Characterization of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa fatty acid biosynthetic gene cluster: purification of acyl carrier protein (ACP) and malonyl-coenzyme A:ACP transacylase (FabD)

Selection and validation of reference genes suitable for gene expression analysis by Reverse Transcription Quantitative real-time PCR in Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii is a Gram-negative bacterium considered an emerging multi-drug-resistant pathogen. Furthermore, this bacterium can survive in extreme environmental conditions, which makes it a frequent cause of nosocomial infection outbreaks. Gene expression analyses by Reverse Transcription Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) depend on a reference gene, also called an endogenous gene, which is used to normalize the generated data and thus ensure an accurate analysis with minimal errors. Currently, gene expression analyses in A. baumannii are compromised, as there are no reports in the literature describing the identification of validated reference genes for use in RT-qPCR analyses. For this reason, we selected twelve candidate reference genes of A. baumannii and assessed their expression profile under different experimental and culture conditions. The expression stability of the candidate genes was evaluated by using statistical algorithms such as BestKeeper, geNorm, NormFinder, Delta CT, and RefFinder, in order to identify the most suitable candidate reference genes for RT-qPCR analyses. The statistical analyses indicated rpoB, rpoD, and fabD genes as the most adequate to ensure accurate normalization of RT-qPCR data in A. baumannii. The accuracy of the proposed reference genes was validated by using them to normalize the expression of the ompA gene, encoding the outer membrane protein A, in A. baumannii sensible and resistant to the antibiotic polymyxin. The present work provides suitable reference genes for precise RT-qPCR data normalization on future gene expression studies with A. baumannii.

Functional Amyloids in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Are Essential for the Proteome Modulation That Leads to Pathoadaptation in Pulmonary Niches

Persistence and survival of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in chronic lung infections is closely linked to the biofilm lifestyle. One biofilm component, functional amyloid of P. aeruginosa (Fap), imparts structural adaptations for biofilms; however, the role of Fap in pathogenesis is still unclear. Conservation of the fap operon encoding Fap and P. aeruginosa being an opportunistic pathogen of lung infections prompted us to explore its role in lung infection. We found that Fap is essential for establishment of lung infection in rats, as its genetic exclusion led to mild focal infection with quick resolution. Moreover, without an underlying cystic fibrosis (CF) genetic disorder, overexpression of Fap reproduced the CF pathotype. The molecular basis of Fap-mediated pulmonary adaptation was explored through surface-associated proteomics in vitro. Differential proteomics positively associated Fap expression with activation of known proteins related to pulmonary pathoadaptation, attachment, and biofilm fitness. The aggregative bacterial phenotype in the pulmonary niche correlated with Fap-influenced activation of biofilm sustainability regulators and stress response regulators that favored persistence-mediated establishment of pulmonary infection. Fap overexpression upregulated proteins that are abundant in the proteome of P. aeruginosa in colonizing CF lungs. Planktonic lifestyle, defects in anaerobic pathway, and neutrophilic evasion were key factors in the absence of Fap that impaired establishment of infection. We concluded that Fap is essential for cellular equilibration to establish pulmonary infection. Amyloid-induced bacterial aggregation subverted the immune response, leading to chronic infection by collaterally damaging tissue and reinforcing bacterial persistence. IMPORTANCE Pseudomonas aeruginosa is inextricably linked with chronic lung infections. In this study, the well-conserved Fap operon was found to be essential for pathoadaptation in pulmonary infection in a rat lung model. Moreover, the presence of Fap increased pathogenesis and biofilm sustainability by modulating bacterial physiology. Hence, a pathoadaptive role of Fap in pulmonary infections can be exploited for clinical application by targeting amyloids. Furthermore, genetic conservation and extracellular exposure of Fap make it a commendable target for such interventions.

Genome-wide transposon mutagenesis analysis of Burkholderia pseudomallei reveals essential genes for in vitro and in vivo survival

Introduction

Burkholderia pseudomallei, a soil-dwelling microbe that infects humans and animals is the cause of the fatal disease melioidosis. The molecular mechanisms that underlie B. pseudomallei's versatility to survive within a broad range of environments are still not well defined.

Methods

We used the genome-wide screening tool TraDIS (Transposon Directed Insertion-site Sequencing) to identify B. pseudomallei essential genes. Transposon-flanking regions were sequenced and gene essentiality was assessed based on the frequency of transposon insertions within each gene. Transposon mutants were grown in LB and M9 minimal medium to determine conditionally essential genes required for growth under laboratory conditions. The Caenorhabditis elegans infection model was used to assess genes associated with in vivo B. pseudomallei survival. Transposon mutants were fed to the worms, recovered from worm intestines, and sequenced. Two selected mutants were constructed and evaluated for the bacteria's ability to survive and proliferate in the nematode intestinal lumen.

Results

Approximately 500,000 transposon-insertion mutants of B. pseudomallei strain R15 were generated. A total of 848,811 unique transposon insertion sites were identified in the B. pseudomallei R15 genome and 492 genes carrying low insertion frequencies were predicted to be essential. A total of 96 genes specifically required to support growth under nutrient-depleted conditions were identified. Genes most likely to be involved in B. pseudomallei survival and adaptation in the C. elegans intestinal lumen, were identified. When compared to wild type B. pseudomallei, a Tn5 mutant of bpsl2988 exhibited reduced survival in the worm intestine, was attenuated in C. elegans killing and showed decreased colonization in the organs of infected mice.

Discussion

The B. pseudomallei conditional essential proteins should provide further insights into the bacteria's niche adaptation, pathogenesis, and virulence.

A Novel XRE-Type Regulator Mediates Phage Lytic Development and Multiple Host Metabolic Processes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, the leading cause of acute and chronic infections in immunocompromised patients, frequently with high morbidity and mortality rates. The xenobiotic response element (XRE) family proteins are the second most common transcriptional regulators (TRs) in P. aeruginosa. However, only a few XRE-like TRs have been reported to regulate multiple bacterial cellular processes, encompassing virulence, metabolism, antibiotic synthesis or resistance, stress responses, and phage infection, etc. Our understanding of what roles these XRE-like small regulatory proteins play in P. aeruginosa remains limited. Here, we aimed to decipher the role of a putative XRE-type transcriptional regulator (designated LfsT) from a prophage region on the chromosome of a clinical P. aeruginosa isolate, P8W. Southern blot and reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assays demonstrated that LfsT controlled host sensitivity to the phage PP9W2 and was essential for efficient phage replication. In addition, electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) and transcriptional lacZ fusion analyses indicated that LfsT repressed the lysogenic development and promoted the lytic cycle of phage PP9W2 by binding to the promoter regions of the gp71 gene (encoding a CI-like repressor) and several vital phage genes. Combined with RNA-seq and a series of phenotypic validation tests, our results showed that LfsT bound to the flexible palindromic sites within the promoters upstream of several genes in the bacterial genome, regulating fatty acid (FA) metabolism, spermidine (SPD) transport, as well as the type III secretion system (T3SS). Overall, this study reveals novel regulatory roles of LfsT in P. aeruginosa, improving our understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind bacterium-phage interactions. IMPORTANCE This work elucidates the novel roles of a putative XRE family TR, LfsT, in the intricate regulatory systems of P. aeruginosa. We found that LfsT bound directly to the core promoter regions upstream of the start codons of numerous genes involved in various processes, including phage infection, FA metabolism, SPD transport, and the T3SS, regulating as the repressor or activator. The identified partial palindromic motif NAACN(5,8)GTTN recognized by LfsT suggests extensive effects of LfsT on gene expression by maintaining preferential binding to nucleotide sites under evolutionary pressure. In summary, these findings indicate that LfsT enhances metabolic activity in P. aeruginosa, while it reduces host resistance to the phage. This study helps us better understand the coevolution of bacteria and phages (e.g., survival comes at a cost) and provides clues for designing novel antimicrobials against P. aeruginosa infections.

Identification, structure determination and analysis of Mycobacterium smegmatis acyl-carrier protein synthase (AcpS) crystallized serendipitously

The unintended crystallization of proteins which generally originate from the expression host instead of the target recombinant proteins is periodically reported. Despite the massive technological advances in the field, assigning a structural model to the corresponding diffraction data is not a trivial task. Here, the structure of acyl-carrier protein synthase (AcpS) from Mycobacterium smegmatis (msAcpS), which crystallized inadvertently in an experimental setup to grow crystals of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein using M. smegmatis as an expression system, is reported. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to solve the structure of the target protein by the molecular-replacement method no convincing solutions were obtained, indicating that the diffraction data may correspond to a crystal of an artifactual protein, which was finally identified by the Sequence-Independent Molecular replacement Based on Available Databases (SIMBAD) server. The msAcpS structure was solved at 2.27 Å resolution and structural analysis showed an overall conserved fold. msAcpS formed a trimeric structure similar to those of other reported structures of AcpS from various organisms; however, the residues involved in trimer formation are not strictly conserved. An unrelated metal ion (Ni2+), which was possibly incorporated during protein purification, was observed in the proximity of His49 and His116. Structural and sequence differences were observed in the loop connecting the α3 and α4 helices that is responsible for the open and closed conformations of the enzyme. Moreover, the structural analysis of msAcpS augments the current understanding of this enzyme, which plays a crucial role in the functional activation of acyl-carrier proteins in the fatty-acid biosynthesis pathway.

Genetic Suppression of Lethal Mutations in Fatty Acid Biosynthesis Mediated by a Secondary Lipid Synthase

The biosynthesis and incorporation of polyunsaturated fatty acids into phospholipid membranes are unique features of certain marine Gammaproteobacteria inhabiting high-pressure and/or low-temperature environments. In these bacteria, monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids are produced via the classical dissociated type II fatty acid synthase mechanism, while omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) are produced by a hybrid polyketide/fatty acid synthase—encoded by the pfa genes—also referred to as the secondary lipid synthase mechanism. In this work, phenotypes associated with partial or complete loss of monounsaturated biosynthesis are shown to be compensated for by severalfold increased production of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the model marine bacterium Photobacterium profundum SS9. One route to suppression of these phenotypes could be achieved by transposition of insertion sequences within or upstream of the fabD coding sequence, which encodes malonyl coenzyme A (malonyl-CoA) acyl carrier protein transacylase. Genetic experiments in this strain indicated that fabD is not an essential gene, yet mutations in fabD and pfaA are synthetically lethal. Based on these results, we speculated that the malonyl-CoA transacylase domain within PfaA compensates for loss of FabD activity. Heterologous expression of either pfaABCD from P. profundum SS9 or pfaABCDE from Shewanella pealeana in Escherichia coli complemented the loss of the chromosomal copy of fabD in vivo. The co-occurrence of independent, yet compensatory, fatty acid biosynthetic pathways in selected marine bacteria may provide genetic redundancy to optimize fitness under extreme conditions.

IMPORTANCE A defining trait among many cultured piezophilic and/or psychrophilic marine Gammaproteobacteria is the incorporation of both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids into membrane phospholipids. The biosynthesis of these different classes of fatty acid molecules is linked to two genetically distinct co-occurring pathways that utilize the same pool of intracellular precursors. Using a genetic approach, new insights into the interactions between these two biosynthetic pathways have been gained. Specifically, core fatty acid biosynthesis genes previously thought to be essential were found to be nonessential in strains harboring both pathways due to functional overlap between the two pathways. These results provide new routes to genetically optimize long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis in bacteria and reveal a possible ecological role for maintaining multiple pathways for lipid synthesis in a single bacterium.

Prophage Genomics and Ecology in the Family Rhodobacteraceae

Roseobacters are globally abundant bacteria with critical roles in carbon and sulfur biogeochemical cycling. Here, we identified 173 new putative prophages in 79 genomes of Rhodobacteraceae. These prophages represented 1.3 ± 0.15% of the bacterial genomes and had no to low homology with reference and metagenome-assembled viral genomes from aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Among the newly identified putative prophages, 35% encoded auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs), mostly involved in secondary metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and cofactor and vitamin production. The analysis of integration sites and gene homology showed that 22 of the putative prophages were actually gene transfer agents (GTAs) similar to a GTA of Rhodobacter capsulatus. Twenty-three percent of the predicted prophages were observed in the TARA Oceans viromes generated from free viral particles, suggesting that they represent active prophages capable of induction. The distribution of these prophages was significantly associated with latitude and temperature. The prophages most abundant at high latitudes encoded acpP, an auxiliary metabolic gene involved in lipid synthesis and membrane fluidity at low temperatures. Our results show that prophages and gene transfer agents are significant sources of genomic diversity in roseobacter, with potential roles in the ecology of this globally distributed bacterial group.

Temperature regulation of membrane composition in the Firmicute, Enterococcus faecalis, parallels that of Escherichia coli

Both Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli can undergo abrupt temperature transitions in nature. E. coli changes the composition of its phospholipid acyl chains in response to shifts growth temperature. This is mediated by a naturally temperature sensitive enzyme, FabF (3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase II), that elongates the 16 carbon unsaturated acyl chain palmitoleate to the 18 carbon unsaturated acyl chain, cis-vaccenate. FabF is more active at low temperatures resulting in increased incorporation of cis-vaccenoyl acyl chains into the membrane phospholipids. This response to temperature is an intrinsic property of FabF and does not require increased synthesis of the enzyme. We report that the FabF of the very divergent bacterium, E. faecalis, has properties very similar to E. coli FabF and is responsible for changing E. faecalis membrane phospholipid acyl chain composition in response to temperature. Moreover, expression E. faecalis FabF in an E. coli ∆fabF strain restores temperature regulation to the E. coli strain.

Structural comparison of Acinetobacter baumannii β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein reductases in fatty acid and aryl polyene biosynthesis

Some Gram-negative bacteria harbor lipids with aryl polyene (APE) moieties. Biosynthesis gene clusters (BGCs) for APE biosynthesis exhibit striking similarities with fatty acid synthase (FAS) genes. Despite their broad distribution among pathogenic and symbiotic bacteria, the detailed roles of the metabolic products of APE gene clusters are unclear. Here, we determined the crystal structures of the β-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase ApeQ produced by an APE gene cluster from clinically isolated virulent Acinetobacter baumannii in two states (bound and unbound to NADPH). An in vitro visible absorption spectrum assay of the APE polyene moiety revealed that the β-ketoacyl-ACP reductase FabG from the A. baumannii FAS gene cluster cannot be substituted for ApeQ in APE biosynthesis. Comparison with the FabG structure exhibited distinct surface electrostatic potential profiles for ApeQ, suggesting a positively charged arginine patch as the cognate ACP-binding site. Binding modeling for the aryl group predicted that Leu185 (Phe183 in FabG) in ApeQ is responsible for 4-benzoyl moiety recognition. Isothermal titration and arginine patch mutagenesis experiments corroborated these results. These structure-function insights of a unique reductase in the APE BGC in comparison with FAS provide new directions for elucidating host-pathogen interaction mechanisms and novel antibiotics discovery.

Comparative transcriptomic analysis of global gene expression mediated by (p) ppGpp reveals common regulatory networks in Pseudomonas syringae

BACKGROUND

Pseudomonas syringae is an important plant pathogen, which could adapt many different environmental conditions. Under the nutrient-limited and other stress conditions, P. syringae produces nucleotide signal molecules, i.e., guanosine tetra/pentaphosphate ((p)ppGpp), to globally regulate gene expression. Previous studies showed that (p) ppGpp played an important role in regulating virulence factors in P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (PstDC3000) and P. syringae pv. syringae B728a (PssB728a). Here we present a comparative transcriptomic analysis to uncover the overall effects of (p)ppGpp-mediated stringent response in P. syringae.

RESULTS

In this study, we investigated global gene expression profiles of PstDC3000 and PssB728a and their corresponding (p)ppGpp⁰ mutants in hrp-inducing minimal medium (HMM) using RNA-seq. A total of 1886 and 1562 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were uncovered between the (p)ppGpp⁰ mutants and the wild-type in PstDC3000 and PssB728a, respectively. Comparative transcriptomics identified 1613 common DEGs, as well as 444 and 293 unique DEGs in PstDC3000 and PssB728a, respectively. Functional cluster analysis revealed that (p) ppGpp positively regulated a variety of virulence-associated genes, including type III secretion system (T3SS), type VI secretion system (T6SS), cell motility, cell division, and alginate biosynthesis, while negatively regulated multiple basic physiological processes, including DNA replication, RNA processes, nucleotide biosynthesis, fatty acid metabolism, ribosome protein biosynthesis, and amino acid metabolism in both PstDC3000 and PssB728a. Furthermore, (p) ppGpp had divergent effects on other processes in PstDC3000 and PssB728a, including phytotoxin, nitrogen regulation and general secretion pathway (GSP).

CONCLUSION

In this study, comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals common regulatory networks in both PstDC3000 and PssB728a mediated by (p) ppGpp in HMM. In both P. syringae systems, (p) ppGpp re-allocate cellular resources by suppressing multiple basic physiological activities and enhancing virulence gene expression, suggesting a balance between growth, survival and virulence. Our research is important in that due to similar global gene expression mediated by (p) ppGpp in both PstDC3000 and PssB728a, it is reasonable to propose that (p) ppGpp could be used as a target to develop novel control measures to fight against important plant bacterial diseases.

Mutations Reducing In Vitro Susceptibility to Novel LpxC Inhibitors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Interplay of Efflux and Nonefflux Mechanisms

Upregulated expression of efflux pumps, lpxC target mutations, LpxC protein overexpression, and mutations in fabG were previously shown to mediate single-step resistance to the LpxC inhibitor CHIR-090 in P. aeruginosa Single-step selection experiments using three recently described LpxC inhibitors (compounds 2, 3, and 4) and mutant characterization showed that these mechanisms affect susceptibility to additional novel LpxC inhibitors. Serial passaging of P. aeruginosa wild-type and efflux pump-defective strains using the LpxC inhibitor CHIR-090 or compound 1 generated substantial shifts in susceptibility and underscored the interplay of efflux and nonefflux mechanisms. Whole-genome sequencing of CHIR-090 passage mutants identified efflux pump overexpression, fabG mutations, and novel mutations in fabF1 and in PA4465 as determinants of reduced susceptibility. Two new lpxC mutations, encoding A214V and G208S, that reduce susceptibility to certain LpxC inhibitors were identified in these studies, and we show that these and other target mutations differentially affect different LpxC inhibitor scaffolds. Lastly, the combination of target alteration (LpxC_A214V) and upregulated expression of LpxC was shown to be tolerated in P. aeruginosa and could mediate significant decreases in susceptibility.

Vesicles From Vibrio cholerae Contain AT-Rich DNA and Shorter mRNAs That Do Not Correlate With Their Protein Products

Extracellular vesicles secreted by Gram-negative bacteria have proven to be important in bacterial defense, communication and host–pathogen relationships. They resemble smaller versions of the bacterial mother cell, with similar contents of proteins, LPS, DNA, and RNA. Vesicles can elicit a protective immune response in a range of hosts, and as vaccine candidates, it is of interest to properly characterize their cargo. Genetic sequencing data is already available for vesicles from several bacterial strains, but it is not yet clear how the genetic makeup of vesicles differ from that of their parent cells, and which properties may characterize enriched genetic material. The present study provides evidence for DNA inside vesicles from Vibrio cholerae O395, and key characteristics of their genetic and proteomic content are compared to that of whole cells. DNA analysis reveals enrichment of fragments containing ToxR binding sites, as well as a positive correlation between AT-content and enrichment. Some mRNAs were highly enriched in the vesicle fraction, such as membrane protein genes ompV, ompK, and ompU, DNA-binding protein genes hupA, hupB, ihfB, fis, and ssb, and a negative correlation was found between mRNA enrichment and transcript length, suggesting mRNA inclusion in vesicles may be a size-dependent process. Certain non-coding and functional RNAs were found to be enriched, such as VrrA, GcvB, tmRNA, RNase P, CsrB2, and CsrB3. Mass spectrometry revealed enrichment of outer membrane proteins, known virulence factors, phage components, flagella and extracellular proteins in the vesicle fraction, and a low, negative correlation was found between transcript-, and protein enrichment. This result opposes the hypothesis that a significant degree of protein translation occurs in vesicles after budding. The abundance of viral-, and flagellar proteins in the vesicle fraction underlines the importance of purification during vesicle isolation.

Characterization of 3-Oxacyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Reductase Homolog Genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1

Bacterial 3-oxoacyl-ACP reductase (OAR) catalyzes the 3-oxoacyl-ACP reduction step in the fatty acid synthesis pathway. At least 12 genes in the Pseudomonas aeruginosa genome are annotated as OAR-encoding genes. In this study, we characterized the functions of these genes with biochemical and genetic techniques. With the exception of PA2967, which encodes FabG, an essential protein in fatty acid synthesis, only the PA4389 and PA4786 gene products had OAR activity, and the single deletion of these two genes reduced the ability of P. aeruginosa to produce several specific quorum-sensing (QS) signals. However, PA4389 and PA4786 do not have key roles in fatty acid synthesis. Moreover, although most OAR homologs had no OAR activity, some may function in carbon utilization. The PA3128 product may play a role in the TCA cycle, and PA0182 and PA1470 seem to be required for the utilization of several amino acids. The rest of the OAR homologs have no roles in carbon utilization, but the deletion of one of these genes might affect the production of virulence factors by P. aeruginosa. We conclude that most OAR homolog genes do not encode OAR enzymes, and that these proteins do not function in fatty acid synthesis.

An unexpected link between fatty acid synthase and cholesterol synthesis in proinflammatory macrophage activation

Different immune activation states require distinct metabolic features and activities in immune cells. For instance, inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FASN), which catalyzes the synthesis of long-chain fatty acids, prevents the proinflammatory response in macrophages; however, the precise role of this enzyme in this response remains poorly defined. Consistent with previous studies, we found here that FASN is essential for lipopolysaccharide-induced, Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated macrophage activation. Interestingly, only agents that block FASN upstream of acetoacetyl-CoA synthesis, including the well-characterized FASN inhibitor C75, inhibited TLR4 signaling, while those acting downstream had no effect. We found that acetoacetyl-CoA could overcome C75's inhibitory effect, whereas other FASN metabolites, including palmitate, did not prevent C75-mediated inhibition. This suggested an unexpected role for acetoacetyl-CoA in inflammation that is independent of its role in palmitate synthesis. Our evidence further suggested that acetoacetyl-CoA arising from FASN activity promotes cholesterol production, indicating a surprising link between fatty acid synthesis and cholesterol synthesis. We further demonstrate that this process is required for TLR4 to enter lipid rafts and facilitate TLR4 signaling. In conclusion, we have uncovered an unexpected link between FASN and cholesterol synthesis that appears to be required for TLR signal transduction and proinflammatory macrophage activation.

Only Acyl Carrier Protein 1 (AcpP1) Functions in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Fatty Acid Synthesis

The genome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa contains three open reading frames, PA2966, PA1869, and PA3334, which encode putative acyl carrier proteins, AcpP1, AcpP2, and AcpP3, respectively. In this study, we found that, although these apo-ACPs were successfully phosphopantetheinylated by P. aeruginosa phosphopantetheinyl transferase (PcpS) and all holo-forms of these proteins could be acylated by Vibrio harveyi acyl-ACP synthetase (AasS), only AcpP1 could be used as a substrate for the synthesis of fatty acids, catalyzed by P. aeruginosa cell free extracts in vitro, and only acpP1 gene could restore growth in the Escherichia coliacpP mutant strain CY1877. And P. aeruginosaacpP1 could not be deleted, while disruption of acpP2 or acpP3 in the P. aeruginosa genome allowed mutant strains to grow as well as the wild type strain. These findings confirmed that only P. aeruginosa AcpP1 functions in fatty acid biosynthesis, and that acpP2 and acpP3 do not play roles in the fatty acid synthetic pathway. Moreover, disruption of acpP2 and acpP3 did not affect the ability of P. aeruginosa to produce N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHL), but replacement of P. aeruginosaacpP1 with E. coliacpP caused P. aeruginosa to reduce the production of AHL molecules, which indicated that neither P. aeruginosa AcpP2 nor AcpP3 can act as a substrate for synthesis of AHL molecules in vivo. Furthermore, replacement of acpP1 with E. coliacpP reduced the ability of P. aeruginosa to produce some exo-products and abolished swarming motility in P. aeruginosa.

Glycerophospholipid synthesis and functions in Pseudomonas

The genus Pseudomonas is one of the most heterogeneous groups of eubacteria, presents in all major natural environments and in wide range of associations with plants and animals. The wide distribution of these bacteria is due to the use of specific mechanisms to adapt to environmental modifications. Generally, bacterial adaptation is only considered under the aspect of genes and protein expression, but lipids also play a pivotal role in bacterial functioning and homeostasis. This review resumes the mechanisms and regulations of pseudomonal glycerophospholipid synthesis, and the roles of glycerophospholipids in bacterial metabolism and homeostasis. Recently discovered specific pathways of P. aeruginosa lipid synthesis indicate the lineage dependent mechanisms of fatty acids homeostasis. Pseudomonas glycerophospholipids ensure structure functions and play important roles in bacterial adaptation to environmental modifications. The lipidome of Pseudomonas contains a typical eukaryotic glycerophospholipid--phosphatidylcholine -, which is involved in bacteria-host interactions. The ability of Pseudomonas to exploit eukaryotic lipids shows specific and original strategies developed by these microorganisms to succeed in their infectious process. All compiled data provide the demonstration of the importance of studying the Pseudomonas lipidome to inhibit the infectious potential of these highly versatile germs.

A novel role for an ECF sigma factor in fatty acid biosynthesis and membrane fluidity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factors are members of cell-surface signaling systems, abundant in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Twenty genes coding for ECF sigma factors are present in P. aeruginosa sequenced genomes, most of them being part of TonB systems related to iron uptake. In this work, poorly characterized sigma factors were overexpressed in strain PA14, in an attempt to understand their role in the bacterium's physiology. Cultures overexpressing SigX displayed a biphasic growth curve, reaching stationary phase earlier than the control strain, followed by subsequent growth resumption. During the first stationary phase, most cells swell and die, but the remaining cells return to the wild type morphology and proceed to a second exponential growth. This is not due to compensatory mutations, since cells recovered from late time points and diluted into fresh medium repeated this behavior. Swollen cells have a more fluid membrane and contain higher amounts of shorter chain fatty acids. A proteomic analysis was performed to identify differentially expressed proteins due to overexpression of sigX, revealing the induction of several fatty acid synthesis (FAS) enzymes. Using qRT-PCR, we showed that at least one isoform from each of the FAS pathway enzymes were upregulated at the mRNA level in the SigX overexpressing strain thus pointing to a role for this ECF sigma factor in the FAS regulation in P. aeruginosa.

The two functional enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductases of Enterococcus faecalis do not mediate triclosan resistance

Enoyl-acyl carrier protein (enoyl-ACP) reductase catalyzes the last step of the elongation cycle in the synthesis of bacterial fatty acids. The Enterococcus faecalis genome contains two genes annotated as enoyl-ACP reductases, a FabI-type enoyl-ACP reductase and a FabK-type enoyl-ACP reductase. We report that expression of either of the two proteins restores growth of an Escherichia coli fabI temperature-sensitive mutant strain under nonpermissive conditions. In vitro assays demonstrated that both proteins support fatty acid synthesis and are active with substrates of all fatty acid chain lengths. Although expression of E. faecalis fabK confers to E. coli high levels of resistance to the antimicrobial triclosan, deletion of fabK from the E. faecalis genome showed that FabK does not play a detectable role in the inherent triclosan resistance of E. faecalis. Indeed, FabK seems to play only a minor role in modulating fatty acid composition. Strains carrying a deletion of fabK grow normally without fatty acid supplementation, whereas fabI deletion mutants make only traces of fatty acids and are unsaturated fatty acid auxotrophs.

The finding that exogenous fatty acids support growth of E. faecalis strains defective in fatty acid synthesis indicates that inhibitors of fatty acid synthesis are ineffective in countering E. faecalis infections because host serum fatty acids support growth of the bacterium.

Fatty acid biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is initiated by the FabY class of β-ketoacyl acyl carrier protein synthases

The prototypical type II fatty acid synthesis (FAS) pathway in bacteria utilizes two distinct classes of β-ketoacyl synthase (KAS) domains to assemble long-chain fatty acids, the KASIII domain for initiation and the KASI/II domain for elongation. The central role of FAS in bacterial viability and virulence has stimulated significant effort toward developing KAS inhibitors, particularly against the KASIII domain of the β-acetoacetyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthase FabH. Herein, we show that the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa does not utilize a FabH ortholog but rather a new class of divergent KAS I/II enzymes to initiate the FAS pathway. When a P. aeruginosa cosmid library was used to rescue growth in a fabH downregulated strain of Escherichia coli, a single unannotated open reading frame, PA5174, complemented fabH depletion. While deletion of all four KASIII domain-encoding genes in the same P. aeruginosa strain resulted in a wild-type growth phenotype, deletion of PA5174 alone specifically attenuated growth due to a defect in de novo FAS. Siderophore secretion and quorum-sensing signaling, particularly in the rhl and Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) systems, was significantly muted in the absence of PA5174. The defect could be repaired by intergeneric complementation with E. coli fabH. Characterization of recombinant PA5174 confirmed a preference for short-chain acyl coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) substrates, supporting the identification of PA5174 as the predominant enzyme catalyzing the condensation of acetyl coenzyme A with malonyl-ACP in P. aeruginosa. The identification of the functional role for PA5174 in FAS defines the new FabY class of β-ketoacyl synthase KASI/II domain condensation enzymes.

Functional characterizations of malonyl-CoA:acyl carrier protein transacylase (MCAT) in Eimeria tenella

Eimeria tenella, an apicomplexan parasite in chickens, possesses an apicoplast and its associated metabolic pathways including the Type II fatty acid synthesis (FAS II). Malonyl-CoA:acyl-carry protein transacylase (MCAT) encoded by the fabD gene is one of the essential enzymes in the FAS II system. In the present study, the entire E. tenella MCAT gene (EtfabD) was cloned and sequenced. Immunolabeling located this protein in the apicoplast organelle in coccidial sporozoites. Functional replacement of the fabD gene with amber mutation of E. coli temperature-sensitive LA2-89 strain by E. tenella EtMCAT demonstrated that EcFabD and EtMCAT perform the same biochemical function. The recombinant EtMCAT protein was expressed and its general biochemical features were also determined. An alkaloid natural product corytuberine (CAS: 517-56-6) could specifically inhibit the EtMCAT activity (IC(50)=16.47μM), but the inhibition of parasite growth in vitro by corytuberine was very weak (the predicted MIC(50)=0.65mM).

Mechanisms decreasing in vitro susceptibility to the LpxC inhibitor CHIR-090 in the gram-negative pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Testing P. aeruginosa efflux pump mutants showed that the LpxC inhibitor CHIR-090 is a substrate for MexAB-OprM, MexCD-OprJ, and MexEF-OprN. Utilizing P. aeruginosa PAO1 with a chromosomal mexC::luxCDABE fusion, luminescent mutants arose on medium containing 4 μg/ml CHIR-090, indicating upregulation of MexCD-OprJ. These mutants were less susceptible to CHIR-090 (MIC, 4 μg/ml) and had mutations in the mexCD-oprJ repressor gene nfxB. Nonluminescent mutants (MIC, 4 μg/ml) that had mutations in the mexAB-oprM regulator gene mexR were also observed. Plating the clinical isolate K2153 on 4 μg/ml CHIR-090 selected mutants with alterations in mexS (immediately upstream of mexT), which upregulates MexEF-OprN. A mutant altered in the putative1ribosomal binding site (RBS) upstream of lpxC and overexpressing LpxC was selected on a related LpxC inhibitor and exhibited reduced susceptibility to CHIR-090. Overexpression of LpxC from a plasmid reduced susceptibility to CHIR-090, and introduction of the altered RBS in this construct further increased expression of LpxC and decreased susceptibility to CHIR-090. Using a mutS (hypermutator) strain, a mutant with an altered lpxC target gene (LpxC L18V) was also selected. Purified LpxC L18V had activity similar to that of wild-type LpxC in an in vitro assay but had reduced inhibition by CHIR-090. Finally, an additional class of mutant, typified by an extreme growth defect, was identified. These mutants had mutations in fabG, indicating that alteration in fatty acid synthesis conferred resistance to LpxC inhibitors. Passaging experiments showed progressive decreases in susceptibility to CHIR-090. Therefore, P. aeruginosa can employ several strategies to reduce susceptibility to CHIR-090 in vitro.

Development of Escherichia coli MG1655 strains to produce long chain fatty acids by engineering fatty acid synthesis (FAS) metabolism

The goal of this research was to develop recombinant Escherichia coli to improve fatty acid synthesis (FAS). Genes encoding acetyl-CoA carboxylase (accA, accB, accC), malonyl-CoA-[acyl-carrier-protein] transacylase (fabD), and acyl-acyl carrier protein thioesterase (EC 3.1.2.14 gene), which are all enzymes that catalyze key steps in the synthesis of fatty acids, were cloned and over-expressed in E. coli MG1655. The acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) enzyme catalyzes the addition of CO(2) to acetyl-CoA to generate malonyl-CoA. The enzyme encoded by the fabD gene converts malonyl-CoA to malonyl-[acp], and the EC 3.1.2.14 gene converts fatty acyl-ACP chains to long chain fatty acids. All the genes except for the EC 3.1.2.14 gene were homologous to E. coli genes and were used to improve the enzymatic activities to over-express components of the FAS pathway through metabolic engineering. All recombinant E. coli MG1655 strains containing various gene combinations were developed using the pTrc99A expression vector. To observe changes in metabolism, the in vitro metabolites and fatty acids produced by the recombinants were analyzed. The fatty acids (C16) from recombinant strains were produced 1.23-2.41 times higher than that from the wild type.

Proteome and membrane fatty acid analyses on Oligotropha carboxidovorans OM5 grown under chemolithoautotrophic and heterotrophic conditions

Oligotropha carboxidovorans OM5 T. (DSM 1227, ATCC 49405) is a chemolithoautotrophic bacterium able to utilize CO and H₂ to derive energy for fixation of CO₂. Thus, it is capable of growth using syngas, which is a mixture of varying amounts of CO and H₂ generated by organic waste gasification. O. carboxidovorans is capable also of heterotrophic growth in standard bacteriologic media. Here we characterize how the O. carboxidovorans proteome adapts to different lifestyles of chemolithoautotrophy and heterotrophy. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis of O. carboxidovorans grown with acetate or with syngas showed that the bacterium changes membrane fatty acid composition. Quantitative shotgun proteomic analysis of O. carboxidovorans grown in the presence of acetate and syngas showed production of proteins encoded on the megaplasmid for assimilating CO and H₂ as well as proteins encoded on the chromosome that might have contributed to fatty acid and acetate metabolism. We found that adaptation to chemolithoautotrophic growth involved adaptations in cell envelope, oxidative homeostasis, and metabolic pathways such as glyoxylate shunt and amino acid/cofactor biosynthetic enzymes.

Expression, purification and characterization of the acyl carrier protein phosphodiesterase from Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

Acyl carrier protein phosphodiesterases (AcpH) are the only enzymes known to remove the 4'-phosphopantetheinyl moiety from holo acyl carrier proteins (ACP), which are a large family of proteins essential for the biosynthesis of lipid and other cellular metabolites. Here we report that the AcpH (paAcpH) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa can be overexpressed in Escherichia coli as a soluble and stable protein after optimization of the expression and purification conditions. This marks an improvement from the aggregation-prone E. coli AcpH that could only be obtained by refolding the polypeptide obtained from the inclusion body. With the soluble recombinant protein, we found that PaAcpH exhibits preferred substrate specificity towards the ACPs from the fatty acid synthesis pathway among eight carrier proteins. We further showed that PaAcpH hydrolyzes and releases the 4'-phosphopantetheinyl group-linked products from a multidomain polyketide synthase, demonstrating that the enzyme is fully capable of hydrolyzing acylated ACP substrates.

Triclosan resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 is due to FabV, a triclosan-resistant enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase

Triclosan, a very widely used biocide, specifically inhibits fatty acid synthesis by inhibition of enoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase. Escherichia coli FabI is the prototypical triclosan-sensitive enoyl-ACP reductase, and E. coli is extremely sensitive to the biocide. However, other bacteria are resistant to triclosan, because they encode triclosan-resistant enoyl-ACP reductase isozymes. In contrast, the triclosan resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 has been attributed to active efflux of the compound (R. Chuanchuen, R. R. Karkhoff-Schweizer, and H. P. Schweizer, Am. J. Infect. Control 31:124-127, 2003). We report that P. aeruginosa contains two enoyl-ACP reductase isozymes, the previously characterized FabI homologue plus a homologue of FabV, a triclosan-resistant enoyl-ACP reductase recently demonstrated in Vibrio cholerae. By deletion of the genes encoding P. aeruginosa FabI and FabV, we demonstrated that FabV confers triclosan resistance on P. aeruginosa. Upon deletion of the fabV gene, the mutant strain became extremely sensitive to triclosan (>2,000-fold more sensitive than the wild-type strain), whereas the mutant strain lacking FabI remained completely resistant to the biocide.

Versatile dual-technology system for markerless allele replacement in Burkholderia pseudomallei

Burkholderia pseudomallei is the etiologic agent of melioidosis, a rare but serious tropical disease. In the United States, genetic research with this select agent bacterium is strictly regulated. Although several select agent compliant methods have been developed for allelic replacement, all of them suffer from some drawbacks, such as a need for specific host backgrounds or use of minimal media. Here we describe a versatile select agent compliant allele replacement system for B. pseudomallei based on a mobilizable vector, pEXKm5, which contains (i) a multiple cloning site within a lacZalpha gene for facile cloning of recombinant DNA fragments, (ii) a constitutively expressed gusA indicator gene for visual detection of merodiploid formation and resolution, and (iii) elements required for resolution of merodiploids using either I-SceI homing endonuclease-stimulated recombination or sacB-based counterselection. The homing endonuclease-based allele replacement system is completed by pBADSce, which contains an araC-P(BAD)-I-sceI expression cassette for arabinose-inducible I-SceI expression and a temperature-sensitive pRO1600 replicon for facile plasmid curing. Complementing these systems is the improved Deltaasd Escherichia coli mobilizer strain RHO3. This strain is susceptible to commonly used antibiotics and allows nutritional counterselection on rich media because of its diaminopimelic acid auxotrophy. The versatility of the I-SceI- and sacB-based methods afforded by pEXKm5 in conjunction with E. coli RHO3 was demonstrated by isolation of diverse deletion mutants in several clinical, environmental, and laboratory B. pseudomallei strains. Finally, sacB-based counterselection was employed to isolate a defined chromosomal fabD(Ts) allele that causes synthesis of a temperature-sensitive FabD, an essential fatty acid biosynthesis enzyme.

Natural product juglone targets three key enzymes from Helicobacter pylori: inhibition assay with crystal structure characterization

Aim:

To investigate the inhibition features of the natural product juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone) against the three key enzymes from Helicobacter pylori (cystathionine γ-synthase [HpCGS], malonyl-CoA:acyl carrier protein transacylase [HpFabD], and β-hydroxyacyl-ACP dehydratase [HpFabZ]).

Methods:

An enzyme inhibition assay against HpCGS was carried out by using a continuous coupled spectrophotometric assay approach. The inhibition assay of HpFabD was performed based on the α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase-coupled system, while the inhibition assay for HpFabZ was monitored by detecting the decrease in absorbance at 260 nm with crotonoyl-CoA conversion to β-hydroxybutyryl-CoA. The juglone/FabZ complex crystal was obtained by soaking juglone into the HpFabZ crystal, and the X-ray crystal structure of the complex was analyzed by molecular replacement approach.

Results:

Juglone was shown to potently inhibit HpCGS, HpFabD, and HpFabZ with the half maximal inhibitory concentration IC₅₀ values of 7.0±0.7, 20±1, and 30±4 μmol/L, respectively. An inhibition-type study indicated that juglone was a non-competitive inhibitor of HpCGS against O-succinyl-L-homoserine (K_i=αK_i=24 μmol/L), an uncompetitive inhibitor of HpFabD against malonyl-CoA (αK_i=7.4 μmol/L), and a competitive inhibitor of HpFabZ against crotonoyl-CoA (K_i=6.8 μmol/L). Moreover, the crystal structure of the HpFabZ/juglone complex further revealed the essential binding pattern of juglone against HpFabZ at the atomic level.

Conclusion:

HpCGS, HpFabD, and HpFabZ are potential targets of juglone.

The Lactococcus lactis FabF fatty acid synthetic enzyme can functionally replace both the FabB and FabF proteins of Escherichia coli and the FabH protein of Lactococcus lactis

The genome of Lactococcus lactis encodes a single long chain 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase. This is in contrast to its close relative, Enterococcus faecalis, and to Escherichia coli, both of which have two such enzymes. In E. faecalis and E. coli, one of the two long chain synthases (FabO and FabB, respectively) has a role in unsaturated fatty acid synthesis that cannot be satisfied by FabF, the other long chain synthase. Since L. lactis has only a single long chain 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase (annotated as FabF), it seemed likely that this enzyme must function both in unsaturated fatty acid synthesis and in elongation of short chain acyl carrier protein substrates to the C18 fatty acids found in the cellular phospholipids. We report that this is the case. Expression of L. lactis FabF can functionally replace both FabB and FabF in E. coli, although it does not restore thermal regulation of phospholipid fatty acid composition to E. coli fabF mutant strains. The lack of thermal regulation was predictable because wild-type L. lactis was found not to show any significant change in fatty acid composition with growth temperature. We also report that overproduction of L. lactis FabF allows growth of an L. lactis mutant strain that lacks the FabH short chain 3-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase. The strain tested was a derivative (called the fabH bypass strain) of the original fabH deletion strain that had acquired the ability to grow when supplemented with octanoate. Upon introduction of a FabF overexpression plasmid into this strain, growth proceeded normally in the absence of fatty acid supplementation. Moreover, this strain had a normal rate of fatty acid synthesis and a normal fatty acid composition. Both the fabH bypass strain that overproduced FabF and the wild type strain incorporated much less exogenous octanoate into long chain phospholipid fatty acids than did the fabH bypass strain. Incorporation of octanoate and decanoate labeled with deuterium showed that these acids were incorporated intact as the distal methyl and methylene groups of the long chain fatty acids.

Acyl carrier protein synthases from gram-negative, gram-positive, and atypical bacterial species: Biochemical and structural properties and physiological implications

Acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthase (AcpS) catalyzes the transfer of the 4'-phosphopantetheine moiety from coenzyme A (CoA) onto a serine residue of apo-ACP, resulting in the conversion of apo-ACP to the functional holo-ACP. The holo form of bacterial ACP plays an essential role in mediating the transfer of acyl fatty acid intermediates during the biosynthesis of fatty acids and phospholipids. AcpS is therefore an attractive target for therapeutic intervention. In this study, we have purified and characterized the AcpS enzymes from Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which exemplify gram-negative, gram-positive, and atypical bacteria, respectively. Our gel filtration column chromatography and cross-linking studies demonstrate that the AcpS enzyme from M. pneumoniae, like E. coli enzyme, exhibits a homodimeric structure, but the enzyme from S. pneumoniae exhibits a trimeric structure. Our biochemical studies show that the AcpS enzymes from M. pneumoniae and S. pneumoniae can utilize both short- and long-chain acyl CoA derivatives but prefer long-chain CoA derivatives as substrates. On the other hand, the AcpS enzyme from E. coli can utilize short-chain CoA derivatives but not the long-chain CoA derivatives tested. Finally, our biochemical studies show that M. pneumoniae AcpS is kinetically a very sluggish enzyme compared with those from E. coli and S. pneumoniae. Together, the results of these studies show that the AcpS enzymes from different bacterial species exhibit different native structures and substrate specificities with regard to the utilization of CoA and its derivatives. These findings suggest that AcpS from different microorganisms plays a different role in cellular physiology.

Proteome Analysis of Cellular Response of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to Tetracycline Stress

Tetracycline-induced proteome of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 was analyzed by 2-D gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight/mass spectrum (NALDI-TOF/MS) in order to understand cellular response to tetracycline. Of the proteins upregulated in a culture medium containing subinhibitory concentration of tetracycline (50 mug/mL), we identified 38 proteins from cytosol and precipitated fractions by peptide mass fingerprinting and mass spectrum/mass spectrum analysis. Various amino acids ABC transporters, a ribose ABC transporter, and a sulfate ABC transporter were found to be upregulated. Protein synthesis-related proteins, stress proteins, energy metabolic enzymes, and unknown proteins were also strongly induced. Of the identified upregulated proteins, several proteins (isocitrate lyase, branched-chain amino acid ABC transporter, superoxide dismutase, etc.) were also upregulated under phenol-induced stress condition. These results demonstrate that tetracycline at a high concentration induced comprehensive stress in P. putida KT2440 and the global induction of proteins related to bacteria survival. Proteome analysis was found to be a useful tool for the elucidation of antibiotic-induced proteins in the present study.

Gene cloning, expression and functional characterization of an acyl carrier protein AcpV from Vibrio anguillarum

Acyl carrier protein (ACP) is a small acidic protein that acts as an essential cofactor in many biosynthetic pathways depending on acyl transfer reactions. In this work, a Vibrio anguillarum ACP encoding gene, acpV, was first cloned from the chromosome of a virulent V. anguillarum strain MVM425. acpV was over-expressed in Escherichia coli and the resultant protein AcpV was purified. The purified AcpV was incubated with purified phosphopantetheinyl transferase (PPtase) in the presence of CoA to assay the 4'-phosphopantetheinylation of AcpV in vitro; and on the other hand, the acpV gene was co-expressed with PPtase-encoding gene in E. coli to examine the 4'-phosphopantetheinylation of AcpV in vivo. Our results suggested that acpV encoded a functional ACP of V. anguillarum, which can be 4'-phosphopantetheinylated well by AcpS-type PPtase (E. coli AcpS) both in vitro and in vivo, but cannot serve as a good substrate for Sfp-type PPtase (V. anguillarum AngD).

Specificity of acyl-homoserine lactone synthases examined by mass spectrometry

Many gram-negative bacteria produce a specific set of N-acyl-L-homoserine-lactone (AHL) signaling molecules for the purpose of quorum sensing, which is a means of regulating coordinated gene expression in a cell-density-dependent manner. AHLs are produced from acylated acyl-carrier protein (acyl-ACP) and S-adenosyl-L-methionine by the AHL synthase enzyme. The appearance of specific AHLs is due in large part to the intrinsic specificity of the enzyme for subsets of acyl-ACP substrates. Structural studies of the Pantoea stewartii enzyme EsaI and AHL-sensitive bioassays revealed that threonine 140 in the acyl chain binding pocket directs the enzyme toward production of 3-oxo-homoserine lactones. Mass spectrometry was used to examine the range of AHL molecular species produced by AHL synthases under a variety of conditions. An AHL selective normal-phase chromatographic purification with addition of a deuterated AHL internal standard was followed by reverse-phase liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in order to obtain estimates of the relative amounts of different AHLs from biological samples. The AHLs produced by wild-type and engineered EsaI and LasI AHL synthases show that intrinsic specificity and different cellular conditions influence the production of AHLs. The threonine at position 140 in EsaI is important for the preference for 3-oxo-acyl-ACPs, but the role of the equivalent threonine in LasI is less clear. In addition, LasI expressed in Escherichia coli produces a high proportion of unusual AHLs with acyl chains consisting of an odd number of carbons. Furthermore, these studies offer additional methods that will be useful for surveying and quantitating AHLs from different sources.

Characterization and inhibitor discovery of one novel malonyl-CoA: Acyl carrier protein transacylase (MCAT) fromHelicobacter pylori

Type II fatty acid synthesis (FAS II) is an essential process for bacteria survival, and malonyl-CoA:acyl carrier protein transacylase (MCAT) is a key enzyme in FAS II pathway, which is responsible for transferring the malonyl group from malonyl-CoA to the holo-ACP by forming malonyl-ACP. In this work, we described the cloning, characterization and enzymatic inhibition of a new MCAT from Helicobacter pylori strain SS1 (HpMCAT), and the gene sequence of HpfabD was deposited in the GenBank database (Accession No. AY738332 ). Enzymatic characterization of HpMCAT showed that the K(m) value for malonyl-CoA was 21.01+/-2.3 microM, and the thermal- and guanidinium hydrochloride-induced unfolding processes for HpMCAT were quantitatively investigated by circular dichroism spectral analyses. Moreover, a natural product, corytuberine, was discovered to demonstrate inhibitory activity against HpMCAT with IC(50) value at 33.1+/-3.29 microM. Further enzymatic assay results indicated that corytuberine inhibits HpMCAT in an uncompetitive manner. To our knowledge, this is the firstly reported MCAT inhibitor to date. This current work is hoped to supply useful information for better understanding the MCAT features of H. pylori strain, and corytuberine might be used as a potential lead compound in the discovery of the antibacterial agents using HpMCAT as target.

'FAS't inhibition of malaria

Malaria, a tropical disease caused by Plasmodium sp., has been haunting mankind for ages. Unsuccessful attempts to develop a vaccine, the emergence of resistance against the existing drugs and the increasing mortality rate all call for immediate strategies to treat it. Intense attempts are underway to develop potent analogues of the current antimalarials, as well as a search for novel drug targets in the parasite. The indispensability of apicoplast (plastid) to the survival of the parasite has attracted a lot of attention in the recent past. The present review describes the origin and the essentiality of this relict organelle to the parasite. We also show that among the apicoplast specific pathways, the fatty acid biosynthesis system is an attractive target, because its inhibition decimates the parasite swiftly unlike the 'delayed death' phenotype exhibited by the inhibition of the other apicoplast processes. As the enzymes of the fatty acid biosynthesis system are present as discrete entities, unlike those of the host, they are amenable to inhibition without impairing the operation of the host-specific pathway. The present review describes the role of these enzymes, the status of their molecular characterization and the current advancements in the area of developing inhibitors against each of the enzymes of the pathway.

The erythromycin biosynthetic gene cluster of Aeromicrobium erythreum

The erythromycin-biosynthetic (ery) gene cluster of Aeromicrobium erythreum was cloned and characterized. The 55.4-kb cluster contains 25 ery genes. Homologues were found for each gene in the previously characterized ery gene cluster from Saccharopolyspora erythraea. In addition, four new predicted ery genes were identified. Two of the new predicted genes, coding for a phosphopantetheinyl transferase (eryP) and a type II thioesterase (eryTII), were internal to the ery cluster. The other two new genes, coding for a thymidine 5'-diphosphate-glucose synthase (eryDI) and a MarR-family transcriptional repressor (ery-ORF25), were found at the two ends of the ery cluster. A knockout in eryDI showed it to be essential for erythromycin biosynthesis. The gene order of the two ery clusters was conserved within a core region of 15 contiguous genes, with the exception of IS1136 which was not found in the A. erythreum cluster. Beyond the core region, gene shuffling had occurred between the two sides of the cluster. The flanking regions of the two ery clusters were not alike in the type of genes found.

Genetic characterization of pcpS, encoding the multifunctional phosphopantetheinyl transferase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Fatty acid synthases (primary metabolism), non-ribosomal peptide synthases and polyketide synthases (secondary metabolism) contain phosphopantetheinyl (Ppant)-dependent carrier proteins that must be made functionally active by transfer of the 4'-Ppant moiety from coenzyme A. These reactions are usually catalysed by dedicated Ppant transferases. Although rich in Ppant-dependent carrier proteins, it was previously shown that Pseudomonas aeruginosa possesses only one Ppant transferase, encoded by pcpS, which functions in both primary and secondary metabolism. Consistent with this notion are our findings that pcpS can genetically complement mutations in the Escherichia coli acpS and entD genes, encoding the apo-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthase of fatty acid synthesis and a Ppant transferase of enterobactin synthesis, respectively. It also complements a Bacillus subtilis sfp mutation affecting a gene encoding a Ppant transferase essential for surfactin synthesis. A pcpS insertion mutant could only be constructed in a strain carrying the E. coli acpS gene on a chromosomally integrated element in trans, implying that the in vitro essentiality of pcpS is due to its requirement for activation of apo-ACP of fatty acid synthesis. The conditional pcpS mutant is non-fluorescent, does not produce pyoverdine and pyochelin, and does not grow in the presence of iron chelators. The data presented here for the first time confirm that PcpS plays an essential role in both fatty acid and siderophore metabolism.

Characterization of Cfa1, a monofunctional acyl carrier protein involved in the biosynthesis of the phytotoxin coronatine

Cfa1 was overproduced in Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas syringae, and the degree of 4'-phosphopantetheinylation was determined. The malonyl-coenzyme A:acyl carrier protein transacylase (FabD) of P. syringae was overproduced and shown to catalyze malonylation of Cfa1, suggesting that FabD plays a role in coronatine biosynthesis. Highly purified Cfa1 did not exhibit self-malonylation activity.

β-Ketoacyl-Acyl Carrier Protein Synthase III (FabH) Is Essential for Bacterial Fatty Acid Synthesis

beta-Ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthase III (KAS III, also called acetoacetyl-ACP synthase) encoded by the fabH gene is thought to catalyze the first elongation reaction (Claisen condensation) of type II fatty acid synthesis in bacteria and plant plastids. However, direct in vivo evidence that KAS III catalyzes an essential reaction is lacking, because no mutant organism deficient in this activity has been isolated. We report the first bacterial strain lacking KAS III, a fabH mutant constructed in the Gram-positive bacterium Lactococcus lactis subspecies lactis IL1403. The mutant strain carries an in-frame deletion of the KAS III active site region and was isolated by gene replacement using a medium supplemented with a source of saturated and unsaturated long-chain fatty acids. The mutant strain is devoid of KAS III activity and fails to grow in the absence of supplementation with exogenous long-chain fatty acids demonstrating that KAS III plays an essential role in cellular metabolism. However, the L. lactis fabH deletion mutant requires only long-chain unsaturated fatty acids for growth, a source of long-chain saturated fatty acids is not required. Because both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids are required for growth when fatty acid synthesis is blocked by biotin starvation (which prevents the synthesis of malonyl-CoA), another pathway for saturated fatty acid synthesis must remain in the fabH deletion strain. Indeed, incorporation of [1-14C]acetate into fatty acids in vivo showed that the fabH mutant retained about 10% of the fatty acid synthetic ability of the wild-type strain and that this residual synthetic capacity was preferentially diverted to the saturated branch of the pathway. Moreover, mass spectrometry showed that the fabH mutant retained low levels of palmitic acid upon fatty acid starvation. Derivatives of the fabH deletion mutant strain were isolated that were octanoic acid auxotrophs consistent with biochemical studies indicating that the major role of FabH is production of short-chain fatty acid primers. We also confirmed the essentiality of FabH in Escherichia coli by use of a plasmid-based gene insertion/deletion system. Together these results provide the first genetic evidence demonstrating that FabH conducts the major condensation reaction in the initiation of type II fatty acid biosynthesis in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

A continuous coupled enzyme assay for bacterial malonyl-CoA:acyl carrier protein transacylase (FabD)

Bacterial malonyl-CoA:acyl carrier protein transacylase catalyzes the transfer of a malonyl moiety from malonyl-CoA to the free thiol group of the phosphopantetheine arm of acyl carrier protein. Malonyl-ACP, the product of this enzymatic reaction, is the key building block for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis. Here, we describe a continuous enzyme assay based on the coupling of the malonyl-CoA:acyl carrier protein transacylase reaction to alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (KDH). KDH-dependent consumption of the coenzyme A generated by malonyl-CoA:acyl carrier protein transacylase is accompanied by a reduction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, oxidized (NAD(+)) to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, reduced. The rate of NAD(+) reduction is continuously monitored as a change in fluorescence using a microtiter plate reader. We show that this coupled enzyme assay is amenable to routine chemical compound screening.

Expression stability of six housekeeping genes: A proposal for resistance gene quantification studies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by real-time quantitative RT-PCR

Constantly expressed genes are used as internal controls in relative quantification studies. Suitable internal controls for such studies have not yet been defined for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study, the genes ampC, fabD, proC, pbp-2, rpoD and rpoS of P. aeruginosa were compared in terms of expression stability by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. A total of 23 strains with diverse resistance phenotypes were studied. Stability of expression among the housekeeping genes was assessed on the basis of correlation coefficients, with the best-correlated pair accepted as being the most stable one. Eventually, proC and rpoD formed the most stable pair (r = 0.958; P < 0.001). Next, in four ciprofloxacin-selected nfxC-like mutants, levels of oprD, oprM and oprN mRNA were compared with those of their wild-type counterparts. The comparison was made after correcting the raw values by the geometric mean of the internal control genes proC and rpoD. The level of oprN mRNA was significantly up-regulated, while the oprD gene was down-regulated (although this difference was statistically insignificant), in the mutants. This expression pattern was consistent with that of the expected expression profile of nfxC-type mutants; this experiment therefore lends further support to the use of proC and rpoD genes simultaneously as internal controls for such studies.

The initiating steps of a type II fatty acid synthase in Plasmodium falciparum are catalyzed by pfACP, pfMCAT, and pfKASIII

Malaria, a disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium, is one of the most dangerous infectious diseases, claiming millions of lives and infecting hundreds of millions of people annually. The pressing need for new antimalarials has been answered by the discovery of new drug targets from the malaria genome project. One of the early findings was the discovery of two genes encoding Type II fatty acid biosynthesis proteins: ACP (acyl carrier protein) and KASIII (beta-ketoacyl-ACP synthase III). The initiating steps of a Type II system require a third protein: malonyl-coenzyme A:ACP transacylase (MCAT). Here we report the identification of a single gene from P. falciparum encoding pfMCAT and the functional characterization of this enzyme. Pure recombinant pfMCAT catalyzes malonyl transfer from malonyl-coenzyme A (malonyl-CoA) to pfACP. In contrast, pfACP(trans), a construct of pfACP containing an amino-terminal apicoplast transit peptide, was not a substrate for pfMCAT. The product of the pfMCAT reaction, malonyl-pfACP, is a substrate for pfKASIII, which catalyzes the decarboxylative condensation of malonyl-pfACP and various acyl-CoAs. Consistent with a role in de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, pfKASIII exhibited typical KAS (beta-ketoacyl ACP synthase) activity using acetyl-CoA as substrate (k(cat) 230 min(-1), K(M) 17.9 +/- 3.4 microM). The pfKASIII can also catalyze the condensation of malonyl-pfACP and butyryl-CoA (k(cat) 200 min(-1), K(M) 35.7 +/- 4.4 microM) with similar efficiency, whereas isobutyryl-CoA is a poor substrate and displayed 13-fold less activity than that observed for acetyl-CoA. The pfKASIII has little preference for malonyl-pfACP (k(cat)/K(M) 64.9 min(-1)microM(-1)) over E. coli malonyl-ACP (k(cat)/K(M) 44.8 min(-1)microM(-1)). The pfKASIII also catalyzes the acyl-CoA:ACP transacylase (ACAT) reaction typically exhibited by KASIII enzymes, but does so almost 700-fold slower than the KAS reaction. Thiolactomycin did not inhbit pfKASIII (IC(50) > 330 microM), but three structurally similar substituted 1,2-dithiole-3-one compounds did inhibit pfKASIII with IC(50) values between 0.53 microM and 10.4 microM. These compounds also inhibited the growth of P. falciparum in culture.

Beta-ketoacyl acyl carrier protein reductase (FabG) activity of the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway is a determining factor of 3-oxo-homoserine lactone acyl chain lengths

The two acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) N-(butyryl)-L-homoserine lactone and N-[3-oxododecanoyl]-L-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C(12)-HSL) are required for quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These AHLs derive their invariant lactone rings from S-adenosylmethionine and their variable acyl chains from the cellular acyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) pool. This reaction is catalysed by specific AHL synthases, which exhibit acyl chain specificity. Culture supernatants of P. aeruginosa contain multiple 3-oxo-AHLs that differ in their acyl chain lengths but their physiological role, if any, remains unknown. An in vitro fatty acid-3-oxo-AHL synthesis system was established utilizing purified P. aeruginosa Fab proteins, ACP and the LasI 3-oxo-AHL synthase. In the presence of excess protein, substrates and cofactors, this system produced almost exclusively 3-oxo-C(12)-HSL. When the beta-ketoacyl-ACP reductase (FabG) catalysed step was made rate-limiting by switching from the preferred NADPH cofactor to NADH, increased levels of short chain 3-oxo-AHLs were produced, presumably because shorter-chain ketoacyl-ACPs accumulated and thus became LasI substrates. Consistent with these in vitro observations, a fabG(Ts) mutant produced increased amounts of 3-oxo-AHLs in vivo. Thus, in vitro and in vivo evidence indicated that modulation of FabG activity of the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway may determine the acyl chain lengths of these 3-oxo-AHLs and that the LasI 3-oxo-AHL synthase is sufficient for their synthesis.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa displays multiple phenotypes during development as a biofilm

Complementary approaches were employed to characterize transitional episodes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm development using direct observation and whole-cell protein analysis. Microscopy and in situ reporter gene analysis were used to directly observe changes in biofilm physiology and to act as signposts to standardize protein collection for two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis and protein identification in chemostat and continuous-culture biofilm-grown populations. Using these approaches, we characterized five stages of biofilm development: (i) reversible attachment, (ii) irreversible attachment, (iii) maturation-1, (iv) maturation-2, and (v) dispersion. Biofilm cells were shown to change regulation of motility, alginate production, and quorum sensing during the process of development. The average difference in detectable protein regulation between each of the five stages of development was 35% (approximately 525 proteins). When planktonic cells were compared with maturation-2 stage biofilm cells, more than 800 proteins were shown to have a sixfold or greater change in expression level (over 50% of the proteome). This difference was higher than when planktonic P. aeruginosa were compared with planktonic cultures of Pseudomonas putida. Las quorum sensing was shown to play no role in early biofilm development but was important in later stages. Biofilm cells in the dispersion stage were more similar to planktonic bacteria than to maturation-2 stage bacteria. These results demonstrate that P. aeruginosa displays multiple phenotypes during biofilm development and that knowledge of stage-specific physiology may be important in detecting and controlling biofilm growth.

A Streptomyces collinus thiolase with novel acetyl-CoA:acyl carrier protein transacylase activity

Acetyl-CoA:acyl carrier protein (ACP) transacylase (ACT) activity has been demonstrated for the 3-ketoacyl-ACP synthase III (KASIII) which initiates fatty acid biosynthesis in the type II dissociable fatty acid synthases of plants and bacteria. Several lines of evidence have indicated the possibility of ACT activity being associated with proteins other than KASIII. Using a crude extract of Streptomyces collinus, we have resolved from KASIII an additional protein with ACT activity and subsequently purified it 85-fold in five chromatographic steps. The 45 kDa protein was shown by gel filtration to have a molecular mass of 185 +/- 35 kDa, consistent with a homotetrameric structure for the native enzyme. The corresponding gene (fadA) was cloned and sequenced and shown to encode a protein with amino acid sequence homology to type II thiolases. The fadA was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the resulting recombinant FadA enzyme purified by metal chelate chromatography was shown to have both ACT and thiolase activities. Kinetic studies revealed that in an ACT assay FadA had a substrate specificity for a two-carbon acetyl-CoA substrate (K(m) 8.7 +/- 1.4 microM) but was able to use ACPs from both type II fatty acid and polyketide synthases (Streptomyces glaucescens FabC ACP, K(m) 10.7 +/- 1.4 microM; E. coli FabC ACP, K(m) 8.8 +/- 2 microM; FrenN ACP, K(m) 44 +/- 12 microM). In the thiolase assay kinetic analyses revealed similar K(m) values for binding of substrates acetoacetyl-CoA (K(m) 9.8 +/- 0.8 microM) and CoA (K(m) 10.9 +/- 1.8 microM). A Cys92Ser mutant of FadA possessed virtually unchanged K(m) values for acetoacetyl-CoA and CoA but had a greater than 99% decrease in k(cat) for the thiolase activity. No detectable ACT activity was observed for the Cys92Ser mutant, demonstrating that both activities are associated with FadA and likely involve formation of the same covalent acetyl-S-Cys enzyme intermediate. An ACT activity with ACP has not previously been observed for thiolases and in the case of the S. collinus FadA is significantly lower (k(cat) 3 min(-1)) than the thiolase activity of FadA (k(cat) 2170 min(-1)). The ACT activity of FadA is comparable to the KAS activity and significantly higher than the ACT activity, reported for a streptomycete KASIII.