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Decoupling Environment-Dependent and Independent Genetic Robustness across Bacterial Species.

ABSTRACT: The evolutionary origins of genetic robustness are still under debate: it may arise as a consequence of requirements imposed by varying environmental conditions, due to intrinsic factors such as metabolic requirements, or directly due to an adaptive selection in favor of genes that allow a species to endure genetic perturbations. Stratifying the individual effects of each origin requires one to study the pertaining evolutionary forces across many species under diverse conditions. Here we conduct the first large-scale computational study charting the level of robustness of metabolic networks of hundreds of bacterial species across many simulated growth environments. We provide evidence that variations among species in their level of robustness reflect ecological adaptations. We decouple metabolic robustness into two components and quantify the extents of each: the first, environmental-dependent, is responsible for at least 20% of the non-essential reactions and its extent is associated with the species' lifestyle (specialized/generalist); the second, environmental-independent, is associated (correlation = approximately 0.6) with the intrinsic metabolic capacities of a species-higher robustness is observed in fast growers or in organisms with an extensive production of secondary metabolites. Finally, we identify reactions that are uniquely susceptible to perturbations in human pathogens, potentially serving as novel drug-targets.

SUBMITTER: Freilich S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2829043 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Decoupling Environment-Dependent and Independent Genetic Robustness across Bacterial Species.

Freilich Shiri S Kreimer Anat A Borenstein Elhanan E Gophna Uri U Sharan Roded R Ruppin Eytan E

PLoS computational biology 20100226 2

The evolutionary origins of genetic robustness are still under debate: it may arise as a consequence of requirements imposed by varying environmental conditions, due to intrinsic factors such as metabolic requirements, or directly due to an adaptive selection in favor of genes that allow a species to endure genetic perturbations. Stratifying the individual effects of each origin requires one to study the pertaining evolutionary forces across many species under diverse conditions. Here we conduct ...[more]

PMID: 20195496

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Project description:Clostridioides difficile (formerly Clostridium difficile) colonizes the gastrointestinal tract following disruption of the microbiota and can initiate a spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from asymptomatic to life-threatening colitis. Following antibiotic treatment, luminal oxygen concentrations increase, exposing gut microbes to potentially toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS). Though typically regarded as a strict anaerobe, C. difficile can grow at low oxygen concentrations. How the bacterium adapts to a microaerobic environment and whether those responses to oxygen are conserved amongst strains is not entirely understood. Here, two C. difficile strains (630 and CD196) were cultured in 1.5% oxygen and the transcriptional response was evaluated via RNA-sequencing. During growth in a microaerobic environment, several genes predicted to protect against oxidative stress were upregulated, including ruberythrins and rubredoxins. Genes involved in metal homeostasis were positively correlated with increasing oxygen levels and were also amongst the most differentially transcribed. These included ferrous iron transporters (feo), a zinc transporter (zupT), and predicted siderophore transporters. To directly compare the transcriptional landscape between C. difficile strains, a ‘consensus-genome’ was generated. On the basis of the identified conserved genes, basal transcriptional differences as well as variations in the response to oxygen were evaluated. While several responses were similar between the strains, there were significant differences in the abundance of transcripts for amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism. Furthermore, homologous metal homeostasis genes were similarly transcribed, but the intracellular metal concentrations significantly varied both in an oxygen-dependent and independent manner. Overall, these results indicate that C. difficile adapts to grow in a low oxygen environment through transcriptional changes, though the specific strategy employed varies between strains.

Project description:Bacteria have evolved many different signal transduction systems to sense and respond to changing environmental conditions. Signal integration is mainly achieved by signal recognition at extracytosolic ligand-binding domains (LBDs) of receptors. Hundreds of different LBDs have been reported, and our understanding of their sensing properties is growing. Receptors must function over a range of environmental pH values, but there is little information available on the robustness of sensing as a function of pH. Here, we have used isothermal titration calorimetry to determine the pH dependence of ligand recognition by nine LBDs that cover all major LBD superfamilies, of periplasmic solute-binding proteins, and cytosolic LBDs. We show that periplasmic LBDs recognize ligands over a very broad pH range, frequently stretching over eight pH units. This wide pH range contrasts with a much narrower pH response range of the cytosolic LBDs analyzed. Many LBDs must be dimeric to bind ligands, and analytical ultracentrifugation studies showed that the LBD of the Tar chemoreceptor forms dimers over the entire pH range tested. The pH dependences of Pseudomonas aeruginosa motility and chemotaxis were bell-shaped and centered at pH 7.0. Evidence for pH robustness of signaling in vivo was obtained by Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) measurements of the chemotaxis pathway responses in Escherichia coli. Bacteria have evolved several strategies to cope with extreme pH, such as periplasmic chaperones for protein refolding. The intrinsic pH resistance of periplasmic LBDs appears to be another strategy that permits bacteria to survive under adverse conditions. IMPORTANCE Demonstration of the pH robustness of extracytoplasmic sensing reveals a previously undescribed evolutionary mechanism that enables bacteria to monitor environmental changes under changing conditions. This mechanism includes the maintenance of the dimeric state of four-helixbundle ligand-binding domains (LBDs). The construction of biosensors is a rapidly growing field of research, and their use to monitor the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic has impressively demonstrated their usefulness. LBDs represent an enormous reservoir of binding modules that can be used to create novel biosensors. Among ligands recognized by LBDs are neurotransmitters, hormones, and quorum-sensing signals. The demonstration that extracytosolic LBDs bind their signals over a wide range of pH values will facilitate the design of biosensors that function under highly variable conditions of acidity and alkalinity.

Dataset Information

Decoupling Environment-Dependent and Independent Genetic Robustness across Bacterial Species.

Publications

Decoupling Environment-Dependent and Independent Genetic Robustness across Bacterial Species.

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