation that accumulation of PHB in A. vinelandii occurs mainly during the stationary phase.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (17) ◽  
pp. 5538-5548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo I. Nikel ◽  
Jiangfeng Zhu ◽  
Ka-Yiu San ◽  
Beatriz S. Méndez ◽  
George N. Bennett

ABSTRACT Escherichia coli has several elaborate sensing mechanisms for response to availability of oxygen and other electron acceptors, as well as the carbon source in the surrounding environment. Among them, the CreBC and ArcAB two-component signal transduction systems are responsible for regulation of carbon source utilization and redox control in response to oxygen availability, respectively. We assessed the role of CreBC and ArcAB in regulating the central carbon metabolism of E. coli under microaerobic conditions by means of 13C-labeling experiments in chemostat cultures of a wild-type strain, ΔcreB and ΔarcA single mutants, and a ΔcreB ΔarcA double mutant. Continuous cultures were conducted at D = 0.1 h−1 under carbon-limited conditions with restricted oxygen supply. Although all experimental strains metabolized glucose mainly through the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway, mutant strains had significantly lower fluxes in both the oxidative and the nonoxidative pentose phosphate pathways. Significant differences were also found at the pyruvate branching point. Both pyruvate-formate lyase and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex contributed to acetyl-coenzyme A synthesis from pyruvate, and their activity seemed to be modulated by both ArcAB and CreBC. Strains carrying the creB deletion showed a higher biomass yield on glucose compared to the wild-type strain and its ΔarcA derivative, which also correlated with higher fluxes from building blocks to biomass. Glyoxylate shunt and lactate dehydrogenase were active mainly in the ΔarcA strain. Finally, it was observed that the tricarboxylic acid cycle reactions operated in a rather cyclic fashion under our experimental conditions, with reduced activity in the mutant strains.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy T. Ritzert ◽  
George Minasov ◽  
Ryan Embry ◽  
Matthew J. Schipma ◽  
Karla J. F. Satchell

ABSTRACTCyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) receptor protein (Crp) is an important transcriptional regulator of Yersinia pestis. Expression of crp increases during pneumonic plague as the pathogen depletes glucose and forms large biofilms within lungs. To better understand control of Y. pestis Crp, we determined a 1.8 Å crystal structure of the protein-cAMP complex. We found that compared to Escherichia coli Crp, C helix amino acid substitutions in Y. pestis Crp did not impact cAMP dependency of Crp to bind DNA promoters. To investigate Y. pestis Crp-regulated genes during plague pneumonia, we performed RNA-sequencing on both wild-type and Δcrp mutant bacteria growing in planktonic and biofilm states in minimal media with glucose or glycerol. Y. pestis Crp is found to dramatically alter expression of hundreds of genes dependent upon carbon source and growth state. Gel shift assays confirmed direct regulation of the malT and ptsG promoters and Crp was then linked to Y. pestis growth on maltose as a sole carbon source. Iron-regulation genes ybtA and fyuA were found to be indirectly regulated by Crp. A new connection between carbon source and quorum sensing was revealed as Crp was found to regulate production of acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) through direct and indirect regulation of genes for AHL synthetases and receptors. AHLs were subsequently identified in the lungs of Y. pestis infected mice when crp expression is highest in Y. pestis biofilms. Thus, in addition to well-studied pla, other Crp-regulated genes likely have important functions during plague infection.IMPORTANCEBacterial pathogens have evolved extensive signaling pathways to translate environmental signals into changes in gene expression. While Crp has long been appreciated for its role in regulating metabolism of carbon sources in many bacterial species, transcriptional profiling has revealed that this protein regulates many other aspects of bacterial physiology. The plague pathogen, Y. pestis, requires this global regulator to survive in blood, skin, and lungs. During disease progression, this organism adapts to changes within these niches. In addition to regulating genes for metabolism of non-glucose sugars, we find the Crp regulates genes for virulence, metal acquisition and quorum sensing by direct or indirect mechanisms. Thus, this single transcriptional regulator, that responds to changes in available carbon sources, can regulate multiple critical behaviors for causing disease.


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