PlzA is a bifunctional c-di-GMP biosensor that promotes tick and mammalian host-adaptation of Borrelia burgdorferi

In this study, we examined the relationship between c-di-GMP and its only known effector protein, PlzA, in Borrelia burgdorferi during the arthropod and mammalian phases of the enzootic cycle. Using a B. burgdorferi strain expressing a plzA point mutant (plzA-R145D) unable to bind c-di-GMP, we confirmed that the protective function of PlzA in ticks is c-di-GMP-dependent. Unlike ΔplzA spirochetes, which are severely attenuated in mice, the plzA-R145D strain was fully infectious, firmly establishing that PlzA serves a c-di-GMP-independent function in mammals. Contrary to prior reports, loss of PlzA did not affect expression of RpoS or RpoS-dependent genes, which are essential for transmission, mammalian host-adaptation and murine infection. To ascertain the nature of PlzA’s c-di-GMP-independent function(s), we employed infection models using (i) host-adapted mutant spirochetes for needle inoculation of immunocompetent mice and (ii) infection of scid mice with in vitro-grown organisms. Both approaches substantially restored ΔplzA infectivity, suggesting that PlzA enables B. burgdorferi to overcome an early bottleneck to infection. Furthermore, using a Borrelia strain expressing a heterologous, constitutively active diguanylate cyclase, we demonstrate that ‘ectopic’ production of c-di-GMP in mammals abrogates spirochete virulence and interferes with RpoS function at the post-translational level in a PlzA-dependent manner. Structural modeling and SAXS analysis of liganded- and unliganded-PlzA revealed marked conformational changes that underlie its biphasic functionality. This structural plasticity likely enables PlzA to serve as a c-di-GMP biosensor that in its respective liganded and unliganded states promote vector- and host-adaptation by the Lyme disease spirochete.     

Acetyl-Phosphate Is Not a Global Regulatory Bridge between Virulence and Central Metabolism in Borrelia burgdorferi

In B. burgdorferi, the Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS signaling cascade is a distinctive system that coordinates the expression of virulence factors required for successful transition between its arthropod vector and mammalian hosts. Rrp2 (BB0763), an RpoN specific response regulator, is essential to activate this regulatory pathway. Previous investigations have attempted to identify the phosphate donor of Rrp2, including the cognate histidine kinase, Hk2 (BB0764), non-cognate histidine kinases such as Hk1, CheA1, and CheA2, and small molecular weight P-donors such as carbamoyl-phosphate and acetyl-phosphate (AcP). In a report by Xu et al., exogenous sodium acetate led to increased expression of RpoS and OspC and it was hypothesized this effect was due to increased levels of AcP via the enzyme AckA (BB0622). Genome analyses identified only one pathway that could generate AcP in B. burgdorferi: the acetate/mevalonate pathway that synthesizes the lipid, undecaprenyl phosphate (C₅₅-P, lipid I), which is essential for cell wall biogenesis. To assess the role of AcP in Rrp2–dependent regulation of RpoS and OspC, we used a unique selection strategy to generate mutants that lacked ackA (bb0622: acetate to AcP) or pta (bb0589: AcP to acetyl-CoA). These mutants have an absolute requirement for mevalonate and demonstrate that ackA and pta are required for cell viability. When the ΔackA or Δpta mutant was exposed to conditions (i.e., increased temperature or cell density) that up-regulate the expression of RpoS and OspC, normal induction of those proteins was observed. In addition, adding 20mM acetate or 20mM benzoate to the growth media of B. burgdorferi strain B31 ΔackA induced the expression of RpoS and OspC. These data suggest that AcP (generated by AckA) is not directly involved in modulating the Rrp2-RpoN-RpoS regulatory pathway and that exogenous acetate or benzoate are triggering an acid stress response in B. burgdorferi.