A highly conserved transcriptional repressor controls a large regulon involved in lipid degradation in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The role of cholesterol and its oxidation products in tuberculosis pathogenesis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes tuberculosis (TB), one of the world's most deadly infections. Lipids play an important role in M. tuberculosis pathogenesis. M. tuberculosis grows intracellularly within lipid-laden macrophages and extracellularly within the cholesterol-rich caseum of necrotic granulomas and pulmonary cavities. Evolved from soil saprophytes that are able to metabolize cholesterol from organic matter in the environment, M. tuberculosis inherited an extensive and highly conserved machinery to metabolize cholesterol. M. tuberculosis uses this machinery to degrade host cholesterol; the products of cholesterol degradation are incorporated into central carbon metabolism and used to generate cell envelope lipids, which play important roles in virulence. The host also modifies cholesterol by enzymatically oxidizing it to a variety of derivatives, collectively called oxysterols, which modulate cholesterol homeostasis and the immune response. Recently, we found that M. tuberculosis converts host cholesterol to an oxidized metabolite, cholestenone, that accumulates in the lungs of individuals with TB. M. tuberculosis encodes cholesterol-modifying enzymes, including a hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, a putative cholesterol oxidase, and numerous cytochrome P450 monooxygenases. Here, we review what is known about cholesterol and its oxidation products in the pathogenesis of TB. We consider the possibility that the biological function of cholesterol metabolism by M. tuberculosis extends beyond a nutritional role.

The efflux pumps Rv1877 and Rv0191 play differential roles in the protection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis against chemical stress

Background

It was previously shown that GlnA3sc enabled Streptomyces coelicolor to survive in excess polyamines. However, subsequent studies revealed that Rv1878, the corresponding Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) ortholog, was not essential for the detoxification of spermine (Spm), in M.tb. On the other hand, the multi-drug efflux pump Rv1877 was previously shown to enable export of a wide range of compounds, while Rv0191 was shown to be more specific to chloramphenicol.

Rationale

Therefore, we first wanted to determine if detoxification of Spm by efflux can be achieved by any efflux pump, or if that was dependent upon the function of the pump. Next, since Rv1878 was found not to be essential for the detoxification of Spm, we sought to follow-up on the investigation of the physiological role of Rv1878 along with Rv1877 and Rv0191.

Approach

To evaluate the specificity of efflux pumps in the mycobacterial tolerance to Spm, we generated unmarked ∆rv1877 and ∆rv0191 M.tb mutants and evaluated their susceptibility to Spm. To follow up on the investigation of any other physiological roles they may have, we characterized them along with the ∆rv1878 M.tb mutant.

Results

The ∆rv1877 mutant was sensitive to Spm stress, while the ∆rv0191 mutant was not. On the other hand, the ∆rv1878 mutant grew better than the wild-type during iron starvation yet was sensitive to cell wall stress. The proteins Rv1877 and Rv1878 seemed to play physiological roles during hypoxia and acidic stress. Lastly, the ∆rv0191 mutant was the only mutant that was sensitive to oxidative stress.

Conclusion

The multidrug MFS-type efflux pump Rv1877 is required for Spm detoxification, as opposed to Rv0191 which seems to play a more specific role. Moreover, Rv1878 seems to play a role in the regulation of iron homeostasis and the reconstitution of the cell wall of M.tb. On the other hand, the sensitivity of the ∆rv0191 mutant to oxidative stress, suggests that Rv0191 may be responsible for the transport of low molecular weight thiols.

An octameric PqiC toroid stabilises the outer-membrane interaction of the PqiABC transport system

The E. coli Paraquat Inducible (Pqi) Pathway is a putative Gram-negative phospholipid transport system. The pathway comprises three components: an integral inner membrane protein (PqiA), a periplasmic spanning MCE family protein (PqiB) and an outer membrane lipoprotein (PqiC). Interactions between all complex components, including stoichiometry, remain uncharacterised; nevertheless, once assembled into their quaternary complex, the trio of Pqi proteins are anticipated to provide a continuous channel between the inner and outer membranes of diderms. Here, we present X-ray structures of both the native and a truncated, soluble construct of the PqiC lipoprotein, providing insight into its biological assembly, and utilise neutron reflectometry to characterise the nature of the PqiB-PqiC-membrane interaction. Finally, we employ phenotypic complementation assays to probe specific PqiC residues, which imply the interaction between PqiB and PqiC is less intimate than previously anticipated.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis response to cholesterol is integrated with environmental pH and potassium levels via a lipid metabolism regulator

Successful colonization of the host requires Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to sense and respond coordinately to disparate environmental cues during infection and adapt its physiology. However, how Mtb response to environmental cues and the availability of key carbon sources may be integrated is poorly understood. Here, by exploiting a reporter-based genetic screen, we have unexpectedly found that overexpression of transcription factors involved in Mtb lipid metabolism altered the dampening effect of low environmental potassium concentrations ([K+]) on the pH response of Mtb. Cholesterol is a major carbon source for Mtb during infection, and transcriptional analyses revealed that Mtb response to acidic pH was augmented in the presence of cholesterol and vice versa. Strikingly, deletion of the putative lipid regulator mce3R had little effect on Mtb transcriptional response to acidic pH or cholesterol individually, but resulted specifically in loss of cholesterol response augmentation in the simultaneous presence of acidic pH. Similarly, while mce3R deletion had little effect on Mtb response to low environmental [K+] alone, augmentation of the low [K+] response by the simultaneous presence of cholesterol was lost in the mutant. Finally, a mce3R deletion mutant was attenuated for growth in foamy macrophages and for colonization in a murine infection model that recapitulates caseous necrotic lesions and the presence of foamy macrophages. These findings reveal the critical coordination between Mtb response to environmental cues and cholesterol, a vital carbon source, and establishes Mce3R as a transcription factor that crucially serves to integrate these signals.

Whole genome-scale assessment of gene fitness of Novosphingobium aromaticavorans during spaceflight

In microgravity, bacteria undergo intriguing physiological adaptations. There have been few attempts to assess global bacterial physiological responses to microgravity, with most studies only focusing on a handful of individual systems. This study assessed the fitness of each gene in the genome of the aromatic compound-degrading Alphaproteobacterium Novosphingobium aromaticavorans during growth in spaceflight. This was accomplished using Comparative TnSeq, which involves culturing the same saturating transposon mutagenized library under two different conditions. To assess gene fitness, a novel comparative TnSeq analytical tool was developed, named TnDivA, that is particularly useful in leveraging biological replicates. In this approach, transposon diversity is represented numerically using a modified Shannon diversity index, which was then converted into effective transposon density. This transformation accounts for variability in read distribution between samples, such as cases where reads were dominated by only a few transposon inserts. Effective density values were analyzed using multiple statistical methods, including log2-fold change, least-squares regression analysis, and Welch's t-test. The results obtained across applied statistical methods show a difference in the number of significant genes identified. However, the functional categories of genes important to growth in microgravity showed similar patterns. Lipid metabolism and transport, energy production, transcription, translation, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis and transport were shown to have high fitness during spaceflight. This suggests that core metabolic processes, including lipid and secondary metabolism, play an important role adapting to stress and promoting growth in microgravity.

Mce1R of Mycobacterium tuberculosis prefers long-chain fatty acids as specific ligands: a computational study

The mce1 operon of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which codes the Mce1 transporter, facilitates the transport of fatty acids. Fatty acids are one of the major sources for carbon and energy for the pathogen during its intracellular survival and pathogenicity. The mce1 operon is transcriptionally regulated by Mce1R, a VanR-type regulator, which could bind specific ligands and control the expression of the mce1 operon accordingly. This work reports computational identification of Mce1R-specific ligands. Initially by employing cavity similarity search algorithm by the ProBis server, the cavities of the proteins similar to that of Mce1R and the bound ligands were identified from which fatty acids were selected as the potential ligands. From the earlier-generated monomeric structure, the dimeric structure of Mce1R was then modeled by the GalaxyHomomer server and validated computationally to use in molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation analysis. The fatty acid ligands were found to dock within the cavity of Mce1R and the docked complexes were subjected to molecular dynamics simulation to explore their stabilities and other dynamic properties. The data suggest that Mce1R preferably binds to long-chain fatty acids and undergoes distinct structural changes upon binding.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis response to cholesterol is integrated with environmental pH and potassium levels via a lipid utilization regulator

How bacterial response to environmental cues and nutritional sources may be integrated in enabling host colonization is poorly understood. Exploiting a reporter-based screen, we discovered that overexpression of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) lipid utilization regulators altered Mtb acidic pH response dampening by low environmental potassium (K+). Transcriptional analyses unveiled amplification of Mtb response to acidic pH in the presence of cholesterol, a major carbon source for Mtb during infection, and vice versa. Strikingly, deletion of the putative lipid regulator mce3R resulted in loss of augmentation of (i) cholesterol response at acidic pH, and (ii) low [K+] response by cholesterol, with minimal effect on Mtb response to each signal individually. Finally, the ∆mce3R mutant was attenuated for colonization in a murine model that recapitulates lesions with lipid-rich foamy macrophages. These findings reveal critical coordination between bacterial response to environmental and nutritional cues, and establish Mce3R as a crucial integrator of this process.

Unravelling and engineering an operon involved in the side-chain degradation of sterols in Mycolicibacterium neoaurum for the production of steroid synthons

BACKGROUND

Harnessing engineered Mycolicibacteria to convert cheap phytosterols into valuable steroid synthons is a basic way in the industry for the production of steroid hormones. Thus, C-19 and C-22 steroids are the two main types of commercial synthons and the products of C17 side chain degradation of phytosterols. During the conversion process of sterols, C-19 and C-22 steroids are often produced together, although one may be the main product and the other a minor byproduct. This is a major drawback of the engineered Mycolicibacteria for industrial application, which could be attributed to the co-existence of androstene-4-ene-3,17-dione (AD) and 22-hydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one (HBC) sub-pathways in the degradation of the sterol C17 side chain. Since the key mechanism underlying the HBC sub-pathway has not yet been clarified, the above shortcoming has not been resolved so far.

RESULTS

The key gene involved in the putative HBC sub-pathway was excavated from the genome of M. neoaurum by comparative genomic analysis. Interestingly, an aldolase- encoding gene, atf1, was identified to be responsible for the first reaction of the HBC sub-pathway, and it exists as a conserved operon along with a DUF35-type gene chsH4, a reductase gene chsE6, and a transcriptional regulation gene kstR3 in the genome. Subsequently, atf1 and chsH4 were identified as the key genes involved in the HBC sub-pathway. Therefore, an updated strategy was proposed to develop engineered C-19 or C-22 steroid-producing strains by simultaneously modifying the AD and HBC sub-pathways. Taking the development of 4-HBC and 9-OHAD-producing strains as examples, the improved 4-HBC-producing strain achieved a 20.7 g/L production titer with a 92.5% molar yield and a 56.4% reduction in byproducts, and the improved 9-OHAD producing strain achieved a 19.87 g/L production titer with a 94.6% molar yield and a 43.7% reduction in byproduct production.

CONCLUSIONS

The excellent performances of these strains demonstrated that the primary operon involved in the HBC sub-pathway improves the industrial strains in the conversion of phytosterols to steroid synthons.

Ms6244 is a novel Mycobacterium smegmatis TetR family transcriptional repressor that regulates cell growth and morphophysiology

Transcriptional factors such as the TetR family of transcriptional regulators (TFTRs) are widely found amongst bacteria, including mycobacteria, and are accountable for their survival. Here, we characterized a novel TFTR, Ms6244, from Mycobacterium smegmatis that negatively autoregulates its expression and represses its neighbouring gene, Ms6243. We also report the binding of Ms6244 to the inverted repeats in the intergenic region of Ms6244 and Ms6243. Further, an Ms6244-deleted strain shows various morpho-physiological differences compared to the wild type. We further confirmed that the deletion of Ms6244 itself and not the resultant Ms6243 overexpression is the cause of the altered physiology. Our data thus suggest that Ms6244 is an essential regulator, having far-reaching effects on M. smegmatis physiology.

Insight into Different Stages of Steroid Degradation in Thermophilic Saccharopolyspora hirsuta VKM Ac-666T Strain

Steroids are abundant molecules in nature, and various microorganisms evolved to utilize steroids. Thermophilic actinobacteria play an important role in such processes. However, very few thermophiles have so far been reported capable of degrading or modifying natural sterols. Recently, genes putatively involved in the sterol catabolic pathway have been revealed in the moderately thermophilic actinobacterium Saccharopolyspora hirsuta VKM Ac-666^T, but peculiarities of strain activity toward sterols are still poorly understood. S. hirsuta catalyzed cholesterol bioconversion at a rate significantly inferior to that observed for mesophilic actinobacteria (mycobacteria and rhodococci). Several genes related to different stages of steroid catabolism increased their expression in response to cholesterol as was shown by transcriptomic studies and verified by RT-qPCR. Sequential activation of genes related to the initial step of cholesterol side chain oxidation (cyp125) and later steps of steroid core degradation (kstD3, kshA, ipdF, and fadE30) was demonstrated for the first time. The activation correlates with a low cholesterol conversion rate and intermediate accumulation by the strain. The transcriptomic analyses revealed that the genes involved in sterol catabolism are linked functionally, but not transcriptionally. The results contribute to the knowledge on steroid catabolism in thermophilic actinobacteria and could be used at the engineering of microbial catalysts.

The unusual convergence of steroid catabolic pathways in Mycobacterium abscessus

Mycobacterium abscessus, an opportunistic pathogen responsible for pulmonary infections, contains genes predicted to encode two steroid catabolic pathways: a cholesterol catabolic pathway similar to that of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and a 4-androstenedione (4-AD) catabolic pathway. Consistent with this prediction, M. abscessus grew on both steroids. In contrast to M. tuberculosis, Rhodococcus jostii RHA1, and other Actinobacteria, the cholesterol and 4-AD catabolic gene clusters of the M. abscessus complex lack genes encoding HsaD, the meta-cleavage product (MCP) hydrolase. However, M. abscessus ATCC 19977 harbors two hsaD homologs elsewhere in its genome. Only one of the encoded enzymes detectably transformed steroid metabolites. Among tested substrates, HsaD_Mab and HsaD_Mtb of M. tuberculosis had highest substrate specificities for MCPs with partially degraded side chains thioesterified with coenzyme A (k_cat/K_M = 1.9 × 10⁴ and 5.7 × 10³ mM^-1s^-1, respectively). Consistent with a dual role in cholesterol and 4-AD catabolism, HsaD_Mab also transformed nonthioesterified substrates efficiently, and a ΔhsaD mutant of M. abscessus grew on neither steroid. Interestingly, both steroids prevented growth of the mutant on acetate. The ΔhsaD mutant of M. abscessus excreted cholesterol metabolites with a fully degraded side chain, while the corresponding RHA1 mutant excreted metabolites with partially degraded side chains. Finally, the ΔhsaD mutant was not viable in macrophages. Overall, our data establish that the cholesterol and 4-AD catabolic pathways of M. abscessus are unique in that they converge upstream of where this occurs in characterized steroid-catabolizing bacteria. The data further indicate that cholesterol is a substrate for intracellular bacteria and that cholesterol-dependent toxicity is not strictly dependent on coenzyme A sequestration.

Bacterial Hydratases Involved in Steroid Side Chain Degradation Have Distinct Substrate Specificities

Actinobacterial MaoC family enoyl coenzyme A (CoA) hydratases catalyze the addition of water across the double bond of CoA esters during steroid side chain catabolism. We determined that heteromeric MaoC type hydratases, exemplified by ChsH1-ChsH2_Mtb of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and CasM-CasO_Rjost from Rhodococcus jostii RHA1, are specific toward a 3-carbon side chain steroid metabolite, consistent with their roles in the last β-oxidation cycle of steroid side chain degradation. Hydratases containing two fused MaoC domains are responsible for the degradation of longer steroid side chains. These hydratases, encoded in the cholesterol degradation gene clusters of M. tuberculosis and R. jostii RHA1, have broad specificity and were able to catalyze the hydration of the 5-carbon side chain of both cholesterol and bile acid metabolites. Surprisingly, the homologous hydratases from the bile acid degradation pathway have low catalytic efficiencies or no activity toward the 5-carbon side chain bile acid metabolites, cholyl-enoyl-CoA, lithocholyl-enoyl-CoA, and chenodeoxycholyl-enoyl-CoA. Instead, these hydratases preferred a cholate metabolite with oxidized steroid rings and a planar ring structure. Together, the results suggest that ring oxidation occurs prior to side chain degradation in the actinobacterial bile acid degradation pathway. IMPORTANCE Characterization of the substrate specificity of hydratases described here will facilitate the development of specific inhibitors that may be useful as novel therapeutics against M. tuberculosis and to metabolically engineer bacteria to produce steroid pharmaceuticals with desired steroid rings and side chain structures.

Rational development of mycobacteria cell factory for advancing the steroid biomanufacturing

Steroidal resource occupies a vital proportion in the pharmaceutical industry attributing to their important therapeutic effects on fertility, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities. Currently, microbial transformation from phytosterol has become the dominant strategy of steroidal drug intermediate synthesis that bypasses the traditional chemical route. Mycobacterium sp. serve as the main industrial microbial strains that are capable of introducing selective functional modifications of steroidal intermediate, which has become an indispensable platform for steroid biomanufacturing. By reviewing the progress in past two decades, the present paper concentrates mainly on the microbial rational modification aspects that include metabolic pathway editing, key enzymes engineering, material transport pathway reinforcement, toxic metabolic intermediates removal and byproduct reconciliation. In addition, progress on omics analysis and direct genetic manipulation are summarized and classified that may help reform the industrial hosts with more efficiency. The paper provides an insightful present for steroid biomanufacturing especially on the current trends and prospects of mycobacteria.

The Lack of the TetR-Like Repressor Gene BCG_2177c (Rv2160A) May Help Mycobacteria Overcome Intracellular Redox Stress and Survive Longer Inside Macrophages When Surrounded by a Lipid Environment

Mycobacteria, like other microorganisms, survive under different environmental variations by expressing an efficient adaptive response, oriented by regulatory elements, such as transcriptional repressors of the TetR family. These repressors in mycobacteria also appear to be related to cholesterol metabolism. In this study, we have evaluated the effect of a fatty acid (oleic–palmitic–stearic)/cholesterol mixture on some phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of a tetR-mutant strain (BCG_2177c mutated gene) of M. bovis BCG, a homologous of Rv2160A of M. tuberculosis. In order to accomplish this, we have analyzed the global gene expression of this strain by RNA-seq and evaluated its neutral-lipid storage capacity and potential to infect macrophages. We have also determined the macrophage response by measuring some pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine expressions. In comparison with wild-type microorganisms, we showed that the mutation in the BCG_2177c gene did not affect the growth of M. bovis BCG in the presence of lipids but it probably modified the structure/composition of its cell envelope. Compared to with dextrose, an overexpression of the transcriptome of the wild-type and mutant strains was observed when these mycobacteria were cultured in lipids, mainly at the exponential phase. Twelve putative intracellular redox balance maintenance genes and four others coding for putative transcriptional factors (including WhiB6 and three TetR-like) were the main elements repeatedly overexpressed when cultured in the presence of lipids. These genes belonged to the central part of what we called the “genetic lipid signature” for M. bovis BCG. We have also found that all these mycobacteria genotypic changes affected the outcome of BCG-infected macrophages, being the mutant strain most adapted to persist longer inside the host. This high persistence result was also confirmed when mutant-infected macrophages showed overexpression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine TGF-β versus pro-inflammatory cytokines. In summary, the lack of this TetR-like repressor expression, within a lipid environment, may help mycobacteria overcome intracellular redox stress and survive longer inside their host.

An In Vivo Model of Separate M. tuberculosis Phagocytosis by Neutrophils and Macrophages: Gene Expression Profiles in the Parasite and Disease Development in the Mouse Host

The role of neutrophils in tuberculosis infection remains less well studied compared to that of the CD4⁺ T-lymphocytes and macrophages. Thus, alterations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcription profile following phagocytosis by neutrophils and how these shifts differ from those caused by macrophage phagocytosis remain unknown. We developed a mouse model that allows obtaining large amounts of either neutrophils or macrophages infected in vivo with M. tuberculosis for mycobacteria isolation in quantities sufficient for the whole genome RNA sequencing and aerosol challenge of mice. Here, we present: (i) the differences in transcription profiles of mycobacteria isolated from liquid cultures, neutrophils and macrophages infected in vivo; (ii) phenotypes of infection and lung inflammation (life span, colony forming units (CFU) counts in organs, lung pathology, immune cells infiltration and cytokine production) in genetically TB-susceptible mice identically infected via respiratory tract with neutrophil-passaged (NP), macrophage-passaged (MP) and conventionally prepared (CP) mycobacteria. Two-hour residence within neutrophils caused transcriptome shifts consistent with mycobacterial transition to dormancy and diminished their capacity to attract immune cells to infected lung tissue. Mycobacterial multiplication in organs did not depend upon pre-phagocytosis, whilst survival time of infected mice was shorter in the group infected with NP bacilli. We also discuss possible reasons for these phenotypic divergences.

Dissecting the Mycobacterium bovis BCG Response to Macrophage Infection to Help Prioritize Targets for Anti-Tuberculosis Drug and Vaccine Discovery

New strategies are required to reduce the worldwide burden of tuberculosis. Intracellular survival and replication of Mycobacterium tuberculosis after macrophage phagocytosis is a fundamental step in the complex host–pathogen interactions that lead to granuloma formation and disease. Greater understanding of how the bacterium survives and thrives in these environments will inform novel drug and vaccine discovery programs. Here, we use in-depth RNA sequencing of Mycobacterium bovis BCG from human THP-1 macrophages to describe the mycobacterial adaptations to the intracellular environment. We identify 329 significantly differentially regulated genes, highlighting cholesterol catabolism, the methylcitrate cycle and iron homeostasis as important for mycobacteria inside macrophages. Examination of multi-functional gene families revealed that 35 PE/PPE genes and five cytochrome P450 genes were upregulated 24 h after infection, highlighting pathways of potential significance. Comparison of the intracellular transcriptome to gene essentiality and immunogenicity studies identified 15 potential targets that are both required for intracellular survival and induced on infection, and eight upregulated genes that have been demonstrated to be immunogenic in TB patients. Further insight into these new and established targets will support drug and vaccine development efforts.

Mycobacterial MCE proteins as transporters that control lipid homeostasis of the cell wall

Mammalian cell entry (mce) genes are not only present in genomes of pathogenic mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the causative agent of tuberculosis), but also in saprophytic and opportunistic mycobacterial species. MCE are conserved cell-wall proteins encoded by mce operons, which maintain an identical structure in all mycobacteria: two yrbE genes (A and B) followed by six mce genes (A, B, C, D, E and F). Although these proteins are known to participate in the virulence of pathogenic mycobacteria, the presence of the operons in nonpathogenic mycobacteria and other bacteria indicates that they play another role apart from host cell invasion. In this respect, more recent studies suggest that they are functionally similar to ABC transporters and form part of lipid transporters in Actinobacteria. To date, most reviews on mce operons in the literature discuss their role in virulence. However, according to data from transcriptional studies, mce genes, particularly the mce1 and mce4 operons, modify their expression according to the carbon source and upon hypoxia, starvation, surface stress and oxidative stress; which suggests a role of MCE proteins in the response of Mycobacteria to external stressors. In addition to these data, this review also summarizes the studies demonstrating the role of MCE proteins as lipid transporters as well as the relevance of their transport function in the interaction of pathogenic Mycobacteria with the hosts. Altogether, the evidence to date would indicate that MCE proteins participate in the response to the stress conditions that mycobacteria encounter during infection, by participating in the cell wall remodelling and possibly contributing to lipid homeostasis.

Identification of the EdcR Estrogen-Dependent Repressor in Caenibius tardaugens NBRC 16725: Construction of a Cellular Estradiol Biosensor

In this work, Caenibius tardaugens NBRC 16725 (strain ARI-1) (formerly Novosphingobium tardaugens) was isolated due to its capacity to mineralize estrogenic endocrine disruptors. Its genome encodes the edc genes cluster responsible for the degradation of 17β-estradiol, consisting of two putative operons (OpA and OpB) encoding the enzymes of the upper degradation pathway. Inside the edc cluster, we identified the edcR gene encoding a TetR-like protein. Genetic studies carried out with C. tardaugens mutants demonstrated that EdcR represses the promoters that control the expression of the two operons. These genetic analyses have also shown that 17β-estradiol and estrone, the second intermediate of the degradation pathway, are the true effectors of EdcR. This regulatory system has been heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, foreseeing its use to detect estrogens in environmental samples. Genome comparisons have identified a similar regulatory system in the edc cluster of Altererythrobacter estronivorus MHB5, suggesting that this regulatory arrangement has been horizontally transferred to other bacteria.

Genomewide Transcriptome Responses of Arthrobacter simplex to Cortisone Acetate and its Mutants with Enhanced Δ1-Dehydrogenation Efficiency

Due to its superior Δ¹-dehydrogenation ability, Arthrobacter simplex has been widely used for the biotransformation of cortisone acetate (CA) into prednisone acetate (PA) in the steroid industry. However, its molecular fundamentals are still unclear. Herein, the genome organization, gene regulation, and previously unreported genes involved in Δ¹-dehydrogenation are revealed through genome and transcriptome analysis. A comparative study of transcriptomes of an industrial strain induced by CA or at different biotransformation periods was performed. By overexpression, the roles of six genes in CA conversion were confirmed, among which sufC and hsaA behaved better by reinforcing catalytic enzyme activity and substrate transmembrane transport. Additionally, GroEL endowed cells with the strongest stress tolerance by alleviating oxidative damage and enhancing energy levels. Finally, an optimal strain was created by coexpressing three genes, achieving 46.8 and 70.6% increase in PA amount and productivity compared to the initial values, respectively. Our study expanded the understanding of the Δ¹-dehydrogenation mechanism and offered an effective approach for excellent steroid-transforming strains.

Mycolicibacterium cell factory for the production of steroid-based drug intermediates

Steroid-based drugs have been developed as the second largest medical category in pharmaceutics. The well-established route of steroid industry includes two steps: the conversion of natural products with a steroid framework to steroid-based drug intermediates and the synthesis of varied steroid-based drugs from steroid-based drug intermediates. The biosynthesis of steroid-based drug intermediates from phytosterols by Mycolicibacterium cell factories bypasses the potential undersupply of diosgenin in the traditional steroid chemical industry. Moreover, the biosynthesis route shows advantages on multiple steroid-based drug intermediate products, more ecofriendly processes, and consecutive reactions carried out in one operation step and in one pot. Androsta-4-ene-3,17-dione (AD), androsta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione (ADD) and 9-hydroxyandrostra-4-ene-3,17-dione (9-OH-AD) are the representative steroid-based drug intermediates synthesized by mycolicibacteria. Other steroid metabolites of mycolicibacteria, like 4-androstene-17β-ol-3-one (TS), 22-hydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one (4-HBC), 22-hydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-1,4-diene-3-one (1,4-HBC), 9,22-dihydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one (9-OH-HBC), 3aα-H-4α-(3'-propionic acid)-7aβ-methylhexahydro-1,5-indanedione (HIP) and 3aα-H-4α-(3'-propionic acid)-5α-hydroxy-7aβ-methylhexahydro-1-indanone-δ-lactone (HIL), also show values as steroid-based drug intermediates. To improve the bio-production efficiency of the steroid-based drug intermediates, mycolicibacterial strains and biotransformation processes have been continuously studied in the past decades. Many mycolicibacteria that accumulate steroid drug intermediates have been isolated, and subsequently optimized by conventional mutagenesis and genetic engineering. Especially, with the clarification of the mycolicibacterial steroid metabolic pathway and the developments on gene editing technologies, rational design is becoming an important measure for the construction and optimization of engineered mycolicibacteria strains that produce steroid-based drug intermediates. Hence, by reviewing researches in the past two decades, this article updates the overall process of steroid metabolism in mycolicibacteria and provides comprehensive schemes for the rational construction of mycolicibacterial strains that accumulate steroid-based drug intermediates. In addition, the special strategies for the bioconversion of highly hydrophobic steroid in aqueous media are discussed as well.

Cholesterol-dependent transcriptome remodeling reveals new insight into the contribution of cholesterol to Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is an obligate human pathogen that can adapt to the various nutrients available during its life cycle. However, in the nutritionally stringent environment of the macrophage phagolysosome, Mtb relies mainly on cholesterol. In previous studies, we demonstrated that Mtb can accumulate and utilize cholesterol as the sole carbon source. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that a lipid-rich environment may have a much broader impact on the pathogenesis of Mtb infection than previously thought. Therefore, we applied high-resolution transcriptome profiling and the construction of various mutants to explore in detail the global effect of cholesterol on the tubercle bacillus metabolism. The results allow re-establishing the complete list of genes potentially involved in cholesterol breakdown. Moreover, we identified the modulatory effect of vitamin B₁₂ on Mtb transcriptome and the novel function of cobalamin in cholesterol metabolite dissipation which explains the probable role of B₁₂ in Mtb virulence. Finally, we demonstrate that a key role of cholesterol in mycobacterial metabolism is not only providing carbon and energy but involves also a transcriptome remodeling program that helps in developing tolerance to the unfavorable host cell environment far before specific stress-inducing phagosomal signals occur.

Further Studies on the 3-Ketosteroid 9α-Hydroxylase of Rhodococcus ruber Chol-4, a Rieske Oxygenase of the Steroid Degradation Pathway

The biochemistry and genetics of the bacterial steroid catabolism have been extensively studied during the last years and their findings have been essential to the development of biotechnological applications. For instance, metabolic engineering of the steroid-eater strains has allowed to obtain intermediaries of industrial value. However, there are still some drawbacks that must be overcome, such as the redundancy of the steroid catabolism genes in the genome and a better knowledge of its genetic regulation. KshABs and KstDs are key enzymes involved in the aerobic breakage of the steroid nucleus. Rhodococcus ruber Chol-4 contains three kshAs genes, a single kshB gene and three kstDs genes within its genome. In the present work, the growth of R. ruber ΔkshA strains was evaluated on different steroids substrates; the promoter regions of these genes were analyzed; and their expression was followed by qRT-PCR in both wild type and ksh mutants. Additionally, the transcription level of the kstDs genes was studied in the ksh mutants. The results show that KshA2B and KshA1B are involved in AD metabolism, while KshA3B and KshA1B contribute to the cholesterol metabolism in R. ruber. In the kshA single mutants, expression of the remaining kshA and kstD genes is re-organized to survive on the steroid substrate. These data give insight into the fine regulation of steroid genes when several isoforms are present.

GlnR-mediated regulation of KstR controls cholesterol catabolism in Mycobacterium smegmatis

Tuberculosis, caused by mycobacteria, continues to pose a substantial public health threat. Mycobacteria typically use cholesterol from the membranes of host macrophages as a carbon and energy source. Most genes that control cholesterol degradation are regulated by KstR, which is highly conserved in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis. Through bioinformatic analysis, we found a typical global nitrogen regulator (GlnR)-binding motif (CCGAC-AACAGT-GACAC) in the promoter region of kstR of M. smegmatis, and we determined its binding activity in vitro using electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Using RT-qPCR, we found that nine genes involved in side-chain or sterol-ring oxidation were upregulated in a ΔglnR M. smegmatis strain compared to the WT strain and glnR-complemented strains under nitrogen limitation. ATP assays in macrophages revealed that coordinated GlnR-KstR regulation significantly reduced the viability of M. smegmatis in macrophages. Thus, we found that various genes involved in cholesterol catabolism are regulated by GlnR via KstR in response to environmental nitrogen, and that they further affect the invasive ability of M. smegmatis. These findings revealed a novel regulatory mechanism of cholesterol catabolism, which may be useful in the development of new strategies for controlling tuberculosis.

The lipolytic activity of LipJ, a stress-induced enzyme, is regulated by its C-terminal adenylate cyclase domain

Aim: The confirmation of lipolytic activity and role of Rv1900c in the Mycobacterium physiology Methods: rv1900c/N-terminus domain (rv1900NT) were cloned in pET28a/Escherichia coli, purified by affinity chromatography and characterized. Results: A zone of clearance on tributyrin-agar and activity with pNP-decanoate confirmed the lipolytic activity of Rv1900c. The Rv1900NT demonstrated higher enzyme specific activity, V_max and k_cat, but Rv1900c was more thermostable. The lipolytic activity of Rv1900c decreased in presence of ATP. Mycobacterium smegmatis expressed rv1900c/rv1900NT-altered colony morphology, growth, cell surface properties and survival under stress conditions. The effect was more prominent with Rv1900NT as compared with Rv1900c. Conclusion: The study confirmed the lipolytic activity of Rv1900c and suggested its regulation by the adenylate cyclase domain and role in the intracellular survival of bacteria.

Mycobacterial fatty acid catabolism is repressed by FdmR to sustain lipogenesis and virulence

Host-derived fatty acids are an important carbon source for pathogenic mycobacteria during infection. How mycobacterial cells regulate the catabolism of fatty acids to serve the pathogenicity, however, remains unknown. Here, we identified a TetR-family transcriptional factor, FdmR, as the key regulator of fatty acid catabolism in the pathogen Mycobacterium marinum by combining use of transcriptomics, chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing, dynamic 13C-based flux analysis, metabolomics, and lipidomics. An M. marinum mutant deficient in FdmR was severely attenuated in zebrafish larvae and adult zebrafish. The mutant showed defective growth but high substrate consumption on fatty acids. FdmR was identified as a long-chain acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA)-responsive repressor of genes involved in fatty acid degradation and modification. We demonstrated that FdmR functions as a valve to direct the flux of exogenously derived fatty acids away from β-oxidation toward lipid biosynthesis, thereby avoiding the overactive catabolism and accumulation of biologically toxic intermediates. Moreover, we found that FdmR suppresses degradation of long-chain acyl-CoAs endogenously synthesized through the type I fatty acid synthase. By modulating the supply of long-chain acyl-CoAs for lipogenesis, FdmR controls the abundance and chain length of virulence-associated lipids and mycolates and plays an important role in the impermeability of the cell envelope. These results reveal that despite the fact that host-derived fatty acids are used as an important carbon source, overactive catabolism of fatty acids is detrimental to mycobacterial cell growth and pathogenicity. This study thus presents FdmR as a potentially attractive target for chemotherapy.

Applications of Transcriptomics and Proteomics for Understanding Dormancy and Resuscitation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis can survive within its host for extended periods of time without any clinical symptoms of disease and reactivate when the immune system is weakened. A detailed understanding of how M. tuberculosis enters into and exits out of dormancy, is necessary in order to develop new strategies for tackling tuberculosis. Omics methodologies are unsupervised and unbiased to any hypothesis, making them useful tools for the discovery of new drug targets. This review summarizes the findings of transcriptomic and proteomic approaches toward understanding dormancy and reactivation of M. tuberculosis. Within the granuloma of latently infected individuals, the bacteria are dormant, with a marked slowdown of growth, division and metabolism. In vitro models have attempted to simulate these features by subjecting the bacterium to hypoxia, nutrient starvation, potassium depletion, growth in the presence of vitamin C, or growth in the presence of long-chain fatty acids. The striking feature of all the models is the upregulation of the DosR regulon, which includes the transcriptional regulator Rv0081, one of the central hubs of dormancy. Also upregulated are chaperone proteins, fatty acid and cholesterol degrading enzymes, the sigma factors SigE and SigB, enzymes of the glyoxylate and the methylcitrate cycle, the Clp proteases and the transcriptional regulator ClgR. Further, there is increased expression of genes involved in mycobactin synthesis, fatty acid degradation, the glyoxylate shunt and gluconeogenesis, in granulomas formed in vitro from peripheral blood mononuclear cells from latently infected individuals compared to naïve individuals. Genes linked to aerobic respiration, replication, transcription, translation and cell division, are downregulated during dormancy in vitro, but upregulated during reactivation. Resuscitation in vitro is associated with upregulation of genes linked to the synthesis of mycolic acids, phthiocerol mycocerosate (PDIM) and sulfolipids; ribosome biosynthesis, replication, transcription and translation, cell division, and genes encoding the five resuscitation promoting factors (Rpfs). The expression of proteases, transposases and insertion sequences, suggests genome reorganization during reactivation.

Genome scale metabolic model driven strategy to delineate host response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

We analyze high throughput proteomics data reflecting the response of the Mφ-like THP1 cell line to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) infection. M. tuberculosis's engagement with the host's metabolic pathways is a known strategy employed by the pathogen to shift the balance in its favour. Our study revisits this strategy through the integration of the temporal proteomics data in the genome-scale metabolic model (GSMM) giving context-specific GSMMs. THP1 cells were infected with H37Ra, H37Rv, BND433 and JAL2287 strains of M. tuberculosis and the host response was studied at 6, 18, 30 and 42 hours after infection. We have developed a modified flux balance analysis (FBA), which does not use an objective function, to find the fluxes of metabolic reactions in different strains and stages of infection and have revealed different functional modules. Hence, we have established a method of rewiring using GSMMs to explore potential strategies to change the flux state of virulent M. tuberculosis infected macrophages as against their avirulent counterparts. Our methodology gives a correlation between different flux states, the extent of which was interpreted as the extent of rewiring. The accuracy of the results from the proposed methodology was validated with gene knockout experimental data. We found that more than one reaction has to be rewired simultaneously to alter virulent to an avirulent response. The identified modules showed influence across the investigated strains and time points suggesting that these reactions could be therapeutically targeted. This novel methodology is now available for use in other systems.

Transcriptional response to the host cell environment of a multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis clonal outbreak Beijing strain reveals its pathogenic features

Tuberculosis is a global public health problem with emergence of multidrug-resistant infections. Previous epidemiological studies of tuberculosis in Thailand have identified a clonal outbreak multidrug-resistant strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the Kanchanaburi province, designated “MKR superspreader”, and this particular strain later was found to also spread to other regions. In this study, we elucidated its biology through RNA-Seq analyses and identified a set of genes involved in cholesterol degradation to be up-regulated in the MKR during the macrophage cell infection, but not in the H37Rv reference strain. We also found that the bacterium up-regulated genes associated with the ESX-1 secretion system during its intracellular growth phase, while the H37Rv did not. All results were confirmed by qRT-PCR. Moreover, we showed that compounds previously shown to inhibit the mycobacterial ESX-1 secretion system and cholesterol utilisation, and FDA-approved drugs known to interfere with the host cholesterol transportation were able to decrease the intracellular survival of the MKR when compared to the untreated control, while not that of the H37Rv. Altogether, our findings suggested that such pathways are important for the MKR’s intracellular growth, and potentially could be targets for the discovery of new drugs against this emerging multidrug-resistant strain of M. tuberculosis.

Different genome-wide transcriptome responses of Nocardioides simplex VKM Ac-2033D to phytosterol and cortisone 21-acetate

BACKGROUND

Bacterial degradation/transformation of steroids is widely investigated to create biotechnologically relevant strains for industrial application. The strain of Nocardioides simplex VKM Ac-2033D is well known mainly for its superior 3-ketosteroid Δ1-dehydrogenase activity towards various 3-oxosteroids and other important reactions of sterol degradation. However, its biocatalytic capacities and the molecular fundamentals of its activity towards natural sterols and synthetic steroids were not fully understood. In this study, a comparative investigation of the genome-wide transcriptome profiling of the N. simplex VKM Ac-2033D grown on phytosterol, or in the presence of cortisone 21-acetate was performed with RNA-seq.

RESULTS

Although the gene patterns induced by phytosterol generally resemble the gene sets involved in phytosterol degradation pathways in mycolic acid rich actinobacteria such as Mycolicibacterium, Mycobacterium and Rhodococcus species, the differences in gene organization and previously unreported genes with high expression level were revealed. Transcription of the genes related to KstR- and KstR2-regulons was mainly enhanced in response to phytosterol, and the role in steroid catabolism is predicted for some dozens of the genes in N. simplex. New transcription factors binding motifs and new candidate transcription regulators of steroid catabolism were predicted in N. simplex. Unlike phytosterol, cortisone 21-acetate does not provide induction of the genes with predicted KstR and KstR2 sites. Superior 3-ketosteroid-Δ1-dehydrogenase activity of N. simplex VKM Ac-2033D is due to the kstDs redundancy in the genome, with the highest expression level of the gene KR76_27125 orthologous to kstD2, in response to cortisone 21-acetate. The substrate spectrum of N. simplex 3-ketosteroid-Δ1-dehydrogenase was expanded in this study with progesterone and its 17α-hydroxylated and 11α,17α-dihydroxylated derivatives, that effectively were 1(2)-dehydrogenated in vivo by the whole cells of the N. simplex VKM Ac-2033D.

CONCLUSION

The results contribute to the knowledge of biocatalytic features and diversity of steroid modification capabilities of actinobacteria, defining targets for further bioengineering manipulations with the purpose of expansion of their biotechnological applications.

Molecular Cloning, Purification and Characterization of Mce1R of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The mce1 operon of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, important for lipid metabolism/transport, host cell invasion, modulation of host immune response and pathogenicity, is under the transcriptional control of Mce1R. Hence characterizing Mce1R is an important step for novel anti-tuberculosis drug discovery. The present study reports functional and in silico characterization of Mce1R. In this work, we have computationally modeled the structure of Mce1R and have validated the structure by computational and experimental methods. Mce1R has been shown to harbor the canonical VanR-like structure with a flexible N-terminal 'arm', carrying conserved positively charged residues, most likely involved in the operator DNA binding. The mce1R gene has been cloned, expressed, purified and its DNA-binding activity has been measured in vitro. The K_d value for Mce1R-operator DNA interaction has been determined to be 0.35 ± 0.02 µM which implies that Mce1R binds to DNA with moderate affinity compared to the other FCD family of regulators. So far, this is the first report for measuring the DNA-binding affinity of any VanR-type protein. Despite significant sequence similarity at the N-terminal domain, the wHTH motif of Mce1R exhibits poor conservancy of amino acid residues, critical for DNA-binding, thus results in moderate DNA-binding affinity. The N-terminal DNA-binding domain is structurally dynamic while the C-terminal domain showed significant stability and such profile of structural dynamics is most likely to be preserved in the structural orthologs of Mce1R. In addition to this, a cavity has been detected in the C-terminal domain of Mce1R which contains a few conserved residues. Comparison with other FCD family of regulators suggests that most of the conserved residues might be critical for binding to specific ligand. The max pKd value and drug score for the cavity are estimated to be 9.04 and 109 respectively suggesting that the cavity represents a suitable target site for novel anti-tuberculosis drug discovery approaches.

Application of antigenic biomarkers for Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The study and characterization of biomolecules involved in the interaction between mycobacteria and their hosts are crucial to determine their roles in the invasion process and provide basic knowledge about the biology and pathogenesis of disease. Promising new biomarkers for diagnosis and immunotherapy have emerged recently. Mycobacterium is an ancient pathogen that has developed complex strategies for its persistence in the host and environment, likely based on the complexity of the network of interactions between the molecules involved in infection. Several biomarkers have received recent attention in the process of developing rapid and reliable detection techniques for tuberculosis. Among the most widely investigated antigens are CFP-10 (10-kDa culture filtrate protein), ESAT-6 (6-kDa early secretory antigenic target), Ag85A, Ag85B, CFP-7, and PPE18. Some of these antigens have been proposed as biomarkers to assess the key elements of the response to infection of both the pathogen and host. The design of novel and accurate diagnostic methods is essential for the control of tuberculosis worldwide. Presently, the diagnostic methods are based on the identification of molecules in the humoral response in infected individuals. Therefore, these tests depend on the capacity of the host to develop an immune response, which usually is heterogeneous. In the last 20 years, special attention has been given to the design of multiantigenic diagnostic methods to improve the levels of sensitivity and specificity. In this review, we summarize the state of the art in the study and use of mycobacterium biomolecules with the potential to support novel tuberculosis control strategies.

MmbR, a master transcription regulator that controls fatty acid β-oxidation genes in Mycolicibacterium smegmatis

An unusually high lipid content and a complex lipid profile are the most distinctive features of the mycobacterial cell envelope. However, our understanding of the regulatory mechanism underlying mycobacterial lipid metabolism is limited, and the major regulators responsible for lipid homeostasis remain to be characterized. Here, we identified MmbR as a novel master regulator that is essential for maintaining lipid homeostasis in Mycolicibacterium smegmatis. We found that MmbR controls fatty acid β-oxidation and modulates biofilm formation in Mycolicibacterium smegmatis. Although MmbR possesses the properties of nucleoid-associated proteins, it acts as a TetR-like transcription factor, directly regulating and intensively repressing the expression of a group of core genes involved in fatty acid β-oxidation. Furthermore, both long-chain acyl-Coenzyme A and fatty acids appear to regulate the signal molecules modulated by MmbR. The deletion of mmbR led to a significant reduction in intracellular fatty acid content and a decrease in the relative lipid composition of the biofilm. The lack of mmbR led to morphological changes in the mycobacterial colony, defects in biofilm formation and enhanced sensitivity to anti-tuberculosis drugs. Our study is the first to establish a link between the transcriptional regulation of fatty acid β-oxidation genes and lipid homeostasis in mycobacteria.

Identification, Biological Characteristics, and Active Site Residues of 3-Ketosteroid Δ1-Dehydrogenase Homologues from Arthrobacter simplex

3-Ketosteroid Δ¹-dehydrogenase (KsdD) is the key enzyme responsible for Δ¹-dehydrogenation, which is one of the most valuable reactions for steroid catabolism. Arthrobacter simplex has been widely used in the industry due to its superior bioconversion efficiency, but KsdD information is not yet fully clear. Here, five KsdD homologues were identified in A. simplex CGMCC 14539. Bioinformatic analysis indicated their distinct properties and structures. Each KsdD was functionally confirmed by transcriptional response, overexpression, and heterologous expression. The substantial difference in substrate profiles might be related to the enzyme loop structure. Two promising enzymes (KsdD3 and KsdD5) were purified and characterized, exhibiting strong organic solvent tolerance and clear preference for 4-ene-3-oxosteroids. KsdD5 seemed to be more versatile due to good activity on substrates with or without a substituent at C11 and high optimal temperature and also possessed unique residues. It is the first time that KsdDs have been comprehensively disclosed in the A. simplex industrial strain.

Post-translational Succinylation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Enoyl-CoA Hydratase EchA19 Slows Catalytic Hydration of Cholesterol Catabolite 3-Oxo-chol-4,22-diene-24-oyl-CoA

Cholesterol is a major carbon source for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) during infection, and cholesterol utilization plays a significant role in persistence and virulence within host macrophages. Elucidating the mechanism by which cholesterol is degraded may permit the identification of new therapeutic targets. Here, we characterized EchA19 (Rv3516), an enoyl-CoA hydratase involved in cholesterol side-chain catabolism. Steady-state kinetics assays demonstrated that EchA19 preferentially hydrates cholesterol enoyl-CoA metabolite 3-oxo-chol-4,22-diene-24-oyl-CoA, an intermediate of side-chain β-oxidation. In addition, succinyl-CoA, a downstream catabolite of propionyl-CoA that forms during cholesterol degradation, covalently modifies targeted mycobacterial proteins, including EchA19. Inspection of a 1.9 Å resolution X-ray crystallography structure of Mtb EchA19 suggests that succinylation of Lys132 and Lys139 may perturb enzymatic activity by modifying the entrance to the substrate binding site. Treatment of EchA19 with succinyl-CoA revealed that these two residues are hotspots for succinylation. Replacement of these specific lysine residues with negatively charged glutamate reduced the rate of catalytic hydration of 3-oxo-chol-4,22-diene-24-oyl-CoA by EchA19, as does succinylation of EchA19. Our findings suggest that succinylation is a negative feedback regulator of cholesterol metabolism, thereby adding another layer of complexity to Mtb physiology in the host. These regulatory pathways are potential noncatabolic targets for antimicrobial drugs.

The Sterol Carrier Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin Enhances the Metabolism of Phytosterols by Mycobacterium neoaurum

Androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (AD) and androst-1,4-diene-3,17-dione (ADD) are valuable steroid pharmaceutical intermediates obtained by soybean phytosterol biotransformation by Mycobacterium Cyclodextrins (CDs) are generally believed to be carriers for phytosterol delivery and can improve the production of AD and ADD due to their effects on steroid solubilization and alteration in cell wall permeability for steroids. To better understand the mechanisms of CD promotion, we performed proteomic quantification of the effects of hydroxypropyl-β-CD (HP-β-CD) on phytosterol metabolism in Mycobacterium neoaurum TCCC 11978 C2. Perturbations are observed in steroid catabolism and glucose metabolism by adding HP-β-CD in a phytosterol bioconversion system. AD and ADD, as metabolic products of phytosterol, are toxic to cells, with inhibited cell growth and biocatalytic activity. Treatment of mycobacteria with HP-β-CD relieves the inhibitory effect of AD(D) on the electron transfer chain and cell growth. These results demonstrate the positive relationship between HP-β-CD and phytosterol metabolism and give insight into the complex functions of CDs as mediators of the regulation of sterol metabolism.IMPORTANCE Phytosterols from soybean are low-cost by-products of soybean oil production and, owing to their good bioavailability in mycobacteria, are preferred as the substrates for steroid drug production via biotransformation by Mycobacterium However, the low level of production of steroid hormone drugs due to the low aqueous solubility (below 0.1 mmol/liter) of phytosterols limits the commercial use of sterol-transformed strains. To improve the bioconversion of steroids, cyclodextrins (CDs) are generally used as an effective carrier for the delivery of hydrophobic steroids to the bacterium. CDs improve the biotransformation of steroids due to their effects on steroid solubilization and alterations in cell wall permeability for steroids. However, studies have rarely reported the effects of CDs on cell metabolic pathways related to sterols. In this study, the effects of hydroxypropyl-β-CD (HP-β-CD) on the expression of enzymes related to steroid catabolic pathways in Mycobacterium neoaurum were systematically investigated. These findings will improve our understanding of the complex functions of CDs in the regulation of sterol metabolism and guide the application of CDs to sterol production.

Aerobic catabolism of sterols by microorganisms: key enzymes that open the 3-ketosteroid nucleus

Aerobic degradation of the sterol tetracyclic nucleus by microorganisms comprises the catabolism of A/B-rings, followed by that of C/D-rings. B-ring rupture at the C9,10-position is a key step involving 3-ketosteroid Δ1-dehydrogenase (KstD) and 3-ketosteroid 9α-hydroxylase (KstH). Their activities lead to the aromatization of C4,5-en-containing A-ring causing the rupture of B-ring. C4,5α-hydrogenated 3-ketosteroid could be produced by the growing microorganism containing a 5α-reductase. In this case, the microorganism synthesizes, in addition to KstD and KstH, a 3-ketosteroid Δ4-(5α)-dehydrogenase (Kst4D) in order to produce the A-ring aromatization, and consequently B-ring rupture. KstD and Kst4D are FAD-dependent oxidoreductases. KstH is composed of a reductase and a monooxygenase. This last component is the catalytic unit; it contains a Rieske-[2Fe-2S] center with a non-haem mononuclear iron in the active site. Published data regarding these enzymes are reviewed.

Mammalian cell entry operons; novel and major subset candidates for diagnostics with special reference to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infection

Mammalian cell entry (mce) genes are the components of the mce operon and play a vital role in the entry of Mycobacteria into the mammalian cell and their survival within phagocytes and epithelial cells. Mce operons are present in the DNA of Mycobacteria and translate proteins associated with the invasion and long-term existence of these pathogens in macrophages. The exact mechanism of action of mce genes and their functions are not clear yet. However, with the loss of these genes Mycobacteria lose their pathogenicity. Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), the etiological agent of Johne’s disease, is the cause of chronic enteritis of animals and significantly affects economic impact on the livestock industry. Since MAP is not inactivated during pasteurization, human population is continuously at the risk of getting exposed to MAP infection through consumption of dairy products. There is need for new candidate genes and/or proteins for developing improved diagnostic assays for the diagnosis of MAP infection and for the control of disease. Increasing evidences showed that expression of mce genes is important for the virulence of MAP. Whole-genome DNA microarray representing MAP revealed that there are 14 large sequence polymorphisms with LSPP12 being the most widely conserved MAP-specific region that included a cluster of six homologs of mce-family involved in lipid metabolism. On the other hand, LSP11 comprising part of mce2 operon was absent in MAP isolates. This review summarizes the advancement of research on mce genes of Mycobacteria with special reference to the MAP infection.

Phase variation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis glpK produces transiently heritable drug tolerance

The length and complexity of tuberculosis (TB) therapy, as well as the propensity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to develop drug resistance, are major barriers to global TB control efforts. M. tuberculosis is known to have the ability to enter into a drug-tolerant state, which may explain many of these impediments to TB treatment. We have identified a mechanism of genetically encoded but rapidly reversible drug tolerance in M. tuberculosis caused by transient frameshift mutations in a homopolymeric tract (HT) of 7 cytosines (7C) in the glpK gene. Inactivating frameshift mutations associated with the 7C HT in glpK produce small colonies that exhibit heritable multidrug increases in minimal inhibitory concentrations and decreases in drug-dependent killing; however, reversion back to a fully drug-susceptible large-colony phenotype occurs rapidly through the introduction of additional insertions or deletions in the same glpK HT region. These reversible frameshift mutations in the 7C HT of M. tuberculosis glpK occur in clinical isolates, accumulate in M. tuberculosis-infected mice with further accumulation during drug treatment, and exhibit a reversible transcriptional profile including induction of dosR and sigH and repression of kstR regulons, similar to that observed in other in vitro models of M. tuberculosis tolerance. These results suggest that GlpK phase variation may contribute to drug tolerance, treatment failure, and relapse in human TB. Drugs effective against phase-variant M. tuberculosis may hasten TB treatment and improve cure rates.

Mce3R Stress-Resistance Pathway Is Vulnerable to Small-Molecule Targeting That Improves Tuberculosis Drug Activities

One-third of the world’s population carries Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the infectious agent that causes tuberculosis (TB), and every 17 s someone dies of TB. After infection, Mtb can live dormant for decades in a granuloma structure arising from the host immune response, and cholesterol is important for this persistence of Mtb. Current treatments require long-duration drug regimens with many associated toxicities, which are compounded by the high doses required. We phenotypically screened 35 6-azasteroid analogues against Mtb and found that, at low micromolar concentrations, a subset of the analogues sensitized Mtb to multiple TB drugs. Two analogues were selected for further study to characterize the bactericidal activity of bedaquiline and isoniazid under normoxic and low-oxygen conditions. These two 6-azasteroids showed strong synergy with bedaquiline (fractional inhibitory concentration index = 0.21, bedaquiline minimal inhibitory concentration = 16 nM at 1 μM 6-azasteroid). The rate at which spontaneous resistance to one of the 6-azasteroids arose in the presence of bedaquiline was approximately 10^–9, and the 6-azasteroid-resistant mutants retained their isoniazid and bedaquiline sensitivity. Genes in the cholesterol-regulated Mce3R regulon were required for 6-azasteroid activity, whereas genes in the cholesterol catabolism pathway were not. Expression of a subset of Mce3R genes was down-regulated upon 6-azasteroid treatment. The Mce3R regulon is implicated in stress resistance and is absent in saprophytic mycobacteria. This regulon encodes a cholesterol-regulated stress-resistance pathway that we conclude is important for pathogenesis and contributes to drug tolerance, and this pathway is vulnerable to small-molecule targeting in live mycobacteria.

Steroids as Environmental Compounds Recalcitrant to Degradation: Genetic Mechanisms of Bacterial Biodegradation Pathways

Steroids are perhydro-1,2-cyclopentanophenanthrene derivatives that are almost exclusively synthesised by eukaryotic organisms. Since the start of the Anthropocene, the presence of these molecules, as well as related synthetic compounds (ethinylestradiol, dexamethasone, and others), has increased in different habitats due to farm and municipal effluents and discharge from the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, the highly hydrophobic nature of these molecules, as well as the absence of functional groups, makes them highly resistant to biodegradation. However, some environmental bacteria are able to modify or mineralise these compounds. Although steroid-metabolising bacteria have been isolated since the beginning of the 20th century, the genetics and catabolic pathways used have only been characterised in model organisms in the last few decades. Here, the metabolic alternatives used by different bacteria to metabolise steroids (e.g., cholesterol, bile acids, testosterone, and other steroid hormones), as well as the organisation and conservation of the genes involved, are reviewed.

Genome-wide response on phytosterol in 9-hydroxyandrostenedione-producing strain of Mycobacterium sp. VKM Ac-1817D

Background

Aerobic side chain degradation of phytosterols by actinobacteria is the basis for the industrial production of androstane steroids which are the starting materials for the synthesis of steroid hormones. A native strain of Mycobacterium sp. VKM Ac-1817D effectively produces 9α-hydroxyandrost-4-ene-3,17-dione (9-OH-AD) from phytosterol, but also is capable of slow steroid core degradation. However, the set of the genes with products that are involved in phytosterol oxidation, their organisation and regulation remain poorly understood.

Results

High-throughput sequencing of the global transcriptomes of the Mycobacterium sp. VKM Ac-1817D cultures grown with or without phytosterol was carried out. In the presence of phytosterol, the expression of 260 genes including those related to steroid catabolism pathways significantly increased. Two of the five genes encoding the oxygenase unit of 3-ketosteroid-9α-hydroxylase (kshA) were highly up-regulated in response to phytosterol (55- and 25-fold, respectively) as well as one of the two genes encoding its reductase subunit (kshB) (40-fold). Only one of the five putative genes encoding 3-ketosteroid-∆¹-dehydrogenase (KstD_1) was up-regulated in the presence of phytosterol (61-fold), but several substitutions in the conservative positions of its product were revealed.

Among the genes over-expressed in the presence of phytosterol, several dozen genes did not possess binding sites for the known regulatory factors of steroid catabolism. In the promoter regions of these genes, a regularly occurring palindromic motif was revealed. The orthologue of TetR-family transcription regulator gene Rv0767c of M. tuberculosis was identified in Mycobacterium sp. VKM Ac-1817D as G155_05115.

Conclusions

High expression levels of the genes related to the sterol side chain degradation and steroid 9α-hydroxylation in combination with possible defects in KstD_1 may contribute to effective 9α-hydroxyandrost-4-ene-3,17-dione accumulation from phytosterol provided by this biotechnologically relevant strain. The TetR-family transcription regulator gene G155_05115 presumably associated with the regulation of steroid catabolism. The results are of significance for the improvement of biocatalytic features of the microbial strains for the steroid industry.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12896-019-0533-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Genomic determinants of speciation and spread of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex

Models on how bacterial lineages differentiate increase our understanding of early bacterial speciation events and the genetic loci involved. Here, we analyze the population genomics events leading to the emergence of the tuberculosis pathogen. The emergence is characterized by a combination of recombination events involving core pathogenesis functions and purifying selection on early diverging loci. We identify the phoR gene, the sensor kinase of a two-component system involved in virulence, as a key functional player subject to pervasive positive selection after the divergence of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex from its ancestor. Previous evidence showed that phoR mutations played a central role in the adaptation of the pathogen to different host species. Now, we show that phoR mutations have been under selection during the early spread of human tuberculosis, during later expansions, and in ongoing transmission events. Our results show that linking pathogen evolution across evolutionary and epidemiological time scales points to past and present virulence determinants.

The prominent alteration in transcriptome and metabolome of Mycobacterium bovis BCG str. Tokyo 172 induced by vitamin B1

BACKGROUND

Vitamin B1 (VB1) is a crucial dietary nutrient and essential cofactor for several key enzymes in the regulation of cellular and metabolic processes, and more importantly in the activation of immune system. To date, the precise role of VB1 in Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains to be fully understood.

RESULTS

In this study, the transcriptional and metabolic profiles of VB1-treated Mycobacterium. bovis BCG were analyzed by RNA-sequencing and LC-MS (Liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry). The selection of BCG strain was based on its common physiological features shared with M. tuberculosis. The results of cell growth assays demonstrated that VB1 inhibited the BCG growth rate in vitro. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the expression levels of genes related to fatty acid metabolism, cholesterol metabolism, glycolipid catabolism, DNA replication, protein translation, cell division and cell wall formation were significantly downregulated in M. bovis BCG treated with VB1. In addition, the metabolomics LC-MS data indicated that most of the amino acids and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) were decreased in M. bovis BCG strain after VB1 treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides the molecular and metabolic bases to understand the impacts of VB1 on M.bovis BCG.

Biochemical characterization of acyl-coenzyme A synthetases involved in mycobacterial steroid side-chain catabolism and molecular design: synthesis of an anti-mycobacterial agent

The metabolism of host cholesterol by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an important factor for both its virulence and pathogenesis. However, the rationale for this cholesterol metabolism has not been fully understood yet. In the present study, we characterized several previously undescribed acyl-CoA synthetases that are involved in the steroid side-chain degradation in Mycobacterium smegmatis, and an analogue of intermediate from steroid degradation, 5'-O-(lithocholoyl sulfamoyl) adenosine (LCA-AMS), was successfully designed and synthesized to be used as a specific anti-mycobacterial agent. The acyl-CoA synthetases exhibited strong preferences for the length of side chain. FadD19 homologs, including FadD19 (MSMEG_5914), FadD19-2 (MSMEG_2241), and FadD19-4 (MSMEG_3687), are unanimously favorable cholesterol with a C8 alkanoate side chain. FadD17 (MSMEG_5908) and FadD1 (MSMEG_4952) showed high preferences for steroids, containing a C5 alkanoate side chain. FadD8 (MSMEG_1098) exhibited specific activity toward cholestenoate with a C8 alkanoate side chain. An acylsulfamoyl analogue of lithocholate, 5'-O-(lithocholoyl sulfamoyl) adenosine (LCA-AMS), was designed and synthesized. As expected, the intermediate analogue not only specifically inhibited those steroid-activated acyl-CoA synthetases, but also selectively inhibited the growth of mycobacterial species, including M. tuberculosis, M. smegmatis, and Mycobacterium neoaurum. Overall, our research advanced our understanding of mycobacterial steroid degradation and provided new insights to develop novel mechanism-based anti-mycobacterial agents.

Transcription factors Rv0081 and Rv3334 connect the early and the enduring hypoxic response of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The ability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) to survive and persist in the host for decades in an asymptomatic state is an important aspect of tuberculosis pathogenesis. Although adaptation to hypoxia is thought to play a prominent role underlying M. tb persistence, how the bacteria achieve this goal is largely unknown. Rv0081, a member of the DosR regulon, is induced at the early stage of hypoxia while Rv3334 is one of the enduring hypoxic response genes. In this study, we uncovered genetic interactions between these two transcription factors. RNA-seq analysis of ΔRv0081 and ΔRv3334 revealed that the gene expression profiles of these two mutants were highly similar. We also found that under hypoxia, Rv0081 positively regulated the expression of Rv3334 while Rv3334 repressed transcription of Rv0081. In addition, we demonstrated that Rv0081 formed dimer and bound to the promoter region of Rv3334. Taken together, these data suggest that Rv0081 and Rv3334 work in the same regulatory pathway and that Rv3334 functions immediately downstream of Rv0081. We also found that Rv3334 is a bona fide regulator of the enduring hypoxic response genes. Our study has uncovered a regulatory pathway that connects the early and the enduring hypoxic response, revealing a transcriptional cascade that coordinates the temporal response of M. tb to hypoxia.

Integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of pathogenic mycobacteria and their esx-1 mutants reveal secretion-dependent regulation of ESX-1 substrates and WhiB6 as a transcriptional regulator

The mycobacterial type VII secretion system ESX-1 is responsible for the secretion of a number of proteins that play important roles during host infection. The regulation of the expression of secreted proteins is often essential to establish successful infection. Using transcriptome sequencing, we found that the abrogation of ESX-1 function in Mycobacterium marinum leads to a pronounced increase in gene expression levels of the espA operon during the infection of macrophages. In addition, the disruption of ESX-1-mediated protein secretion also leads to a specific down-regulation of the ESX-1 substrates, but not of the structural components of this system, during growth in culture medium. This effect is observed in both M. marinum and M. tuberculosis. We established that down-regulation of ESX-1 substrates is the result of a regulatory process that is influenced by the putative transcriptional regulator whib6, which is located adjacent to the esx-1 locus. In addition, the overexpression of the ESX-1-associated PE35/PPE68 protein pair resulted in a significantly increased secretion of the ESX-1 substrate EsxA, demonstrating a functional link between these proteins. Taken together, these data show that WhiB6 is required for the secretion-dependent regulation of ESX-1 substrates and that ESX-1 substrates are regulated independently from the structural components, both during infection and as a result of active secretion.

Identification, function, and application of 3-ketosteroid Δ1-dehydrogenase isozymes in Mycobacterium neoaurum DSM 1381 for the production of steroidic synthons

Background

3-Ketosteroid-Δ1-dehydrogenase (KstD) is a key enzyme in the metabolic pathway for chemical modifications of steroid hormones. Only a few KstDs have thus far been characterized biochemically and applied for the production of steroidal pharmaceutical intermediates. Three KstDs, KstD1, KstD2, and KstD3, were identified in Mycobacterium neoaurum DSM 1381, and they shared up to 99, 85 and 97% amino acid identity with previously reported KstDs, respectively. In this paper, KstDs from M. neoaurum DSM 1381 were investigated and exemplified their potential application for industrial steroid transformation.

Results

The recombinant KstD2 from Bacillus subtilis exhibited higher enzymatic activity when 4-androstene-3,17-dione (AD) and 22-hydroxy-23, 24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one (4HP) were used as the substrates, and resulted in specific activities of 22.40 and 19.19 U mg⁻¹, respectively. However, the specific activities of recombinant KstD2 from Escherichia coli, recombinant KstD1 from B. subtilis and E. coli, and recombinant KstD3, also fed with AD and 4HP, had significantly lower specific activities. We achieved up to 99% bioconversion rate of 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione (ADD) from 8 g L⁻¹ AD after 15 h of fermentation using E. coli transformant BL21-kstD2. And in vivo transcriptional analysis revealed that the expression of kstD1 in M. neoaurum DSM 1381 increased by 60.5-fold with phytosterols as the substrate, while the mRNA levels of kstD2 and kstD3 were bearly affected by the phytosterols. Therefore, we attempted to create a 4HP producing strain without kstD1, which could covert 20 g L⁻¹ phytosterols to 14.18 g L⁻¹ 4HP.

Conclusions

In vitro assay employing the recombinant enzymes revealed that KstD2 was the most promising candidate for biocatalysis in biotransformation of AD. However, in vivo analysis showed that the cellular regulation of kstD1 was much more active than those of the other kstDs in response to the presence of phytosterols. Based on the findings above, we successfully constructed E. coli transformant BL21-kstD2 for ADD production from AD and M. neoaurum DSM 1381 ΔkstD1 strain for 4HP production using phytosterols as the substrate.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-018-0916-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

New Insights on Steroid Biotechnology

Nowadays steroid manufacturing occupies a prominent place in the pharmaceutical industry with an annual global market over $10 billion. The synthesis of steroidal active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) such as sex hormones (estrogens, androgens, and progestogens) and corticosteroids is currently performed by a combination of microbiological and chemical processes. Several mycobacterial strains capable of naturally metabolizing sterols (e.g., cholesterol, phytosterols) are used as biocatalysts to transform phytosterols into steroidal intermediates (synthons), which are subsequently used as key precursors to produce steroidal APIs in chemical processes. These synthons can also be modified by other microbial strains capable of introducing regio- and/or stereospecific modifications (functionalization) into steroidal molecules. Most of the industrial microbial strains currently available have been improved through traditional technologies based on physicochemical mutagenesis and selection processes. Surprisingly, Synthetic Biology and Systems Biology approaches have hardly been applied for this purpose. This review attempts to highlight the most relevant research on Steroid Biotechnology carried out in last decades, focusing specially on those works based on recombinant DNA technologies, as well as outlining trends and future perspectives. In addition, the need to construct new microbial cell factories (MCF) to design more robust and bio-sustainable bioprocesses with the ultimate aim of producing steroids à la carte is discussed.

Unravelling a new catabolic pathway of C-19 steroids in Mycobacterium smegmatis

In this work, we have characterized the C-19+ gene cluster (MSMEG_2851 to MSMEG_2901) of Mycobacterium smegmatis. By in silico analysis, we have identified the genes encoding enzymes involved in the modification of the A/B steroid rings during the catabolism of C-19 steroids in certain M. smegmatis mutants mapped in the PadR-like regulator (MSMEG_2868), that constitutively express the C-19+ gene cluster. By using gene complementation assays, resting-cell biotransformations and deletion mutants, we have characterized the most critical genes of the cluster, that is, kstD2, kstD3, kshA2, kshB2, hsaA2, hsaC2 and hsaD2. These results have allowed us to propose a new catabolic route named C-19+ pathway for the mineralization of C-19 steroids in M. smegmatis. Our data suggest that the deletion of the C-19+ gene cluster may be useful to engineer more robust and efficient M. smegmatis strains to produce C-19 steroids from sterols. Moreover, the new KshA2, KshB2, KstD2 and KstD3 isoenzymes may be useful to design new microbial cell factories for the 9α-hydroxylation and/or Δ1-dehydrogenation of 3-ketosteroids.