Detection of sialoglycomolecules in five plant trypanosomatids and in an insect phytophagous isolate

A mutation in the cell division gene ftsK causes super-induction of sigma(70)-dependent stress defense genes, such as uspA, during entry of cells into stationary phase. In contrast, we report here that stationary phase induction of sigma(S)-dependent genes, uspB and cfa, is attenuated and that sigma(S) accumulates at a lower rate in ftsK1 cells. Ectopic overexpression of rpoS restored induction of the rpoS regulon in the ftsK mutant, as did a deletion in the recA gene. Thus, a mutation in the cell division gene, ftsK, uncouples the otherwise coordinated induction of sigma(S)-dependent genes and the universal stress response gene, uspA, during entry into stationary phase.     

DinI and RecX modulate RecA-DNA structures in Escherichia coli K-12

RecA plays a central role in recombination, DNA repair and SOS induction through forming a RecA-DNA helical filament. Biochemical observations show that at low ratios to RecA, DinI and RecX stabilize and destabilize RecA-DNA filaments, respectively, and that the C-terminal 17 residues of RecA are important for RecX function. RecA-DNA filament formation was assayed in vivo using RecA-GFP foci formation in log-phase and UV-irradiated cells. In log-phase cells, dinI mutants have fewer foci than wild type and that recX mutants have more foci than wild type. A recADelta17::gfp mutant had more foci like a recX mutant. dinI recX double mutants have the same number of foci as dinI mutants alone, suggesting that dinI is epistatic to recX. After UV treatment, the dinI, recX and dinI recX mutants differed in their ability to form foci. All three mutants had fewer foci than wild type. The dinI mutant's foci persisted longer than wild-type foci. Roles of DinI and RecX after UV treatment differed from those during log-phase growth and may reflect the different DNA substrates, population of proteins or amounts during the SOS response. These experiments give new insight into the roles of these proteins.     

Inhibition of Escherichia coli RecA coprotease activities by DinI.

In Escherichia coli, the SOS response is induced upon DNA damage and results in the enhanced expression of a set of genes involved in DNA repair and other functions. The initial step, self-cleavage of the LexA repressor, is promoted by the RecA protein which is activated upon binding to single-stranded DNA. In this work, induction of the SOS response by the addition of mitomycin C was found to be prevented by overexpression of the dinI gene. dinI is an SOS gene which maps at 24.6 min of the E.coli chromosome and encodes a small protein of 81 amino acids. Immunoblotting analysis with anti-LexA antibodies revealed that LexA did not undergo cleavage in dinI-overexpressed cells after UV irradiation. In addition, the RecA-dependent conversion of UmuD to UmuD' (the active form for mutagenesis) was also inhibited in dinI-overexpressed cells. Conversely, a dinI-deficient mutant showed a slightly faster and more extensive processing of UmuD and hence higher mutability than the wild-type. Finally, we demonstrated, by using an in vitro reaction with purified proteins, that DinI directly inhibits the ability of RecA to mediate self-cleavage of UmuD.     

Suppression of Escherichia coli recF mutations by recA-linked srfA mutations.

Suppressors of recF (srfA) were found by selection for resistance to mitomycin C and UV irradiation in a recB21 recC22 sbcB15 recF143 strain. srfA mutations map in recA and are dominant to srfA+. They suppress both the DNA repair and the recombination deficiencies due to recF mutations. Therefore, RecA protein which is altered by the srfA mutation can allow genetic recombination to proceed in the absence of recB, recC, and recF functions. recF is also required for induction of the SOS response after UV damage. We propose that recF+ normally functions to allow the expression of two recA activities, one that is required for the RecF pathway of recombination and another that is required for SOS induction. The two RecA activities are different and are separable by mutation since srfA mutations permit recombination to proceed but have not caused a dramatic increase in SOS induction in recF mutants. According to this hypothesis, one role for recF in DNA repair and recombination is to modulate RecA activities to allow RecA to participate in these recF-dependent processes.     

Genetic evidence for the requirement of RecA loading activity in SOS induction after UV irradiation in Escherichia coli

The SOS response in Escherichia coli results in the coordinately induced expression of more than 40 genes which occurs when cells are treated with DNA-damaging agents. This response is dependent on RecA (coprotease), LexA (repressor), and the presence of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). A prerequisite for SOS induction is the formation of a RecA-ssDNA filament. Depending on the DNA substrate, the RecA-ssDNA filament is produced by either RecBCD, RecFOR, or a hybrid recombination mechanism with specific enzyme activities, including helicase, exonuclease, and RecA loading. In this study we examined the role of RecA loading activity in SOS induction after UV irradiation. We performed a genetic analysis of SOS induction in strains with a mutation which eliminates RecA loading activity in the RecBCD enzyme (recB1080 allele). We found that RecA loading activity is essential for SOS induction. In the recB1080 mutant RecQ helicase is not important, whereas RecJ nuclease slightly decreases SOS induction after UV irradiation. In addition, we found that the recB1080 mutant exhibited constitutive expression of the SOS regulon. Surprisingly, this constitutive SOS expression was dependent on the RecJ protein but not on RecFOR, implying that there is a different mechanism of RecA loading for constitutive SOS expression.     

Suppression of constitutive SOS expression by recA4162 (I298V) and recA4164 (L126V) requires UvrD and RecX in Escherichia coli K-12

Sensing DNA damage and initiation of genetic responses to repair DNA damage are critical to cell survival. In Escherichia coli , RecA polymerizes on ssDNA produced by DNA damage creating a RecA–DNA filament that interacts with the LexA repressor inducing the SOS response. RecA filament stability is negatively modulated by RecX and UvrD. recA730 (E38K) and recA4142 (F217Y) constitutively express the SOS response. recA4162 (I298V) and recA4164 (L126V) are intragenic suppressors of the constitutive SOS phenotype of recA730 . Herein, it is shown that these suppressors are not allele specific and can suppress SOS^C expression of recA730 and recA4142 in cis and in trans . recA4162 and recA4164 single mutants (and the recA730 and recA4142 derivatives) are Rec⁺, UV^R and are able to induce the SOS response after UV treatment like wild-type. UvrD and RecX are required for the suppression in two ( recA730,4164 and recA4142,4162 ) of the four double mutants tested. To explain the data, one model suggests that recA ^C alleles promote SOS^C expression by mimicking RecA filament structures that induce SOS and the suppressor alleles mimic RecA filament at end of SOS. UvrD and RecX are attracted to these latter structures to help dismantle or destabilize the RecA filament.     

RecA-mediated SOS induction requires an extended filament conformation but no ATP hydrolysis

The Escherichia coli SOS response to DNA damage is modulated by the RecA protein, a recombinase that forms an extended filament on single-stranded DNA and hydrolyzes ATP. The RecA K72R ( recA2201 ) mutation eliminates the ATPase activity of RecA protein. The mutation also limits the capacity of RecA to form long filaments in the presence of ATP. Strains with this mutation do not undergo SOS induction in vivo . We have combined the K72R variant of RecA with another mutation, RecA E38K ( recA730 ). In vitro , the double mutant RecA E38K/K72R ( recA730,2201 ) mimics the K72R mutant protein in that it has no ATPase activity. The double mutant protein will form long extended filaments on ssDNA and facilitate LexA cleavage almost as well as wild-type, and do so in the presence of ATP. Unlike recA K72R, the recA E38K/K72R double mutant promotes SOS induction in vivo after UV treatment. Thus, SOS induction does not require ATP hydrolysis by the RecA protein, but does require formation of extended RecA filaments. The RecA E38K/K72R protein represents an improved reagent for studies of the function of ATP hydrolysis by RecA in vivo and in vitro .     

Induction of the SOS Response in Ultraviolet-Irradiated Escherichia coli Analyzed by Dynamics of LexA, RecA and SulA Proteins

The SOS response in Escherichia coli is induced after DNA-damaging treatments including ultraviolet light. Regulation of the SOS response is accomplished through specific interaction of the two SOS regulator proteins, LexA and RecA. In ultraviolet light-treated cells, nucleotide excision repair is the major system that removes the induced lesions from the DNA. Here, induction of the SOS response in Escherichia coli with normal and impaired excision repair function is studied by simulation of intracellular levels of regulatory LexA and RecA proteins, and SulA protein. SulA protein is responsible for SOS-inducible cell division inhibition. Results of the simulations show that nucleotide excision repair influences time-courses of LexA, RecA and SulA induction by modulating the dynamics of RecA protein distribution between its normal and SOS-activated forms.     

Regulation of the SOS response in Bacillus subtilis: evidence for a LexA repressor homolog.

The inducible SOS response for DNA repair and mutagenesis in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis resembles the extensively characterized SOS system of Escherichia coli. In this report, we demonstrate that the cellular repressor of the E. coli SOS system, the LexA protein, is specifically cleaved in B. subtilis following exposure of the cells to DNA-damaging treatments that induce the SOS response. The in vivo cleavage of LexA is dependent upon the functions of the E. coli RecA protein homolog in B. subtilis (B. subtilis RecA) and results in the same two cleavage fragments as produced in E. coli cells following the induction of the SOS response. We also show that a mutant form of the E. coli RecA protein (RecA430) can partially substitute for the nonfunctional cellular RecA protein in the B. subtilis recA4 mutant, in a manner consistent with its known activities and deficiencies in E. coli. RecA430 protein, which has impaired repressor cleaving (LexA, UmuD, and bacteriophage lambda cI) functions in E.coli, partially restores genetic exchange to B. subtilis recA4 strains but, unlike wild-type E. coli RecA protein, is not capable of inducing SOS functions (expression of DNA damage-inducible [din::Tn917-lacZ] operons or RecA synthesis) in B. subtilis in response to DNA-damaging agents or those functions that normally accompany the development of physiological competence. Our results provide support for the existence of a cellular repressor in B. subtilis that is functionally homologous to the E. coli LexA repressor and suggest that the mechanism by which B. subtilis RecA protein (like RecA of E. coli) becomes activated to promote the induction of the SOS response is also conserved.     

RecJ nuclease is required for SOS induction after introduction of a double-strand break in a RecA loading deficient recB mutant of Escherichia coli

The SOS response is an important mechanism which allows Escherichia coli cells to maintain genome integrity. Two key proteins in SOS regulation are LexA (repressor) and RecA (coprotease). The signal for SOS induction is generated at the level of a RecA filament. Depending on the type of DNA damage, a RecA filament is produced by specific activities (helicase, nuclease and RecA loading) of either RecBCD, RecF or a hybrid recombination pathway. It was recently demonstrated that RecA loading activity is essential for the induction of the SOS response after UV-irradiation. In this paper we studied the genetic requirements for SOS induction after introduction of a double-strand break (DSB) by the I-SceI endonuclease in a RecA loading deficient recB mutant (recB1080). We monitored SOS induction by assaying beta-galactosidase activity and compared induction of the response between strains having one or more inactivated mechanisms of RecA loading and their derivatives. We found that simultaneous inactivation of both RecA loading functions (in recB1080 recO double mutant) partially impairs SOS induction after introduction of a DSB. However, we found that the RecJ nuclease is essential for SOS induction after the introduction of a DSB in the recB1080 mutant. This result indicates that RecJ is needed to prepare ssDNA for subsequent loading of RecA protein. It implies that an additional type of RecA loading could exist in the cell.     

Constitutive and UV-mediated activation of RecA protein: combined effects of recA441 and recF143 mutations and of addition of nucleosides and adenine.

The recF143 mutant of Escherichia coli is deficient in certain functions that also require the RecA protein: cell survival after DNA damage, some pathways of genetic recombination, and induction of SOS genes and temperate bacteriophage through cleavage of the LexA and phage repressors. To characterize the role of RecF in SOS induction and RecA activation, we determined the effects of the recF143 mutation on the rate of RecA-promoted cleavage of LexA, the repressor of the SOS genes. We show that RecA activation following UV irradiation is delayed by recF143 and that RecF is specifically involved in the SOS induction pathway that requires DNA replication. At 32 degrees C, the recA441 mutation partially suppresses the defect of recF mutants in inducing the SOS system in response to UV irradiation (A. Thomas and R. G. Lloyd, J. Gen. Microbiol. 129:681-686, 1983; M. R. Volkert, L. J. Margossian, and A. J. Clark, J. Bacteriol. 160:702-705, 1984); we find that this suppression occurs at the earliest detectable phase of LexA cleavage and does not require protein synthesis. Our results support the idea that following UV irradiation, RecF enhances the activation of RecA into a form that promotes LexA cleavage (A. Thomas and R. G. Lloyd, J. Gen. Microbiol. 129:681-686, 1983; M. V. V. S. Madiraju, A. Templin, and A. J. Clark, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:6592-6596, 1988). In contrast to the constitutive activation phenotype of the recA441 mutant, the recA441-mediated suppression of recF is not affected by adenine and nucleosides. We also find that wild-type RecA protein is somewhat activated by adenine in the absence of DNA damage.     

Genetic Requirements for High Constitutive SOS Expression in recA730 Mutants of Escherichia coli

The RecA protein in its functional state is in complex with single-stranded DNA, i.e., in the form of a RecA filament. In SOS induction, the RecA filament functions as a coprotease, enabling the autodigestion of the LexA repressor. The RecA filament can be formed by different mechanisms, but all of them require three enzymatic activities essential for the processing of DNA double-stranded ends. These are helicase, 5′–3′ exonuclease, and RecA loading onto single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). In some mutants, the SOS response can be expressed constitutively during the process of normal DNA metabolism. The RecA730 mutant protein is able to form the RecA filament without the help of RecBCD and RecFOR mediators since it better competes with the single-strand binding (SSB) protein for ssDNA. As a consequence, the recA730 mutants show high constitutive SOS expression. In the study described in this paper, we studied the genetic requirements for constitutive SOS expression in recA730 mutants. Using a β-galactosidase assay, we showed that the constitutive SOS response in recA730 mutants exhibits different requirements in different backgrounds. In a wild-type background, the constitutive SOS response is partially dependent on RecBCD function. In a recB1080 background (the recB1080 mutation retains only helicase), constitutive SOS expression is partially dependent on RecBCD helicase function and is strongly dependent on RecJ nuclease. Finally, in a recB-null background, the constitutive SOS expression of the recA730 mutant is dependent on the RecJ nuclease. Our results emphasize the importance of the 5′–3′ exonuclease for high constitutive SOS expression in recA730 mutants and show that RecBCD function can further enhance the excellent intrinsic abilities of the RecA730 protein in vivo.     

The epsilon subunit of DNA polymerase III Is involved in the nalidixic acid-induced SOS response in Escherichia coli

Quinolone antibacterial drugs such as nalidixic acid target DNA gyrase in Escherichia coli. These inhibitors bind to and stabilize a normally transient covalent protein-DNA intermediate in the gyrase reaction cycle, referred to as the cleavage complex. Stabilization of the cleavage complex is necessary but not sufficient for cell killing--cytotoxicity apparently results from the conversion of cleavage complexes into overt DNA breaks by an as-yet-unknown mechanism(s). Quinolone treatment induces the bacterial SOS response in a RecBC-dependent manner, arguing that cleavage complexes are somehow converted into double-stranded breaks. However, the only proteins known to be required for SOS induction by nalidixic acid are RecA and RecBC. In hopes of identifying additional proteins involved in the cytotoxic response to nalidixic acid, we screened for E. coli mutants specifically deficient in SOS induction upon nalidixic acid treatment by using a dinD::lacZ reporter construct. From a collection of SOS partially constitutive mutants with disruptions of 47 different genes, we found that dnaQ insertion mutants are specifically deficient in the SOS response to nalidixic acid. dnaQ encodes DNA polymerase III epsilon subunit, the proofreading subunit of the replicative polymerase. The deficient response to nalidixic acid was rescued by the presence of the wild-type dnaQ gene, confirming involvement of the epsilon subunit. To further characterize the SOS deficiency of dnaQ mutants, we analyzed the expression of several additional SOS genes in response to nalidixic acid using real-time PCR. A subset of SOS genes lost their response to nalidixic acid in the dnaQ mutant strain, while two tested SOS genes (recA and recN) continued to exhibit induction. These results argue that the replication complex plays a role in modulating the SOS response to nalidixic acid and that the response is more complex than a simple on/off switch.     

Regulation of the SOS response analyzed by RecA protein amplification.

A split UV light dose procedure was used in Escherichia coli to induce an SOS function, RecA protein amplification, which was measured by an immunoradiometric assay. The SOS system was partially induced after the first UV irradiation, and the inducing effects of subsequent identical UV doses were quantified. Variations in the inducing effects of successive UV doses were related to modulations of the SOS signal level during SOS induction. A reduction in the level of SOS signal was found after 20 min in the wild-type strain, hypothesized to result from negative control of repair functions. A few DNA repair mutants were tested by the same procedure; the uvrA, recF, and umuC genes were involved in SOS induction control, but we found differences in their respective kinetics of expression. On the contrary, in a recB mutant, only a slight effect was obtained on this control.     

A possible interaction of single-strand binding protein and RecA protein during post-ultraviolet DNA synthesis

The mechanism of DNA replication in ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated Escherichia coli is proposed. Immediately after UV exposure, the replisome aided by single-strand DNA-binding protein (SSB) can proceed past UV-induced pyrimidine dimers without insertion of nucleotides. Polymerisation eventually resumes somewhere downstream of the dimer sites. Due to the limited supply of SSB, only a few dimers can be bypassed in this way. Nevertheless, this early DNA synthesis is of great biological importance because it generates single-stranded DNA regions. Single-stranded DNA can bind and activate RecA protein, thus leading to induction of the SOS response. During the SOS response, the cellular level of RecA protein increases dramatically. Due to the simultaneous increase in the concentration of ATP, RecA protein achieves the high-affinity state for single-stranded DNA. Therefore it is able to displace DNA-bound SSB. The cycling of SSB on and off DNA enables the replisome to bypass a large number of dimers at late post-UV times. During this late replication, the stoichiometric amounts of RecA protein needed for recombination are involved in the process of postreplication repair.     

Requirements for ATP binding and hydrolysis in RecA function in Escherichia coli

RecA is essential for recombination, DNA repair and SOS induction in Escherichia coli . ATP hydrolysis is known to be important for RecA's roles in recombination and DNA repair. In vitro reactions modelling SOS induction minimally require ssDNA and non-hydrolyzable ATP analogues. This predicts that ATP hydrolysis will not be required for SOS induction in vivo . The requirement of ATP binding and hydrolysis for SOS induction in vivo is tested here through the study of recA4159 (K72A) and recA2201 (K72R). RecA4159 is thought to have reduced affinity for ATP. RecA2201 binds, but does not hydrolyse ATP. Neither mutant was able to induce SOS expression after UV irradiation. RecA2201, unlike RecA4159, could form filaments on DNA and storage structures as measured with RecA–GFP. RecA2201 was able to form hybrid filaments and storage structures and was either recessive or dominant to RecA⁺, depending on the ratio of the two proteins. RecA4159 was unable to enter RecA⁺ filaments on DNA or storage structures and was recessive to RecA⁺. It is concluded that ATP hydrolysis is essential for SOS induction. It is proposed that ATP binding is essential for storage structure formation and ability to interact with other RecA proteins in a filament.     

LexA cleavage is required for CTX prophage induction

The physiologic conditions and molecular interactions that control phage production have been studied in few temperate phages. We investigated the mechanisms that regulate production of CTXphi, a temperate filamentous phage that infects Vibrio cholerae and encodes cholera toxin. In CTXphi lysogens, the activity of P(rstA), the only CTXphi promoter required for CTX prophage development, is repressed by RstR, the CTXvphi repressor. We found that the V. cholerae SOS response regulates CTXvphi production. The molecular mechanism by which this cellular response to DNA damage controls CTXphi production differs from that by which the E. coli SOS response controls induction of many prophages. UV-stimulated CTXphi production required RecA-dependent autocleavage of LexA, a repressor that controls expression of numerous host DNA repair genes. LexA and RstR both bind to and repress P(rstA). Thus, CTXphi production is controlled by a cellular repressor whose activity is regulated by the cell's response to DNA damage.