Hfq Influences Multiple Transport Systems and Virulence in the Plant Pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens

The Hfq protein mediates gene regulation by small RNAs (sRNAs) in about 50% of all bacteria. Depending on the species, phenotypic defects of an hfq mutant range from mild to severe. Here, we document that the purified Hfq protein of the plant pathogen and natural genetic engineer Agrobacterium tumefaciens binds to the previously described sRNA AbcR1 and its target mRNA atu2422, which codes for the substrate binding protein of an ABC transporter taking up proline and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Several other ABC transporter components were overproduced in an hfq mutant compared to their levels in the parental strain, suggesting that Hfq plays a major role in controlling the uptake systems and metabolic versatility of A. tumefaciens. The hfq mutant showed delayed growth, altered cell morphology, and reduced motility. Although the DNA-transferring type IV secretion system was produced, tumor formation by the mutant strain was attenuated, demonstrating an important contribution of Hfq to plant transformation by A. tumefaciens.     

Purification of individual tRNAs using a monoclonal anti-AMP antibody affinity column

A murine monoclonal anti-AMP antibody affinity matrix was used for isolation of individual species of amino acid transfer nucleic acids (tRNAs). The antibodies had been prepared using 5'-AMP covalently attached to bovine serum albumin as antigen and exhibited high affinity for 5'-AMP but greatly reduced affinity for 3'-AMP. Native uncharged tRNAs that terminate in a 5'-AMP group on the amino acid acceptor arm of the molecule bind tightly to the anti-AMP affinity matrix, whereas aminoacylated tRNAs are not retained. This allows separation of a particular tRNA species as its aminoacyl derivative from a complex mixture of uncharged tRNAs under very mild conditions.     

The C-terminal domain of Escherichia coli Hfq is required for regulation

The Escherichia coli RNA chaperone Hfq is involved in riboregulation of target mRNAs by small trans-encoded non-coding (ncRNAs). Previous structural and genetic studies revealed a RNA-binding surface on either site of the Hfq-hexamer, which suggested that one hexamer can bring together two RNAs in a pairwise fashion. The Hfq proteins of different bacteria consist of an evolutionarily conserved core, whereas there is considerable variation at the C-terminus, with the γ- and β-proteobacteria possessing the longest C-terminal extension. Using different model systems, we show that a C-terminally truncated variant of Hfq (Hfq₆₅), comprising the conserved hexameric core of Hfq, is defective in auto- and riboregulation. Although Hfq₆₅ retained the capacity to bind ncRNAs, and, as evidenced by fluorescence resonance energy transfer assays, to induce structural changes in the ncRNA DsrA, the truncated variant was unable to accommodate two non-complementary RNA oligonucleotides, and was defective in mRNA binding. These studies indicate that the C-terminal extension of E. coli Hfq constitutes a hitherto unrecognized RNA interaction surface with specificity for mRNAs.     

Idiosyncratic tuning of tRNAs to achieve uniform ribosome binding

The binding of seven tRNA anticodons to their complementary codons on Escherichia coli ribosomes was substantially impaired, as compared with the binding of their natural tRNAs, when they were transplanted into tRNA(2)(Ala). An analysis of chimeras composed of tRNA(2)(Ala) and various amounts of either tRNA(3)(Gly) or tRNA(2)(Arg) indicates that the presence of the parental 32-38 nucleotide pair is sufficient to restore ribosome binding of the transplanted anticodons. Furthermore, mutagenesis of tRNA(2)(Ala) showed that its highly conserved A32-U38 pair serves to weaken ribosome affinity. We propose that this negative binding determinant is used to offset the very tight codon-anticodon interaction of tRNA(2)(Ala). This suggests that each tRNA sequence has coevolved with its anticodon to tune ribosome affinity to a value that is the same for all tRNAs.     

肺炎克雷伯菌Hfq蛋白特性及对耐药的影响

Hfq(host factor for RNA phage QB replicase)蛋白是一个全局性调节因子,广泛参与细菌生长、趋化、毒力、耐药及应对外界选择压力等方面的调节,但在肺炎克雷伯菌(Klebsiella pneumoniae,KP)中的功能尚不清楚。本研究从临床病例中分离到59株KP,将其hfq基因与11例常见临床感染菌株hfq基因〔从美国国立生物技术信息中心(National Center for Biotechnology Information, NCBI)数据库下载〕进行了比较。所有hfq基因经EMBOSS Transeq翻译成氨基酸序列,用MAFFT软件进行多序列比对,并通过NCBI数据库中的保守结构域预测Hfq蛋白结构域。分别采用ESPript3.0、Phyre2分析Hfq蛋白的二、三级结构。59株KP中仅3株hfq基因的5个密码子位点存在差异,而其蛋白质氨基酸序列完全一致。KP与大肠埃希菌、阴沟肠杆菌、痢疾志贺菌之间,Hfq蛋白的氨基酸序列相似度较高,主要区别在C末端上;与金黄色葡萄球菌、产单核细胞李斯特菌相比,KP Hfq蛋白在N末端和C末端上差别较大;所有菌株C末端均呈酸性。三级结构预测提示68(66.67%)个氨基酸与模板序列一致, 较为保守的功能结构为54-VYKHAI-59序列。采用CRISPR/Cas9同源重组技术敲除KP的hfq基因,并对其进行药物敏感性测试,结果显示,基因敲除菌株对抗生素的耐药性较野生株有显著下降(P<0.05),差异有统计学意义,提示KP的Hfq蛋白氨基酸序列非常保守,可能参与了KP的耐药调节。     

Mechanism of the difference in the binding affinity of E. coli tRNAGln to glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase caused by noninterface nucleotides in variable loop

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) distinguish their cognate tRNAs from many other kinds of tRNAs, despite the very similar tertiary structures of tRNAs. Many researchers have supported the view that this recognition is achieved by intermolecular interactions between tRNA and ARS. However, one of the aptamers of Escherichia coli glutamine specific tRNA, var-AGGU, has a higher affinity to ARS than the wild-type, although the sequence difference only lies in the variable loop located on the opposite side of the binding interface with ARS. To understand the reason for the difference in affinity, we did molecular dynamics simulations on tRNAs and their complexes with ARS. We calculated the enthalpic and entropic contributions to the binding free energy with the molecular mechanics-Poisson-Boltzmann/surface area method and found that the entropic difference plays an important role in the difference in binding free energies. During the molecular dynamics simulations, dynamic rearrangements of hydrogen bonds occurred in the tertiary core region of the wild-type tRNA, whereas they were not observed in the free var-AGGU simulation. Since the internal mobility was suppressed upon complex formation with ARS, the entropy loss in the wild-type was larger than that of the aptamer. We therefore concluded that the sequence difference in the variable loop caused the difference in the internal mobility of the tertiary core region tRNAs and led to the difference in the affinity to ARS through the entropy term.