A genomic analysis of two-component signal transduction in Streptococcus pneumoniae

A genomics-based approach was used to identify the entire gene complement of putative two-component signal transduction systems (TCSTSs) in Streptococcus pneumoniae. A total of 14 open reading frames (ORFs) were identified as putative response regulators, 13 of which were adjacent to genes encoding probable histidine kinases. Both the histidine kinase and response regulator proteins were categorized into subfamilies on the basis of phylogeny. Through a systematic programme of mutagenesis, the importance of each novel TCSTS was determined with respect to viability and pathogenicity. One TCSTS was identified that was essential for the growth of S. pneumoniaeThis locus was highly homologous to the yycFG gene pair encoding the essential response regulator/histidine kinase proteins identified in Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. Separate deletions of eight other loci led in each case to a dramatic attenuation of growth in a mouse respiratory tract infection model, suggesting that these signal transduction systems are important for the in vivo adaptation and pathogenesis of S. pneumoniae. The identification of conserved TCSTSs important for both pathogenicity and viability in a Gram-positive pathogen highlights the potential of two-component signal transduction as a multicomponent target for antibacterial drug discovery.     

The RprY response regulator of Porphyromonas gingivalis

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a Gram-negative oral anaerobe associated with chronic adult periodontitis. Its ecological niche is the gingival crevice, where the organism adapts to the challenges of the infectious process such as host defence and bacterial products. Bacterial responses to environmental changes are partly regulated by two-component signal transduction systems. Several intact systems were annotated in the genome of P. gingivalis, as well as an orphan regulator encoding a homologue of RprY, a response regulator from Bacteroides fragilis. With the goal of defining the environmental cues that activate RprY in P. gingivalis, we used several strategies to identify its regulon. Results from gene expression and DNA-protein binding assays identified target genes that were either involved in transport functions or associated with oxidative stress, and indicated that RprY can act as an activator and a repressor. RprY positively activated the primary sodium pump, NADH : ubiquinone oxidoreductase (NQR), and RprY protein also interacted with the promoter regions of nqrA genes from B. fragilis and Vibrio cholerae. Given that gingival bleeding and infiltration of host defence cells are symptoms of periodontal infection, iron products released from blood and reactive oxygen species from polymorphonuclear leucocytes may be potential inducers of the RprY regulon.     

Effects of perturbations of the nitrogenase electron transfer chain on reversible ADP-ribosylation of nitrogenase Fe protein in Klebsiella pneumoniae strains bearing the Rhodospirillum rubrum dra operon

The redox state of nitrogenase Fe protein is shown to affect regulation of ADP-ribosylation in Klebsiella pneumoniae strains transformed by plasmids carrying dra genes from Rhodospirillum rubrum. The dra operon encodes dinitrogenase reductase ADP-ribosyltransferase and dinitrogenase reductase-activating glycohydrolase, enzymes responsible for the reversible inactivation, via ADP-ribosylation, of nitrogenase Fe protein in R. rubrum. In bacteria containing the dra operon in their chromosomes, inactivation occurs in response to energy limitation or nitrogen sufficiency. The dra gene products, expressed at a low level in K. pneumoniae, enable transformants to reversibly ADP-ribosylate nitrogenase Fe protein in response to the presence of fixed nitrogen. The activities of both regulatory enzymes are regulated in vivo as described in R. rubrum. Genetic perturbations of the nitrogenase electron transport chain were found to affect the rate of inactivation of Fe protein. Strains lacking the electron donors to Fe protein (NifF or NifJ) were found to inactivate Fe protein more quickly than a strain with wild-type background. Deletion of nifD, which encodes a subunit of nitrogenase MoFe protein, was found to result in a slower inactivation response. No variation was found in the reactivation responses of these strains. It is concluded that the redox state of the Fe protein contributes to the regulation of the ADP-ribosylation of Fe protein.     

肺炎链球菌pcsB组成型表达的yycF缺陷菌株的构建及其致病能力

【背景】YycFG双组分系统是肺炎链球菌(Streptococcus pneumoniae,S. pn)应对外界环境的重要信息传递系统,其中表达反应调节子YycF的编码基因是肺炎链球菌生长的必需基因,但其是否调控细菌毒力尚不清楚。【目的】构建肺炎链球菌pcsB组成型表达及yycF缺陷菌,分析YycF对肺炎链球菌生物学特征和毒力的影响。【方法】采用Janus cassette (JC)反选的方法构建pcsB组成型表达菌株(Pc-PcsB~+),从该菌株出发用替代失活的方法构建yycF缺陷菌株(Pc-PcsB~+DyycF),比较野生株D39rpsl41、pcsB组成型表达株及yycF缺陷株的生长特性、荚膜多糖(capsular polysaccharide,CPS)含量、粘附侵袭能力和致病性的差异。【结果】成功构建pcsB组成型表达的yycF缺陷菌株(Pc-PcsB+DyycF);yycF缺陷导致细菌生长缓慢、分裂异常、胞内荚膜多糖和小分子荚膜多糖增多;体外实验结果显示,yycF缺陷菌株粘附能力较Pc-PcsB~+菌株减弱(P=0.006)。体内毒力实验显示,感染野生菌的小鼠全部死亡,感染Pc-PcsB+和Pc-PcsB~+DyycF菌株的小鼠死亡率分别为91.7%、75%,二者没有统计学差异(P=0.183),但Pc-PcsB~+DyycF菌株感染组有降低趋势;定殖结果显示,yycF缺陷菌株感染组的肺匀浆菌载量显著低于对照组(P=0.033)。【结论】成功构建yycF缺陷菌株,并初步证明yycF基因会影响肺炎链球菌的生物性状和致病能力,为后续探讨YycFG双组分系统对肺炎链球菌致病能力调控机制的研究奠定了基础。     

Role of two-component regulatory systems in intracellular survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The typical two-component regulatory systems (TCSs), consisting of response regulator and histidine kinase, play a central role in survival of pathogenic bacteria under stress conditions such as nutrient starvation, hypoxia, and nitrosative stress. A total of 11 complete paired two-component regulatory systems have been found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, including a few isolated kinase and regulatory genes. Increasing evidence has shown that TCSs are closely associated with multiple physiological process like intracellular persistence, pathogenicity, and metabolism. This review gives the two-component signal transduction systems in M. tuberculosis and their signal transduction roles in adaption to the environment.     

Regulation of Streptococcus pneumoniae clp Genes and Their Role in Competence Development and Stress Survival

In vitro mariner transposon mutagenesis of Streptococcus pneumoniae chromosomal DNA was used to isolate regulatory mutants affecting expression of the comCDE operon, encoding the peptide quorum-sensing two-component signal transduction system controlling competence development. A transposon insertion leading to increased comC expression was found to lie directly upstream from the S. pneumoniae clpP gene, encoding the proteolytic subunit of the Clp ATP-dependent protease, whose expression in Bacillus subtilis is controlled by the CtsR repressor. In order to examine clp gene regulation in S. pneumoniae, a detailed analysis of the complete genome sequence was performed, indicating that there are five likely CtsR-binding sites located upstream from the clpE, clpP, and clpL genes and the ctsR-clpC and groESL operons. The S. pneumoniae ctsR gene was cloned under the control of an inducible promoter and used to demonstrate regulation of the S. pneumoniae clpP and clpE genes and the clpC and groESL operons by using B. subtilis as a heterologous host. The CtsR protein of S. pneumoniae was purified and shown to bind specifically to the clpP, clpC, clpE, and groESL regulatory regions. S. pneumoniae Delta ctsR, Delta clpP, Delta clpC, and Delta clpE mutants were constructed by gene deletion/replacement. ClpP was shown to act as a negative regulator, preventing competence gene expression under inappropriate conditions. Phenotypic analyses also indicated that ClpP and ClpE are both required for thermotolerance. Contrary to a previous report, we found that ClpC does not play a major role in competence development, autolysis, pneumolysin production, or growth at high temperature of S. pneumoniae.     

Identification of the streptococcal competence-pheromone receptor

Competence for genetic transformation in certain species of streptococci has been known for many years to be induced by a secreted protease-sensitive pheromone, referred to as the competence factor or activator, which acts as a quorum-sensing signal to co-ordinate expression of late competence genes. We recently reported identification of the pheromone of Streptococcus pneumoniae strain Rx as a small unmodified peptide, which was termed competence-stimulating peptide (CSP). By identifying the gene ( comC ) encoding the Rx CSP we were able to show that it is synthesized as a precursor peptide containing an N-terminal double-glycine type leader. In the present work, we describe two alleles of the corresponding gene from Streptococcus gordonii strains Challis and NCTC 7865, which are strains with distinct competence pheromones and corresponding specific pheromone reactivities. In addition, the nucleic acid sequences of two genes located downstream of comC were determined; interestingly, these genes encode a two-component signal transduction system. We therefore speculated that their products, a histidine kinase (ComD) and its cognate response regulator (ComE), act downstream of the CSP in competence regulation. By tracing the CSP specificity of the competence response in these strains to strain-specific alleles of comD , we obtained evidence demonstrating that the histidine kinase ComD is the competence-pheromone receptor.     

Identification of a two-component signal transduction system involved in fimbriation of Porphyromonas gingivalis

Porphyromonas gingivalis, a periodontopathogen, is an oral anaerobic gram-negative bacterium with numerous fimbriae on the cell surface. Fimbriae have been considered to be an important virulence factor in this organism. We analyzed the genomic DNA of transposon-induced, fimbria-deficient mutants derived from ATCC 33277 and found that seven independent mutants had transposon insertions within the same restriction fragment. Cloning and sequencing of the disrupted region from one of the mutants revealed two adjacent open reading frames (ORFs) which seemed to encode a two-component signal transduction system. We also found that six of the mutants had insertions in a gene, fimS, a homologue of the genes encoding sensor kinase, and that the insertion in the remaining one disrupted the gene immediately downstream, fimR, a homologue of the response regulator genes in other bacteria. These findings suggest that this two-component regulatory system is involved in fimbriation of P. gingivalis.     

Vancomycin stress response in a sensitive and a tolerant strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae

The vancomycin stress response was studied in Streptococcus pneumoniae strains T4 (TIGR4) and Tupelo. Vancomycin affected the expression of 175 genes, including genes encoding transport functions and enzymes involved in aminosugar metabolism. The two-component systems TCS03, TCS11, and CiaRH also responded to antibiotic treatment. We hypothesize that the three regulons are an important part of the bacterium's response to vancomycin stress.