Project description:Polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine) are major organic polycations essential for a wide spectrum of cellular processes. The cells require mechanisms to maintain homeostasis of intracellular polyamines to prevent otherwise severe adverse effects. We performed a detailed transcriptome profile analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in response to agmatine and putrescine with an emphasis in polyamine catabolism. Agmatine serves as the precursor compound for putrescine (and hence spermidine and spermine), which was proposed to convert into 4-aminobutyrate (GABA) and succinate before entering the tricarboxylic acid cycle in support of cell growth, as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. Two acetylpolyamine amidohydrolases, AphA and AphB, were found to be involved in the conversion of agmatine into putrescine. Enzymatic products of AphA were confirmed by mass spectrometry analysis. Interestingly, the alanine-pyruvate cycle was shown to be indispensable for polyamine utilization. The newly identified dadRAX locus encoding the regulator alanine transaminase and racemase coupled with SpuC, the major putrescine-pyruvate transaminase, were key components to maintaining alanine homeostasis. Corresponding mutant strains were severely hampered in polyamine utilization. On the other hand, an alternative gamma-glutamylation pathway for the conversion of putrescine into GABA is present in some organisms. Subsequently, GabD, GabT, and PA5313 were identified for GABA utilization. The growth defect of the PA5313 gabT double mutant in GABA suggested the importance of these two transaminases. The succinic-semialdehyde dehydrogenase activity of GabD and its induction by GABA were also demonstrated in vitro. Polyamine utilization in general was proven to be independent of the PhoPQ two-component system, even though a modest induction of this operon was induced by polyamines. Multiple potent catabolic pathways, as depicted in this study, could serve pivotal roles in the control of intracellular polyamine levels.

Project description:The alternative sigma factor σ54 has been shown to regulate the expression of a wide array of virulence-associated genes, as well as central metabolism, in bacterial pathogens. In Gram-positive organisms, the σ54 is commonly associated with carbon metabolism. In this study, we show that the Enterococcus faecalis alternative sigma factor σ54 (RpoN) and its cognate enhancer binding protein MptR are essential for mannose utilization and are primary contributors to glucose uptake through the Mpt phosphotransferase system. To gain further insight into how RpoN contributes to global transcriptional changes, we performed microarray transcriptional analysis of strain V583 and an isogenic rpoN mutant grown in a chemically defined medium with glucose as the sole carbon source. Transcripts of 340 genes were differentially affected in the rpoN mutant; the predicted functions of these genes mainly related to nutrient acquisition. These differentially expressed genes included those with predicted catabolite-responsive element (cre) sites, consistent with loss of repression by the major carbon catabolite repressor CcpA. To determine if the inability to efficiently metabolize glucose/mannose affected infection outcome, we utilized two distinct infection models. We found that the rpoN mutant is significantly attenuated in both rabbit endocarditis and murine catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI). Here, we examined a ccpA mutant in the CAUTI model and showed that the absence of carbon catabolite control also significantly attenuates bacterial tissue burden in this model. Our data highlight the contribution of central carbon metabolism to growth of E. faecalis at various sites of infection.IMPORTANCE Hospital-acquired infections account for 2 billion dollars annually in increased health care expenses and cause more than 100,000 deaths in the United States alone. Enterococci are the second leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. They form biofilms at surgical sites and are often associated with infections of the urinary tract following catheterization. Nutrient uptake and growth are key factors that influence their ability to cause disease. Our research identified a large set of genes that illuminate nutrient uptake pathways in enterococci. Perturbation of the metabolic circuit reduces virulence in a rabbit endocarditis model, as well as in catheter-associated urinary tract infection in mice. Targeting metabolic pathways that are important in infection may lead to new treatments against multidrug-resistant enterococcal infections.

Project description:Polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine) are major organic polycations essential for a wide spectrum of cellular processes. The cells require mechanisms to maintain homeostasis of intracellular polyamines to prevent otherwise severe adverse effects. We performed a detailed transcriptome profile analysis of P. aeruginosa in response to agmatine and putrescine with an emphasis in polyamine catabolism. Agmatine serves as precursor compound for putrescine (and hence spermidine and spermine), which was proposed to convert into GABA and succinate before entering the TCA cycle in support of cell growth as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. Two acetylpolyamine amidohydrolases, AphA and AphB, were identified to be involved in the conversion of agmatine into putrescine. Enzymatic products of AphA were confirmed by mass spectrometry analysis. Interestingly, the alanine-pyruvate cycle was shown indispensable for polyamine utilization. The newly identified dadRAX locus, encoding the regulator, alanine transaminase and racemase respectively, coupled with SpuC, the major putrescine-pyruvate transaminase, were key components to maintain alanine homeostasis. Corresponding mutant strains were severely hampered in polyamine utilization. On the other hand, the alternative gamma-glutamylation pathway for the conversion of putrescine into GABA was also discussed. Subsequently, GabD, GabT and PA5313 were identified for GABA utilization. Growth defect of PA5313 gabT double mutant in GABA suggested the importance of these two transaminases. The succinic-semialdehyde dehydrogenase activity of GabD and its induction by GABA was also demonstrated in vitro. Polyamine utilization in general was proven independent of the PhoPQ two-component system even the expression of which was induced by polyamines. Multiple potent catabolic pathways as depicted in this study could serve pivotal roles in control of intracellular polyamine levels. Keywords: Metabolism, polyamines, agmatine, putrescine, glutamate, phoPQ.

Project description:Polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine) are major organic polycations essential for a wide spectrum of cellular processes. The cells require mechanisms to maintain homeostasis of intracellular polyamines to prevent otherwise severe adverse effects. We performed a detailed transcriptome profile analysis of P. aeruginosa in response to agmatine and putrescine with an emphasis in polyamine catabolism. Agmatine serves as precursor compound for putrescine (and hence spermidine and spermine), which was proposed to convert into GABA and succinate before entering the TCA cycle in support of cell growth as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. Two acetylpolyamine amidohydrolases, AphA and AphB, were identified to be involved in the conversion of agmatine into putrescine. Enzymatic products of AphA were confirmed by mass spectrometry analysis. Interestingly, the alanine-pyruvate cycle was shown indispensable for polyamine utilization. The newly identified dadRAX locus, encoding the regulator, alanine transaminase and racemase respectively, coupled with SpuC, the major putrescine-pyruvate transaminase, were key components to maintain alanine homeostasis. Corresponding mutant strains were severely hampered in polyamine utilization. On the other hand, the alternative gamma-glutamylation pathway for the conversion of putrescine into GABA was also discussed. Subsequently, GabD, GabT and PA5313 were identified for GABA utilization. Growth defect of PA5313 gabT double mutant in GABA suggested the importance of these two transaminases. The succinic-semialdehyde dehydrogenase activity of GabD and its induction by GABA was also demonstrated in vitro. Polyamine utilization in general was proven independent of the PhoPQ two-component system even the expression of which was induced by polyamines. Multiple potent catabolic pathways as depicted in this study could serve pivotal roles in control of intracellular polyamine levels. Experiment Overall Design: P. aeruginosa PAO1 was grown aerobically in minimal medium P with 350 rpm shaking at 37C, in the presence of L-glutamate alone or with the addition of putrescine, agmatine or GABA at 20 mM. Cells were harvested when the optical density at 600 nm reached 0.5~0.6 by centrifugation for 5 minutes at 4C. Total RNA samples were isolated by RNeasy purification kit following instructions of the manufacturer (Qiagen). Reverse transcription for cDNA synthesis, fragmentation by DNase I treatment, cDNA probe labeling and hybridization were performed according to the instructions of GeneChip manufacturer (Affymetrix). Data were processed by Microarray Suite 5.0 software normalizing the absolute expression signal values of all chips to a target intensity of 500. GeneSpring software (Silicon Genetics) was used for expression pattern analysis and comparison. Only genes showing consistent expression profiles in duplicates were selected for further analysis.

Dataset Information

Ethanolamine Catabolism in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 Is Regulated by the Enhancer-Binding Protein EatR (PA4021) and the Alternative Sigma Factor RpoN.

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Ethanolamine Catabolism in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 Is Regulated by the Enhancer-Binding Protein EatR (PA4021) and the Alternative Sigma Factor RpoN.

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