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Aroney STN, Pini F, Kessler C, Poole PS, Sánchez-Cañizares C. The motility and chemosensory systems of Rhizobium leguminosarum, their role in symbiosis, and link to PTS Ntr regulation. Environ Microbiol 2024; 26:e16570. [PMID: 38216524 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
Motility and chemotaxis are crucial processes for soil bacteria and plant-microbe interactions. This applies to the symbiotic bacterium Rhizobium leguminosarum, where motility is driven by flagella rotation controlled by two chemotaxis systems, Che1 and Che2. The Che1 cluster is particularly important in free-living motility prior to the establishment of the symbiosis, with a che1 mutant delayed in nodulation and reduced in nodulation competitiveness. The Che2 system alters bacteroid development and nodule maturation. In this work, we also identified 27 putative chemoreceptors encoded in the R. leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841 genome and characterized its motility in different growth conditions. We describe a metabolism-based taxis system in rhizobia that acts at high concentrations of dicarboxylates to halt motility independent of chemotaxis. Finally, we show how PTSNtr influences cell motility, with PTSNtr mutants exhibiting reduced swimming in different media. Motility is restored by the active forms of the PTSNtr output regulatory proteins, unphosphorylated ManX and phosphorylated PtsN. Overall, this work shows how rhizobia typify soil bacteria by having a high number of chemoreceptors and highlights the importance of the motility and chemotaxis mechanisms in a free-living cell in the rhizosphere, and at different stages of the symbiosis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Celia Kessler
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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2
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Bacterial chemotaxis coupling protein: Structure, function and diversity. Microbiol Res 2019; 219:40-48. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2018.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Revised: 10/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Comparative Genomics of Myxobacterial Chemosensory Systems. J Bacteriol 2018; 200:JB.00620-17. [PMID: 29158239 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00620-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 10/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemosensory systems (CSS) are among the most complex organizations of proteins functioning cooperatively to regulate bacterial motility and other cellular activities. These systems have been studied extensively in bacteria, and usually, they are present as a single system. Eight CSS, the highest number in bacteria, have been reported in Myxococcus xanthus DK1622 and are involved in coordinating diverse functions. Here, we have explored and compared the CSS in all available genomes of order Myxococcales. Myxococcales members contain 97 to 476 two-component system (TCS) proteins, which assist the bacteria in surviving and adapting to varying environmental conditions. The number of myxobacterial CSS ranges between 1 and 12, with the largest number in family Cystobacteraceae and the smallest in Nannocystaceae CheA protein was used as a phylogenetic marker to infer evolutionary relatedness between different CSS, and six novel CSS ("extra CSS" [ECSS]) were thus identified in the myxobacteria besides the previously reported Che1 to Che8 systems from M. xanthus Che1 to Che8 systems are monophyletic to deltaproteobacteria, whereas the newly identified ECSS form separate clades with different bacterial classes. The comparative modular organization was concordant with the phylogeny. Four clusters lacking CheA proteins were also identified via CheB-based phylogenetic analysis and were categorized as accessory CSS (ACSS). In Archangium, an orphan CSS was identified, in which both CheA and CheB were absent. The novel, accessory, and orphan multimodular CSS identified here suggest the emergence of myxobacterial CSS and could assist in further characterizing their roles.IMPORTANCE This study is focused on chemosensory systems (CSS), which help the bacterium in directing its movement toward or away from chemical gradients. CSS are present as a single system in most of the bacteria except in some groups, including Myxococcus xanthus, which has 8 CSS, the highest number reported to date. This is the first comprehensive study carrying out a comparative analysis of the 22 available myxobacterial genomes, which suggests the evolutionary diversity of these systems. We are interested in understanding the distribution of CSS within all known myxobacteria and their probable evolution.
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Machuca MA, Johnson KS, Liu YC, Steer DL, Ottemann KM, Roujeinikova A. Helicobacter pylori chemoreceptor TlpC mediates chemotaxis to lactate. Sci Rep 2017; 7:14089. [PMID: 29075010 PMCID: PMC5658362 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14372-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 10/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It is recently appreciated that many bacterial chemoreceptors have ligand-binding domains (LBD) of the dCACHE family, a structure with two PAS-like subdomains, one membrane-proximal and the other membrane-distal. Previous studies had implicated only the membrane-distal subdomain in ligand recognition. Here, we report the 2.2 Å resolution crystal structure of dCACHE LBD of the Helicobacter pylori chemoreceptor TlpC. H. pylori tlpC mutants are outcompeted by wild type during stomach colonisation, but no ligands had been mapped to this receptor. The TlpC dCACHE LBD has two PAS-like subdomains, as predicted. The membrane-distal one possesses a long groove instead of a small, well-defined pocket. The membrane-proximal subdomain, in contrast, had a well-delineated pocket with a small molecule that we identified as lactate. We confirmed that amino acid residues making contact with the ligand in the crystal structure-N213, I218 and Y285 and Y249-were required for lactate binding. We determined that lactate is an H. pylori chemoattractant that is sensed via TlpC with a K D = 155 µM. Lactate is utilised by H. pylori, and our work suggests that this pathogen seeks out lactate using chemotaxis. Furthermore, our work suggests that dCACHE domain proteins can utilise both subdomains for ligand recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mayra A Machuca
- Infection and Immunity Program, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Kevin S Johnson
- Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA
| | - Yu C Liu
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - David L Steer
- Monash Biomedical Proteomics Facility, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
| | - Karen M Ottemann
- Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA.
| | - Anna Roujeinikova
- Infection and Immunity Program, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia.
- Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia.
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia.
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Varela L, Bell CH, Armitage JP, Redfield C. (1)H, (13)C and (15)N resonance assignments for the response regulator CheY3 from Rhodobacter sphaeroides. BIOMOLECULAR NMR ASSIGNMENTS 2016; 10:373-378. [PMID: 27468962 PMCID: PMC5039241 DOI: 10.1007/s12104-016-9703-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides has emerged as a model system for studies of the complex chemotaxis pathways that are a hallmark of many non-enteric bacteria. The genome of R. sphaeroides encodes two sets of flagellar genes, fla1 and fla2, that are controlled by three different operons. Each operon encodes homologues of most of the proteins required for the well-studied E. coli chemotaxis pathway. R. sphaeroides has six homologues of the response regulator CheY that are localized to and are regulated by different clusters of chemosensory proteins in the cell and have different effects on chemotaxis. CheY6 is the major CheY stopping the fla1 flagellar motor and associated with a cytoplasmically localised chemosensory pathway. CheY3 and CheY4 are associated with a membrane localised polar chemosensory cluster, and can bind to but not stop the motor. CheY6 and either CheY3 or CheY4 are required for chemotaxis. We are using NMR spectroscopy to characterise and compare the structure and dynamics of CheY3 and CheY6 in solution. We are interested in defining the conformational changes that occur upon activation of these two proteins and to identify differences in their properties that can explain the different functions they play in chemotaxis in R. sphaeroides. Here we present the (1)H, (13)C and (15)N assignments for CheY3 in its active, inactive and Mg(2+)-free apo form. These assignments provide the starting point for detailed investigations of the structure and function of CheY3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Varela
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Christian H Bell
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Judith P Armitage
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK.
| | - Christina Redfield
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK.
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Seralathan MV, Sivanesan S, Nargunanathan S, Bafana A, Kannan K, Chakrabarti T. Chemotaxis-based endosulfan biotransformation: enrichment and isolation of endosulfan-degrading bacteria. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY 2015; 36:60-67. [PMID: 25409584 DOI: 10.1080/09593330.2014.937464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The study was conducted to isolate endosulfan biotransforming or biodegrading microbes based on chemotaxis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain KKc3, Ochrobactrum sp. strain KKc4, Achromobacter xylosoxidans strain KKc6 and Bacillus megaterium KKc7 were isolated based on their migration towards endosulfan in a soil column. Out of the four bacteria, B. megaterium converted endosulfan into toxic metabolite endosulfan sulphate, while the other three bacteria followed the non-toxic endosulfan diol pathway. The mixed culture system consisting of P. aeruginosa, Ochrobactrum sp and A. xylosoxidans could remove 94% of total endosulfan by using endosulfan as the sole source of sulphur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhil Vannan Seralathan
- a Environmental Health Division , National Environmental Engineering Research Institute , Nagpur 440022 , India
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Fan S, Endres RG. A minimal model for metabolism-dependent chemotaxis in Rhodobacter sphaeroides (†). Interface Focus 2014; 4:20140002. [PMID: 25485076 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2014.0002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemotaxis is vital cellular movement in response to environmental chemicals. Unlike the canonical chemotactic pathway in Escherichia coli, Rhodobacter sphaeroides has both transmembrane and cytoplasmic sensory clusters, with the latter possibly interacting with essential components in the electron transport system. However, the effect of the cytoplasmic sensor and the mechanism of signal integration from both sensory clusters remain unclear. Based on a minimal model of the chemotaxis pathway in this species, we show that signal integration at the motor level produces realistic chemotactic behaviour in line with experimental observations. Our model also suggests that the core pathway of R. sphaeroides, at least its ancestor, may represent a metabolism-dependent selective stopping strategy, which alone can steer cells to favourable environments. Our results not only clarify the potential roles of the two sensory clusters but also put in question the current definitions of attractants and repellents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sisi Fan
- Department of Life Sciences , Imperial College , London , UK
| | - Robert G Endres
- Department of Life Sciences , Imperial College , London , UK
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8
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Functional organization of a multimodular bacterial chemosensory apparatus. PLoS Genet 2014; 10:e1004164. [PMID: 24603697 PMCID: PMC3945109 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2013] [Accepted: 12/23/2013] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemosensory systems (CSS) are complex regulatory pathways capable of perceiving external signals and translating them into different cellular behaviors such as motility and development. In the δ-proteobacterium Myxococcus xanthus, chemosensing allows groups of cells to orient themselves and aggregate into specialized multicellular biofilms termed fruiting bodies. M. xanthus contains eight predicted CSS and 21 chemoreceptors. In this work, we systematically deleted genes encoding components of each CSS and chemoreceptors and determined their effects on M. xanthus social behaviors. Then, to understand how the 21 chemoreceptors are distributed among the eight CSS, we examined their phylogenetic distribution, genomic organization and subcellular localization. We found that, in vivo, receptors belonging to the same phylogenetic group colocalize and interact with CSS components of the respective phylogenetic group. Finally, we identified a large chemosensory module formed by three interconnected CSS and multiple chemoreceptors and showed that complex behaviors such as cell group motility and biofilm formation require regulatory apparatus composed of multiple interconnected Che-like systems. Myxococcus xanthus is a social bacterium that exhibits a complex life cycle including biofilm formation, microbial predation and the formation of multicellular fruiting bodies. Genomic analyses indicate that M. xanthus produces an unusual number of chemosensory proteins: eight chemosensory systems (CSS) and 21 chemoreceptors, 13 of which are orphans located outside operons. In this paper we used genetic, phylogenetic and cell biology techniques to analyze the organization of the chemoreceptors and their functions in the regulation of M. xanthus social behaviors. Results indicate the existence of one large and three small chemosensory modules that occupy different positions within cells. This organization is consistent with in vivo protein interaction assays. Our analyses revealed the presence of a complex network of regulators that might integrate different stimuli to modulate bacterial social behaviors. Such networks might be conserved in other bacterial species with a life cycle of similar complexity and whose genome carries multiple CSS encoding operons.
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Kojadinovic M, Armitage JP, Tindall MJ, Wadhams GH. Response kinetics in the complex chemotaxis signalling pathway of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. J R Soc Interface 2013; 10:20121001. [PMID: 23365194 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2012.1001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemotaxis is one of the best-characterized signalling systems in biology. It is the mechanism by which bacteria move towards optimal environments and is implicated in biofilm formation, pathogenesis and symbiosis. The properties of the bacterial chemosensory response have been described in detail for the single chemosensory pathway of Escherichia coli. We have characterized the properties of the chemosensory response of Rhodobacter sphaeroides, an α-proteobacterium with multiple chemotaxis pathways, under two growth conditions allowing the effects of protein expression levels and cell architecture to be investigated. Using tethered cell assays, we measured the responses of the system to step changes in concentration of the attractant propionate and show that, independently of the growth conditions, R. sphaeroides is chemotactic over at least five orders of magnitude and has a sensing profile following Weber's Law. Mathematical modelling also shows that, as E. coli, R. sphaeroides is capable of showing fold-change detection (FCD). Our results indicate that general features of bacterial chemotaxis such as the range and sensitivity of detection, adaptation times, adherence to Weber's Law and the presence of FCD may be integral features of chemotaxis systems in general, regardless of network complexity, protein expression levels and cellular architecture across different species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mila Kojadinovic
- Department of Biochemistry, Oxford Centre for Integrative Systems Biology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
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10
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Zhang K, Liu J, Tu Y, Xu H, Charon NW, Li C. Two CheW coupling proteins are essential in a chemosensory pathway of Borrelia burgdorferi. Mol Microbiol 2012; 85:782-94. [PMID: 22780444 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2012.08139.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
In the model organism Escherichia coli, the coupling protein CheW, which bridges the chemoreceptors and histidine kinase CheA, is essential for chemotaxis. Unlike the situation in E. coli, Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, has three cheW homologues (cheW(1) , cheW(2) and cheW(3) ). Here, a comprehensive approach is utilized to investigate the roles of the three cheWs in chemotaxis of B. burgdorferi. First, genetic studies indicated that both the cheW(1) and cheW(3) genes are essential for chemotaxis, as the mutants had altered swimming behaviours and were non-chemotactic. Second, immunofluorescence and cryo-electron tomography studies suggested that both CheW(1) and CheW(3) are involved in the assembly of chemoreceptor arrays at the cell poles. In contrast to cheW(1) and cheW(3) , cheW(2) is dispensable for chemotaxis and assembly of the chemoreceptor arrays. Finally, immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that the three CheWs interact with different CheAs: CheW(1) and CheW(3) interact with CheA(2) whereas CheW(2) binds to CheA(1) . Collectively, our results indicate that CheW(1) and CheW(3) are incorporated into one chemosensory pathway that is essential for B. burgdorferi chemotaxis. Although many bacteria have more than one homologue of CheW, to our knowledge, this report provides the first experimental evidence that two CheW proteins coexist in one chemosensory pathway and that both are essential for chemotaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Zhang
- Department of Oral Biology, the State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
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In Rhodobacter sphaeroides, chemotactic operon 1 regulates rotation of the flagellar system 2. J Bacteriol 2011; 193:6781-6. [PMID: 21949068 DOI: 10.1128/jb.05933-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides is able to assemble two different flagella, the subpolar flagellum (Fla1) and the polar flagella (Fla2). In this work, we report the swimming behavior of R. sphaeroides Fla2(+) cells lacking each of the proteins encoded by chemotactic operon 1. A model proposing how these proteins control Fla2 rotation is presented.
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Soyer OS, Goldstein RA. Evolution of response dynamics underlying bacterial chemotaxis. BMC Evol Biol 2011; 11:240. [PMID: 21846396 PMCID: PMC3178535 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2011] [Accepted: 08/16/2011] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The ability to predict the function and structure of complex molecular mechanisms underlying cellular behaviour is one of the main aims of systems biology. To achieve it, we need to understand the evolutionary routes leading to a specific response dynamics that can underlie a given function and how biophysical and environmental factors affect which route is taken. Here, we apply such an evolutionary approach to the bacterial chemotaxis pathway, which is documented to display considerable complexity and diversity. Results We construct evolutionarily accessible response dynamics starting from a linear response to absolute levels of attractant, to those observed in current-day Escherichia coli. We explicitly consider bacterial movement as a two-state process composed of non-instantaneous tumbling and swimming modes. We find that a linear response to attractant results in significant chemotaxis when sensitivity to attractant is low and when time spent tumbling is large. More importantly, such linear response is optimal in a regime where signalling has low sensitivity. As sensitivity increases, an adaptive response as seen in Escherichia coli becomes optimal and leads to 'perfect' chemotaxis with a low tumbling time. We find that as tumbling time decreases and sensitivity increases, there exist a parameter regime where the chemotaxis performance of the linear and adaptive responses overlap, suggesting that evolution of chemotaxis responses might provide an example for the principle of functional change in structural continuity. Conclusions Our findings explain several results from diverse bacteria and lead to testable predictions regarding chemotaxis responses evolved in bacteria living under different biophysical constraints and with specific motility machinery. Further, they shed light on the potential evolutionary paths for the evolution of complex behaviours from simpler ones in incremental fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orkun S Soyer
- Systems Biology Program, College of Engineering, Computing, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
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Atterbury RJ, Hobley L, Till R, Lambert C, Capeness MJ, Lerner TR, Fenton AK, Barrow P, Sockett RE. Effects of orally administered Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus on the well-being and Salmonella colonization of young chicks. Appl Environ Microbiol 2011; 77:5794-803. [PMID: 21705523 PMCID: PMC3165243 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00426-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2011] [Accepted: 06/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is a bacterium which preys upon and kills Gram-negative bacteria, including the zoonotic pathogens Escherichia coli and Salmonella. Bdellovibrio has potential as a biocontrol agent, but no reports of it being tested in living animals have been published, and no data on whether Bdellovibrio might spread between animals are available. In this study, we tried to fill this knowledge gap, using B. bacteriovorus HD100 doses in poultry with a normal gut microbiota or predosed with a colonizing Salmonella strain. In both cases, Bdellovibrio was dosed orally along with antacids. After dosing non-Salmonella-infected birds with Bdellovibrio, we measured the health and well-being of the birds and any changes in their gut pathology and culturable microbiota, finding that although a Bdellovibrio dose at 2 days of age altered the overall diversity of the natural gut microbiota in 28-day-old birds, there were no adverse effects on their growth and well-being. Drinking water and fecal matter from the pens in which the birds were housed as groups showed no contamination by Bdellovibrio after dosing. Predatory Bdellovibrio orally administered to birds that had been predosed with a gut-colonizing Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis phage type 4 strain (an important zoonotic pathogen) significantly reduced Salmonella numbers in bird gut cecal contents and reduced abnormal cecal morphology, indicating reduced cecal inflammation, compared to the ceca of the untreated controls or a nonpredatory ΔpilA strain, suggesting that these effects were due to predatory action. This work is a first step to applying Bdellovibrio therapeutically for other animal, and possibly human, infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J. Atterbury
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Hobley
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Till
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - Carey Lambert
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J. Capeness
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas R. Lerner
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew K. Fenton
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Barrow
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, United Kingdom
| | - R. Elizabeth Sockett
- Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom
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New motion analysis system for characterization of the chemosensory response kinetics of Rhodobacter sphaeroides under different growth conditions. Appl Environ Microbiol 2011; 77:4082-8. [PMID: 21515726 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00341-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
We developed a new set of software tools that enable the speed and response kinetics of large numbers of tethered bacterial cells to be rapidly measured and analyzed. The software provides precision, accuracy, and a good signal-to-noise ratio combined with ease of data handling and processing. The software was tested on the single-cell chemosensory response kinetics of large numbers of Rhodobacter sphaeroides cells grown under either aerobic or photoheterotrophic conditions and either in chemostats or in batch cultures, allowing the effects of growth conditions on responses to be accurately measured. Aerobically and photoheterotrophically grown R. sphaeroides exhibited significantly different chemosensory response kinetics and cell-to-cell variability in their responses to 100 μM propionate. A greater proportion of the population of aerobically grown cells responded to a 100 μM step decrease in propionate; they adapted faster and showed less cell-to-cell variability than photosynthetic populations. Growth in chemostats did not significantly reduce the measured cell to cell variability but did change the adaptation kinetics for photoheterotrophically grown cells.
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Scott KA, Porter SL, Bagg EAL, Hamer R, Hill JL, Wilkinson DA, Armitage JP. Specificity of localization and phosphotransfer in the CheA proteins of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Mol Microbiol 2010; 76:318-30. [PMID: 20525091 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2010.07095.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Specificity of protein-protein interactions plays a vital role in signal transduction. The chemosensory pathway of Rhodobacter sphaeroides comprises multiple homologues of chemotaxis proteins characterized in organisms such as Escherichia coli. Three CheA homologues are essential for chemotaxis in R. sphaeroides under laboratory conditions. These CheAs are differentially localized to two chemosensory clusters, one at the cell pole and one in the cytoplasm. The polar CheA, CheA(2), has the same domain structure as E. coli CheA and can phosphorylate all R. sphaeroides chemotaxis response regulators. CheA(3) and CheA(4) independently localize to the cytoplasmic cluster; each protein has a subset of the CheA domains, with CheA(3) phosphorylating CheA(4) together making a functional CheA protein. Interestingly, CheA(3)-P can only phosphorylate two response regulators, CheY(6) and CheB(2). R. sphaeroides CheAs exhibit two interesting differences in specificity: (i) the response regulators that they phosphorylate and (ii) the chemosensory cluster to which they localize. Using a domain-swapping approach we investigated the role of the P1 and P5 CheA domains in determining these specificities. We show that the P1 domain is sufficient to determine which response regulators will be phosphorylated in vitro while the P5 domain is sufficient to localize the CheAs to a specific chemosensory cluster.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn A Scott
- Oxford Centre for Integrative Systems Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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17
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Hamer R, Chen PY, Armitage JP, Reinert G, Deane CM. Deciphering chemotaxis pathways using cross species comparisons. BMC SYSTEMS BIOLOGY 2010; 4:3. [PMID: 20064255 PMCID: PMC2829493 DOI: 10.1186/1752-0509-4-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2009] [Accepted: 01/11/2010] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Background Chemotaxis is the process by which motile bacteria sense their chemical environment and move towards more favourable conditions. Escherichia coli utilises a single sensory pathway, but little is known about signalling pathways in species with more complex systems. Results To investigate whether chemotaxis pathways in other bacteria follow the E. coli paradigm, we analysed 206 species encoding at least 1 homologue of each of the 5 core chemotaxis proteins (CheA, CheB, CheR, CheW and CheY). 61 species encode more than one of all of these 5 proteins, suggesting they have multiple chemotaxis pathways. Operon information is not available for most bacteria, so we developed a novel statistical approach to cluster che genes into putative operons. Using operon-based models, we reconstructed putative chemotaxis pathways for all 206 species. We show that cheA-cheW and cheR-cheB have strong preferences to occur in the same operon as two-gene blocks, which may reflect a functional requirement for co-transcription. However, other che genes, most notably cheY, are more dispersed on the genome. Comparison of our operons with shuffled equivalents demonstrates that specific patterns of genomic location may be a determining factor for the observed in vivo chemotaxis pathways. We then examined the chemotaxis pathways of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Here, the PpfA protein is known to be critical for correct partitioning of proteins in the cytoplasmically-localised pathway. We found ppfA in che operons of many species, suggesting that partitioning of cytoplasmic Che protein clusters is common. We also examined the apparently non-typical chemotaxis components, CheA3, CheA4 and CheY6. We found that though variants of CheA proteins are rare, the CheY6 variant may be a common type of CheY, with a significantly disordered C-terminal region which may be functionally significant. Conclusions We find that many bacterial species potentially have multiple chemotaxis pathways, with grouping of che genes into operons likely to be a major factor in keeping signalling pathways distinct. Gene order is highly conserved with cheA-cheW and cheR-cheB blocks, perhaps reflecting functional linkage. CheY behaves differently to other Che proteins, both in its genomic location and its putative protein interactions, which should be considered when modelling chemotaxis pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Hamer
- Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Miller LD, Russell MH, Alexandre G. Diversity in bacterial chemotactic responses and niche adaptation. ADVANCES IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY 2009; 66:53-75. [PMID: 19203648 DOI: 10.1016/s0065-2164(08)00803-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The ability of microbes to rapidly sense and adapt to environmental changes plays a major role in structuring microbial communities, in affecting microbial activities, as well as in influencing various microbial interactions with the surroundings. The bacterial chemotaxis signal transduction system is the sensory perception system that allows motile cells to respond optimally to changes in environmental conditions by allowing cells to navigate in gradients of diverse physicochemical parameters that can affect their metabolism. The analysis of complete genome sequences from microorganisms that occupy diverse ecological niches reveal the presence of multiple chemotaxis pathways and a great diversity of chemoreceptors with novel sensory specificities. Owing to its role in mediating rapid responses of bacteria to changes in the surroundings, bacterial chemotaxis is a behavior of interest in applied microbiology as it offers a unique opportunity for understanding the environmental cues that contribute to the survival of bacteria. This chapter explores the diversity of bacterial chemotaxis and suggests how gaining further insights into such diversity may potentially impact future drug and pesticides development and could inform bioremediation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lance D Miller
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA
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19
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Porter SL, Wadhams GH, Armitage JP. Rhodobacter sphaeroides: complexity in chemotactic signalling. Trends Microbiol 2008; 16:251-60. [PMID: 18440816 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2008.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2007] [Revised: 02/06/2008] [Accepted: 02/27/2008] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Most bacteria have much more complex chemosensory systems than those of the extensively studied Escherichia coli. Rhodobacter sphaeroides, for example, has multiple homologues of the E. coli chemosensory proteins. The roles of these homologues have been extensively investigated using a combination of deletion, subcellular localization and phosphorylation assays. These studies have shown that the homologues have specific roles in the sensory pathway, and they differ in their cellular localization and interactions with other components of the pathway. The presence of multiple chemosensory pathways might enable bacteria to tune their tactic responses to different environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven L Porter
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK
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20
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Mackenzie C, Eraso JM, Choudhary M, Roh JH, Zeng X, Bruscella P, Puskás A, Kaplan S. Postgenomic adventures with Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Annu Rev Microbiol 2007; 61:283-307. [PMID: 17506668 DOI: 10.1146/annurev.micro.61.080706.093402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
This review describes some of the recent highlights taken from the studies of Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1. The review is not intended to be comprehensive, but to reflect the bias of the authors as to how the availability of a sequenced and annotated genome, a gene-chip, and proteomic profile as well as comparative genomic analyses can direct the progress of future research in this system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Mackenzie
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
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21
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Miller LD, Yost CK, Hynes MF, Alexandre G. The major chemotaxis gene cluster of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae is essential for competitive nodulation. Mol Microbiol 2007; 63:348-62. [PMID: 17163982 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2006.05515.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae strain 3841 is a motile alpha-proteobacterium that can establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis within the roots of pea plants. In order to determine the contribution of chemotaxis to the lifestyle of R. leguminosarum, we have characterized the function of two chemotaxis gene clusters (che1 and che2) in controlling motility behaviour. We have found that both chemotaxis gene clusters modulate the motility swimming bias of R. leguminosarum cells and that the che1 cluster is the major pathway controlling swimming bias and chemotaxis. The che2 cluster also contributes to swimming bias, but has a minor effect on chemotaxis. Using competitive nodulation assays, we have demonstrated that a functional che1 cluster, but not the che2 cluster, promotes competitive nodulation of the peas. This finding implies that the environmental cue(s) triggering chemotaxis of R. leguminosarum bv. viciae cells towards the roots of pea and facilitating colonization are likely to be processed through the che1 cluster despite the contribution of both che clusters to swimming behaviour. A phylogenetic analysis of the distribution of che1 and che2 orthologues in the alpha-proteobacteria together with our results allow us to propose that che1 homologues are major controllers of chemotaxis and host association in the Rhizobiaceae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lance D Miller
- Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology and Department of Microbiology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
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22
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Porter SL, Wadhams GH, Armitage JP. In vivo and in vitro analysis of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides chemotaxis signaling complexes. Methods Enzymol 2007; 423:392-413. [PMID: 17609142 DOI: 10.1016/s0076-6879(07)23018-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
This chapter describes both the in vivo and in vitro methods that have been successfully used to analyze the chemotaxis pathways of R. sphaeroides, showing that two operons each encode a complete chemosensory pathway with each forming into independent signaling clusters. The methods used range from in vitro analysis of the chemotaxis phosphorylation reactions to protein localization experiments. In vitro analysis using purified proteins shows a complex pattern of phosphotransfer. However, protein localization studies show that the R. sphaeroides chemotaxis proteins are organized into two distinct sensory clusters -- one containing transmembrane receptors located at the cell poles and the other containing soluble chemoreceptors located in the cytoplasm. Signal outputs from both clusters are essential for chemotaxis. Each cluster has a dedicated chemotaxis histidine protein kinase (HPK), CheA. There are a total of eight chemotaxis response regulators in R. sphaeroides, six CheYs and two CheBs, and each CheA shows a different pattern of phosphotransfer to these response regulators. The spatial separation of homologous proteins may mean that reactions that happen in vitro do not occur in vivo, suggesting great care should be taken when extrapolating from purely in vitro data to cell physiology. The methods described in this chapter are not confined to the study of R. sphaeroides chemotaxis but are applicable to the study of complex two-component systems in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven L Porter
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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23
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Martin AC, Gould M, Byles E, Roberts MAJ, Armitage JP. Two chemosensory operons of Rhodobacter sphaeroides are regulated independently by sigma 28 and sigma 54. J Bacteriol 2006; 188:7932-40. [PMID: 16963577 PMCID: PMC1636300 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00964-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides has a complex chemosensory system, with several loci encoding multiple homologues of the components required for chemosensing in Escherichia coli. The operons cheOp2 and cheOp3 each encode complete pathways, and both are essential for chemosensing. The components of cheOp2 are predominantly localized to the cell pole, whereas those encoded by cheOp3 are predominantly targeted to a discrete cluster in the cytoplasm. Here we show that the expression of the two pathways is regulated independently. Overlapping promoters recognized by sigma(28) and sigma(70) RNAP holoenzyme transcribe cheOp2, whereas cheOp3 is regulated by one of the four sigma(54) homologues, RpoN3. The different regulation of these operons may reflect the need for balancing responses to extra- and intracellular signals under different growth conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela C Martin
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
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24
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Porter SL, Wadhams GH, Martin AC, Byles ED, Lancaster DE, Armitage JP. The CheYs of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. J Biol Chem 2006; 281:32694-704. [PMID: 16950782 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m606016200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The Escherichia coli two-component chemosensory pathway has been extensively studied, and its response regulator, CheY, has become a paradigm for response regulators. However, unlike E. coli, most chemotactic nonenteric bacteria have multiple CheY homologues. The roles and cellular localization of the CheYs in Rhodobacter sphaeroides were determined. Only two CheYs were required for chemotaxis, CheY(6) and either CheY(3) or CheY(4). These CheYs were partially localized to either of the two chemotaxis signaling clusters, with the remaining protein delocalized. Interestingly, mutation of the CheY(6) phosphorylatable aspartate to asparagine produced a stopped motor, caused by phosphorylation on alternative site Ser-83 by CheA. Extensive mutagenesis of E. coli CheY has identified a number of activating mutations, which have been extrapolated to other response regulators (D13K, Y106W, and I95V). Analogous mutations in R. sphaeroides CheYs did not cause activation. These results suggest that although the R. sphaeroides and E. coli CheYs are similar in that they require phosphorylation for activation, they may differ in both the nature of the phosphorylation-induced conformational change and their subsequent interactions with the flagellar motor. Caution should therefore be used when projecting from E. coli CheY onto novel response regulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven L Porter
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
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25
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Porter SL, Armitage JP. Chemotaxis in Rhodobacter sphaeroides requires an atypical histidine protein kinase. J Biol Chem 2004; 279:54573-80. [PMID: 15485885 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m408855200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides has a complex chemosensory system comprising two classic CheAs, two atypical CheAs, and eight response regulators (six CheYs and two CheBs). The classic CheAs, CheA(1) and CheA(2), have similar domain structures to Escherichia coli CheA, whereas the atypical CheAs, CheA(3) and CheA(4), lack some of the domains found in E. coli CheA. CheA(2), CheA(3), and CheA(4) are all essential for chemotaxis. Here we demonstrate that CheA(3) and CheA(4) are both unable to undergo ATP-dependent autophosphorylation, however, CheA(4) is able to phosphorylate CheA(3). The in vitro kinetics of this phosphorylation reaction were consistent with a reaction mechanism in which CheA(3) associates with a CheA(4) dimer forming a complex, CheA(3)A(4). To the best of our knowledge, CheA(3)A(4) is the first characterized histidine protein kinase where the subunits are encoded by distinct genes. Selective phosphotransfer was observed from CheA(3)-P to the response regulators CheY(1), CheY(6), and CheB(2). Using phosphorylation site and kinase domain mutants of CheA we show that phosphosignaling involving CheA(2), CheA(3), and CheA(4) is essential for chemotaxis in R. sphaeroides. Interestingly, CheA(3) was not phosphorylated in vitro by CheA(1) or CheA(2), although CheA(1) and CheA(2) mutants with defective kinase domains were phosphorylated by CheA(4). Because in vivo CheA(3) and CheA(4) localize to the cytoplasmic chemotaxis cluster, while CheA(2) localizes to the polar chemotaxis cluster, it is likely that the physical separation of CheA(2) and CheA(4) prevents unwanted cross-talk between these CheAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven L Porter
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
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26
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Wadhams GH, Warren AV, Martin AC, Armitage JP. Targeting of two signal transduction pathways to different regions of the bacterial cell. Mol Microbiol 2003; 50:763-70. [PMID: 14617139 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.2003.03716.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Components of bacterial chemosensory pathways which sense via transmembrane receptors have been shown to localize to the cell poles. Many species, however, have operons encoding multiple putative chemosensory pathways, some including putative cytoplasmic receptors. In-genome fusions to single or multiple genes encoding components of two chemosensory pathways in Rhodobacter sphaeroides, cheOp2 and cheOp3, revealed that while sensory transducing proteins associated with transmembrane receptors and encoded on cheOp2 were targeted to the cell poles, the proteins associated with putative cytoplasmic receptors and encoded on cheOp3 were all targeted to a cytoplasmic cluster. No proteins were localized to both sites. These data show that bacteria target components of related pathways to different sites in the cell, presumably preventing direct cross-talk between the different pathways, but allowing a balanced response between extracellular and cytoplasmic signals. It also indicates that there is intracellular organization in bacterial cells, with specific proteins targeted and localized to cytoplasmic regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- G H Wadhams
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
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27
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Martin AC, Nair U, Armitage JP, Maddock JR. Polar localization of CheA2 in Rhodobacter sphaeroides requires specific Che homologs. J Bacteriol 2003; 185:4667-71. [PMID: 12896984 PMCID: PMC166465 DOI: 10.1128/jb.185.16.4667-4671.2003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides is a motile bacterium that has multiple chemotaxis genes organized predominantly in three major operons (cheOp(1), cheOp(2), and cheOp(3)). The chemoreceptor proteins are clustered at two distinct locations, the cell poles and in one or more cytoplasmic clusters. One intriguing possibility is that the physically distinct chemoreceptor clusters are each composed of a defined subset of specific chemotaxis proteins, including the chemoreceptors themselves plus specific CheW and CheA proteins. Here we report the subcellular localization of one such protein, CheA(2), under aerobic and photoheterotrophic growth conditions. CheA(2) is predominantly clustered and localized at the cell poles under both growth conditions. Furthermore, its localization is dependent upon one or more genes in cheOp(2) but not those of cheOp(1) or cheOp(3). In E. coli, the polar localization of CheA depends upon CheW. The R. sphaeroides cheOp(2) contains two cheW genes. Interestingly, CheW(2) is required under both aerobic and photoheterotrophic conditions, whereas CheW(3) is not required under aerobic conditions but appears to play a modest role under photoheterotrophic conditions. This suggests that R. sphaeroides contains at least two distinct chemotaxis complexes, possibly composed of proteins dedicated for each subcellular location. Furthermore, the composition of these spatially distinct complexes may change under different growth conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela C Martin
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
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28
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Wadhams GH, Martin AC, Porter SL, Maddock JR, Mantotta JC, King HM, Armitage JP. TlpC, a novel chemotaxis protein in Rhodobacter sphaeroides, localizes to a discrete region in the cytoplasm. Mol Microbiol 2002; 46:1211-21. [PMID: 12453209 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.2002.03252.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
TlpC is encoded in the second chemotaxis operon of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. This protein shows some homology to membrane-spanning chemoreceptors of many bacterial species but, unlike these, is essential for R. sphaeroides chemotaxis to all compounds tested. Genomic replacement of tlpC with a C-terminal gfp fusion demonstrated that TlpC localized to a discrete cluster within the cytoplasm. Immunogold electron microscopy also showed that TlpC localized to a cytoplasmic electron-dense region. Correct TlpC-GFP localization depended on the downstream signalling proteins, CheW3, CheW4 and CheA2, and was tightly linked to cell division. Newly divided cells contained a single cluster but, as the cell cycle progressed, a second cluster appeared close to the initial cluster. As elongation continued, these clusters moved apart so that, on septation, each daughter cell contained a single TlpC cluster. The data presented suggest that TlpC is either a cytoplasmic chemoreceptor responding to or integrating global signals of metabolic state or a novel and essential component of the chemotaxis signalling pathway. These data also suggest that clustering is essential for signalling and that a mechanism may exist for targeting and localizing proteins within the bacterial cytoplasm.
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Affiliation(s)
- G H Wadhams
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
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29
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Abstract
The two-component sensing system controlling bacterial chemotaxis is one of the best studied in biology. Rhodobacter sphaeroides has a complex chemosensory pathway comprising two histidine protein kinases (CheAs) and eight downstream response regulators (six CheYs and two CheBs) rather than the single copies of each as in Escherichia coli. We used in vitro analysis of phosphotransfer to start to determine why R.sphaeroides has these multiple homologues. CheA(1) and CheA(2) contain all the key motifs identified in the histidine protein kinase family, except for conservative substitutions (F-L and F-I) within the F box of CheA(2), and both are capable of ATP-dependent autophosphorylation. While the K(m) values for ATP of CheA(1) and CheA(2) were similar to that of E.coli, the k(cat) value was three times lower, but similar to that measured for the related Sinorhizobium meliloti CheA. However, the two CheAs differed both in their ability to phosphorylate the various response regulators and the rates of phosphotransfer. CheA(2) phosphorylated all of the CheYs and both CheBs, whilst CheA(1) did not phosphorylate either CheB and phosphorylated only the response regulators encoded within its own genetic locus (CheY(1), CheY(2), and CheY(5)) and CheY(3). The dephosphorylation rates of the R.sphaeroides CheBs were much slower than the E.coli CheB. The dephosphorylation rate of CheY(6), encoded by the third chemosensory locus, was ten times faster than that of the E.coli CheY. However, the dephosphorylation rates of the remaining R.sphaeroides CheYs were comparable to that of E.coli CheY.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven L Porter
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
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Porter SL, Warren AV, Martin AC, Armitage JP. The third chemotaxis locus of Rhodobacter sphaeroides is essential for chemotaxis. Mol Microbiol 2002; 46:1081-94. [PMID: 12421313 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.2002.03218.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides has three loci encoding multiple homologues of the bacterial chemosensory proteins: 13 putative chemoreceptors, four CheW, four CheA, six CheY, two CheB and three CheR. Previously, studies have shown that, although deletion of cheOp1 led to only minor changes in behaviour, deletion of cheOp2 led to a loss of taxis. The third locus encodes two CheA, one CheR, one CheB, one CheW, one CheY, a putative cytoplasmic chemoreceptor (TlpT) and a protein showing homology to the chromosomal partitioning factor Soj (designated Slp). Here, we show that every protein encoded by this locus is essential for normal chemotaxis. Phototaxis is also dependent upon all the components of this locus, except CheB2 and Slp. The two putative CheA proteins encoded in this locus are unusual. CheA3 has only the P1 domain and the P5 regulatory domain linked by a large internal domain, whereas CheA4 lacks the P1 and P2 domains required for phosphorylation and response regulator binding. These data indicate that the minimal set of proteins required for normal chemotaxis in R. sphaeroides is all the proteins encoded by cheOp2 and the third chemotaxis locus, and that the multiple chemosensory protein homologues found in R. sphaeroides are not redundant.
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Romagnoli S, Packer HL, Armitage JP. Tactic responses to oxygen in the phototrophic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides WS8N. J Bacteriol 2002; 184:5590-8. [PMID: 12270816 PMCID: PMC139605 DOI: 10.1128/jb.184.20.5590-5598.2002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The temporal and spatial behavior of a number of mutants of the photosynthetic, facultative anaerobe Rhodobacter sphaeroides to both step changes and to gradients of oxygen was analyzed. Wild-type cells, grown under a range of conditions, showed microaerophilic behavior, accumulating in a 1.3-mm band about 1.3 mm from the meniscus of capillaries. Evidence suggests this is the result of two signaling pathways. The strength of any response depended on the growth and incubation conditions. Deletion of either the complete chemosensory operons 1 and 2 plus the response regulator genes cheY(4) and cheY(5) or cheA(2) alone led to the loss of all aerotactic responses, although the cells still swam normally. The Prr system of R. sphaeroides responds to electron flow through the alternative high-affinity cytochrome oxidase, cbb(3), controlling expression of a wide range of metabolic pathways. Mutants with deletions of either the complete Prr operon or the histidine kinase, PrrB, accumulated up to the meniscus but still formed a thick band 1.3 mm from the aerobic interface. This indicates that the negative aerotactic response to high oxygen levels depends on PrrB, but the mutant cells still retain the positive response. Tethered PrrB(-) cells also showed no response to a step-down in oxygen concentration, although those with deletions of the whole operon showed some response. In gradients of oxygen where the concentration was reduced at 0.4 micro M/s, tethered wild-type cells showed two different phases of response, with an increase in stopping frequency when the oxygen concentration fell from 80 to 50% dissolved oxygen and a decrease in stopping at 50 to 20% dissolved oxygen, with cells returning to their normal stopping frequency in 0% oxygen. PrrB and CheA(2) mutants showed no response, while PrrCBA mutants still showed some response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Romagnoli
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
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Lux R, Sim JH, Tsai JP, Shi W. Construction and characterization of a cheA mutant of Treponema denticola. J Bacteriol 2002; 184:3130-4. [PMID: 12003957 PMCID: PMC135053 DOI: 10.1128/jb.184.11.3130-3134.2002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The Treponema denticola cheA gene, encoding the central kinase of the general chemotaxis pathway, was analyzed for its role in chemotaxis and tissue penetration. The cheA gene was interrupted by insertion of an ermF-ermAM gene cassette. Reverse transcription-PCR confirmed that the other downstream chemotaxis genes within the same operon (cheW, cheX, and cheY) were still expressed in the cheA mutant strain. Lack of cheA resulted in decreased swarming on soft-agar swarm plates and failure to respond chemotactically to a mixture of nutrients. Behavioral analyses using video microscopy revealed that the cheA mutant exhibited coordinated cell movement. The cellular reversal frequency, however, was severely reduced, indicating that CheA in T. denticola mainly controls cellular reversal and that active chemotaxis signaling input is not required for coordination of flagellar rotation at both cell poles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renate Lux
- School of Dentistry and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1668, USA
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Schmitt R. Sinorhizobial chemotaxis: a departure from the enterobacterial paradigm. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2002; 148:627-631. [PMID: 11882696 DOI: 10.1099/00221287-148-3-627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rüdiger Schmitt
- Institut für Biochemie, Genetik und Mikrobiologie, Universität Regensburg, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany1
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Hauwaerts D, Alexandre G, Das SK, Vanderleyden J, Zhulin IB. A major chemotaxis gene cluster in Azospirillum brasilense and relationships between chemotaxis operons in alpha-proteobacteria. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2002; 208:61-7. [PMID: 11934495 DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2002.tb11061.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Azospirillum brasilense shows chemotaxis to a variety of nutrients and oxygen. Genes encoding the central signal transduction pathway in chemotaxis were identified by phenotypic complementation of generally non-chemotactic mutants. Sequencing of a DNA fragment, which complemented two different mutants, revealed a region of five open reading frames translated in one direction and encoding homologs of known genes comprising excitation and adaptation pathways for chemotaxis in other bacterial species. The major chemotaxis gene cluster appears to be essential for all known behavioral responses that direct swimming motility in A. brasilense. Phylogenetic and genomic analysis revealed three groups of chemotaxis operons in alpha-proteobacterial species and assigned the A. brasilense operon to one of them. Interestingly, operons that are shown to be major regulators of behavior in several alpha-proteobacterial species are not orthologous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dieter Hauwaerts
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, B-3001, Heverlee, Belgium
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35
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Abstract
Chemotaxis transducers are specialized receptors that microorganisms use in order to sense the environment in directing their motility to favorable niches. The Escherichia coli transducers are models for studying the sensory and signaling events at the molecular level. Extensive studies in other organisms and the arrival of genomics has resulted in the accumulation of sequences of many transducer genes, but they are not fully understood. In silico analysis provides some assistance in classification of various transducers from different species and in predicting their function. All transducers contain two structural modules: a conserved C-terminal multidomain module, which is a signature element of the transducer superfamily, and a variable N-terminal module, which is responsible for the diversity within the superfamily. These structural modules have two distinct functions: the conserved C-terminal module is involved in signaling and adaptation, and the N-terminal module is involved in sensing various stimuli. Both C-terminal and N-terminal modules appear to be mobile genetic elements and subjects of duplication and lateral transfer. Although chemotaxis transducers are found exclusively in prokaryotic organisms that have some type of motility (flagellar, gliding or pili-based), several types of domains that are found in their N-terminal modules are also present in signal transduction proteins from eukaryotes, including humans. This indicates that basic principles of sensory transduction are conserved throughout the phylogenetic tree and that the chemotaxis transducer superfamily is a valuable source of novel sensory elements yet to be discovered.
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Affiliation(s)
- I B Zhulin
- School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332-0230, USA.
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36
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Bourret RB, Charon NW, Stock AM, West AH. Bright lights, abundant operons--fluorescence and genomic technologies advance studies of bacterial locomotion and signal transduction: review of the BLAST meeting, Cuernavaca, Mexico, 14 to 19 January 2001. J Bacteriol 2002; 184:1-17. [PMID: 11741839 PMCID: PMC134778 DOI: 10.1128/jb.184.1.1-17.2002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Robert B Bourret
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7290, USA
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Martin AC, Wadhams GH, Shah DS, Porter SL, Mantotta JC, Craig TJ, Verdult PH, Jones H, Armitage JP. CheR- and CheB-dependent chemosensory adaptation system of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. J Bacteriol 2001; 183:7135-44. [PMID: 11717272 PMCID: PMC95562 DOI: 10.1128/jb.183.24.7135-7144.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides has multiple homologues of most of the Escherichia coli chemotaxis genes, organized in three major operons and other, unlinked, loci. These include cheA(1) and cheR(1) (che Op(1)) and cheA(2), cheR(2), and cheB(1) (che Op(2)). In-frame deletions of these cheR and cheB homologues were constructed and the chemosensory behaviour of the resultant mutants examined on swarm plates and in tethered cell assays. Under the conditions tested, CheR(2) and CheB(1) were essential for normal chemotaxis, whereas CheR(1) was not. cheR(2) and cheB(1), but not cheR(1), were also able to complement the equivalent E. coli mutants. However, none of the proteins were required for the correct polar localization of the chemoreceptor McpG in R. sphaeroides. In E. coli, CheR binds to the NWETF motif on the high-abundance receptors, allowing methylation of both high- and low-abundance receptors. This motif is not contained on any R. sphaeroides chemoreceptors thus far identified, although 2 of the 13 putative chemoreceptors, McpA and TlpT, do have similar sequences. This suggests that CheR(2) either interacts with the NWETF motif of E. coli methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs), even though its native motif may be slightly different, or with another conserved region of the MCPs. Methanol release measurements show that R. sphaeroides has an adaptation system that is different from that of Bacillus subtilis and E. coli, with methanol release measurable on the addition of attractant but not on its removal. Intriguingly, CheA(2), but not CheA(1), is able to phosphorylate CheB(1), suggesting that signaling through CheA(1) cannot initiate feedback receptor adaptation via CheB(1)-P.
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Affiliation(s)
- A C Martin
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom
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38
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Martin AC, Wadhams GH, Armitage JP. The roles of the multiple CheW and CheA homologues in chemotaxis and in chemoreceptor localization in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Mol Microbiol 2001; 40:1261-72. [PMID: 11442826 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.2001.02468.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides has multiple homologues of most of the Escherichia coli chemotaxis genes, organized in two major operons and other, unlinked, loci. These include cheA1 and cheW1 (che Op1) and cheA2, cheW2 and cheW3 (che Op2). We have deleted each of these cheA and cheW homologues in-frame and examined the chemosensory behaviour of these strains on swarm plates and in tethered cell assays. In addition, we have examined the effect of these deletions on the polar localization of the chemoreceptor McpG. In E. coli, deletion of either cheA or cheW results in a non-chemotactic phenotype, and these strains also show no receptor clustering. Here, we demonstrate that CheW2 and CheA2 are required for the normal localization of McpG and for normal chemotactic responses under both aerobic and photoheterotrophic conditions. Under aerobic conditions, deletion of cheW3 has no significant effect on McpG localization and only has an effect on chemotaxis to shallow gradients in swarm plates. Under photoheterotrophic conditions, however, CheW3 is required for McpG localization and also for chemotaxis both on swarm plates and in the tethered cell assay. These phenotypes are not a direct result of delocalization of McpG, as this chemoreceptor does not mediate chemotaxis to any of the compounds tested and can therefore be considered a marker for general methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein (MCP) clustering. Thus, there is a correlation between the normal localization of McpG (and presumably other chemoreceptors) and chemotaxis. We propose a model in which the multiple different MCPs in R. sphaeroides are contained within a polar chemoreceptor cluster. Deletion of cheW2 and cheA2 under both aerobic and photoheterotrophic conditions, and cheW3 under photoheterotrophic conditions, disrupts the cluster and hence reduces chemotaxis to any compound sensed by these MCPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- A C Martin
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
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39
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Alley MR. The highly conserved domain of the Caulobacter McpA chemoreceptor is required for its polar localization. Mol Microbiol 2001; 40:1335-43. [PMID: 11442832 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.2001.02476.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
We have fused GFP to the C-terminus of McpA to study chemoreceptor polar localization in Caulobacter crescentus. The full-length McpA-GFP fusion is polarly localized and methylated. The methylation is dependent on the chemoreceptor methyltransferase (cheR) and chemoreceptor methylesterase (cheB) genes present in the mcpA operon. C-terminal and internal deletions of McpA were constructed and fused to the N-terminus of GFP to identify the domains required for polar localization. When the R1 methylation domain was deleted, the McpA-GFP fusion was still polarly localized, suggesting that this domain is dispensable for polar localization. However, when the highly conserved domain (HCD), which is involved in interacting with CheW, was deleted either by an internal deletion or C-terminal deletion, the resulting McpA-GFP fusions were completely delocalized. When the mcpA operon, which contains the cheW and cheA homologues, was deleted, the full-length McpA-GFP fusion was delocalized. Although additional chemotaxis genes are required for the polar localization of McpA-GFP, the presence of the single polar flagellum is not required. However, in filamentous cells, which are frequently found in C. crescentus fliF mutants, the McpA-GFP fusion was observed at mid-cell positions.
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Affiliation(s)
- M R Alley
- Department of Biochemistry, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2AY, UK.
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40
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Poggio S, Osorio A, Corkidi G, Dreyfus G, Camarena L. The N terminus of FliM is essential to promote flagellar rotation in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. J Bacteriol 2001; 183:3142-8. [PMID: 11325943 PMCID: PMC95215 DOI: 10.1128/jb.183.10.3142-3148.2001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
FliM is part of the flagellar switch complex. Interaction of this protein with phospho-CheY (CheY-P) through its N terminus constitutes the main information relay point between the chemotactic system and the flagellum. In this work, we evaluated the role of the N terminus of FliM in the swimming behavior of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Strains expressing the FliM protein with substitutions in residues previously reported in Escherichia coli as being important for interaction with CheY showed an increased stop frequency compared with wild-type cells. In accordance, we observed that R. sphaeroides cells expressing FliM lacking either the first 13 or 20 amino acids from the N terminus showed a stopped phenotype. We show evidence that FliMDelta13 and FliMDelta20 are stable proteins and that cells expressing them allow flagellin export at levels indistinguishable from those detected for the wild-type strain. These results suggest that the N-terminal region of FliM is required to promote swimming in this bacterium. The role of CheY in controlling flagellar rotation in this organism is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Poggio
- Departamento de Biología Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510 México D.F., Mexico
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41
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Abstract
The lipid phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) is the first chemoattractant to be described for a surface-motile bacterium. In Myxococcus xanthus, the specific activity of PE is determined by its fatty acid components. Two active species have been identified: dilauroyl PE and dioleoyl PE. Excitation to dilauroyl PE requires fibril appendages and the presence of two cytoplasmic chemotaxis systems, of which one (Dif) appears to mediate excitation and the other (Frz) appears to mediate adaptation. A possible mechanism for fibril-mediated signal transduction is discussed, along with the potential roles for PE chemotaxis in the context of the M. xanthus life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- D B Kearns
- Dept of Microbiology, 527 Biological Sciences Building, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
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42
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Packer HL, Armitage JP. Behavioral responses of Rhodobacter sphaeroides to linear gradients of the nutrients succinate and acetate. Appl Environ Microbiol 2000; 66:5186-91. [PMID: 11097888 PMCID: PMC92442 DOI: 10.1128/aem.66.12.5186-5191.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides cells were tethered by their flagella and subjected to increasing and decreasing nutrient gradients. Using motion analysis, changes in flagellar motor rotation were measured and the responses of the cells to the chemotactic gradients were determined. The steepness and concentration ranges of increasing and decreasing gradients were varied, and the bacterial responses were measured. This allowed the limits of gradients that would invoke changes in flagellar behavior to be determined and thus predicts the nature of gradients that would evoke chemotaxis in the environment. The sensory threshold was measured at 30 nM, and the response showed saturation at 150 microM. The study determined that cells detected and responded to changing concentration rates as low as 1 nM/s for acetate and 5 nM/s for succinate. The complex sensory system of R. sphaeroides responded to both increasing and decreasing concentration gradients of attractant with different sensitivities. In addition, transition phases involving changes in the motor speed and the smoothness of motor rotation were found.
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Affiliation(s)
- H L Packer
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom.
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43
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Shah DS, Porter SL, Martin AC, Hamblin PA, Armitage JP. Fine tuning bacterial chemotaxis: analysis of Rhodobacter sphaeroides behaviour under aerobic and anaerobic conditions by mutation of the major chemotaxis operons and cheY genes. EMBO J 2000; 19:4601-13. [PMID: 10970853 PMCID: PMC302075 DOI: 10.1093/emboj/19.17.4601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides chemotaxis is significantly more complex than that of enteric bacteria. Rhodobacter sphaeroides has multiple copies of chemotaxis genes (two cheA, one cheB, two cheR, three cheW, five cheY but no cheZ), controlling a single 'stop-start' flagellum. The growth environment controls the level of expression of different groups of genes. Tethered cell analysis of mutants suggests that CheY(4) and CheY(5) are the motor-binding response regulators. The histidine protein kinase CheA(2) mediates an attractant ('normal') response via CheY(4), while CheA(1) and CheY(5) appear to mediate a repellent ('inverted') response. CheY(3) facilitates signal termination, possibly acting as a phosphate sink, although CheY(1) and CheY(2) can substitute. The normal and inverted responses may be initiated by separate sets of chemoreceptors with their relative strength dependent on growth conditions. Rhodobacter sphaeroides may use antagonistic responses through two chemosensory pathways, expressed at different levels in different environments, to maintain their position in a currently optimum environment. Complex chemotaxis systems are increasingly being identified and the strategy adopted by R.sphaeroides may be common in the bacterial kingdom.
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Affiliation(s)
- D S Shah
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, The University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
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44
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Packer HL, Armitage JP. Inverted behavioural responses in wild-type Rhodobacter sphaeroides to temporal stimuli. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2000; 189:299-304. [PMID: 10930755 DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2000.tb09247.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Both aerobically and photosynthetically grown wild-type Rhodobacter sphaeroides swarmed through soft nutrient agar. However, individual aerobically and photosynthetically grown tethered cells showed different responses to steps in concentrations of some attractants. Photosynthetically grown cells showed little response to a step-up in attractant, but large response to a step-down. Aerobically grown cells showed a large but opposite response to a step-up of chemoeffectors such as succinate and aspartate. The responses in che operon deletion mutants were also investigated and indicated that the aerobic response may depend on the protein products of che operon 1.
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Affiliation(s)
- H L Packer
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU,
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45
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Wadhams GH, Martin AC, Armitage JP. Identification and localization of a methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Mol Microbiol 2000; 36:1222-33. [PMID: 10931275 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.2000.01936.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Genes coding for a classical membrane spanning chemoreceptor (mcpG) and a response regulator (cheY4) were identified in a region of Rhodobacter sphaeroides DNA unlinked to either of the two previously identified chemosensory operons. Immunogold electron microscopy had shown that the expression of chemoreceptors in R. sphaeroides varies with growth conditions. Using GFP fused to the newly identified McpG, we examined the targeting of this single methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein (MCP) under different growth conditions. The gene encoding the C-terminal McpG-GFP fusion was introduced by homologous recombination into the chromosome, replacing the wild-type gene. The resultant protein localized to the poles of the cell under aerobic, photoheterotrophic and anaerobic dark conditions, demonstrating that this MCP is expressed under all three growth conditions. More protein was always found at one pole than the other. The polar fluorescence increased during the cell cycle, with protein becoming evident at the second pole around the time of septation. At division, each daughter cell had a label at one pole, but the intensity of fluorescence was higher in the daughter cell containing the original labelled pole. McpG localization was not altered in a che Operon 1 deletion strain, lacking CheW1 and CheA1, but a che Operon 2 deletion strain, lacking CheW2, CheW3 and CheA2, showed significantly reduced polar localization. This observation indicates that polar localization of McpG depends on Che proteins encoded by Operon 2, but not homologues encoded by Operon 1.
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Affiliation(s)
- G H Wadhams
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, UK
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46
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Kort R, Crielaard W, Spudich JL, Hellingwerf KJ. Color-sensitive motility and methanol release responses in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. J Bacteriol 2000; 182:3017-21. [PMID: 10809677 PMCID: PMC94484 DOI: 10.1128/jb.182.11.3017-3021.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Blue-light-induced repellent and demethylation responses, characteristic of behavioral adaptation, were observed in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. They were analyzed by computer-assisted motion analysis and through the release of volatile tritiated compounds from [methyl-(3)H]methionine-labeled cells, respectively. Increases in the stop frequency and the rate of methanol release were induced by exposure of cells to repellent light signals, such as an increase in blue- and a decrease in infrared-light intensity. At a lambda of >500 nm the amplitude of the methanol release response followed the absorbance spectrum of the photosynthetic pigments, suggesting that they function as photosensors for this response. In contrast to the previously reported motility response to a decrease in infrared light, the blue-light response reported here does not depend on the number of photosynthetic pigments per cell, suggesting that it is mediated by a separate sensor. Therefore, color discrimination in taxis responses in R. sphaeroides involves two photosensing systems: the photosynthetic pigments and an additional photosensor, responding to blue light. The signal generated by the former system could result in the migration of cells to a light climate beneficial for photosynthesis, while the blue-light system could allow cells to avoid too-high intensities of (harmful) blue light.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Kort
- Laboratory for Microbiology, E. C. Slater Institute, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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47
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Samanta SK, Bhushan B, Chauhan A, Jain RK. Chemotaxis of a Ralstonia sp. SJ98 toward different nitroaromatic compounds and their degradation. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2000; 269:117-23. [PMID: 10694487 DOI: 10.1006/bbrc.2000.2204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A Ralstonia sp. SJ98, isolated by a chemotactic enrichment technique, was capable of utilizing different nitroaromatic compounds (NACs). It utilized p-nitrophenol, 4-nitrocatechol, o-nitrobenzoic acid, and p-nitrobenzoic acid as the sole source of carbon and energy. It was observed that Ralstonia sp. SJ98 was chemotactic to the above-mentioned NACs as tested by the drop assay, swarm plate assay, and capillary assay. However, it failed to show chemotactic behavior toward those compounds which were not degraded by the microorganism. This is the first report which shows the chemotaxis of a microorganism toward different NACs and their subsequent degradation. Some of the intermediates of the NACs' degradative pathways have been identified using TLC, GC, and GC-MS studies. The results presented here indicate a correlation between chemotaxis and biodegradation of NACs.
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Affiliation(s)
- S K Samanta
- Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Microbial Technology, Sector-39A, Chandigarh, 160036, India
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48
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Berry RM, Armitage JP. Response kinetics of tethered Rhodobacter sphaeroides to changes in light intensity. Biophys J 2000; 78:1207-15. [PMID: 10692310 PMCID: PMC1300723 DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3495(00)76678-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhodobacter sphaeroides can swim toward a wide range of attractants (a process known as taxis), propelled by a single rotating flagellum. The reversals of motor direction that cause tumbles in Eschericia coli taxis are replaced by brief motor stops, and taxis is controlled by a complex sensory system with multiple homologues of the E. coli sensory proteins. We tethered photosynthetically grown cells of R. sphaeroides by their flagella and measured the response of the flagellar motor to changes in light intensity. The unstimulated bias (probability of not being stopped) was significantly larger than the bias of tethered E. coli but similar to the probability of not tumbling in swimming E. coli. Otherwise, the step and impulse responses were the same as those of tethered E. coli to chemical attractants. This indicates that the single motor and multiple sensory signaling pathways in R. sphaeroides generate the same swimming response as several motors and a single pathway in E. coli, and that the response of the single motor is directly observable in the swimming pattern. Photo-responses were larger in the presence of cyanide or the uncoupler carbonyl cyanide 4-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP), consistent with the photo-response being detected via changes in the rate of electron transport.
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Affiliation(s)
- R M Berry
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, United Kingdom.
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49
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Shah DS, Porter SL, Harris DC, Wadhams GH, Hamblin PA, Armitage JP. Identification of a fourth cheY gene in Rhodobacter sphaeroides and interspecies interaction within the bacterial chemotaxis signal transduction pathway. Mol Microbiol 2000; 35:101-12. [PMID: 10632881 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.2000.01680.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The Escherichia coli chemotaxis signal transduction pathway has: CheA, a histidine protein kinase; CheW, a linker between CheA and sensory proteins; CheY, the effector; and CheZ, a signal terminator. Rhodobacter sphaeroides has multiple copies of these proteins (2 x CheA, 3 x CheW and 3 x CheY, but no CheZ). In this study, we found a fourth cheY and expressed these R. sphaeroides proteins in E. coli. CheA2 (but not CheA1) restored swarming to an E. coli cheA mutant (RP9535). CheW3 (but not CheW2) restored swarming to a cheW mutant of E. coli (RP4606). R. sphaeroides CheYs did not affect E. coli lacking CheY, but restored swarming to a cheZ strain (RP1616), indicating that they can act as signal terminators in E. coli. An E. coli CheY, which is phosphorylated but cannot bind the motor (CheY109KR), was expressed in RP1616 but had no effect. Overexpression of CheA2, CheW2, CheW3, CheY1, CheY3 and CheY4 inhibited chemotaxis of wild-type E. coli (RP437) by increasing its smooth-swimming bias. While some R. sphaeroides proteins restore tumbling to smooth-swimming E. coli mutants, their activity is not controlled by the chemosensory receptors. R. sphaeroides possesses a phosphorelay cascade compatible with that of E. coli, but has additional incompatible homologues.
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Affiliation(s)
- D S Shah
- Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK
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50
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Samanta SK, Jain RK. Evidence for plasmid-mediated chemotaxis ofPseudomonas putidatowards naphthalene and salicylate. Can J Microbiol 1999. [DOI: 10.1139/w99-118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A naphthalene (Nap) and salicylate (Sal) degrading microorganism, Pseudomonas putida RKJ1, is chemotactic towards these compounds. This strain carries a 83 kb plasmid. A 25 kb EcoRI fragment of the plasmid contains the genes responsible for Nap degradation through Sal. RKJ5, the plasmid-cured derivative of RKJ1, is neither capable of degradation nor is chemotactic towards Nap or Sal. The recombinant plasmid pRKJ3, which contained a 25 kb EcoRI fragment, was transferred back into the plasmid-free wild-type strain RKJ5, and the transconjugant showed both degradation and chemotaxis. The recombinant plasmid pRKJ3 was also transferred into motile, plasmid-free P. putida KT2442. The resulting transconjugant (RKJ15) showed chemotaxis towards both Nap and Sal. Two mutant strains carrying deletions in pRKJ3 (in KT2442) with phenotypes Nap-Sal+and Nap-Sal-, were also tested for chemotaxis. It was found that the Nap-Sal+mutant strain showed chemotaxis towards Sal only, whereas the Nap-Sal-mutant strain is non-chemotactic towards both the compounds. These results suggest that the metabolism of Nap and Sal may be required for the chemotactic activity.Key words: Pseudomonas putida, plasmid-encoded chemotaxis, naphthalene, salicylate.
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