scholarly journals Nε-Lysine Acetylation of the Histone-Like Protein HBsu Regulates the Process of Sporulation and Affects the Resistance Properties of Bacillus subtilis Spores

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackson Luu ◽  
Connor M. Mott ◽  
Olivia R. Schreiber ◽  
Holly M. Giovinco ◽  
Melanie Betchen ◽  
...  

Bacillus subtilis produces dormant, highly resistant endospores in response to extreme environmental stresses or starvation. These spores are capable of persisting in harsh environments for many years, even decades, without essential nutrients. Part of the reason that these spores can survive such extreme conditions is because their chromosomal DNA is well protected from environmental insults. The α/β-type small acid-soluble proteins (SASPs) coat the spore chromosome, which leads to condensation and protection from such insults. The histone-like protein HBsu has been implicated in the packaging of the spore chromosome and is believed to be important in modulating SASP-mediated alterations to the DNA, including supercoiling and stiffness. Previously, we demonstrated that HBsu is acetylated at seven lysine residues, and one physiological function of acetylation is to regulate chromosomal compaction. Here, we investigate if the process of sporulation or the resistance properties of mature spores are influenced by the acetylation state of HBsu. Using our collection of point mutations that mimic the acetylated and unacetylated forms of HBsu, we first determined if acetylation affects the process of sporulation, by determining the overall sporulation frequencies. We found that specific mutations led to decreases in sporulation frequency, suggesting that acetylation of HBsu at some sites, but not all, is required to regulate the process of sporulation. Next, we determined if the spores produced from the mutant strains were more susceptible to heat, ultraviolet (UV) radiation and formaldehyde exposure. We again found that altering acetylation at specific sites led to less resistance to these stresses, suggesting that proper HBsu acetylation is important for chromosomal packaging and protection in the mature spore. Interestingly, the specific acetylation patterns were different for the sporulation process and resistance properties of spores, which is consistent with the notion that a histone-like code exists in bacteria. We propose that specific acetylation patterns of HBsu are required to ensure proper chromosomal arrangement, packaging, and protection during the process of sporulation.

2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (21) ◽  
pp. 7609-7616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Monroe ◽  
Peter Setlow

ABSTRACT The Bacillus subtilis spore coat protein GerQ is necessary for the proper localization of CwlJ, an enzyme important in the hydrolysis of the peptidoglycan cortex during spore germination. GerQ is cross-linked into high-molecular-mass complexes in the spore coat late in sporulation, and this cross-linking is largely due to a transglutaminase. This enzyme forms an ε-(γ-glutamyl) lysine isopeptide bond between a lysine donor from one protein and a glutamine acceptor from another protein. In the current work, we have identified the residues in GerQ that are essential for transglutaminase-mediated cross-linking. We show that GerQ is a lysine donor and that any one of three lysine residues near the amino terminus of the protein (K2, K4, or K5) is necessary to form cross-links with binding partners in the spore coat. This leads to the conclusion that all Tgl-dependent GerQ cross-linking takes place via these three lysine residues. However, while the presence of any of these three lysine residues is essential for GerQ cross-linking, they are not essential for the function of GerQ in CwlJ localization.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Mariana Wahjudi ◽  
Catherina . ◽  
Nita Marcelia Wangunhardjo ◽  
Ernest Suryadjaja ◽  
Xavier Daniel

<p class="Els-Abstract-text">The <em>xyn</em>B gene of <em>Bacillus</em><em> subtilis</em> subsp. spizizenii W23 is predicted to encode a xylan 1,4-beta-xylosidase. Application of XynB enzymes in industries is wide. Production of this enzyme in its host cells is naturally restricted by repression process. It will give certain beneficial to over-expressed the enzymes in other host-cells under inducing promoter. This study aimed to clone the <em>xyn</em>B gene from <em>Bacillus</em><em> subtilis</em> subsp. spizizenii W23, to pMMB67EH plasmid, and to over-express the <em>xyn</em>B gene in <em>Escherichia coli </em>Origami as host cells. The <em>x</em><em>yn</em>B gene was successfully amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique using a pair of primers flanking the gene sequence and chromosomal DNA of the W23 strain as a template. The <em>xyn</em>B gene inserted in recombinant plasmid was confirmed by PCR detection using primers pair’s specific for <em>xyn</em>B gene and for the vector, then continued by restriction analyses.  The result showed that transformants clone 9 and 10 bear the recombinant pMMB-<em>xyn</em>B plasmid. The xylanase activity of <em>xyn</em>B gene in <em>Escherichia coli</em> Origami clone 10 was detected by sodium-dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel analyses and with addition of isopropyl-β-D-thio-galactoside (IPTG) as an inducer. The protein seem to be over-expressed as intra- and extra-cellular protein detected on SDS-PAGE gel. Result from xylan degrading activity on Luria-Bertani-xylan-IPTG plate with addition of Congo Red, showed that the cells with pMMB-<em>xyn</em>B recombinant plasmid have clear zone around the colonies while the transformant bearing an empty plasmid showed no clear zone. It could be concluded that the <em>xyn</em>B gene of <em>Bacillus subtilis</em> subsp.spizizenii W23 has been successfully been cloned on pMMB67EH plasmid and over-expressed in the <em>Escherichia coli</em> Origami cells as intra- and extra-cellular protein, as observed on SDS-PAGE gel analysis. The protein has activity on xylan degradation.</p>


1982 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-174
Author(s):  
J A Mulder ◽  
G Venema

A comparison of the nucleolytic activities in competent and physiologically low-competent wild-type cultures of Bacillus subtilis in DNA-containing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels revealed the existence of three competence-associated nuclease activities with apparent molecular weights of 13,000, 15,000, and 26,000. The three activities, which were dependent on manganese or magnesium ions, were specifically present in the competent fraction of a competent culture. The competence-associated nucleolytic activities of eight transformation-defective mutant strains were assayed, resulting in the following three classes of mutants: (i) four strains which, according to this assay, were not impaired in any of the nucleolytic activities mentioned above; (ii) one strain which was strongly impaired in the 13,000- and 26,000-molecular-weight activities, but showed a considerable level of the 15,000-molecular-weight activity; and (iii) three strains which were severely impaired in all three activities. The results indicated that the 26,000-molecular-weight activity was a dimer of the 13,000-molecular-weight activity and that this nuclease was involved in the entry of DNA.


1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 4370-4380
Author(s):  
M T Fasullo ◽  
R W Davis

We used the his3 recombinational substrates (his3 fragments) to direct large interchromosomal (translocations) and intrachromosomal (deletions and tandem duplications) rearrangements in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In strains completely deleted for the wild-type HIS3 gene, his3 fragments, one containing a deletion of 5' amino acid coding sequences and the other containing a deletion of 3' amino acid coding sequences, were first placed at preselected sites by homologous recombination. His+ revertants that arose via spontaneous mitotic recombination between the two his3 fragments were selected. This strategy was used to direct rearrangements in both RAD52+ and rad52 mutant strains. Translocations occurred in the RAD52+ genetic background and were characterized by orthogonal field alternating gel electrophoresis of yeast chromosomal DNA and by standard genetic techniques. An unexpected translocation was also identified in which HIS3 sequences were amplified. Two types of tandem duplications of the GAL(7, 10, 1) locus were also directed, and one type was not observed in rad52 mutants. Recombination mechanisms are discussed to account for these differences.


2006 ◽  
Vol 189 (5) ◽  
pp. 1736-1744 ◽  
Author(s):  
Montira Leelakriangsak ◽  
Kazuo Kobayashi ◽  
Peter Zuber

ABSTRACT The spx gene encodes an RNA polymerase-binding protein that exerts negative and positive transcriptional control in response to oxidative stress in Bacillus subtilis. It resides in the yjbC-spx operon and is transcribed from at least five promoters located in the yjbC regulatory region or in the yjbC-spx intergenic region. Induction of spx transcription in response to treatment with the thiol-specific oxidant diamide is the result of transcription initiation at the P3 promoter located upstream of the spx coding sequence. Previous studies conducted elsewhere and analyses of transcription factor mutants using transformation array technology have uncovered two transcriptional repressors, PerR and YodB, that target the cis-acting negative control elements of the P3 promoter. Expression of an spx-bgaB fusion carrying the P3 promoter is elevated in a yodB or perR mutant, and an additive increase in expression was observed in a yodB perR double mutant. Primer extension analysis of spx RNA shows the same additive increase in P3 transcript levels in yodB perR mutant cells. Purified YodB and PerR repress spx transcription in vitro when wild-type spx P3 promoter DNA was used as a template. Point mutations at positions within the P3 promoter relieved YodB-dependent repression, while a point mutation at position +24 reduced PerR repression. DNase I footprinting analysis showed that YodB protects a region that includes the P3 −10 and −35 regions, while PerR binds to a region downstream of the P3 transcriptional start site. The binding of both repressors is impaired by the treatment of footprinting reactions with diamide or hydrogen peroxide. The study has uncovered a mechanism of dual negative control that relates to the oxidative stress response of gram-positive bacteria.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (13) ◽  
pp. 3878-3887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianping Yu ◽  
Gaozhong Shen ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Donald A. Bryant ◽  
John H. Golbeck ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In previous work, some members of our group isolated mutant strains of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 in which point mutations had been inserted into the psaC gene to alter the cysteine residues to the FA and FB iron-sulfur clusters in the PsaC subunit of photosystem I (J. P. Yu, I. R. Vassiliev, Y. S. Jung, J. H. Golbeck, and L. McIntosh, J. Biol. Chem. 272:8032-8039, 1997). These mutant strains did not grow photoautotrophically due to suppressed levels of chlorophyll a and photosystem I. In the results described here, we show that suppressor mutations produced strains that are capable of photoautotrophic growth at moderate light intensity (20 μmol m−2 s−1). Two separate suppressor strains of C14SPsaC, termed C14SPsaC-R62 and C14SPsaC-R18, were studied and found to have mutations in a previously uncharacterized open reading frame of the Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 genome named sll0088. C14SPsaC-R62 was found to substitute Pro for Arg at residue 161 as the result of a G482→C change in sll0088, and C14SPsaC-R18 was found to have a three-amino-acid insertion of Gly-Tyr-Phe following Cys231 as the result of a TGGTTATTT duplication at T690 in sll0088. These suppressor strains showed near-wild-type levels of chlorophyll a and photosystem I, yet the serine oxygen ligand to FB was retained as shown by the retention of the S ≥ 3/2 spin state of the [4Fe-4S] cluster. The inactivation of sll0088 by insertion of a kanamycin resistance cartridge in the primary C14SPsaC mutant produced an engineered suppressor strain capable of photoautotrophic growth. There was no difference in psaC gene expression or in the amount of PsaC protein assembled in thylakoids between the wild type and an sll0088 deletion mutant. The sll0088 gene encodes a protein predicted to be a transcriptional regulator with sequence similarities to transcription factors in other prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms, including Arabidopsis thaliana. The protein contains a typical helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif and can be classified as a negative regulator by phylogenetic analysis. This suggests that the product of sll0088 has a role in regulating the biogenesis of photosystem I.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (14) ◽  
pp. 4698-4706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Campos-Guillén ◽  
Patricia Bralley ◽  
George H. Jones ◽  
David H. Bechhofer ◽  
Gabriela Olmedo-Alvarez

ABSTRACT Polyadenylation plays a role in decay of some bacterial mRNAs, as well as in the quality control of stable RNA. In Escherichia coli, poly(A) polymerase I (PAP I) is the main polyadenylating enzyme, but the addition of 3′ tails also occurs in the absence of PAP I via the synthetic activity of polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase). The nature of 3′-tail addition in Bacillus subtilis, which lacks an identifiable PAP I homologue, was studied. Sizing of poly(A) sequences revealed a similar pattern in wild-type and PNPase-deficient strains. Sequencing of 152 cloned cDNAs, representing 3′-end sequences of nontranslated and translated RNAs, revealed modified ends mostly on incomplete transcripts, which are likely to be decay intermediates. The 3′-end additions consisted of either short poly(A) sequences or longer heteropolymeric ends with a mean size of about 40 nucleotides. Interestingly, multiple independent clones exhibited complex heteropolymeric ends of very similar but not identical nucleotide sequences. Similar polyadenylated and heteropolymeric ends were observed at 3′ ends of RNA isolated from wild-type and pnpA mutant strains. These data demonstrated that, unlike the case of some other bacterial species and chloroplasts, PNPase of Bacillus subtilis is not the major enzyme responsible for the addition of nucleotides to RNA 3′ ends.


2015 ◽  
Vol 197 (8) ◽  
pp. 1492-1506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Letal I. Salzberg ◽  
Eric Botella ◽  
Karsten Hokamp ◽  
Haike Antelmann ◽  
Sandra Maaß ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe PhoPR two-component signal transduction system controls one of three responses activated byBacillus subtilisto adapt to phosphate-limiting conditions (PHO response). The response involves the production of enzymes and transporters that scavenge for phosphate in the environment and assimilate it into the cell. However, inB. subtilisand some otherFirmicutesbacteria, cell wall metabolism is also part of the PHO response due to the high phosphate content of the teichoic acids attached either to peptidoglycan (wall teichoic acid) or to the cytoplasmic membrane (lipoteichoic acid). Prompted by our observation that the phosphorylated WalR (WalR∼P) response regulator binds to more chromosomal loci than are revealed by transcriptome analysis, we established the PhoP∼P bindome in phosphate-limited cells. Here, we show that PhoP∼P binds to the chromosome at 25 loci: 12 are within the promoters of previously identified PhoPR regulon genes, while 13 are newly identified. We extend the role of PhoPR in cell wall metabolism showing that PhoP∼P binds to the promoters of four cell wall-associated operons (ggaAB,yqgS,wapA, anddacA), although none show PhoPR-dependent expression under the conditions of this study. We also show that positive autoregulation ofphoPRexpression and full induction of the PHO response upon phosphate limitation require PhoP∼P binding to the 3′ end of thephoPRoperon.IMPORTANCEThe PhoPR two-component system controls one of three responses mounted byB. subtilisto adapt to phosphate limitation (PHO response). Here, establishment of the phosphorylated PhoP (PhoP∼P) bindome enhances our understanding of the PHO response in two important ways. First, PhoPR plays a more extensive role in adaptation to phosphate-limiting conditions than was deduced from transcriptome analyses. Among 13 newly identified binding sites, 4 are cell wall associated (ggaAB,yqgS,wapA, anddacA), revealing that PhoPR has an extended involvement in cell wall metabolism. Second, amplification of the PHO response must occur by a novel mechanism since positive autoregulation ofphoPRexpression requires PhoP∼P binding to the 3′ end of the operon.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (17) ◽  
pp. 5493-5502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Santos-Escobar ◽  
J. Félix Gutiérrez-Corona ◽  
Mario Pedraza-Reyes

ABSTRACTChromium pollution is potentially detrimental to bacterial soil communities, compromising carbon and nitrogen cycles that are essential for life on earth. It has been proposed that intracellular reduction of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] to trivalent chromium [Cr(III)] may cause bacterial death by a mechanism that involves reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced DNA damage; the molecular basis of the phenomenon was investigated in this work. Here, we report thatBacillus subtiliscells lacking a functional error prevention oxidized guanine (GO) system were significantly more sensitive to Cr(VI) treatment than cells of the wild-type (WT) strain, suggesting that oxidative damage to DNA is involved in the deleterious effects of the oxyanion. In agreement with this suggestion, Cr(VI) dramatically increased the ROS concentration and induced mutagenesis in a GO-deficientB. subtilisstrain. Alkaline gel electrophoresis (AGE) analysis of chromosomal DNA of WT and ΔGO mutant strains subjected to Cr(VI) treatment revealed that the DNA of the ΔGO strain was more susceptible to DNA glycosylase Fpg attack, suggesting that chromium genotoxicity is associated with 7,8-dihydro-8-oxodeoxyguanosine (8-oxo-G) lesions. In support of this notion, specific monoclonal antibodies detected the accumulation of 8-oxo-G lesions in the chromosomes ofB. subtiliscells subjected to Cr(VI) treatment. We conclude that Cr(VI) promotes mutagenesis and cell death inB. subtilisby a mechanism that involves radical oxygen attack of DNA, generating 8-oxo-G, and that such effects are counteracted by the prevention and repair GO system.


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