Suboperonic regulatory signals

Rho-dependent termination and RNase E-mediated cleavage: dual pathways for RNA 3' end processing in polycistronic mRNA

"Pre-full-length" transcripts are produced at the end of the polycistronic galactose (gal) operon, 5' galE-galT-galK-galM 3', via Rho-dependent transcription termination (RDT) and -independent transcription termination. The 3' end of the full-length galETKM mRNA is acquired by exonucleolytic processing of the 3'-OH ends of the pre-full-length transcripts. However, the gal operon produces an mRNA termed galE whose 3' end forms approximately 120 nucleotides downstream of the galE stop codon, within the subsequent gene, galT, thereby establishing polarity in gene expression. In this study, we investigated the molecular processes that generate the 3' end of galE mRNA. We discovered that the 3' ends of pre-galE mRNA are produced in the middle of galT as a result of the combination of two separate molecular processes-one previously reported as RDT and the other as unreported RNase E-mediated transcript cleavage. The 3' ends of pre-galE mRNA undergo exonucleolytic processing to the 3' end of galE mRNA observed in vivo. A hairpin structure containing an 8 bp stem and a 4-nucleotide loop, located 5-10 nucleotides upstream of the 3' ends of galE mRNA, blocks exoribonuclease digestion and renders transcript stability. These findings demonstrate that RNase E-contrary to its general role in mRNA degradation-produces RNA 3' ends that regulate polarity in gene expression.IMPORTANCEThis study reports the findings of two molecular mechanisms that generate the 3' ends of pre-galE mRNA in the gal operon, viz., Rho-dependent transcription termination and RNase E-mediated cleavage. These 3' ends are subsequently processed to produce stable galE mRNA with a hairpin structure that prevents exoribonuclease degradation. This mechanism establishes gene expression polarity by generating the 3' end of galE mRNA within galT in contrast to the usual mRNA degradation role of RNase E. The study reveals a unique role of RNase E in mRNA processing and stability.

Transcription Needs Translation Initiation of the Downstream Gene to Continue Downstream at Intercistronic Junctions in E. Coli

We have reported a gal mutant called galE stop0, wherein the galE stop codon was changed to a sense codon. The experiment results demonstrated that preventing galE translation termination inhibited the production of galE 3' ends. This implies that when the galE translation termination was prevented, the galE 3' ends generation was reduced or impaired. We anticipated that the translation of galE would continue to galT, producing a chimeric protein GalE-GalT. This study verified that the chimeric protein was produced, but unexpectedly, we found that the GalT protein was also synthesized in the mutant, and its amount equaled that in the wild-type. In the wild-type, we also found that the GalE-GalT chimeric protein was produced in an amount equal to that of the GalE protein. These results suggest that translation termination of galE and translation initiation of galT occur independently, thus, corroborating our transcription-translation model: At the cistron junction, transcription, decoupled from translation due to the translation termination of galE, needs translation initiation of galT to continue downstream; otherwise, transcription would be terminated by Rho. RNase E-mediated transcript cleavage also produces the 3' ends of pre-galE mRNA. These findings indicated that RNase E produces the 3' end of mRNA and establishes gene expression polarity.

sRNA expedites polycistronic mRNA decay in Escherichia coli

In bacteria, most small RNA (sRNA) elicits RNase E-mediated target mRNA degradation by binding near the translation initiation site at the 5' end of the target mRNA. Spot 42 is an sRNA that binds in the middle of the gal operon near the translation initiation site of galK, the third gene of four, but it is not clear whether this binding causes degradation of gal mRNA. In this study, we measured the decay rate of gal mRNA using Northern blot and found that Spot 42 binding caused degradation of only a specific group of gal mRNA that shares their 3' end with full-length mRNA. The results showed that in the MG1655Δspf strain in which the Spot 42 gene was removed, the half-life of each gal mRNA in the group increased by about 200% compared to the wild type. Since these mRNA species are intermediate mRNA molecules created by the decay process of the full-length gal mRNA, these results suggest that sRNA accelerates the mRNA decaying processes that normally operate, thus revealing an unprecedented role of sRNA in mRNA biology.

Failure of Translation Initiation of the Next Gene Decouples Transcription at Intercistronic Sites and the Resultant mRNA Generation

In Escherichia coli, transcription is coupled with translation. The polar gal operon is transcribed galE-galT-galK-galM; however, about 10% of transcription terminates at the end of galE because of Rho-dependent termination (RDT). When galE translation is complete, galT translation should begin immediately. It is unclear whether RDT at the end of galE is due to decoupling of translation termination and transcription at the cistron junction. In this study, we show that RDT at the galE/galT cistron junction is linked to the failure of translation initiation at the start of galT, rather than translation termination at the end of galE. We also show that transcription pauses 130 nucleotides downstream from the site of galE translation termination, and this pause is required for RDT. IMPORTANCE Transcription of operons is initiated at the promoter of the first gene in the operon, continues through cistron junctions, and terminates at the end of the operon, generating a full-length mRNA. Here, we show that Rho-dependent termination of transcription occurs stochastically at a cistron junction, generating a stable mRNA that is shorter than the full-length mRNA. We further show that stochastic failure in translation initiation of the next gene, rather than the failure of translation termination of the preceding gene, causes the Rho-dependent termination. Thus, stochastic failure in translation initiation at the cistron junction causes the promoter-proximal gene to be transcribed more than promoter-distal genes within the operon.

The Exploration of Novel Regulatory Relationships Drives Haloarchaeal Operon-Like Structural Dynamics over Short Evolutionary Distances

Operons are a dominant feature of bacterial and archaeal genome organization. Numerous investigations have related aspects of operon structure to operon function, making operons exemplars for studies aimed at deciphering Nature's design principles for genomic organization at a local scale. We consider this understanding to be both fundamentally important and ultimately useful in the de novo design of increasingly complex synthetic circuits. Here we analyze the evolution of the genomic context of operon-like structures in a set of 76 sequenced and annotated species of halophilic archaea. The phylogenetic depth and breadth of this dataset allows insight into changes in operon-like structures over shorter evolutionary time scales than have been studied in previous cross-species analysis of operon evolution. Our analysis, implemented in the updated software package JContextExplorer finds that operon-like context as measured by changes in structure frequently differs from a sequence divergence model of whole-species phylogeny and that changes seem to be dominated by the exploration of novel regulatory relationships.

Translation Initiation Control of RNase E-Mediated Decay of Polycistronic gal mRNA

In bacteria, mRNA decay is a major mechanism for regulating gene expression. In Escherichia coli, mRNA decay initiates with endonucleolytic cleavage by RNase E. Translating ribosomes impede RNase E cleavage, thus providing stability to mRNA. In transcripts containing multiple cistrons, the translation of each cistron initiates separately. The effect of internal translation initiations on the decay of polycistronic transcripts remains unknown, which we have investigated here using the four-cistron galETKM transcript. We find that RNase E cleaves a few nucleotides (14-36) upstream of the translation initiation site of each cistron, generating decay intermediates galTKM, galKM, and galM mRNA with fewer but full cistrons. Blocking translation initiation reduced stability, particularly of the mutated cistrons and when they were the 5'-most cistrons. This indicates that, together with translation failure, the location of the cistron is important for its elimination. The instability of the 5'-most cistron did not propagate to the downstream cistrons, possibly due to translation initiation there. Cistron elimination from the 5' end was not always sequential, indicating that RNase E can also directly access a ribosome-free internal cistron. The finding in gal operon of mRNA decay by cistron elimination appears common in E. coli and Salmonella.

The conserved 3' UTR-derived small RNA NarS mediates mRNA crossregulation during nitrate respiration

Small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) from mRNA 3′ UTRs seem to present a previously unrecognized layer of bacterial post-transcriptional control whereby mRNAs influence each other's expression, independently of transcriptional control. Studies in Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica showed that such sRNAs are natural products of RNase E-mediated mRNA decay and associate with major RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) such as Hfq and ProQ. If so, there must be additional sRNAs from mRNAs that accumulate only under specific physiological conditions. We test this prediction by characterizing candidate NarS that represents the 3′ UTR of nitrate transporter NarK whose gene is silent during standard aerobic growth. We find that NarS acts by Hfq-dependent base pairing to repress the synthesis of the nitrite transporter, NirC, resulting in mRNA cross-regulation of nitrate and nitrite transporter genes. Interestingly, the NarS-mediated repression selectively targets the nirC cistron of the long nirBDC-cysG operon, an observation that we rationalize as a mechanism to protect the bacterial cytoplasm from excessive nitrite toxicity during anaerobic respiration with abundant nitrate. Our successful functional assignment of a 3′ UTR sRNA from a non-standard growth condition supports the notion that mRNA crossregulation is more pervasive than currently appreciated.

Analysis of expression profile of mce operon genes (mce1, mce2, mce3 operon) in different Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates at different growth phases

Background & objectives:

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) has four homologous mammalian cell entry (mce) operons (mce1-4) that encode exported proteins and have a possible role in the virulence mechanism of this pathogen. The expression of mce operon is considered to be complex and not completely understood. Although expression of mce operon at different in vitro growth phases has been studied earlier, its expression in different M. tuberculosis isolates under different growth phases is not yet studied. The present preliminary study was conducted on a limited number of isolates to know the trend of expression pattern of mce operon genes in different M. tuberculosis isolates under different growth stages.

Methods:

In this study, we monitored the transcriptional profile of selected mce operon genes (mce1A, mce1D, mce2A, mce2D, mce3A, mce3C) in different M. tuberculosis isolates (MDR1, MDR2, and sensitive isolate) at early exponential and stationary phases using real-time quantitative PCR.

Results:

The expression ratio of all selected mce operon genes in all M. tuberculosis isolates was reduced at the initial phase and increased substantially at a later phase of growth. Higher expression of mce1 operon genes was found in all M. tuberculosis isolates as compared to other mce operon genes (mce2 and mce3 operons) at stationary growth phase.

Interpretation & conclusions:

The higher expression of mce operon genes at stationary phase (as compared to early exponential phase) suggested growth phase dependent expression of mce operon genes. This indicated that the mce operon genes might have a role in M. tuberculosis survival and adaptation on the onset of adverse condition like stationary phase. Identification of differentially expressed genes will add to our understanding of the bacilli involved in adaptation to different growth conditions.

The transcriptional regulator GalR self-assembles to form highly regular tubular structures

The Gal repressor regulates transport and metabolism of D-galactose in Escherichia coli and can mediate DNA loop formation by forming a bridge between adjacent or distant sites. GalR forms insoluble aggregates at lower salt concentrations in vitro, which can be solubilized at higher salt concentrations. Here, we investigate the assembly and disassembly of GalR aggregates. We find that a sharp transition from aggregates to soluble species occurs between 200 and 400 mM NaCl, incompatible with a simple salting-in effect. The aggregates are highly ordered rod-like structures, highlighting a remarkable ability for organized self-assembly. Mutant studies reveal that aggregation is dependent on two separate interfaces of GalR. The highly ordered structures dissociate to smaller aggregates in the presence of D-galactose. We propose that these self-assembled structures may constitute galactose-tolerant polymers for chromosome compaction in stationary phase cells, in effect linking self-assembly with regulatory function.

Two-level inhibition of galK expression by Spot 42: Degradation of mRNA mK2 and enhanced transcription termination before the galK gene

The Escherichia coli gal operon has the structure Pgal-galE-galT-galK-galM. During early log growth, a gradient in gene expression, named type 2 polarity, is established, as follows: galE > galT > galK > galM. However, during late-log growth, type 1 polarity is established in which galK is greater than galT, as follows: galE > galK > galT > galM. We found that type 2 polarity occurs as a result of the down-regulation of galK, which is caused by two different molecular mechanisms: Spot 42-mediated degradation of the galK-specific mRNA, mK2, and Spot 42-mediated Rho-dependent transcription termination at the end of galT. Because the concentration of Spot 42 drops during the transition period of the polarity type switch, these results demonstrate that type 1 polarity is the result of alleviation of Spot 42-mediated galK down-regulation. Because the Spot 42-binding site overlaps with a putative Rho-binding site, a molecular mechanism is proposed to explain how Spot 42, possibly with Hfq, enhances Rho-mediated transcription termination at the end of galT.

Expression of each cistron in the gal operon can be regulated by transcription termination and generation of a galk-specific mRNA, mK2

The gal operon of Escherichia coli has 4 cistrons, galE, galT, galK, and galM. In our previous report (H. J. Lee, H. J. Jeon, S. C. Ji, S. H. Yun, H. M. Lim, J. Mol. Biol. 378: 318-327, 2008), we identified 6 different mRNA species, mE1, mE2, mT1, mK1, mK2, and mM1, in the gal operon and mapped these mRNAs. The mRNA map suggests a gradient of gene expression known as natural polarity. In this study, we investigated how the mRNAs are generated to understand the cause of natural polarity. Results indicated that mE1, mT1, mK1, and mM1, whose 3' ends are located at the end of each cistron, are generated by transcription termination. Since each transcription termination is operating with a certain frequency and those 4 mRNAs have 5' ends at the transcription initiation site(s), these transcription terminations are the basic cause of natural polarity. Transcription terminations at galE-galT and galT-galK junctions, making mE1 and mT1, are Rho dependent. However, the terminations to make mK1 and mM1 are partially Rho dependent. The 5' ends of mK2 are generated by an endonucleolytic cleavage of a pre-mK2 by RNase P, and the 3' ends are generated by Rho termination 260 nucleotides before the end of the operon. The 5' portion of pre-mK2 is likely to become mE2. These results also suggested that galK expression could be regulated through mK2 production independent from natural polarity.

DOOR 2.0: presenting operons and their functions through dynamic and integrated views

We have recently developed a new version of the DOOR operon database, DOOR 2.0, which is available online at http://csbl.bmb.uga.edu/DOOR/ and will be updated on a regular basis. DOOR 2.0 contains genome-scale operons for 2072 prokaryotes with complete genomes, three times the number of genomes covered in the previous version published in 2009. DOOR 2.0 has a number of new features, compared with its previous version, including (i) more than 250,000 transcription units, experimentally validated or computationally predicted based on RNA-seq data, providing a dynamic functional view of the underlying operons; (ii) an integrated operon-centric data resource that provides not only operons for each covered genome but also their functional and regulatory information such as their cis-regulatory binding sites for transcription initiation and termination, gene expression levels estimated based on RNA-seq data and conservation information across multiple genomes; (iii) a high-performance web service for online operon prediction on user-provided genomic sequences; (iv) an intuitive genome browser to support visualization of user-selected data; and (v) a keyword-based Google-like search engine for finding the needed information intuitively and rapidly in this database.

Small RNA-mediated activation of sugar phosphatase mRNA regulates glucose homeostasis

Glucose homeostasis is strictly controlled in all domains of life. Bacteria that are unable to balance intracellular sugar levels and deal with potentially toxic phosphosugars cease growth and risk being outcompeted. Here, we identify the conserved haloacid dehalogenase (HAD)-like enzyme YigL as the previously hypothesized phosphatase for detoxification of phosphosugars and reveal that its synthesis is activated by an Hfq-dependent small RNA in Salmonella typhimurium. We show that the glucose-6-P-responsive small RNA SgrS activates YigL synthesis in a translation-independent fashion by the selective stabilization of a decay intermediate of the dicistronic pldB-yigL messenger RNA (mRNA). Intriguingly, the major endoribonuclease RNase E, previously known to function together with small RNAs to degrade mRNA targets, is also essential for this process of mRNA activation. The exploitation of and targeted interference with regular RNA turnover described here may constitute a general route for small RNAs to rapidly activate both coding and noncoding genes.

Evolution of the metabolic and regulatory networks associated with oxygen availability in two phytopathogenic enterobacteria

Background

Dickeya dadantii and Pectobacterium atrosepticum are phytopathogenic enterobacteria capable of facultative anaerobic growth in a wide range of O₂ concentrations found in plant and natural environments. The transcriptional response to O₂ remains under-explored for these and other phytopathogenic enterobacteria although it has been well characterized for animal-associated genera including Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. Knowledge of the extent of conservation of the transcriptional response across orthologous genes in more distantly related species is useful to identify rates and patterns of regulon evolution. Evolutionary events such as loss and acquisition of genes by lateral transfer events along each evolutionary branch results in lineage-specific genes, some of which may have been subsequently incorporated into the O₂-responsive stimulon. Here we present a comparison of transcriptional profiles measured using densely tiled oligonucleotide arrays for two phytopathogens, Dickeya dadantii 3937 and Pectobacterium atrosepticum SCRI1043, grown to mid-log phase in MOPS minimal medium (0.1% glucose) with and without O₂.

Results

More than 7% of the genes of each phytopathogen are differentially expressed with greater than 3-fold changes under anaerobic conditions. In addition to anaerobic metabolism genes, the O₂ responsive stimulon includes a variety of virulence and pathogenicity-genes. Few of these genes overlap with orthologous genes in the anaerobic stimulon of E. coli. We define these as the conserved core, in which the transcriptional pattern as well as genetic architecture are well preserved. This conserved core includes previously described anaerobic metabolic pathways such as fermentation. Other components of the anaerobic stimulon show variation in genetic content, genome architecture and regulation. Notably formate metabolism, nitrate/nitrite metabolism, and fermentative butanediol production, differ between E. coli and the phytopathogens. Surprisingly, the overlap of the anaerobic stimulon between the phytopathogens is also relatively small considering that they are closely related, occupy similar niches and employ similar strategies to cause disease. There are cases of interesting divergences in the pattern of transcription of genes between Dickeya and Pectobacterium for virulence-associated subsystems including the type VI secretion system (T6SS), suggesting that fine-tuning of the stimulon impacts interaction with plants or competing microbes.

Conclusions

The small number of genes (an even smaller number if we consider operons) comprising the conserved core transcriptional response to O₂ limitation demonstrates the extent of regulatory divergence prevalent in the Enterobacteriaceae. Our orthology-driven comparative transcriptomics approach indicates that the adaptive response in the eneterobacteria is a result of interaction of core (regulators) and lineage-specific (structural and regulatory) genes. Our subsystems based approach reveals that similar phenotypic outcomes are sometimes achieved by each organism using different genes and regulatory strategies.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae transcription unit organization: genome survey and prediction

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is associated with swine respiratory diseases. Although gene organization and regulation are well known in many prokaryotic organisms, knowledge on mycoplasma is limited. This study performed a comparative analysis of three strains of M. hyopneumoniae (7448, J and 232), with a focus on genome organization and gene comparison for open read frame (ORF) cluster (OC) identification. An in silico analysis of gene organization demonstrated 117 OCs and 34 single ORFs in M. hyopneumoniae 7448 and J, while 116 OCs and 36 single ORFs were identified in M. hyopneumoniae 232. Genomic comparison revealed high synteny and conservation of gene order between the OCs defined for 7448 and J strains as well as for 7448 and 232 strains. Twenty-one OCs were chosen and experimentally confirmed by reverse transcription–PCR from M. hyopneumoniae 7448 genome, validating our prediction. A subset of the ORFs within an OC could be independently transcribed due to the presence of internal promoters. Our results suggest that transcription occurs in ‘run-on’ from an upstream promoter in M. hyopneumoniae, thus forming large ORF clusters (from 2 to 29 ORFs in the same orientation) and indicating a complex transcriptional organization.

Structure and function of the D-galactose network in enterobacteria

Galactose is important for the survival and virulence of bacteria. In Escherichia coli, galactose is utilized by the Leloir pathway, which is controlled by a complex network. To shed light on the potential functions the galactose network could perform, we performed bioinformatical analysis of reference genome sequences belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family. We found that several genomes have reduced numbers of components compared to the E. coli galactose system, suggesting that the network can be optimized for different environments. Typically, genes are removed by deletions; however, in Yersinia pestis, the galactose mutarotase (galM) gene is inactivated by a single-base-pair deletion. Lack of GalM activity indicates that the two anomers of d-galactose are used for different purposes, α-d-galactose as a carbon source and β-d-galactose for induction of UDP-galactose synthesis for biosynthetic glycosylation. We demonstrate that activity of the galM gene can be restored by different single-base-pair insertions. During the evolution of Y. pestis to become a vector-transmitted systemic pathogen, many genes were converted to pseudogenes. It is not clear whether pseudogenes are present to maintain meiotrophism or are in the process of elimination. Our results suggest that the galM pseudogene has not been deleted because its reactivation may be beneficial in certain environments.

Evolution of bacteria to populate a new environment necessarily involves reengineering of their molecular network. Members of the Enterobacteriaceae family of bacteria have diverse lifestyles and can function in a wide range of environments. In this study we performed bioinformatical analysis of 34 reference genome sequences belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family to gain insight into the natural diversity of the d-galactose utilization network. Our bioinformatical analysis shows that in several species, some genes of the network are completely missing or are inactivated by large deletions. The only exception is the galactose mutarotase (galM) gene of Yersinia pestis, which is converted to a pseudogene by a single-base-pair deletion. In this paper, we discuss the possible consequences of galM inactivation on network function. We suggest that galM was converted to a pseudogene rather than being deleted in evolution because its reactivation can be beneficial in certain environments.

In vivo transcription dynamics of the galactose operon: a study on the promoter transition from P1 to P2 at onset of stationary phase

Quantitative analyses of the 5′ end of gal transcripts indicate that transcription from the galactose operon P1 promoter is higher during cell division. When cells are no longer dividing, however, transcription is initiated more often from the P2 promoter. Escherichia coli cells divide six times before the onset of the stationary phase when grown in LB containing 0.5% galactose at 37°C. Transcription from the two promoters increases, although at different rates, during early exponential phase (until the third cell division, OD₆₀₀ 0.4), and then reaches a plateau. The steady-state transcription from P1 continues in late exponential phase (the next three cell divisions, OD₆₀₀ 3.0), after which transcription from this promoter decreases. However, steady-state transcription from P2 continues 1 h longer into the stationary phase, before decreasing. This longer steady-state P2 transcription constitutes the promoter transition from P1 to P2 at the onset of the stationary phase. The intracellular cAMP concentration dictates P1 transcription dynamics; therefore, promoter transition may result from a lack of cAMP-CRP complex binding to the gal operon. The decay rate of gal-specific transcripts is constant through the six consecutive cell divisions that comprise the exponential growth phase, increases at the onset of the stationary phase, and is too low to be measured during the stationary phase. These data suggest that a regulatory mechanism coordinates the synthesis and decay of gal mRNAs to maintain the observed gal transcription. Our analysis indicates that the increase in P1 transcription is the result of cAMP-CRP binding to increasing numbers of galactose operons in the cell population.

Timing of gene transcription in the galactose utilization system of Escherichia coli

In the natural environment, bacterial cells have to adjust their metabolism to alterations in the availability of food sources. The order and timing of gene expression are crucial in these situations to produce an appropriate response. We used the galactose regulation in Escherichia coli as a model system for understanding how cells integrate information about food availability and cAMP levels to adjust the timing and intensity of gene expression. We simulated the feast-famine cycle of bacterial growth by diluting stationary phase cells in fresh medium containing galactose as the sole carbon source. We followed the activities of six promoters of the galactose system as cells grew on and ran out of galactose. We found that the cell responds to a decreasing external galactose level by increasing the internal galactose level, which is achieved by limiting galactose metabolism and increasing the expression of transporters. We show that the cell alters gene expression based primarily on the current state of the cell and not on monitoring the level of extracellular galactose in real time. Some decisions have longer term effects; therefore, the current state does subtly encode the history of food availability. In summary, our measurements of timing of gene expression in the galactose system suggest that the system has evolved to respond to environments where future galactose levels are unpredictable rather than regular feast and famine cycles.

A eukaryotic (insect) tricistronic mRNA encodes three proteins selected by context-dependent scanning

Eukaryotic mRNAs are generally considered monocistronic and encode only one protein. Although dicistronic mRNAs encoding two proteins were found in fungi, plants, and animals, polycistronic mRNAs encoding more than two proteins have remained elusive so far in any eukaryote. Here we demonstrate that a single mRNA from silkworm encodes the precursor of an insect cytokine paralytic peptide (PP) and two new cytokine precursor-like proteins, uENF1 and uENF2. RT-PCR analysis showed that this mRNA is widely conserved in moths. Western blot analyses and reporter assays using its modified mRNAs, created by replacing each one of the three ORFs with the firefly luciferase ORF, showed that all three proteins were translated from this mRNA in cell lines, larval tissues, and cell-free systems. Insertion experiments using the Renilla luciferase ORF or a stem loop ruled out the possible involvement of internal ribosome entry site in the three protein translation. On the other hand, systematic mutation analysis of the translation initiation sequence of the 5′-proximal uENF1 ORF suggested that the context-dependent leaky-scanning mechanism is involved in translation of the downstream uENF2 and PP ORFs. In vitro, a synthetic peptide corresponding to the putative mature form of uENF1 stimulated spreading of hemocytes as did the synthetic PP, whereas that of uENF2 antagonized the stimulating activities of PP and the uENF1 peptide, suggesting that the three proteins control cellular immunity interactively. Thus, eukaryotes have a cellular tricistronic mRNA that encodes three functionally related proteins as in an operon.

Global transcriptomic response of Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni upon exposure to serum

Background

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis of worldwide distribution caused by infection with pathogenic serovars of Leptospira spp. The most common species, L. interrogans, can survive in the environment for lengthy periods of time in between infection of mammalian hosts. Transmission of pathogenic Leptospira to humans mostly occurs through abraded skin or mucosal surfaces after direct or indirect contact with infected animals or contaminated soil or water. The spirochete then spreads hematogenously, resulting in multi-organ failure and death in severe cases. Previous DNA microarray studies have identified differentially expressed genes required for adaptation to temperature and osmolarity conditions inside the host compared to those of the environment.

Results

In order to identify genes involved in survival in the early spirochetemic phase of infection, we performed a transcriptional analysis of L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni upon exposure to serum in comparison with EMJH medium. One hundred and sixty-eight genes were found to be differentially expressed, of which 55 were up-regulated and 113 were down-regulated. Genes of known or predicted function accounted for 54.5 and 45.1% of up- and down-regulated genes, respectively. Most of the differentially expressed genes were predicted to be involved in transcriptional regulation, translational process, two-component signal transduction systems, cell or membrane biogenesis, and metabolic pathways.

Conclusions

Our study showed global transcriptional changes of pathogenic Leptospira upon exposure to serum, representing a specific host environmental cue present in the bloodstream. The presence of serum led to a distinct pattern of gene expression in comparison to those of previous single-stimulus microarray studies on the effect of temperature and osmolarity upshift. The results provide insights into the pathogenesis of leptospirosis during the early bacteremic phase of infection.

Quantitative effect and regulatory function of cyclic adenosine 5'-phosphate in Escherichia coli

Cyclic adenosine 5'-phosphate (cAMP) is a global regulator of gene expression in Escherichia coli. Despite decades of intensive study, the quantitative effect and regulatory function of cAMP remain the subjects of considerable debate. Here, we analyse the data in the literature to show that: (a) In carbon-limited cultures (including cultures limited by glucose), cAMP is at near-saturation levels with respect to expression of several catabolic promoters (including lac, ara and gal). It follows that cAMP receptor protein (CRP) cAMP-mediated regulation cannot account for the strong repression of these operons in the presence of glucose. (b) The cAMP levels in carbon-excess cultures are substantially lower than those observed in carbon-limited cultures under these conditions, the expression of catabolic promoters is very sensitive to variation of cAMP levels. (c)=CRPcAMP invariably activates the expression of catabolic promoters, but it appears to inhibit the expression of anabolic promoters. (d) These results suggest that the physiological function of cAMP is to maintain homeostatic energy levels. In carbon-limited cultures, growth is limited by the supply of energy; the cAMP levels therefore increase to enhance energy accumulation by activating the catabolic promoters and inhibiting the anabolic promoters. Conversely, in carbonexcess cultures, characterized by the availability of excess energy, the cAMP levels decrease in order to depress energy accumulation by inhibiting the catabolic promoters and activating the anabolic promoters.

Prevalence of transcription promoters within archaeal operons and coding sequences

Despite the knowledge of complex prokaryotic-transcription mechanisms, generalized rules, such as the simplified organization of genes into operons with well-defined promoters and terminators, have had a significant role in systems analysis of regulatory logic in both bacteria and archaea. Here, we have investigated the prevalence of alternate regulatory mechanisms through genome-wide characterization of transcript structures of approximately 64% of all genes, including putative non-coding RNAs in Halobacterium salinarum NRC-1. Our integrative analysis of transcriptome dynamics and protein-DNA interaction data sets showed widespread environment-dependent modulation of operon architectures, transcription initiation and termination inside coding sequences, and extensive overlap in 3' ends of transcripts for many convergently transcribed genes. A significant fraction of these alternate transcriptional events correlate to binding locations of 11 transcription factors and regulators (TFs) inside operons and annotated genes-events usually considered spurious or non-functional. Using experimental validation, we illustrate the prevalence of overlapping genomic signals in archaeal transcription, casting doubt on the general perception of rigid boundaries between coding sequences and regulatory elements.

Dynamic features of gene expression control by small regulatory RNAs

Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) in eukaryotes and bacteria play an important role in the regulation of gene expression either by binding to regulatory proteins or directly to target mRNAs. Two of the best-characterized bacterial sRNAs, Spot42 and RyhB, form a complementary pair with the ribosome binding region of their target mRNAs, thereby inhibiting translation or promoting mRNA degradation. To investigate the steady-state and dynamic potential of such sRNAs, we examine the 2 key parameters characterizing sRNA regulation: the capacity to overexpress the sRNA relative to its target mRNA and the speed at which the target mRNA is irreversibly inactivated. We demonstrate different methods to determine these 2 key parameters, for Spot42 and RyhB, which combine biochemical and genetic experiments with computational analysis. We have developed a mathematical model that describes the functional properties of sRNAs with various characteristic parameters. We observed that Spot42 and RyhB function in distinctive parameter regimes, which result in divergent mechanisms.

Gene regulation in continuous cultures: a unified theory for bacteria and yeasts

During batch growth on mixtures of two growth-limiting substrates, microbes consume the substrates either sequentially (diauxie) or simultaneously. The ubiquity of these growth patterns suggests that they may be driven by a universal mechanism common to all microbial species. Recently, we showed that a minimal model accounting only for enzyme induction and dilution, the two processes that occur in all microbes, explains the phenotypes observed in batch cultures of various wild-type and mutant/recombinant cells (Narang and Pilyugin in J. Theor. Biol. 244:326-348, 2007). Here, we examine the extension of the minimal model to continuous cultures. We show that: (1) Several enzymatic trends, attributed entirely to cross-regulatory mechanisms, such as catabolite repression and inducer exclusion, can be quantitatively explained by enzyme dilution. (2) The bifurcation diagram of the minimal model for continuous cultures, which classifies the substrate consumption pattern at any given dilution rate and feed concentrations, provides a precise explanation for the empirically observed correlations between the growth patterns in batch and continuous cultures. (3) Numerical simulations of the model are in excellent agreement with the data. The model captures the variation of the steady state substrate concentrations, cell densities, and enzyme levels during the single- and mixed-substrate growth of bacteria and yeasts at various dilution rates and feed concentrations. This variation is well approximated by simple analytical expressions that furnish deep physical insights. (4) Since the minimal model describes the behavior of the cells in the absence of cross-regulatory mechanisms, it provides a rigorous framework for quantifying the effect of these mechanisms. We illustrate this by analyzing several data sets from the literature.

Signal integration in the galactose network of Escherichia coli

The gal regulon of Escherichia coli contains genes involved in galactose transport and metabolism. Transcription of the gal regulon genes is regulated in different ways by two iso-regulatory proteins, Gal repressor (GalR) and Gal isorepressor (GalS), which recognize the same binding sites in the absence of d-galactose. DNA binding by both GalR and GalS is inhibited in the presence of d-galactose. Many of the gal regulon genes are activated in the presence of the adenosine cyclic-3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP)-cAMP receptor protein (CRP) complex. We studied transcriptional regulation of the gal regulon promoters simultaneously in a purified system and attempted to integrate the two small molecule signals, d-galactose and cAMP, that modulate the isoregulators and CRP respectively, at each promoter, using Boolean logic. Results show that similarly organized promoters can have different input functions. We also found that in some cases the activity of the promoter and the cognate gene can be described by different logic gates. We combined the transcriptional network of the galactose regulon, obtained from our experiments, with literature data to construct an integrated map of the galactose network. Structural analysis of the network shows that at the interface of the genetic and metabolic network, feedback loops are by far the most common motif.

Genetic regulation of fluxes: iron homeostasis of Escherichia coli

Iron is an essential trace-element for most organisms. However, because high concentration of free intracellular iron is cytotoxic, cells have developed complex regulatory networks that keep free intracellular iron concentration at optimal range, allowing the incorporation of the metal into iron-using enzymes and minimizing damage to the cell. We built a mathematical model of the network that controls iron uptake and usage in the bacterium Escherichia coli to explore the dynamics of iron flow. We simulate the effect of sudden decrease or increase in the extracellular iron level on intracellular iron distribution. Based on the results of simulations we discuss the possible roles of the small RNA RyhB and the Fe–S cluster assembly systems in the optimal redistribution of iron flows. We suggest that Fe–S cluster assembly is crucial to prevent the accumulation of toxic levels of free intracellular iron when the environment suddenly becomes iron rich.

OpWise: operons aid the identification of differentially expressed genes in bacterial microarray experiments

BACKGROUND

Differentially expressed genes are typically identified by analyzing the variation between replicate measurements. These procedures implicitly assume that there are no systematic errors in the data even though several sources of systematic error are known.

RESULTS

OpWise estimates the amount of systematic error in bacterial microarray data by assuming that genes in the same operon have matching expression patterns. OpWise then performs a Bayesian analysis of a linear model to estimate significance. In simulations, OpWise corrects for systematic error and is robust to deviations from its assumptions. In several bacterial data sets, significant amounts of systematic error are present, and replicate-based approaches overstate the confidence of the changers dramatically, while OpWise does not. Finally, OpWise can identify additional changers by assigning genes higher confidence if they are consistent with other genes in the same operon.

CONCLUSION

Although microarray data can contain large amounts of systematic error, operons provide an external standard and allow for reasonable estimates of significance. OpWise is available at http://microbesonline.org/OpWise.