scholarly journals T6SS Accessory Proteins, Including DUF2169 Domain-Containing Protein and Pentapeptide Repeats Protein, Contribute to Bacterial Virulence in T6SS Group_5 of Burkholderia glumae BGR1

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Namgyu Kim ◽  
Gil Han ◽  
Hyejung Jung ◽  
Hyun-Hee Lee ◽  
Jungwook Park ◽  
...  

Burkholderia glumae are bacteria pathogenic to rice plants that cause a disease called bacterial panicle blight (BPB) in rice panicles. BPB, induced by B. glumae, causes enormous economic losses to the rice agricultural industry. B. glumae also causes bacterial disease in other crops because it has various virulence factors, such as toxins, proteases, lipases, extracellular polysaccharides, bacterial motility, and bacterial secretion systems. In particular, B. glumae BGR1 harbors type VI secretion system (T6SS) with functionally distinct roles: the prokaryotic targeting system and the eukaryotic targeting system. The functional activity of T6SS requires 13 core components and T6SS accessory proteins, such as adapters containing DUF2169, DUF4123, and DUF1795 domains. There are two genes, bglu_1g23320 and bglu_2g07420, encoding the DUF2169 domain-containing protein in the genome of B. glumae BGR1. bglu_2g07420 belongs to the gene cluster of T6SS group_5 in B. glumae BGR1, whereas bglu_1g23320 does not belong to any T6SS gene cluster in B. glumae BGR1. T6SS group_5 of B. glumae BGR1 is involved in bacterial virulence in rice plants. The DUF2169 domain-containing protein with a single domain can function by itself; however, Δu1g23320 showed no attenuated virulence in rice plants. In contrast, Δu2g07420DUF2169 and Δu2g07420PPR did exhibit attenuated virulence in rice plants. These results suggest that the pentapeptide repeats region of the C-terminal additional domain, as well as the DUF2169 domain, is required for complete functioning of the DUF2169 domain-containing protein encoded by bglu_2g07420. bglu_2g07410, which encodes the pentapeptide repeats protein, composed of only the pentapeptide repeats region, is located downstream of bglu_2g07420. Δu2g07410 also shows attenuated virulence in rice plants. This finding suggests that the pentapeptide repeats protein, encoded by bglu_2g07410, is involved in bacterial virulence. This study is the first report that the DUF2169 domain-containing protein and pentapeptide repeats protein are involved in bacterial virulence to the rice plants as T6SS accessory proteins, encoded in the gene cluster of the T6SS group_5.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Safak Kalindamar ◽  
Hossam Abdelhamed ◽  
Adef O. Kordon ◽  
Lesya M. Pinchuk ◽  
Attila Karsi

Edwardsiella ictaluri is a Gram-negative facultative intracellular pathogen causing enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC), a devastating disease resulting in significant economic losses in the U.S. catfish industry. Bacterial secretion systems are involved in many bacteria's virulence, and Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) is a critical apparatus utilized by several pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria. E. ictaluri strain 93–146 genome has a complete T6SS operon with 16 genes, but the roles of these genes are still not explored. In this research, we aimed to understand the roles of two hemolysin co-regulated family proteins, Hcp1 (EvpC) and Hcp2. To achieve this goal, single and double E. ictaluri mutants (EiΔevpC, EiΔhcp2, and EiΔevpCΔhcp2) were generated and characterized. Catfish peritoneal macrophages were able to kill EiΔhcp2 better than EiΔevpC, EiΔevpCΔhcp2, and E. ictaluri wild-type (EiWT). The attachment of EiΔhcp2 and EiΔevpCΔhcp2 to ovary cells significantly decreased compared to EiWT whereas the cell invasion rates of these mutants were the same as that of EiWT. Mutants exposed to normal catfish serum in vitro showed serum resistance. The fish challenges demonstrated that EiΔevpC and EiΔevpCΔhcp2 were attenuated completely and provided excellent protection against EiWT infection in catfish fingerlings. Interestingly, EiΔhcp2 caused higher mortality than that of EiWT in catfish fingerlings, and severe clinical signs were observed. Although fry were more susceptible to vaccination with EiΔevpC and EiΔevpCΔhcp2, their attenuation and protection were significantly higher compared to EiWT and sham groups, respectively. Taken together, our data indicated that evpC (hcp1) is involved in E. ictaluri virulence in catfish while hcp2 is involved in adhesion to epithelial cells and survival inside catfish macrophages.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenghui Liu ◽  
Yitong Zhao ◽  
Frederick Leo Sossah ◽  
Benjamin Azu Okorley ◽  
Daniel G. Amoako ◽  
...  

Since 2016, devastating bacterial blotch affecting the fruiting bodies of Agaricus bisporus, Cordyceps militaris, Flammulina filiformis, and Pleurotus ostreatus in China has caused severe economic losses. We isolated 102 bacterial strains and characterized them polyphasically. We identified the causal agent as Pseudomonas tolaasii and confirmed the pathogenicity of the strains. A host range test further confirmed the pathogen’s ability to infect multiple hosts. This is the first report in China of bacterial blotch in C. militaris caused by P. tolaasii. Whole-genome sequences were generated for three strains: Pt11 (6.48 Mb), Pt51 (6.63 Mb), and Pt53 (6.80 Mb), and pangenome analysis was performed with 13 other publicly accessible P. tolaasii genomes to determine their genetic diversity, virulence, antibiotic resistance, and mobile genetic elements. The pangenome of P. tolaasii is open, and many more gene families are likely to emerge with further genome sequencing. Multilocus sequence analysis using the sequences of four common housekeeping genes (glns, gyrB, rpoB, and rpoD) showed high genetic variability among the P. tolaasii strains, with 115 strains clustered into a monophyletic group. The P. tolaasii strains possess various genes for secretion systems, virulence factors, carbohydrate-active enzymes, toxins, secondary metabolites, and antimicrobial resistance genes that are associated with pathogenesis and adapted to different environments. The myriad of insertion sequences, integrons, prophages, and genome islands encoded in the strains may contribute to genome plasticity, virulence, and antibiotic resistance. These findings advance understanding of the determinants of virulence, which can be targeted for the effective control of bacterial blotch disease.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hang-Cheng Chen ◽  
Reymund C. Derilo ◽  
Han-Ling Chen ◽  
Tzu-Rung Li ◽  
Ruchi Briam James S. Lagitnay ◽  
...  

Abstract Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc) causes soft-rot disease in a wide variety of plants resulting in economic losses worldwide. It produces various types of bacteriocin to compete against related plant pathogens. Studies on how bacteriocins are extracellularly secreted are conducted to understand the mechanism of interbacterial competition. In this study, the secretion of the low-molecular-weight bacteriocins (LMWB) Carocin S1 and Carocin S3 produced by a multiple-bacteriocin producing strain of Pcc, 89-H-4, was investigated. Tn5 insertional mutagenesis was used to generate a mutant, TH22-6, incapable of LMWBs secretion. Sequence and homology analyses of the gene disrupted by transposon Tn5 insertion revealed that the gene sctT, an essential component of the injectisome type III secretion machinery (T3aSS), is required for the secretion of the bacteriocins. This result raised a question regarding the nature of the secretion mechanism of Pcc bacteriocins which was previously discovered to be secreted via T3bSS, a system that utilizes the bacterial flagellum for extracellular secretions. Our previous report has shown that bacteriocin Carocin S1 cannot be secreted by mutants that are defective of T3bSS-related genes such as flhA, flhC, flhD and fliC. We knocked out several genes making up the significant structural components of both T3aSS and T3bSS. The findings led us to hypothesize the potential roles of the T3aSS-related proteins, SctT, SctU and SctV, as flagellar T3SS chaperones in the secretion of Pcc bacteriocins. This current discovery and the findings of our previous study helped us to conceptualize a unique Type III secretion system for bacteriocin extracellular export which is a hybrid of the injectisome and flagellar secretion systems.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saida Benomar ◽  
Gisela Di Venanzio ◽  
Mario F. Feldman

Acinetobacter baumannii is emerging as a multidrug-resistant (MDR) nosocomial pathogen of increasing threat to human health worldwide. The recent MDR urinary isolate UPAB1 carries the plasmid pAB5, a member of a family of large conjugative plasmids (LCP). LCP encode several antibiotic resistance genes and repress the type VI secretion system (T6SS) to enable their dissemination, employing two TetR transcriptional regulators. Furthermore, pAB5 controls the expression of additional chromosomally encoded genes, impacting UPAB1 virulence. Here we show that a pAB5-encoded H-NS transcriptional regulator represses the synthesis of the exopolysaccharide PNAG and the expression of a previously uncharacterized three-gene cluster that encodes a protein belonging to the CsgG/HfaB family. Members of this protein family are involved in amyloid or polysaccharide formation in other species. Deletion of the CsgG homolog abrogated PNAG production and CUP pili formation, resulting in a subsequent reduction in biofilm formation. Although this gene cluster is widely distributed in Gram-negative bacteria, it remains largely uninvestigated. Our results illustrate the complex cross-talks that take place between plasmids and the chromosomes of their bacterial host, which in this case can contribute to the pathogenesis of Acinetobacter . IMPORTANCE The opportunistic human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii displays the highest reported rates of multidrug resistance among Gram-negative pathogens. Many A. baumannii strains carry large conjugative plasmids like pAB5. In recent years, we have witnessed an increase in knowledge about the regulatory cross-talks between plasmids and bacterial chromosomes. Here we show that pAB5 controls the composition of the bacterial extracellular matrix, resulting in a drastic reduction in biofilm formation. The association between biofilm formation, virulence, and antibiotic resistance is well-documented. Therefore, understanding the factors involved in the regulation of biofilm formation in Acinetobacter has remarkable therapeutic potential.


2012 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 600-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji Liu ◽  
Ji-Tao Guo ◽  
Yong-Guo Li ◽  
Randal N. Johnston ◽  
Gui-Rong Liu ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 1055-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Namgyu Kim ◽  
Jin Ju Kim ◽  
Inyoung Kim ◽  
Mohamed Mannaa ◽  
Jungwook Park ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 202 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yannick R. Brunet ◽  
Christophe S. Bernard ◽  
Eric Cascales

ABSTRACT The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a weapon for delivering effectors into target cells that is widespread in Gram-negative bacteria. The T6SS is a highly versatile machine, as it can target both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, and it has been proposed that T6SSs are adapted to the specific needs of each bacterium. The expression of T6SS gene clusters and the activation of the secretion apparatus are therefore tightly controlled. In enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC), the sci1 T6SS gene cluster is subject to a complex regulation involving both the ferric uptake regulator (Fur) and DNA adenine methylase (Dam)-dependent DNA methylation. In this study, an additional, internal, promoter was identified within the sci1 gene cluster using +1 transcriptional mapping. Further analyses demonstrated that this internal promoter is controlled by a mechanism strictly identical to that of the main promoter. The Fur binding box overlaps the −10 transcriptional element and a Dam methylation site, GATC-32. Hence, the expression of the distal sci1 genes is repressed and the GATC-32 site is protected from methylation in iron-rich conditions. The Fur-dependent protection of GATC-32 was confirmed by an in vitro methylation assay. In addition, the methylation of GATC-32 negatively impacted Fur binding. The expression of the sci1 internal promoter is therefore controlled by iron availability through Fur regulation, whereas Dam-dependent methylation maintains a stable ON expression in iron-limited conditions. IMPORTANCE Bacteria use weapons to deliver effectors into target cells. One of these weapons, the type VI secretion system (T6SS), assembles a contractile tail acting as a spring to propel a toxin-loaded needle. Its expression and activation therefore need to be tightly regulated. Here, we identified an internal promoter within the sci1 T6SS gene cluster in enteroaggregative E. coli. We show that this internal promoter is controlled by Fur and Dam-dependent methylation. We further demonstrate that Fur and Dam compete at the −10 transcriptional element to finely tune the expression of T6SS genes. We propose that this elegant regulatory mechanism allows the optimum production of the T6SS in conditions where enteroaggregative E. coli encounters competing species.


2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (36) ◽  
pp. 10174-10179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina R. Büttner ◽  
Yingzhou Wu ◽  
Karen L. Maxwell ◽  
Alan R. Davidson

Contractile phage tails are powerful cell puncturing nanomachines that have been co-opted by bacteria for self-defense against both bacteria and eukaryotic cells. The tail of phage T4 has long served as the paradigm for understanding contractile tail-like systems despite its greater complexity compared with other contractile-tailed phages. Here, we present a detailed investigation of the assembly of a “simple” contractile-tailed phage baseplate, that of Escherichia coli phage Mu. By coexpressing various combinations of putative Mu baseplate proteins, we defined the required components of this baseplate and delineated its assembly pathway. We show that the Mu baseplate is constructed through the independent assembly of wedges that are organized around a central hub complex. The Mu wedges are comprised of only three protein subunits rather than the seven found in the equivalent structure in T4. Through extensive bioinformatic analyses, we found that homologs of the essential components of the Mu baseplate can be identified in the majority of contractile-tailed phages and prophages. No T4-like prophages were identified. The conserved simple baseplate components were also found in contractile tail-derived bacterial apparatuses, such as type VI secretion systems, Photorhabdus virulence cassettes, and R-type tailocins. Our work highlights the evolutionary connections and similarities in the biochemical behavior of phage Mu wedge components and the TssF and TssG proteins of the type VI secretion system. In addition, we demonstrate the importance of the Mu baseplate as a model system for understanding bacterial phage tail-derived systems.


Plant Disease ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 104 (10) ◽  
pp. 2563-2570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingkai Cheng ◽  
Xuejing Man ◽  
Zitong Wang ◽  
Li Liang ◽  
Fan Zhang ◽  
...  

Rhizoctonia solani is a widely distributed soilborne plant pathogen, and can cause significant economic losses to crop production. In chemical controls, SYP-14288 is highly effective against plant pathogens, including R. solani. To examine the sensitivity to SYP-14288, 112 R. solani isolates were collected from infected rice plants. An established baseline sensitivity showed that values of effective concentration for 50% growth inhibition (EC50) ranged from 0.0003 to 0.0138 μg/ml, with an average of 0.0055 ± 0.0030 μg/ml. The frequency distribution of the EC50 was unimodal and the range of variation factor (the ratio of maximal over minimal EC50) was 46.03, indicating that all wild-type strains were sensitive to SYP-14288. To examine the risk of fungicide resistance, 20 SYP-14288-resistant mutants were generated on agar plates amended with SYP-14288. Eighteen mutants remained resistant after 10 transfers, and their fitness was significantly different from the parental strain. All of the mutants grew more slowly but showed high virulence to rice plants, though lower than the parental strain. A cross-resistance assay demonstrated that there was a positive correlation between SYP-14288 and fungicides having or not having the same mode of action with SYP-14288, including fluazinam, fentin chloride, fludioxonil, difenoconazole, cyazofamid, chlorothalonil, and 2,4-dinitrophen. This result showed a multidrug resistance induced by SYP-14288, which could be a concern in increasing the spectrum of resistance in R. solani to commonly used fungicides.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 841-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiago Lelis ◽  
Jingyu Peng ◽  
Inderjit Barphagha ◽  
Ruoxi Chen ◽  
Jong Hyun Ham

Bacterial panicle blight caused by Burkholderia glumae is a major bacterial disease of rice. Our preliminary RNA-seq study showed that a serine metalloprotease gene, prtA, is regulated in a similar manner to the genes for the biosynthesis and transport of toxoflavin, which is a known major virulence factor of B. glumae. prtA null mutants of the virulent strain B. glumae 336gr-1 did not show a detectable extracellular protease activity, indicating that prtA is the solely responsible gene for the extracellular protease activity detected from this bacterium. In addition, inoculation of rice panicles with the prtA mutants resulted in a significant reduction of disease severity compared with the wild-type parent strain, suggesting the requirement of prtA for the full virulence of B. glumae. A double mutant deficient in both serine metalloprotease and toxoflavin (ΔtoxA/prtA−) exhibited a further numeric but not statistically significant decrease of disease development compared with the ΔtoxA strain. Both the prtA-driven extracellular protease activity and the toxoflavin production were dependent on both the tofI/tofR quorum-sensing and the global regulatory gene qsmR, indicating the important roles of the two global regulatory factors for the bacterial pathogenesis by this pathogen.


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