PchR-box recognition by the AraC-type regulator PchR of Pseudomonas aeruginosa requires the siderophore pyochelin as an effector

Under iron limitation, the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces the siderophore pyochelin. When secreted into the extracellular environment, pyochelin complexes ferric ions and delivers them, via the outer membrane receptor FptA, to the bacterial cytoplasm. Extracellular pyochelin also acts as a signalling molecule, inducing the expression of pyochelin biosynthesis and uptake genes by a mechanism involving the AraC-type regulator PchR. We have identified a 32 bp conserved sequence element (PchR-box) in promoter regions of pyochelin-controlled genes and we show that the PchR-box in the pchR-pchDCBA intergenic region is essential for the induction of the pyochelin biosynthetic operon pchDCBA and the repression of the divergently transcribed pchR gene. PchR was purified as a fusion with maltose-binding protein (MBP). Mobility shift assays demonstrated specific binding of MBP-PchR to the PchR-box in the presence, but not in the absence of pyochelin and iron. PchR-box mutations that interfered with pyochelin-dependent regulation in vivo, also affected pyochelin-dependent PchR-box recognition in vitro. We conclude that pyochelin, probably in its iron-loaded state, is the intracellular effector required for PchR-mediated regulation. The fact that extracellular pyochelin triggers this regulation suggests that the siderophore can enter the cytoplasm.     

The stereoisomers of pyochelin, a siderophore of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa siderophore pyochelin is obtained from the bacterial culture medium as a mixture of two epimers. Chromatically isolated pure stereoisomers equilibrate readily in most solvents. Experiments will be reported which allow to isolate one of the isomers in pure form and which shed some additional light on the epimerization reaction.     

PchC thioesterase optimizes nonribosomal biosynthesis of the peptide siderophore pyochelin in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the antibiotic dihydroaeruginoate (Dha) and the siderophore pyochelin are produced from salicylate and cysteine by a thiotemplate mechanism involving the peptide synthetases PchE and PchF. A thioesterase encoded by the pchC gene was found to be necessary for maximal production of both Dha and pyochelin, but it was not required for Dha release from PchE and could not replace the thioesterase function specified by the C-terminal domain of PchF. In vitro, 2-aminobutyrate, a cysteine analog, was adenylated by purified PchE and PchF proteins. In vivo, this analog strongly interfered with Dha and pyochelin formation in a pchC deletion mutant but affected production of these metabolites only slightly in the wild type. Exogenously supplied cysteine overcame the negative effect of a pchC mutation to a large extent, whereas addition of salicylate did not. These data are in agreement with a role for PchC as an editing enzyme that removes wrongly charged molecules from the peptidyl carrier protein domains of PchE and PchF.     

Pseudomonas fluorescens CHA0 produces enantio-pyochelin, the optical antipode of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa siderophore pyochelin

The siderophore pyochelin is made by a thiotemplate mechanism from salicylate and two molecules of cysteine. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the first cysteine residue is converted to its D-isoform during thiazoline ring formation whereas the second cysteine remains in its L-configuration, thus determining the stereochemistry of the two interconvertible pyochelin diastereoisomers as 4'R, 2'R, 4'R (pyochelin I) and 4'R, 2'S, 4'R (pyochelin II). Pseudomonas fluorescens CHA0 was found to make a different stereoisomeric mixture, which promoted growth under iron limitation in strain CHA0 and induced the expression of its biosynthetic genes, but was not recognized as a siderophore and signaling molecule by P. aeruginosa. Reciprocally, pyochelin promoted growth and induced pyochelin gene expression in P. aeruginosa, but was not functional in P. fluorescens. The structure of the CHA0 siderophore was determined by mass spectrometry, thin-layer chromatography, NMR, polarimetry, and chiral HPLC as enantio-pyochelin, the optical antipode of the P. aeruginosa siderophore pyochelin. Enantio-pyochelin was chemically synthesized and confirmed to be active in CHA0. Its potential biosynthetic pathway in CHA0 is discussed.     

Synthesis and biological activity of pyochelin, a siderophore of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pyochelin, a phenolic siderophore of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was synthesized in three steps from salicylonitrile, L-cysteine, and L-N-methylcysteine. The synthetic product was determined to be identical to natural pyochelin by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, chromatographic analysis, and chemical reactivity with FeCl3 and ammoniacal silver nitrate reagent. Synthetic and natural pyochelin promoted bacterial growth in iron-depleted medium and were also found to mediate iron transport by P. aeruginosa to the same levels. Neopyochelin, a stereoisomeric by-product of the synthesis, showed less biological activity than did pyochelin in iron transport assays.     

Synthesis and biological properties of thiazole-analogues of pyochelin,a siderophore of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pyochelin is a siderophore common to all strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa utilized by this Gram-negative bacterium to acquire iron(III). FptA is the outer membrane transporter responsible of ferric-pyochelin uptake in P. aeruginosa. We describe in this Letter the synthesis and the biological properties (⁵⁵Fe uptake, binding to FptA) of several thiazole analogues of pyochelin. Among them we report in this Letter the two first pyochelin analogues able to bind FptA without promoting any iron uptake in P. aeruginosa.     

A role for PchHI as the ABC transporter in iron acquisition by the siderophore pyochelin in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Iron is an essential nutrient for bacterial growth but poorly bioavailable. Bacteria scavenge ferric iron by synthesizing and secreting siderophores, small compounds with a high affinity for iron. Pyochelin (PCH) is one of the two siderophores produced by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. After capturing a ferric iron molecule, PCH-Fe is imported back into bacteria first by the outer membrane transporter FptA and then by the inner membrane permease FptX. Here, using molecular biology, ⁵⁵Fe uptake assays, and LC–MS/MS quantification, we first find a role for PchHI as the heterodimeric ABC transporter involved in the siderophore-free iron uptake into the bacterial cytoplasm. We also provide the first evidence that PCH is able to reach the bacterial periplasm and cytoplasm when both FptA and FptX are expressed. Finally, we detected an interaction between PchH and FptX, linking the ABC transporter PchHI with the inner permease FptX in the PCH-Fe uptake pathway. These results pave the way for a better understanding of the PCH siderophore pathway, giving future directions to tackle P. aeruginosa infections.     

Plant-associated Bacillus mobilizes its secondary metabolites upon perception of the siderophore pyochelin produced by a Pseudomonas competitor

Bacillus velezensis is considered as model species for plant-associated bacilli providing benefits to its host such as protection against phytopathogens. This is mainly due to the potential to secrete a wide range of secondary metabolites with specific and complementary bioactivities. This metabolite arsenal has been quite well defined genetically and chemically but much remains to be explored regarding how it is expressed under natural conditions and notably how it can be modulated upon interspecies interactions in the competitive rhizosphere niche. Here, we show that B. velezensis can mobilize a substantial part of its metabolome upon the perception of Pseudomonas, as a soil-dwelling competitor. This metabolite response reflects a multimodal defensive strategy as it includes polyketides and the bacteriocin amylocyclicin, with broad antibiotic activity, as well as surfactin lipopeptides, contributing to biofilm formation and enhanced motility. Furthermore, we identified the secondary Pseudomonas siderophore pyochelin as an info-chemical, which triggers this response via a mechanism independent of iron stress. We hypothesize that B. velezensis relies on such chelator sensing to accurately identify competitors, illustrating a new facet of siderophore-mediated interactions beyond the concept of competition for iron and siderophore piracy. This phenomenon may thus represent a new component of the microbial conversations driving the behavior of members of the rhizosphere community.Subject terms: Microbial ecology, Soil microbiology     

Epimerization of an L-cysteinyl to a D-cysteinyl residue during thiazoline ring formation in siderophore chain elongation by pyochelin synthetase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The thiazoline-containing siderophores pyochelin, yersiniabactin, and Micacocidin A all have D-thiazoline rings, participating in high-affinity chelation of ferric iron. However, studies with pyochelin (Pch) synthetase and yersiniabactin (Ybt) synthetase reconstituted from pure protein components have shown that only L-cysteine is activated and tethered as a covalent aminoacyl-S-enzyme intermediate. Nor are any of the canonical epimerase domains of nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) assembly lines found in the Ybt or Pch synthetase modules. Here, we report that the PchE subunit of the Pch synthetase exchanges solvent deuterium into the C(2) center of the thiazoline moieties during siderophore chain elongation. Both PchE and HMWP2, from Ybt synthetase, subunits have a 310-360-residue insert in their amino acid activation domains that look like defective methyltransferase (MT) domains. We suggest these inserts are noncanonical epimerase domains, reversibly deprotonating and reprotonating acyl-S-enzyme intermediates at the C(2) locus. The PchE subunit does not epimerize the Cys-S-enzyme intermediate, but once amide bond formation from a benzoyl-S-PchE donor is catalyzed by the cyclization (Cy) domain of PchE, the N-benzoyl-Cys-S-PchE intermediate is present as a D,L-mixture. The subsequent phenylthiazolinyl-S-PchE intermediate, arising from cyclodehydration of the N-benzoyl-Cys-S-PchE intermediate, is likewise a D,L-mixture on hydrolytic release and enantiomer analysis. These results suggest a default role for MT domains of NRPS assembly lines in generating alpha-carbanionic species from thioester intermediates during siderophore chain elongation.     

Assembly of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa nonribosomal peptide siderophore pyochelin: In vitro reconstitution of aryl-4, 2-bisthiazoline synthetase activity from PchD, PchE, and PchF.

Three Pseudomonas aeruginosa proteins involved in biogenesis of the nonribosomal peptide siderophore pyochelin, PchD, PchE, and PchF, have been expressed in and purified from Escherichia coli and are found to produce the tricyclic acid hydroxyphenyl-thiazolyl-thiazolinyl-carboxylic acid (HPTT-COOH), an advanced intermediate containing the aryl-4,2-bis-heterocyclic skeleton of the bithiazoline class of siderophores. The three proteins contain three adenylation domains, one specific for salicylate activation and two specific for cysteine activation, and three carrier protein domains (two in PchE and one in PchF) that undergo posttranslational priming with phosphopantetheine to enable covalent tethering of salicyl and cysteinyl moieties as acyl-S-enzyme intermediates. Two cyclization domains (Cy1 in PchE and Cy2 in PchF) create the two amide linkages in the elongating chains and the cyclodehydrations of acylcysteine moieties into thiazolinyl rings. The ninth domain, the most downstream domain in PchF, is the chain-terminating, acyl-S-enzyme thioester hydrolase that releases the HPTT-S-enzyme intermediate to the observed tandem bis-heterocyclic acid product. A PchF-thioesterase domain active site double mutant fails to turn over, but a monocyclic hydroxyphenyl-thiazolinyl-cysteine (HPT-Cys) product continues to be released from PchE, allowing assignment of the cascade of acyl-S-enzyme intermediates involved in initiation, elongation, and termination steps.     

Essential PchG-dependent reduction in pyochelin biosynthesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The biosynthetic genes pchDCBA and pchEF, which are known to be required for the formation of the siderophore pyochelin and its precursors salicylate and dihydroaeruginoate (Dha), are clustered with the pchR regulatory gene on the chromosome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The 4.6-kb region located downstream of the pchEF genes was found to contain three additional, contiguous genes, pchG, pchH, and pchI, probably forming a pchEFGHI operon. The deduced amino acid sequences of PchH and PchI are similar to those of ATP binding cassette transport proteins with an export function. PchG is a homolog of the Yersinia pestis and Y. enterocolitica proteins YbtU and Irp3, which are involved in the biosynthesis of yersiniabactin. A null mutation in pchG abolished pyochelin formation, whereas mutations in pchH and pchI did not affect the amounts of salicylate, Dha, and pyochelin produced. The pyochelin biosynthetic genes were expressed from a vector promoter, uncoupling them from Fur-mediated repression by iron and PchR-dependent induction by pyochelin. In a P. aeruginosa mutant lacking the entire pyochelin biosynthetic gene cluster, the expressed pchDCBA and pchEFG genes were sufficient for salicylate, Dha, and pyochelin production. Pyochelin formation was also obtained in the heterologous host Escherichia coli expressing pchDCBA and pchEFG together with the E. coli entD gene, which provides a phosphopantetheinyl transferase necessary for PchE and PchF activation. The PchG protein was purified and used in combination with PchD and phosphopantetheinylated PchE and PchF in vitro to produce pyochelin from salicylate, L-cysteine, ATP, NADPH, and S-adenosylmethionine. Based on this assay, a reductase function was attributed to PchG. In summary, this study completes the identification of the biosynthetic genes required for pyochelin formation from chorismate in P. aeruginosa.     

Binding properties of pyochelin and structurally related molecules to FptA of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pyochelin (Pch) is a siderophore that is produced in iron-limited conditions, by both Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia. This iron uptake pathway could therefore be a target for the development of new antibiotics. Pch is (4'R,2'R/S,4'R)-2'-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-3'-methyl-4',5',2',3',4',5'-hexahydro-[4',2']bithiazolyl-4'-carboxylic acid, and has three chiral centres located at positions C4', C2' and C4'. In P.aeruginosa, this siderophore chelates iron in the extracellular medium and transports it into the cells via a specific outer membrane transporter FptA. Docking experiments using the X-ray structure of FptA-Pch-Fe showed that iron-loaded or unloaded Pch diastereoisomers could bind to FptA. This was confirmed by in vivo binding assays. These binding properties and the iron uptake ability were not affected by removal of the C4' chiral centre. After removal of both the C4' and C2' chiral centres, the molecule still bound to FptA but was unable to transport iron. The overall binding mode of this iron-complexed analogue was inverted. These findings describe the first antagonist of the Pch/FptA iron uptake pathway. Pch also complexes with iron in conjunction with other bidentate ligands such as cepabactin (Cep) or ethylene glycol. Docking experiments showed that such complexes bind to FptA via the Pch molecule. The mixed Pch-Fe-Cep complex was also recognized by FptA, having an affinity intermediate between that for Pch(2)-Fe and Cep(3)-Fe. Finally, the iron uptake properties of the different Pch-related molecules suggested a mechanism for FptA-Pch-Fe complex formation similar to that of the FpvA/Pvd uptake system. All these findings improve our understanding of specificity of the interaction between FptA and its siderophore.     

Engineering siderophore production in Pseudomonas to improve asbestos weathering

Iron plays a key role in microbial metabolism and bacteria have developed multiple siderophore-driven mechanisms due to its poor bioavailability for organisms in the environment. Iron-bearing minerals generally serve as a nutrient source to sustain bacterial growth after bioweathering. Siderophores are high-affinity ferric iron chelators, of which the biosynthesis is tightly regulated by the presence of iron. Pyoverdine-producing Pseudomonas have shown their ability to extract iron and magnesium from asbestos waste as nutrients. However, such bioweathering is rapidly limited due to repression of the pyoverdine pathway and the low bacterial requirement for iron. We developed a metabolically engineered strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa for which pyoverdine production was no longer repressed by iron as a proof of concept. We compared siderophore-promoted dissolution of flocking asbestos waste by this optimized strain to that by the wild-type strain. Interestingly, pyoverdine production by the optimized strain was seven times higher in the presence of asbestos waste and the dissolution of magnesium and iron from the chrysotile fibres contained in flocking asbestos waste was significantly enhanced. This innovative mineral weathering process contributes to remove toxic iron from the asbestos fibres and may contribute to the development of an eco-friendly method to manage asbestos waste.     

Assessment of structural features of the pseudomonas siderophore pyochelin required for its ability to promote oxidant-mediated endothelial cell injury

We previously showed that iron chelated to the Pseudomonas aeruginosa siderophore pyochelin enhances oxidant-mediated injury to pulmonary artery endothelial cells by catalyzing hydroxyl radical (HO(*)) formation. Therefore, we examined pyochelin structural/chemical features that may be important in this process. Five pyochelin analogues were examined for (i) capacity to accentuate oxidant-mediated endothelial cell injury, (ii) HO(*) catalytic ability, (iii) iron transfer to endothelial cells, and (iv) hydrophobicity. All compounds catalyzed similar HO(*) production, but only the hydrophobic ones containing a thiazolidine ring enhanced cell injury. Transfer of iron to endothelial cells did not correlate with cytotoxicity. Finally, binding of Fe(3+) by pyochelin led to Fe(2+) formation, perhaps explaining how Fe(3+)-pyochelin augments H(2)O(2)-mediated cell injury via HO(*) formation. The ability to bind iron in a catalytic form and the molecule's thiazolidine ring, which increases its hydrophobicity, are key to pyochelin's cytotoxicity. Reduction of Fe(3+) to Fe(2+) may also be important.     

In vitro reconstitution of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa nonribosomal peptide synthesis of pyochelin: characterization of backbone tailoring thiazoline reductase and N-methyltransferase activities

During iron starvation the Gram-negative pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa makes the nonribosomal peptide siderophore pyochelin by a four protein, 11 domain assembly line, involving a cascade of acyl-S-enzyme intermediates on the PchE and PchF subunits that are elongated, heterocyclized, reduced, and N-methylated before release. Purified PchG is shown to be an NADPH-dependent reductase for the hydroxyphenylbisthiazoline-S-PchF acyl enzyme, regiospecifically converting one of the dihydroheterocyclic thiazoline rings to a thiazolidine. The K(m) for the PchG protein is 1 microM, and the k(cat) for throughput to pyochelin is 2 min(-1). The nitrogen of the newly generated thiazolidine ring can be N-methylated upon addition of SAM, to yield the mature pyochelin chain still tethered as a pyochelinyl-S-PchF at the PCP domain. A presumed methyltransferase (MT) domain embedded in the PchF subunit catalyzes this N-methylation. Mutation of a conserved G to R in the MT core motif abolishes MT activity and subsequent chain release from PchF. The thioesterase (TE) domain of PchF catalyzes hydrolytic release of the fully mature pyochelinyl chain to produce the pyochelin siderophore at a rate of 2 min(-1), at least 30-40-fold faster than in the absence of hydroxyphenylbisthiazolinyl-COOH (HPTT-COOH) chain reduction and N-methylation. A mutation in the PchF TE domain does not catalyze autodeacylation and release of the pyochelinyl-S-enzyme. Thus, full reconstitution of the nonribosomal peptide synthetase assembly line by purified protein components has been obtained for production of this tandem bisheterocyclic siderophore.