Visualization of VirE2 protein translocation by the Agrobacterium type IV secretion system into host cells.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Sakalis PA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3937733 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) is a powerful tool for genome engineering in plants. The RNA-guided Cas9 endonuclease is usually delivered into plant cells as a DNA construct encoding Cas9 and the single guide RNA (sgRNA). However, constitutive expression of nucleases may cause off target mutations. In addition, DNA constructs can integrate into the host genome, causing mutations and complicating regulatory approval. Instead of DNA, here we deliver Cas9 through the Agrobacterium T4SS, accomplished by fusion of the VirF T4SS translocation peptide to Cas9 (NCas9F). Co-cultivation of Agrobacteria expressing NCas9F with yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) harboring a sgRNA targeting CAN1 showed that NCas9F was translocated via T4SS and induced targeted mutations in the yeast genome. Infiltration of Nicotiana benthamiana leaves with Agrobacteria expressing NCas9F and sgRNA-PHYTOENE DESATURASE (PDS) resulted in targeted modifications at the PDS locus, albeit at a very low rate. In order to increase the mutation frequency NCas9F protein was co-transported with a T-DNA encoding sgRNA-PDS1. Next generation sequencing confirmed that this resulted in targeted mutations at the PDS locus with a similar distribution but at a 5-fold lower frequency as the mutations obtained with a T-DNA encoding both Cas9 and sgRNA-PDS1. Similarly, infection with Tobacco rattle virus (TRV) encoding sgRNA-PDS2 combined with NCas9F protein translocation resulted in an equally high frequency of PDS mutations in N. benthamiana compared to T-DNA encoded sgRNA-PDS1 combined with NCas9F protein translocation. Our results revealed that translocation of NCas9F protein via the Agrobacterium T4SS can be used for targeted mutagenesis in host cells instead of the permanent and constitutive expression of Cas9 from a T-DNA.
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Project description:Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a natural genetic engineer widely used to deliver DNA into various recipients, including plant, yeast and fungal cells. The bacterium can transfer single-stranded DNA molecules (T-DNAs) and bacterial virulence proteins, including VirE2. However, neither the DNA nor the protein molecules have ever been directly visualized after the delivery. In this report, we adopted a split-GFP approach: the small GFP fragment (GFP11) was inserted into VirE2 at a permissive site to create the VirE2-GFP11 fusion, which was expressed in A. tumefaciens; and the large fragment (GFP1-10) was expressed in recipient cells. Upon delivery of VirE2-GFP11 into the recipient cells, GFP fluorescence signals were visualized. VirE2-GFP11 was functional like VirE2; the GFP fusion movement could indicate the trafficking of Agrobacterium-delivered VirE2. As the natural host, all plant cells seen under a microscope received the VirE2 protein in a leaf-infiltration assay; most of VirE2 moved at a speed of 1.3-3.1 μm sec⁻¹ in a nearly linear direction, suggesting an active trafficking process. Inside plant cells, VirE2-GFP formed filamentous structures of different lengths, even in the absence of T-DNA. As a non-natural host recipient, 51% of yeast cells received VirE2, which did not move inside yeast. All plant cells seen under a microscope transiently expressed the Agrobacterium-delivered transgene, but only 0.2% yeast cells expressed the transgene. This indicates that Agrobacterium is a more efficient vector for protein delivery than T-DNA transformation for a non-natural host recipient: VirE2 trafficking is a limiting factor for the genetic transformation of a non-natural host recipient. The split-GFP approach could enable the real-time visualization of VirE2 trafficking inside recipient cells.
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Project description:Two DNA transfer systems encoded by the tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid have been previously identified in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The virB operon is required for the transfer of transferred DNA to the plant host, and the trb system encodes functions required for the conjugal transfer of the Ti plasmid between cells of Agrobacterium. Recent availability of the genome sequence of Agrobacterium allowed us to identify a third system that is most similar to the VirB type IV secretion system of Bartonella henselae. We have designated this system avhB for Agrobacterium virulence homologue virB. The avhB loci reside on pAtC58 and encode at least 10 proteins (AvhB2 through AvhB11), 7 of which display significant similarity to the corresponding virulence-associated VirB proteins of the Ti plasmid. However, the AvhB system is not required for tumor formation; rather, it mediates the conjugal transfer of the pAtC58 cryptic plasmid between cells of Agrobacterium. This transfer occurs in the absence of the Ti plasmid-encoded VirB and Trb systems. Like the VirB system, AvhB products promote the conjugal transfer of the IncQ plasmid RSF1010, suggesting that these products comprise a mating-pair formation system. The presence of plasmid TiC58 or plasmid RSF1010 reduces the conjugal transfer efficiency of pAtC58 10- or 1,000-fold, respectively. These data suggest that complex substrate interactions exist among the three DNA transfer systems of Agrobacterium.
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Project description:Bacterial conjugation, a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer, is the major means by which antibiotic resistance spreads among bacteria (1, 2). Conjugative plasmids are transferred from one bacterium to another through a type IV secretion system (T4SS) in the form of single-stranded DNA covalently attached to a protein called relaxase. The relaxase is fully functional both in a donor cell (prior to conjugation) and recipient cell (after conjugation). Here, we demonstrate that the protein substrate has to unfold for efficient translocation through the conjugative T4SS. Furthermore, we present various relaxase modifications that preserve the function of the relaxase but block substrate translocation. This study brings us a step closer to deciphering the complete mechanism of T4SS substrate translocation, which is vital for the development of new therapies against multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria.IMPORTANCE Conjugation is the principal means by which antibiotic resistance genes spread from one bacterium to another (1, 2). During conjugation, a covalent complex of single-stranded DNA and a protein termed relaxase is transported by a type IV secretion system. To date, it is not known whether the relaxase requires unfolding prior to transport. In this report, we use functional assays to monitor the transport of wild-type relaxase and variants containing unfolding-resistant domains and show that these domains reduce conjugation and protein transport dramatically. Mutations that lower the free energy of unfolding in these domains do not block translocation and can even promote it. We thus conclude that the unfolding of the protein substrate is required during transport.
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Project description:The bitopic membrane protein VirB10 of the Agrobacterium VirB/VirD4 type IV secretion system (T4SS) undergoes a structural transition in response to sensing of ATP binding or hydrolysis by the channel ATPases VirD4 and VirB11. This transition, detectable as a change in protease susceptibility, is required for DNA substrate passage through the translocation channel. Here, we present evidence that DNA substrate engagement with VirD4 and VirB11 also is required for activation of VirB10. Several DNA substrates (oncogenic T-DNA and plasmids RSF1010 and pCloDF13) induced the VirB10 conformational change, each by mechanisms requiring relaxase processing at cognate oriT sequences. VirD2 relaxase deleted of its translocation signal or any of the characterized relaxases produced in the absence of cognate DNA substrates did not induce the structural transition. Translocated effector proteins, e.g., VirE2, VirE3, and VirF, also did not induce the transition. By mutational analyses, we supplied evidence that the N-terminal periplasmic loop of VirD4, in addition to its catalytic site, is essential for early-stage DNA substrate transfer and the VirB10 conformational change. Further studies of VirB11 mutants established that three T4SS-mediated processes, DNA transfer, protein transfer, and pilus production, can be uncoupled and that the latter two processes proceed independently of the VirB10 conformational change. Our findings support a general model whereby DNA ligand binding with VirD4 and VirB11 stimulates ATP binding/hydrolysis, which in turn activates VirB10 through a structural transition. This transition confers an open-channel configuration enabling passage of the DNA substrate to the cell surface.
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Project description:Agrobacterium tumefaciens can cause crown gall tumors on a wide range of host plants. As a natural genetic engineer, the bacterium can transfer both single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) [transferred DNA (T-DNA)] molecules and bacterial virulence proteins into various recipient cells. Among Agrobacterium-delivered proteins, VirE2 is an ssDNA binding protein that is involved in various steps of the transformation process. However, it is not clear how plant cells receive the T-DNA or protein molecules. Using a split-green fluorescent protein approach, we monitored the VirE2 delivery process inside plant cells in real time. We observed that A. tumefaciens delivered VirE2 from the bacterial lateral sides that were in close contact with plant membranes. VirE2 initially accumulated on plant cytoplasmic membranes at the entry points. VirE2-containing membranes were internalized through clathrin-mediated endocytosis to form endomembrane compartments. VirE2 colocalized with the early endosome marker SYP61 but not with the late endosome marker ARA6, suggesting that VirE2 escaped from early endosomes for subsequent trafficking inside the cells. Dual endocytic motifs at the carboxyl-terminal tail of VirE2 were involved in VirE2 internalization and could interact with the μ subunit of the plant clathrin-associated adaptor AP2 complex (AP2M). Both the VirE2 cargo motifs and AP2M were important for the transformation process. Because AP2-mediated endocytosis is well conserved, our data suggest that the A. tumefaciens pathogen hijacks conserved endocytic pathways to facilitate the delivery of virulence factors. This might be important for Agrobacterium to achieve both a wide host range and a high transformation efficiency.
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Project description:T-DNA nuclear import is a central event in genetic transformation of plant cells by Agrobacterium. This event is thought to be mediated by two bacterial proteins, VirD2 and VirE2, which are associated with the transported T-DNA molecule. While VirD2 is imported into the nuclei of plant, animal and yeast cells, nuclear uptake of VirE2 occurs most efficiently in plant cells. To understand better the mechanism of VirE2 action, a cellular interactor of VirE2 was identified and its encoding gene cloned from Arabidopsis. The identified plant protein, designated VIP1, specifically bound VirE2 and allowed its nuclear import in non-plant systems. In plants, VIP1 was required for VirE2 nuclear import and Agrobacterium tumorigenicity, participating in early stages of T-DNA expression.
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Project description:The vir-type IV secretion system of Agrobacterium is assembled from 12 proteins encoded by the virB operon and virD4. VirB1 is one of the least-studied proteins encoded by the virB operon. Its N terminus is a lytic transglycosylase. The C-terminal third of the protein, VirB1*, is cleaved from VirB1 and secreted to the outside of the bacterial cell, suggesting an additional function. We show that both nopaline and octopine strains produce abundant amounts of VirB1* and perform detailed studies on nopaline VirB1*. Both domains are required for wild-type virulence. We show here that the nopaline type VirB1* is essential for the formation of the T pilus, a subassembly of the vir-T4SS composed of processed and cyclized VirB2 (major subunit) and VirB5 (minor subunit). A nopaline virB1 deletion strain does not produce T pili. Complementation with full-length VirB1 or C-terminal VirB1*, but not the N-terminal lytic transglycosylase domain, restores T pili containing VirB2 and VirB5. T-pilus preparations also contain extracellular VirB1*. Protein-protein interactions between VirB1* and VirB2 and VirB5 were detected in the yeast two-hybrid assay. We propose that VirB1 is a bifunctional protein required for virT4SS assembly. The N-terminal lytic transglycosylase domain provides localized lysis of the peptidoglycan cell wall to allow insertion of the T4SS. The C-terminal VirB1* promotes T-pilus assembly through protein-protein interactions with T-pilus subunits.
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Project description:Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Agrobacterium rhizogenes transfer plasmid-encoded genes and virulence (Vir) proteins into plant cells. The transferred DNA (T-DNA) is stably inherited and expressed in plant cells, causing crown gall or hairy root disease. DNA transfer from A. tumefaciens into plant cells resembles plasmid conjugation; single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) is exported from the bacteria via a type IV secretion system comprised of VirB1 through VirB11 and VirD4. Bacteria also secrete certain Vir proteins into plant cells via this pore. One of these, VirE2, is an ssDNA-binding protein crucial for efficient T-DNA transfer and integration. VirE2 binds incoming ssT-DNA and helps target it into the nucleus. Some strains of A. rhizogenes lack VirE2, but they still transfer T-DNA efficiently. We isolated a novel gene from A. rhizogenes that restored pathogenicity to virE2 mutant A. tumefaciens. The GALLS gene was essential for pathogenicity of A. rhizogenes. Unlike VirE2, GALLS contains a nucleoside triphosphate binding motif similar to one in TraA, a strand transferase conjugation protein. Despite their lack of similarity, GALLS substituted for VirE2.
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Project description:Transition metals are necessary for all forms of life including microorganisms, evidenced by the fact that 30% of all proteins are predicted to interact with a metal cofactor. Through a process termed nutritional immunity, the host actively sequesters essential nutrient metals away from invading pathogenic bacteria. Neutrophils participate in this process by producing several metal chelating proteins, including lactoferrin and calprotectin (CP). As neutrophils are an important component of the inflammatory response directed against the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, a major risk factor for gastric cancer, it was hypothesized that CP plays a role in the host response to H. pylori. Utilizing a murine model of H. pylori infection and gastric epithelial cell co-cultures, the role CP plays in modifying H. pylori -host interactions and the function of the cag Type IV Secretion System (cag T4SS) was investigated. This study indicates elevated gastric levels of CP are associated with the infiltration of neutrophils to the H. pylori-infected tissue. When infected with an H. pylori strain harboring a functional cag T4SS, calprotectin-deficient mice exhibited decreased bacterial burdens and a trend toward increased cag T4SS -dependent inflammation compared to wild-type mice. In vitro data demonstrate that culturing H. pylori with sub-inhibitory doses of CP reduces the activity of the cag T4SS and the biogenesis of cag T4SS-associated pili in a zinc-dependent fashion. Taken together, these data indicate that zinc homeostasis plays a role in regulating the proinflammatory activity of the cag T4SS.
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