Manifestation of Energy and Entropy of Particles in a Box

The energy and entropy, expressed in free energy, determine the behavior of a system. Therefore, infinite knowledge of these two quantities leads to precise prediction of the system's trajectories. Here, we study how the energy and entropy affect the distribution of a two-component system in a box. First, using a model, we intuitively show that large particles prefer to position at contact with the wall as it accompanies an increase of the system's entropy. We intuitively show that this is a consequence of maximizing the accessible states for fluctuating degrees of freedom as a portion of excluded volumes reside outside of the box when they locate near the wall. Then we employ molecular dynamics simulations to extract the effect of entropy and energy on the binary mixture distribution and how they compete with each other to determine the system's configuration. While particle-particle and particle-wall attraction energies affect the distribution of particles, we show that the emergent entropic forces --- quasi-gravitational --- have a significant contribution to the configuration of the system. This system is realized clearly for a binary mixture of hard spheres in a box with reflective walls.

Structure of the Lysinibacillus sphaericus Tpp49Aa1 pesticidal protein elucidated from natural crystals using MHz-SFX

Tpp49Aa1 from Lysinibacillus sphaericus is a Toxin_10 family protein that must interact with Cry48Aa1, a 3-domain crystal protein, to produce potent mosquitocidal activity, specifically against Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. We use Culex cell lines to demonstrate for the first time transient detrimental effects of individual toxin components and widen the known target range of the proteins. MHz serial femtosecond crystallography at a nano-focused X-ray free electron laser allowed rapid and high-quality data collection to determine the Tpp49Aa1 structure at 2.2 Å resolution from the merged X-ray diffraction data. The structure revealed the packing of Cry49Aa1 within the natural nanocrystals isolated from sporulated bacteria, as a homodimer with a large intermolecular interface. We then modelled the potential interaction between Tpp49Aa1 and Cry48Aa1. The structure sheds light on natural crystallisation and, along with cell-based assays broadens our understanding of this two-component system.

Metabolic basis for the evolution of a common pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa variant

Microbes frequently evolve in reproducible ways. Here, we show that differences in specific metabolic regulation explain the frequent presence of lasR loss-of-function mutations in the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. While LasR contributes to virulence, lasR mutants have been associated with more severe disease. A model based on the intrinsic growth kinetics for a wild type strain and its LasR– derivative, in combination with an experimental evolution based genetic screen and further genetics analyses, indicated that differences in metabolism were sufficient to explain the rise of these common mutant types. The evolution of LasR– lineages in laboratory and clinical isolates depended on activity of the two-component system CbrAB, which modulates substrate prioritization through the catabolite repression control pathway. LasR– lineages frequently arise in cystic fibrosis lung infections and their detection correlates with disease severity. Our analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid metabolomes identified compounds that negatively correlate with lung function, and we show that these compounds support enhanced growth of LasR– cells in a CbrB-controlled manner. We propose that in vivo metabolomes are a major driver of pathogen evolution, which may influence the progression of disease and its treatment.

The NarX-NarL two-component system regulates biofilm formation, natural product biosynthesis, and host-associated survival in Burkholderia pseudomallei

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a saprophytic bacterium endemic throughout the tropics causing severe disease in humans and animals. Environmental signals such as the accumulation of inorganic ions mediates the biofilm forming capabilities and survival of B. pseudomallei. We have previously shown that B. pseudomallei responds to nitrate and nitrite by inhibiting biofilm formation and altering cyclic di-GMP signaling. To better understand the roles of nitrate-sensing in the biofilm inhibitory phenotype of B. pseudomallei, we created in-frame deletions of narX (Bp1026b_I1014) and narL (Bp1026b_I1013), which are adjacent components of a conserved nitrate-sensing two-component system. We observed transcriptional downregulation in key components of the biofilm matrix in response to nitrate and nitrite. Some of the most differentially expressed genes were nonribosomal peptide synthases (NRPS) and/or polyketide synthases (PKS) encoding the proteins for the biosynthesis of bactobolin, malleilactone, and syrbactin, and an uncharacterized cryptic NRPS biosynthetic cluster. RNA expression patterns were reversed in ∆narX and ∆narL mutants, suggesting that nitrate sensing is an important checkpoint for regulating the diverse metabolic changes occurring in the biofilm inhibitory phenotype. Moreover, in a macrophage model of infection, ∆narX and ∆narL mutants were attenuated in intracellular replication, suggesting that nitrate sensing contributes to survival in the host.

Proteomics and lipidomics integrated analysis of outer membrane vesicles indicates that glycerophospholipid metabolism contributes to the early symbiosis between Sinorhizobium fredii HH103 and soybean

Gram-negative bacteria can produce outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), and most functional studies of OMVs have been focused on mammalian-bacterial interactions. However, research on the OMVs of rhizobia is still limited so far. In this work, we isolated and purified OMVs from Sinorhizobium fredii HH103 under free-living conditions that was set as control (C-OMVs) and symbiosis-mimicking conditions that was induced by genistein (G-OMVs). The soybean roots treated with G-OMVs displayed significant deformation of root hairs. G-OMVs significantly induced the expression of nodulation genes related to early symbiosis, while inhibited that of the defense genes of soybean. Proteomics analysis identified a total of 93 differential proteins between C-OMVs and G-OMVs, which are mainly associated with ribosome synthesis, flagellar assembly, two-component system, ABC transporters, oxidative phosphorylation, nitrogen metabolism, quorum sensing, glycerophospholipid metabolism and peptidoglycan biosynthesis. A total of 45 differential lipids were identified in lipidomics analysis. Correlation analysis of OMV proteome and lipidome data revealed that glycerophospholipid metabolism is the enriched KEGG metabolic pathway, and the expression of phosphatidylserine decarboxylase was significantly up-regulated in G-OMVs. The changes in three lipids related to symbiosis in the glycerophospholipid metabolism pathway were verified by ELISA. Our results indicate that glycerophospholipid metabolism contributes to rhizobia-soybean symbiosis via OMVs.

The QseEF Two-Component System-GlmY Small RNA Regulatory Pathway Controls Swarming in Uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis

Bacterial sensing of environmental signals through the two-component system (TCS) plays a key role in modulating virulence. In the search for the host hormone-sensing TCS, we identified a conserved qseEGF locus following glmY, a small RNA (sRNA) gene in uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis. Genes of glmY-qseE-qseG-qseF constitute an operon, and QseF binding sites were found in the glmY promoter region. Deletion of glmY or qseF resulted in reduced swarming motility and swarming-related phenotypes relative to the wild-type and the respective complemented strains. The qseF mutant had decreased glmYqseEGF promoter activity. Both glmY and qseF mutants exhibited decreased flhDC promoter activity and mRNA level, while increased rcsB mRNA level was observed in both mutants. Prediction by TargetRNA2 revealed cheA as the target of GlmY. Then, construction of the translational fusions containing various lengths of cheA 5′UTR for reporter assay and site-directed mutagenesis were performed to investigate the cheA-GlmY interaction in cheA activation. Notably, loss of glmY reduced the cheA mRNA level, and urea could inhibit swarming in a QseF-dependent manner. Altogether, this is the first report elucidating the underlying mechanisms for modulation of swarming motility by a QseEF-regulated sRNA GlmY, involving expression of cheA, rcsB and flhDC in uropathogenic P. mirabilis.

Escherichia coli BarA-UvrY regulates the pks island and kills Staphylococci via the genotoxin colibactin

Wound infections are often polymicrobial in nature and are associated with poor disease prognoses. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus are among the top five most cultured pathogens from wound infections. However, little is known about the polymicrobial interactions between E. coli and S. aureus during wound infections. In this study, we show that E. coli kills S. aureus both in vitro and in a mouse excisional wound model via the genotoxin, colibactin. We also show that the BarA-UvrY two component system (TCS) is a novel regulator of the pks island, which acts through the carbon storage global regulatory (Csr) system. Together, our data demonstrate the role of colibactin in inter-species competition and show that it is regulated by BarA-UvrY TCS, a previously uncharacterized regulator of the pks island.