耻垢分枝杆菌MSMEG_6281 过表达对菌株生长和形态的影响

【目的】耻垢分枝杆菌(Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155,mc2155)MSMEG_6281为结核分枝杆菌自溶素Rv3717的同源蛋白,通过建立过表达MSMEG_6281的耻垢分枝杆菌菌株,推测该蛋白对耻垢分枝杆菌肽聚糖代谢的影响。【方法】利用RT-PCR方法检测乙胺丁醇(Ethambutol,EMB)作用后MSMEG_6281基因的表达变化;以耻垢分枝杆菌基因组DNA为模板,采用PCR技术克隆MSMEG_6281基因,构建分枝杆菌表达质粒p VV16-MSMEG_6281,进一步建立MSMEG_6281过表达的耻垢分枝杆菌菌株;利用生长曲线检测MSMEG_6281过表达对耻垢分枝杆菌生长的影响;利用扫描电子显微镜分析MSMEG_6281过表达引起的耻垢分枝杆菌形态变化。【结果】EMB处理引起MSMEG_6281基因表达上调;构建了过表达MSMGE_6281的耻垢分枝杆菌菌株(mc2155/p VV16-MSMEG_6281);过表达MSMGE_6281的耻垢分枝杆菌生长缓慢,菌体形态由短杆状转变为长杆状。【结论】MSMGE_6281的过表达可改变耻垢分枝杆菌形态。MSMGE_6281的功能与细胞壁肽聚糖水解相关,在mc2155细胞壁形态维持方面发挥重要作用。     

细菌反式翻译系统

反式翻译（trans?translation）是细菌翻译质量控制的关键,几乎存在于所有细菌之中。反式翻译系统由转移信使mRNA（tmRNA）和小蛋白B（SmpB）组成,能够拯救因翻译不终止mRNA (non?stop mRNA)而滞留的核糖体。此外,反式翻译还能够调控特定基因的表达水平,参与细菌的应激反应。概括了细菌反式翻译系统近年来最新的研究进展,阐明反式翻译识别与拯救滞留核糖体的分子机制,归纳了反式翻译的功能及应用前景,以期为相关研究提供参考。     

分枝杆菌RpsI序列差异对核糖体结构与功能的影响

核糖体结构存在动态调控,其变化与细菌发育、环境适应等过程密切相关。使用NCBI BLAST比对结核分枝杆菌(Mycobacterium tuberculosis)核糖体蛋白RpsI、RpmI和RpmJ与耻垢分枝杆菌(Mycobacterium smegmatis)相应蛋白的氨基酸序列,发现RpsI N端氨基酸序列存在较大差异。为了探究该N端序列差异对核糖体结构与功能的影响,将表达有结核分枝杆菌rpsI基因(rpsI_Rv)的质粒整合至耻垢分枝杆菌基因组中,并利用同源重组的方法敲除耻垢分枝杆菌rpsI基因,以此构建重组菌株。聚合酶链反应(polymerase chain reaction,PCR)结果表明该重组菌株构建成功。十二烷基硫酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)显示0.5 mmol/L异丙基-β-D-硫代半乳糖苷(IPTG)于16 ℃可诱导表达RpsI_Rv。用纯化的RpsI_Rv制备特异性多克隆抗体,其效价为 1 600 000。反转录PCR 和蛋白质印迹法(Western blot)显示rpsI_Rv在重组菌株中成功表达。测定重组菌株与空载对照菌株在不同温度下的生长曲线,该重组菌株在不同温度下的生长速率未发生改变。采用通用液体倍比稀释法测定作用于核糖体不同位点的5种抗生素最小抑菌浓度(MIC₉₀),重组菌株对阿米卡星(作用于核糖体小亚基A位点的抗生素)的敏感性升高,提示分枝杆菌RpsI序列差异导致核糖体小亚基A位点附近的结构发生改变,这为分枝杆菌核糖体结构与功能的机制研究提供了数据。     

维氏气单胞菌tmRNA突变体构建及其用于反式翻译底物的鉴定

SmpB-tmRNA介导的反式翻译,是细菌中普遍存在的一种主要核糖体拯救机制,对细菌的生存和增殖都具有重要影响。为了探明反式翻译系统在人-鱼共患病原菌维氏气单胞菌(Aeromonas veronii)中的作用机制,本研究基于维氏气单胞菌tmRNA的二级结构预测,将tmRNA标记肽的后5个氨基酸残基的密码子以及1个终止密码子突变为组氨酸密码子,从而构建tmRNA突变体。生长曲线测定结果表明,该tmRNA突变体能够回补tmRNA缺失导致的细菌生长缺陷;同时,免疫印迹实验确证该突变体能够成功地将反式翻译拯救的蛋白底物标记上组氨酸标签,表明其能够行使tmRNA的正常功能。本研究构建的tmRNA突变体为后续分离和纯化tmRNA-SmpB介导的反式翻译底物,进而研究反式翻译系统在细菌中的作用机制提供了理论基础。     

结核杆菌eis基因的克隆及其在耻垢分枝杆菌中的表达

目的:构建结核分枝杆菌eis基因的穿梭表达载体,鉴定其在重组耻垢分枝杆菌中的生物活性。方法:采用PCR技术克隆结核分枝杆菌eis基因,构建大肠杆菌-分枝杆菌穿梭表达载体pMV-eis,经酶切和测序鉴定其正确性,用电穿孔法将重组质粒转化至耻垢分枝杆菌mc²155中,采用SDS-PAGE和Western blot检测eis基因在耻垢分枝杆菌中的表达。结果:成功构建结核杆菌eis基因穿梭表达载体pMV-eis;生长曲线说明重组质粒不会影响耻垢分枝杆菌的体外生长;SDS-PAGE 和Western blot检测证实eis在耻垢分枝杆菌中可表达出相对分子量约42kDa的Eis蛋白。结论:成功构建了eis基因穿梭表达质粒pMV-eis,且该重组质粒在耻垢分枝杆菌中具有生物活性,为下一步研究表达产物Eis的功能奠定了一定基础。     

结核分枝杆菌GroEL1蛋白过表达的生理效应分析

为研究结核分枝杆菌热休克蛋白GroEL1在耻垢分枝杆菌中过表达所引发的生理效应,本实验采用透射电子显微镜观察细菌个体形态,并绘制细菌群体生长曲线;药敏试验检测重组耻垢分枝杆菌的药物耐受性;细菌攻毒BALB/c小鼠以检测细菌在体内的存活能力;通过病理切片观察细菌毒力。结果显示,GroEL过表达细菌菌体内核糖体数量显著增加,细菌生长分裂能力及群体适应能力提高,但对常用的一线、二线抗结核药物耐受性无影响。GroEL1过表达有助于延长细菌在宿主体内的生存周期,增强细菌毒力。结果提示,结核分枝杆菌GroEL1蛋白过表达会对细菌体内、体外生长产生明显影响。     

反式翻译模型

反式翻译是细菌体内一种修复翻译水平上受阻的遗传信息表达过程的机制。tmRNA是反式翻译的核心分子,它兼具tRNA和mRNA的特点,在SmpB蛋白的帮助下特异性识别携带mRNA缺失体的核糖体,在核糖体蛋白S1的传递作用下结合在A位点上,一方面延续被中断的mRNA上的遗传信息,一方面终止蛋白质的合成,释放被束缚的核糖体和tRNA进入新的翻译过程。本文对近年来关于反式翻译模型的研究进行综述。     

结核杆菌活动期高表达基因Rv1776c的克隆及其在耻垢分枝杆菌中的表达

目的构建表达结核分枝杆菌Rv1776c基因的重组耻垢分支杆菌,并鉴定该基因在重组耻垢分支杆菌中的活性。方法采用PCR技术克隆结核分枝杆菌Rv1776c基因,构建大肠埃希菌-分支杆菌穿梭表达质粒pMV-Rv1776c,通过酶切和测序鉴定其正确性,用电穿孔法将重组质粒转染到耻垢分支杆菌mc^2155中。以SDS-PAGE及Western blot检测证实Rv1776c蛋白在重组耻垢分支杆菌内的表达。结果重组耻垢分支杆菌构建成功,生长曲线说明重组质粒不会影响耻垢分支杆菌的体外生长;SDSPAGE及Western blot检测证实Rv1776c在耻垢分枝杆菌内表达出相对分子量约56kD的Rv1776c蛋白。结论成功构建了Rv1776c基因的穿梭质粒pMV-Rv1776c,且该质粒在耻垢分枝杆菌内具有生物活性,为进一步研究其表达产物的功能提供基础。     

复苏促进因子结合蛋白A的原核表达及对耻垢分枝杆菌的促生长作用

目的:在大肠埃希氏菌中表达结核分枝杆菌复苏促进因子结合蛋白A(resuscitation-promoting factor-interacting protein A,RipA),观察该蛋白对耻垢分枝杆菌的促生长作用.方法:采用PCR方法,从结核分枝杆菌H37Rv的DNA中扩增出编码RipA蛋白的Rv1477基因,测序正确后克隆入原核表达载体pProEx HTa,构建重组表达质粒pProEx HTa-RipA.以重组质粒转化大肠杆菌DH5a,筛选阳性重组菌株,经异丙基硫代-β-D半乳糖苷(Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside IPTG)诱导RipA表达,在变性条件下对目的蛋白进行亲和层析纯化.将纯化的RipA蛋白加入到耻垢分枝杆菌中,分光光度法测定细菌的A600,观察RipA蛋白的促生长作用.结果:成功扩增了Rv1477基因,并克隆于表达载体pProEx HTa中,经酶切鉴定获得阳性克隆.经诱导在大肠杆菌中表达出相对分子量为52kDa的目的蛋白,Western-blot结果显示该蛋白与6x His单抗有特异性的反应条带.采用Ni+-NTA柱可获得纯化的目的蛋白.10%M的RipA蛋白可显著促进耻垢分枝杆菌休眠菌的复苏和生长.结论:Papa蛋白在大肠杆菌中成功表达,并能有效促进耻垢分枝杆菌的生长.     

表达HBHA和hIL-12融合蛋白的重组耻垢分枝杆菌在小鼠体内诱导的免疫应答及保护力

目的:测定表达肝素结合血凝素(HBHA)和人白细胞介素12(hIL-12)融合蛋白的重组耻垢分枝杆菌在小鼠体内诱导产生的免疫应答及对结核分枝杆菌感染的保护作用。方法:将表达HBHA和hIL-12融合蛋白的重组耻垢分枝杆菌采用同源加强免疫的方法免疫小鼠,检测小鼠外周血中IFN-γ、IL-2和IL-12的表达水平;用结核分枝杆菌感染免疫小鼠,检测小鼠肺部荷菌量和组织病理变化。结果:表达HBHA和hIL-12融合蛋白的重组耻垢分枝杆菌诱导小鼠产生以IFN-γ、IL-2分泌量增加为主的Th1型免疫应答,并能有效减少感染小鼠肺部结核分枝杆菌的荷菌量和病理损伤。结论:表达HBHA和hIL-12融合蛋白的重组耻垢分枝杆菌免疫小鼠可诱导产生与卡介苗相当的保护作用,可能成为控制结核病的有效疫苗。     

Use of a tetracycline-inducible system for conditional expression in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis

A number of essential genes have been identified in mycobacteria, but methods to study these genes have not been developed, leaving us unable to determine the function or biology of the genes. We investigated the use of a tetracycline-inducible expression system in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis. Using a reporter gene which encodes an unstable variant of GFP, we showed that tetracycline-inducible expression occurred in M. smegmatis and that expression levels were titratable to some extent by varying the concentration of tetracycline. The removal of tetracycline led to cessation of GFP expression, and we showed that this was a controllable on/off switch for fluorescence upon addition and removal of the antibiotic inducer. The system also functioned in M. tuberculosis, giving inducible expression of the reporter gene. We used homologous recombination to construct a strain of M. tuberculosis that expressed the only copy of the tryptophan biosynthetic enzyme, TrpD, from the tetracycline-inducible promoter. This strain was conditionally auxotrophic, showing auxotrophy only in the absence of tetracycline, confirming that trpD was tightly controlled by the foreign promoter. This is the first demonstration of the use of an inducible promoter to generate a conditional auxotroph of M. tuberculosis. The ability to tightly regulate genes now gives us the possibility to define the functions of essential genes by switching them off under defined conditions and paves the way for in vivo studies.     

A protein secretion pathway critical for Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence is conserved and functional in Mycobacterium smegmatis

The Snm protein secretion system is a critical determinant of Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence. However, genes encoding components of this pathway are conserved among all mycobacteria, including the nonpathogenic saprophyte Mycobacterium smegmatis. We show that the Snm system is operational in M. smegmatis and that secretion of its homologous ESAT-6 and CFP-10 substrates is regulated by growth conditions. Importantly, we show that Snm secretion in M. smegmatis requires genes that are homologous to those required for secretion in M. tuberculosis. Using a gene knockout strategy in M. smegmatis, we have also discovered four new gene products that are essential for Snm secretion, including the serine protease mycosin 1. Despite the evolutionary distance between M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis, the M. smegmatis Snm system can secrete the M. tuberculosis ESAT-6 and CFP-10 proteins, suggesting that substrate recognition is also conserved between the two species. M. smegmatis, therefore, represents a powerful system to study the multicomponent Snm secretory machine and to understand the role of this conserved system in mycobacterial biology.     

Structural diversity in bacterial ribosomes: mycobacterial 70S ribosome structure reveals novel features

Here we present analysis of a 3D cryo-EM map of the 70S ribosome from Mycobacterium smegmatis, a saprophytic cousin of the etiological agent of tuberculosis in humans, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In comparison with the 3D structures of other prokaryotic ribosomes, the density map of the M. smegmatis 70S ribosome reveals unique structural features and their relative orientations in the ribosome. Dramatic changes in the periphery due to additional rRNA segments and extra domains of some of the peripheral ribosomal proteins like S3, S5, S16, L17, L25, are evident. One of the most notable features appears in the large subunit near L1 stalk as a long helical structure next to helix 54 of the 23S rRNA. The sharp upper end of this structure is located in the vicinity of the mRNA exit channel. Although the M. smegmatis 70S ribosome possesses conserved core structure of bacterial ribosome, the new structural features, unveiled in this study, demonstrates diversity in the 3D architecture of bacterial ribosomes. We postulate that the prominent helical structure related to the 23S rRNA actively participates in the mechanisms of translation in mycobacteria.     

Conservation of bacterial protein synthesis machinery: initiation and elongation in Mycobacterium smegmatis

Most of our understanding of ribosome function is based on experiments utilizing translational components from Escherichia coli. It is not clear to which extent the details of translation mechanisms derived from this single organism are true for all bacteria. Here we investigate translation factor-dependent reactions of initiation and elongation in a reconstituted translation system from a Gram-positive bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis. This organism was chosen because mutations in rRNA have very different phenotypes in E. coli and M. smegmatis, and the docking site for translational GTPases, the L12 stalk, is extended in the ribosomes from M. smegmatis compared to E. coli. M. smegmatis genes coding for IF1, IF2, IF3, EF-G, and EF-Tu were identified by sequence alignments; the respective recombinant proteins were prepared and studied in a variety of biochemical and biophysical assays with M. smegmatis ribosomes. We found that the activities of initiation and elongation factors and the rates of elemental reactions of initiation and elongation of protein synthesis are remarkably similar with M. smegmatis and E. coli components. The data suggest a very high degree of conservation of basic translation mechanisms, probably due to coevolution of the ribosome components and translation factors. This work establishes the reconstituted translation system from individual purified M. smegmatis components as an alternative to that from E. coli to study the mechanisms of translation and to test the action of antibiotics against Gram-positive bacteria.     

The Influence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Sigma Factors on the Promotion Efficiency of ptpAt Promoter in Mycobacterium smegmatis

It was found in a previous study that Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein tyrosine phosphatase ptpAt promoter is a highly active promoter in slow-growing species of mycobacteria, such as M. tuberculosis and M. bovis BCG, but inert in fast-growing mycobacterial species, such as M. smegmatis. This difference is presumed to be due to the differences between sigma factors systems of slow-growing pathogenic mycobacteria and the fast-growing saprophyte M. smegmatis. Therefore, we constructed a series of plasmids, named pOLYG-13x, which can express various M. tuberculosis sigma factors and also contain a P(ptpAt)-gfp reporter gene construct. By inducing different sigma factor genes of M. tuberculosis in M. smegmatis, we were able to explore the influences of various sigma factors on the expression efficiency of the ptpAt promoter. The result show that of the 10 sigma factors evaluated, only sigF and sigL were able to weakly drive the ptpAt promoter in M. smegmatis and other sigma factors were unable to drive the promoter.     

Overexpression of the D-alanine racemase gene confers resistance to D-cycloserine in Mycobacterium smegmatis.

D-Cycloserine is an effective second-line drug against Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. To analyze the genetic determinants of D-cycloserine resistance in mycobacteria, a library of a resistant Mycobacterium smegmatis mutant was constructed. A resistant clone harboring a recombinant plasmid with a 3.1-kb insert that contained the glutamate decarboxylase (gadA) and D-alanine racemase (alrA) genes was identified. Subcloning experiments demonstrated that alrA was necessary and sufficient to confer a D-cycloserine resistance phenotype. The D-alanine racemase activities of wild-type and recombinant M. smegmatis strains were inhibited by D-cycloserine in a concentration-dependent manner. The D-cycloserine resistance phenotype in the recombinant clone was due to the overexpression of the wild-type alrA gene in a multicopy vector. Analysis of a spontaneous resistant mutant also demonstrated overproduction of wild-type AlrA enzyme. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the overproducing mutant revealed a single transversion (G-->T) at the alrA promoter, which resulted in elevated beta-galactosidase reporter gene expression. Furthermore, transformants of Mycobacterium intracellulare and Mycobacterium bovis BCG carrying the M. smegmatis wild-type alrA gene in a multicopy vector were resistant to D-cycloserine, suggesting that AlrA overproduction is a potential mechanism of D-cycloserine resistance in clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis and other pathogenic mycobacteria. In conclusion, these results show that one of the mechanisms of D-cycloserine resistance in M. smegmatis involves the overexpression of the alrA gene due to a promoter-up mutation.     

Definition of the first mannosylation step in phosphatidylinositol mannoside synthesis. PimA is essential for growth of mycobacteria

We examined the function of the pimA (Rv2610c) gene, located in the vicinity of the phosphatidylinositol synthase gene in the genomes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis, which encodes a putative mannosyltransferase involved in the early steps of phosphatidylinositol mannoside synthesis. A cell-free assay was developed in which membranes from M. smegmatis overexpressing the pimA gene incorporate mannose from GDP-[(14)C]Man into di- and tri-acylated phosphatidylinositol mono-mannosides. Moreover, crude extracts from Escherichia coli producing a recombinant PimA protein synthesized diacylated phosphatidylinositol mono-mannoside from GDP-[(14)C]Man and bovine phosphatidylinositol. To determine whether PimA is an essential enzyme of mycobacteria, we constructed a pimA conditional mutant of M. smegmatis. The ability of this mutant to synthesize the PimA mannosyltransferase was dependent on the presence of a functional copy of the pimA gene carried on a temperature-sensitive rescue plasmid. We demonstrate here that the pimA mutant is unable to grow at the higher temperature at which the rescue plasmid is lost. Thus, the synthesis of phosphatidylinositol mono-mannosides and derived higher phosphatidylinositol mannosides in M. smegmatis appears to be dependent on PimA and essential for growth. This work provides the first direct evidence of the essentiality of phosphatidylinositol mannosides for the growth of mycobacteria.     

Oxygen binding and NO scavenging properties of truncated hemoglobin, HbN, of Mycobacterium smegmatis

Unraveling of microbial genome data has indicated that two distantly related truncated hemoglobins (trHbs), HbN and HbO, might occur in many species of slow-growing pathogenic mycobacteria. Involvement of HbN in bacterial defense against NO toxicity and nitrosative stress has been proposed. A gene, encoding a putative HbN homolog with conserved features of typical trHbs, has been identified within the genome sequence of fast-growing mycobacterium, Mycobacterium smegmatis. Sequence analysis of M. smegmatis HbN indicated that it is relatively smaller in size and lacks N-terminal pre-A region, carrying 12-residue polar sequence motif that is present in HbN of M. tuberculosis. HbN encoding gene of M. smegmatis was expressed in E. coli as a 12.8kD homodimeric heme protein that binds oxygen reversibly with high affinity (P50 approximately 0.081 mm Hg) and autooxidizes faster than M. tuberculosis HbN. The circular dichroism spectra indicate that HbN of M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis are structurally similar. Interestingly, an hmp mutant of E. coli, unable to metabolize nitric oxide, exhibited very low NO uptake activity in the presence of M. smegmatis HbN as compared to HbN of M. tuberculosis. On the basis of cellular heme content, specific nitric oxide dioxygenase (NOD) activity of M. smegmatis HbN was nearly one-third of that from M. tuberculosis. Additionally, the hmp mutant of E. coli, carrying M. smegmatis HbN, exhibited nearly 10-fold lower cell survival under nitrosative stress and nitrite derived reactive nitrogen species as compared to the isogenic strain harboring HbN of M. tuberculosis. Taken together, these results suggest that NO metabolizing activity and protection provided by M. smegmatis HbN against toxicity of NO and reactive nitrogen is significantly lower than HbN of M. tuberculosis. The lower efficiency of M. smegmatis HbN for NO detoxification as compared to M. tuberculosis HbN might be related to different level of NO exposure and nitrosative stress faced by these mycobacteria during their cellular metabolism.