Mutational analysis of the Yersinia enterocolitica virC operon: characterization of yscE, F, G, I, J, K required for Yop secretion and yscH encoding YopR

Pathogenic yersiniae secrete the Yop anti-host proteins using a type-III secretion pathway. The components of the secretion machinery are encoded by three loci on the pYV plasmid: virA, virB, and virC . In this paper we describe the characterization of eight non-polar mutants of the virC locus, constructed by allelic exchange. The yscE, FG, I, J and K mutants were defective in Yop secretion and independent of Ca²⁺ (Cl) for their growth at 37°C. Substitution of the 12 N-terminal amino-acid residues of YscF impaired secretion of YopB and YopD only and led also to a Cl phenotype. The culture supernatant of the yscH mutant contained all the Yops except the 18 kDa YopR. Complementation experiments and an immunoblot analysis confirmed that YopR is encoded by the yscH gene. The LD₅₀ for the mouse of the yscH mutant was 10-fold higher than that of the parental strain indicating that YopR is involved in pathogenesis. The phenotype of the yscM mutant was similar to that of the wild-type strain. However, overproduction of YscM from a multicopy plasmid in wild-type Yersinia enterocolitica prevented Yop secretion and synthesis. A hybrid YopH—LacZ' protein, encoded by a gene transcribed from the lac promoter, was secreted by a strain overexpressing YscM, showing that the secretion machinery was still functional. These results indicate that YscM plays a role in the feedback inhibition of Yop synthesis when secretion is compromised by acting as a negative regulator of Yop synthesis.     

Mutants ofXanthomonas campestris defective in secretion of extracellular enzymes

Summary Mutants ofXanthomonas campestris B 1459 were isolated that are defective in secretion of both cellulase and amylase. Both enzymes accumulated in the periplasmic space. The defects in secretion of cellulase or amylase were partly overcome by introducing into the mutants specific multiple copies of DNA cloned fromX. campestris, and presumed to code for cellulase or amylase enzymes. The mutant strains also showed reduced amounts of extracellular pectinase and protease activities, as if the mutants were generally defective for secretion of extracellular enzymes. The mutants showed reduced pathogenesis for turnip seedlings. The secretion-defective mutants may allow production of xanthan gum with reduced cellulose, pectin, protein and starch-degrading enzyme activities, thereby allowing more widespread mixing of microbially produced xanthan gum with these commercially important water-soluble polymers.     

Production of hydrolytic enzymes by oral isolates of Eikenella corrodens

Abstract Thermus thermophilus cells harboring an expression plasmid for the aqualysin I gene secrete the mature enzyme into the medium. In an Escherichia coli expression system, a precursor of the enzyme with the C-terminal pro-sequence is accumulated in the cells, and upon treatment at 65°C the active enzyme is produced. One- to 10-amino acid residue deletions, as well as complete 105-residue deletion of the C-terminal pro-sequence from the C-terminus, did not affect the production of the enzyme in T. coli cells. T. thermophilus cells harboring plasmids for mutant precursors with one- and three-residue deletions secreted the enzyme extracellularly. However, transformants harboring plasmids for mutant precursors with deletions of five or more amino acid residues could not be obtained. These results suggest that the C-terminal pro-sequence plays an important role in the extracellular secretion of the enzyme in T. thermophilus cells.     

Protoplast transformation in coryneform bacteria and introduction of an alpha-amylase gene from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens into Brevibacterium lactofermentum.

The goal of this study was to investigate the likelihood of developing useful transformation systems for coryneform bacteria. Two species of coryneform bacteria, Brevibacterium lactofermentum and Corynebacterium lilium, were transformed with chimeras constructed from pUB110 and a cryptic coryneform plasmid (pGX1901). C. lilium protoplasts were also efficiently transfected with phage CS1 DNA. High transformation and transfection frequencies were obtained after only 2 min of lysozyme treatment of lysozyme-sensitive mutants. A series of experiments was also conducted to determine whether DNA from other species of important industrial microbes from the genus Bacillus could be expressed in coryneform bacteria. Evidence of restriction of Bacillus subtilis DNA by B. lactofermentum was observed but could be overcome. A Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase gene (amyEBamP) was subcloned onto a plasmid able to replicate in B. lactofermentum. B. lactofermentum transformants for this plasmid expressed amylase activity and produced material cross-reactive to amylase antibody.     

Protoplast transformation in coryneform bacteria and introduction of an alpha-amylase gene from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens into Brevibacterium lactofermentum

The goal of this study was to investigate the likelihood of developing useful transformation systems for coryneform bacteria. Two species of coryneform bacteria, Brevibacterium lactofermentum and Corynebacterium lilium, were transformed with chimeras constructed from pUB110 and a cryptic coryneform plasmid (pGX1901). C. lilium protoplasts were also efficiently transfected with phage CS1 DNA. High transformation and transfection frequencies were obtained after only 2 min of lysozyme treatment of lysozyme-sensitive mutants. A series of experiments was also conducted to determine whether DNA from other species of important industrial microbes from the genus Bacillus could be expressed in coryneform bacteria. Evidence of restriction of Bacillus subtilis DNA by B. lactofermentum was observed but could be overcome. A Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase gene (amyEBamP) was subcloned onto a plasmid able to replicate in B. lactofermentum. B. lactofermentum transformants for this plasmid expressed amylase activity and produced material cross-reactive to amylase antibody.     

酵母SUC2基因上游顺序对其表达的影响

从SUC2基因上游约—900bp向起始密码进行系列缺失。将带有这种缺失上游区的SUC2基因插入多拷贝质粒,并转化进不产蔗糖酶的酵母细胞。测定了这些缺失株表达蔗糖酶的数量。结果表明:在葡萄糖阻遏条件下,SUC2上游区缺失从-636bp到-179bp的不同细胞,糖基化蔗糖酶的表达量逐渐升高。和野生型相比,SUC2上游区缺失到-223bp和-179bp的细胞糖基化蔗糖酶量增加100倍以上。在葡萄糖去阻遏条件下,SUC2上游缺失从-395bp到-179bp的不同细胞,糖基化蔗糖酶的表达量只显示微弱的去阻遏效应。缺失末端达-89bp和-41bp的细胞只表达很少的糖基化蔗糖酶,但是非糖基化蔗糖酶的表达量明显增加。     

A leptomycin B resistance gene of Schizosaccharomyces pombe encodes a protein similar to the mammalian P-glycoproteins

Screening for leptomycin B (LMB)-resistant transformants in a gene library constructed in Schizosaccharomyces pombe with the chromosomal DNA of an LMB-resistant mutant of S. pombe and with multicopy plasmid pDB248' as the vector led to the isolation of a gene, named pmd1+, encoding a 1362-amino-acid protein. This protein showed great similarity in amino acid sequence to the mammalian P-glycoprotein encoded by the multidrug resistance gene, mdr, and the Saccharomyces cerevisiae a-factor transporter encoded by STE6. In addition, computer analyses predicted that the protein encoded by pmd1+ formed an intramolecular duplicated structure and each of the halves contained six transmembrane regions as well as two ATP-binding domains, as observed with the P-glycoproteins and the STE6 product. Consistent with this was that S. pombe cells containing the pmd1+ gene on a multicopy plasmid showed resistance not only to LMB but also to several cytotoxic agents. The pmd1 null mutants derived by gene disruption were viable and hypersensitive to these agents. All these data suggest that the pmd1+ gene encodes a protein that is a structural and functional counterpart of mammalian mdr proteins.     

A chromosomally encoded type III secretion pathway in Yersinia enterocolitica is important in virulence

Numerous Gram-negative bacteria use a type III, or contact dependent, secretion system to deliver proteins into the cytosol of host cells. All of these systems identified to date have been shown to have a role in pathogenesis. We have identified 13 genes on the Yersinia enterocolitica chromosome that encode a type III secretion apparatus plus two associated putative regulatory genes. In order to determine the function of this chromosomally-encoded secretion apparatus, we created an in frame deletion of a gene that has homology to the hypothesized inner membrane pore, ysaV. The ysaV mutant strain failed to secrete eight proteins, called Ysps, normally secreted by the parental strain when grown at 28 degrees C in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth supplemented with 0.4 M NaCl. Disruption of the ysaV gene had no effect on motility or phospholipase activity, suggesting this chromosomally encoded type III secretion pathway is distinct from the flagella secretion pathway of Y. enterocolitica. Deletion of the ysaV gene in a virulence plasmid positive strain had no effect on in vitro secretion of Yops by the plasmid-encoded type III secretion apparatus. Secretion of the Ysps was unaffected by the presence or absence of the virulence plasmid, suggesting the chromosomally encoded and plasmid-encoded type III secretion pathways act independently. Y. enterocolitica thus has three type III secretion pathways that appear to act independently. The ysaV mutant strain was somewhat attenuated in virulence compared with the wild type in the mouse oral model of infection (an approximately 0.9 log difference in LD50). The ysaV mutant strain was nearly as virulent as the wild type when inoculated intraperitoneally in the mouse model. A ysaV probe hybridized to sequences in other Yersinia spp. and homologues were found in the incomplete Y. pestis genome sequence, indicating a possible role for this system throughout the genus.     

Imprecise excision of insertion element IS5 from the fliC gene contributes to flagellar diversity in Escherichia coli

Motile strains of Escherichia coli K12 carrying both a chromosomal fliC-H48 gene and a plasmid encoded fliC-H4 gene express both types of flagellins, which are coassembled into functional flagella. By using flagellar-H48-specific antiserum and a plasmid curing procedure, nonmotile mutants were found that carried an IS5 insertion in the chromosomal fliC-H48 gene. Motile revertants were isolated that showed deletions of the IS5 element together with sections of the fliC-H48 gene resulting in an altered flagellar serotype in these strains. As IS5 elements were found associated with 35 of 53 known H-types in wildtype E. coli strains, this insertion element might play a major role in serotype diversity.     

Characteristics of extracellular protein production by a plasmidless derivative of Staphylococcus simulans biovar staphylolyticus

A derivative of Staphylococcus simulans biovar staphylolyticus cured of all five plasmids present in the wild-type organism was developed, and the characteristics of extracellular protein production by this plasmidless strain were compared to those of the wild type. Although staphylolytic endopeptidase (lysostaphin) and beta-lactamase are known to be plasmid encoded, analysis of this cured strain revealed that most other extracellular proteins are chromosomally encoded.     

Disruption of the gene encoding the secreted acid protease (ACP) in the yeast Candida tropicalis

The gene for the secreted acid protease (ACP), a potential virulence factor of Candida species, was inactivated in Candida tropicalis by gene disruption. The disruption was performed by cotransformation of an ade2 C. tropicalis mutant with a linear DNA fragment carrying a deletion in ACP, and the replicative vector pMK16 which carries a selectable ADE2 gene marker. Few of the transformants exhibited lower protease secretion levels and were shown to have one deleted and one unaffected ACP copy, since C. tropicalis is a diploid yeast. These transformants were rendered homozygotic for this deletion by mild UV-treatment. One of the homozygotic acp deletion mutants obtained was completely devoid of extracellular protease activity and grew poorly on bovine serum albumin-containing medium. This mutant could be complemented by an ACP fragment inserted in pMK16, but also by an acid protease gene isolated from C. parapsilosis.     

Arginine catabolism in Agrobacterium strains: role of the Ti plasmid.

We present a study of the enzymatic activities involved in the pathway for arginine catabolism by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Nitrogen from arginine is recovered through the arginase-urease pathway; the genes for these two activities are probably chromosomally born. Arginase was found to be inducible during growth in the presence of arginine or ornithine. Urease was constitutively expressed. Ornithine, resulting from the action of arginase on arginine, could be used as a nitrogen source via transamination to delta 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate and reduction of the latter compound to proline by a reductase (both enzymatic activities are probably chromosomally encoded). Ornithine could also be used as a carbon source. Thus, we identified an ornithine cyclase activity that was responsible for direct conversion of ornithine to proline. This activity was found to be Ti plasmid encoded and inducible by growth in medium containing octopine or nopaline. The same activity was also chromosomally encoded in some Agrobacterium strains. In such strains, this activity was inducible during growth in arginine-containing medium.     

Yersinia has a tropism for B and T cell zones of lymph nodes that is independent of the type III secretion system

Pathogenic Yersinia have a pronounced tropism for lymphatic tissues and harbor a virulence plasmid that encodes a type III secretion system, pTTSS, that transports Yops into host cells. Yops are critical virulence factors that prevent phagocytosis by macrophages and neutrophils and Yersinia mutants lacking one or more Yops are defective for survival in lymphatic tissues, liver, and gastrointestinal tract. However, here we demonstrate that Y. pseudotuberculosis (Yptb) mutants lacking the pTTSS survived as well as or better than wild-type (WT) Yptb in the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN). Infection with pTTSS mutants caused lymphadenitis with little necrosis, whereas infection with WT Yptb provoked lymphadenitis with multiple necrotic suppurative foci. Gentamicin protection assays and microscopic examination of the MLN revealed that pTTSS mutants resided extracellularly adjacent to B and T lymphocytes in the cortex and paracortex. WT Yptb was found extracellularly adjacent to neutrophils and macrophages in necrotic areas and adjacent to B and T lymphocytes in less-inflamed areas. To determine whether lymphocytes protected pTTSS mutants from phagocytic cells, Rag1(-/-) mice were infected with pTTSS mutants or WT Yptb. pTTSS mutants but not WT, were impaired for survival in MLN of Rag1(-/-) mice, suggesting that lymphocyte-rich regions constitute a protective niche for pTTSS mutants. Finally, we show that invasin and the chromosomally encoded TTSS were not required for Yptb survival in MLN. In summary, chromosomally encoded factors are sufficient for Yptb replication in the cortex and paracortex of MLN; the pTTSS enables Yersinia to survive within phagocyte-rich areas of lymph nodes, and spread to other tissues.     

Genetic analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae transformed by plasmid containing a supressor transfer ribonucleic acid gene.

The behavior in Saccharomyces cerevisiae of plasmid pYTE1, which contains yeast tyrosine-inserting ochre suppressor SUP4.o, a 4-kilobase EcoRI fragment of yeast 2muDNA, and the bacterial plasmid pBR322, has been studied. Selection of yeast transformants was by suppression of multiple ochre mutations. About 10(3) to 10(4) transformants per microgram of pYTE1 dfeoxyribonucleic acid were obtained. The majority of transformants contained both an integrated copy of the SUP4.o gene plus pBR322 deoxyribonucleic acid sequences and autonomously replicating forms of the plasmid. The integrated copy was extremely stable mitotically and meiotically, but the associated nonintegrated copies were lost at meiosis. The chromosomally integrated pBR322 sequences were linked to the SUP4.o gene. The integration site was at the SUP4+ locus. In transformants with only nonintegrated copies of pYTE1, the expression of suppression was reduced, and the plasmid was unstable in mitosis. Plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid preparations from both types of transformant could be used to retransform yeast cells. Plasmid pYTE1 has restriction enzyme sites useful for the high frequency and stable transformation of other genes into yeasts. The potential uses of this plasmid for transformation of other organisms is discussed.     

Targeted disruption of the NIT8 gene in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

We have used homologous recombination to disrupt the nuclear gene NIT8 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This is the first report of targeted gene disruption of an endogenous locus in C. reinhardtii and only the second for a photosynthetic eukaryote. NIT8 encodes a protein necessary for nitrate and nitrite assimilation by C. reinhardtii. A disruption vector was constructed by placing the CRY1-1 selectable marker gene, which confers emetine resistance, within the NIT8 coding region. nit8 mutants are unable to grow on nitrate as their sole nitrogen source (Nit-) and are resistant to killing by chlorate. One of 2,000 transformants obtained after selection on emetine-chlorate medium contained a homologous insertion of five copies of the disruption plasmid into the NIT8 gene, producing an emetine-resistant, chlorate-resistant Nit- phenotype. The mutant phenotype was rescued by the wild-type NIT8 gene upon transformation. Seven other mutations at the nit8 locus, presumably resulting from homologous recombination with the disruption plasmid, were identified but were shown to be accompanied by deletions of the surrounding genomic region.     

Involvement of a plasmid-encoded type IV secretion system in the plant tissue watersoaking phenotype of Burkholderia cenocepacia

Burkholderia cenocepacia strain K56-2, a representative of the Burkholderia cepacia complex, is part of the epidemic and clinically problematic ET12 lineage. The strain produced plant tissue watersoaking (ptw) on onion tissue, which is a plant disease-associated trait. Using plasposon mutagenesis, mutants in the ptw phenotype were generated. The translated sequence of a disrupted gene (ptwD4) from a ptw-negative mutant showed homology to VirD4-like proteins. Analysis of the region proximal to the transfer gene homolog identified a gene cluster located on the 92-kb resident plasmid that showed homology to type IV secretion systems. The role of ptwD4, ptwC, ptwB4, and ptwB10 in the expression of ptw activity was determined by conducting site-directed mutagenesis. The ptw phenotype was not expressed by K56-2 derivatives with a disruption in ptwD4, ptwB4, or ptwB10 but was observed in a derivative with a disruption in ptwC. Complementation of ptw-negative K56-2 derivatives in trans resulted in complete restoration of the ptw phenotype. In addition, analysis of culture supernatants revealed that the putative ptw effector(s) was a secreted, heat-stable protein(s) that caused plasmolysis of plant protoplasts. A second chromosomally encoded type IV secretion system with complete homology to the VirB-VirD system was identified in K56-2. Site-directed mutagenesis of key secretory genes in the VirB-VirD system did not affect expression of the ptw phenotype. Our findings indicate that in strain K56-2, the plasmid-encoded Ptw type IV secretion system is responsible for the secretion of a plant cytotoxic protein(s).     

The Coxiella burnetii cryptic plasmid is enriched in genes encoding type IV secretion system substrates

The intracellular bacterial pathogen Coxiella burnetii directs biogenesis of a phagolysosome-like parasitophorous vacuole (PV), in which it replicates. The organism encodes a Dot/Icm type IV secretion system (T4SS) predicted to deliver to the host cytosol effector proteins that mediate PV formation and other cellular events. All C. burnetii isolates carry a large, autonomously replicating plasmid or have chromosomally integrated plasmid-like sequences (IPS), suggesting that plasmid and IPS genes are critical for infection. Bioinformatic analyses revealed two candidate Dot/Icm substrates with eukaryotic-like motifs uniquely encoded by the QpH1 plasmid from the Nine Mile reference isolate. CpeC, containing an F-box domain, and CpeD, possessing kinesin-related and coiled-coil regions, were secreted by the closely related Legionella pneumophila Dot/Icm T4SS. An additional QpH1-specific gene, cpeE, situated in a predicted operon with cpeD, also encoded a secreted effector. Further screening revealed that three hypothetical proteins (CpeA, CpeB, and CpeF) encoded by all C. burnetii plasmids and IPS are Dot/Icm substrates. By use of new genetic tools, secretion of plasmid effectors by C. burnetii during host cell infection was confirmed using β-lactamase and adenylate cyclase translocation assays, and a C-terminal secretion signal was identified. When ectopically expressed in HeLa cells, plasmid effectors trafficked to different subcellular sites, including autophagosomes (CpeB), ubiquitin-rich compartments (CpeC), and the endoplasmic reticulum (CpeD). Collectively, these results suggest that C. burnetii plasmid-encoded T4SS substrates play important roles in subversion of host cell functions, providing a plausible explanation for the absolute maintenance of plasmid genes by this pathogen.     

Common evolutionary origin for the unstable virulence plasmid pMUM found in geographically diverse strains of Mycobacterium ulcerans

The 174-kb virulence plasmid pMUM001 in Mycobacterium ulcerans epidemic strain Agy99 harbors three very large and homologous genes that encode giant polyketide synthases (PKS) responsible for the synthesis of the lipid toxin mycolactone. Deeper investigation of M. ulcerans Agy99 resulted in identification of two types of spontaneous deletion variants of pMUM001 within a population of cells that also contained the intact plasmid. These variants arose from recombination between two 8-kb sections of the same plasmid sequence, resulting in the loss of a 65-kb region bearing two of the three mycolactone PKS genes. Investigation of nine diverse M. ulcerans strains by using PCR and Southern hybridization for eight pMUM001 gene sequences confirmed the presence of pMUM001-like elements (collectively called pMUM) in all M. ulcerans strains. Physical mapping of these plasmids revealed that like M. ulcerans Agy99, three strains had undergone major deletions in their mycolactone PKS loci. Online liquid chromatography-sequential mass spectrometry analysis of lipid extracts confirmed that strains with PKS deletions were unable to produce mycolactone or any related cometabolites. Interstrain comparisons of the plasmid gene sequences revealed greater than 98% nucleotide identity, and the phylogeny inferred from these sequences closely mimicked the phylogeny from a previous multilocus sequence typing study in which chromosomally encoded loci were used, a result that is consistent with the hypothesis that M. ulcerans diverged from the closely related organism Mycobacterium marinum by acquiring pMUM. Our results suggest that pMUM is a defining characteristic of M. ulcerans but that in the absence of purifying selection, deletion of plasmid sequences and a corresponding loss of mycolactone production readily arise.