Dataset Information

Methylation of GPLs in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium avium.

ABSTRACT: Several species of mycobacteria express abundant glycopeptidolipids (GPLs) on the surfaces of their cells. The GPLs are glycolipids that contain modified sugars including acetylated 6-deoxy-talose and methylated rhamnose. Four methyltransferases have been implicated in the synthesis of the GPLs of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium avium. A rhamnosyl 3-O-methytransferase and a fatty acid methyltransferase of M. smegmatis have been previously characterized. In this paper, we characterize the methyltransferases that are responsible for modifying the hydroxyl groups at positions 2 and 4 of rhamnose and propose the biosynthetic sequence of GPL trimethylrhamnose formation. The analysis of M. avium genes through the creation of specific mutants is technically difficult; therefore, an alternative approach to determine the function of putative methyltransferases of M. avium was undertaken. Complementation of M. smegmatis methyltransferase mutants with M. avium genes revealed that MtfC and MtfB of the latter species have 4-O-methyltransferase activity and that MtfD is a 3-O-methyltransferase which can modify rhamnose of GPLs in M. smegmatis.

SUBMITTER: Jeevarajah D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC522212 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Methylation of GPLs in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium avium.

Jeevarajah Dharshini D Patterson John H JH Taig Ellen E Sargeant Tobias T McConville Malcolm J MJ Billman-Jacobe Helen H

Journal of bacteriology 20041001 20

Several species of mycobacteria express abundant glycopeptidolipids (GPLs) on the surfaces of their cells. The GPLs are glycolipids that contain modified sugars including acetylated 6-deoxy-talose and methylated rhamnose. Four methyltransferases have been implicated in the synthesis of the GPLs of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium avium. A rhamnosyl 3-O-methytransferase and a fatty acid methyltransferase of M. smegmatis have been previously characterized. In this paper, we characterize t ...[more]

PMID: 15466031

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Project description:Zinc uptake in bacteria is essential to maintain cellular homeostasis and survival. ZnuABC is an important zinc importer of numerous bacterial genera, which is expressed to restore zinc homeostasis when the cytosolic concentration decreases beyond a critical threshold. Upon zinc limitation the fast-growing nonpathogenic organism Mycobacterium smegmatis (MSMEG) as well as the ruminant pathogen M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) increases expression of genes encoding ZnuABC homologues, but also of genes encoding other transporters. This suggests an involvement of these transporters in zinc homeostasis. Here we characterized the putative zinc transporters of MSMEG (ZnuABC and ZnuABC2) and MAP (ZnuABC, MptABC, and MAP3774-76). Deletion of either ZnuABC or ZnuABC2 in MSMEG did not lead to growth defects, but to an increased expression of zinc marker genes in MSMEGΔznuABC, indicating cytosolic zinc limitation. However, chromatin immunoprecipitation proved direct binding of the global zinc regulator Zur to promoter regions of both znuABC and znuABC2. Simultaneous deletion of both transporters caused severe growth defects, which could be restored either by homologous complementation with single ZnuABC transporters or supplementation of growth media with zinc but not iron, manganese, cobalt, or magnesium. Heterologous complementation of the double mutant with MAP transporters also resulted in reconstitution of growth. Nonradioactive FluoZinTM-3AM zinc uptake assays directly revealed the competence of all transporters to import zinc. Finally, structural and phylogenetic analyses provided evidence of a novel class of ZnuABC transporters represented by the ZnuABC2 of MSMEG, which is present only in actinobacteria, mainly in the genera Nocardia, Streptomyces and fast growing Mycobacteria IMPORTANCEZinc is necessary for bacterial growth but simultaneously toxic when in excess. Hence, bacterial cells have developed systems to alter intracellular concentration. Regulation of these systems is primarily executed at transcriptional level by regulator proteins which sense femtomolar changes in the zinc level. In environmental and pathogenic mycobacteria zinc starvation induces expression of common zinc import systems such as the ZnuABC transporter, but also of other additional not yet characterized transport systems. In this study, we characterized the role of such systems in zinc transport. We showed that transport systems of both species whose transcription is induced upon zinc starvation can exchangeably restore cellular zinc homeostasis in transporter deficient mutants by transporting zinc into the cell.

Project description:Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection is established following the ingestion of bacteria, their penetration of the intestinal mucosa and subsequent events of the host-parasite interaction. These bacteria invade M cells, macrophages and are capable of resisting host defenses and multiply to reach very high numbers intracellular. Mycobactrium avium subsp. avium (MAA) is an antigenically and genetically similar organisms but is relatively nonpathogenic for cattle. MAA organisms appear to infect cattle, but unlike cattle infected with MAP, cattle infected with MAA typically mount an effective systemic immune response, form caseous granuloma, and eliminate the infection. This study was designed to understand the similarities and differences in the host responses during MAP and MAA infection. Neonatal calves were infected (ligated ileal loops) with PBS, MAP, or avirulent MAA following which samples were collected at 30 min, 1h, 2h, 4h, 8h, or 12h. Post-infection, RNA was collected, processed, and then hybridized to custom bovine gene expression arrays, each of which represented 13,258 transcripts spotted in duplicate. Arrays were normalized by scaling against the average reference intensity value (i.e., average across all arrays), normalized by global mean, and then log transformed before statistical analyses were performed. Pairwise comparisons of averaged signal values and Student’s t test were performed using GeneSifter software (VizX Labs, Seattle, WA). A fold-change of at least 1.5-fold and a p value of 0.05 or less was required for a difference in signal to be considered statistically significant. When comparing the transcriptional responses of calves infected with the MAA versus MAP, unique patterns of expression were clearly visible. In general, numbers of transcripts altered in response to infection were much greater for MAA-infected animals than for those infected with the MAP. No genes were significantly up-regulated in MAP-infected animals at the earliest time point tested (30 min), and only modest numbers of genes were increased in expression over the experimental time course. On the other hand, up-regulated transcripts were detected by 30 min in MAA-infected animals and peaked by 2 hr. Differences in the numbers of down-regulated genes between MAP-infected and MAA-infected animals (compared to PBS-infected controls) were less pronounced. At the earliest time points, MAP-infected calves had a greater number of down-regulated genes than did animals infected with MAA. This trend was reversed at 8 and 12 hr post-infection. Keywords: Gene expression profiling by microarray

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Project description:Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection is established following the ingestion of bacteria, their penetration of the intestinal mucosa and subsequent events of the host-parasite interaction. These bacteria invade M cells, macrophages and are capable of resisting host defenses and multiply to reach very high numbers intracellular. Mycobactrium avium subsp. avium (MAA) is an antigenically and genetically similar organisms but is relatively nonpathogenic for cattle. MAA organisms appear to infect cattle, but unlike cattle infected with MAP, cattle infected with MAA typically mount an effective systemic immune response, form caseous granuloma, and eliminate the infection. This study was designed to understand the similarities and differences in the host responses during MAP and MAA infection. Neonatal calves were infected (ligated ileal loops) with PBS, MAP, or avirulent MAA following which samples were collected at 30 min, 1h, 2h, 4h, 8h, or 12h. Post-infection, RNA was collected, processed, and then hybridized to custom bovine gene expression arrays, each of which represented 13,258 transcripts spotted in duplicate. Arrays were normalized by scaling against the average reference intensity value (i.e., average across all arrays), normalized by global mean, and then log transformed before statistical analyses were performed. Pairwise comparisons of averaged signal values and StudentM-bM-^@M-^Ys t test were performed using GeneSifter software (VizX Labs, Seattle, WA). A fold-change of at least 1.5-fold and a p value of 0.05 or less was required for a difference in signal to be considered statistically significant. When comparing the transcriptional responses of calves infected with the MAA versus MAP, unique patterns of expression were clearly visible. In general, numbers of transcripts altered in response to infection were much greater for MAA-infected animals than for those infected with the MAP. No genes were significantly up-regulated in MAP-infected animals at the earliest time point tested (30 min), and only modest numbers of genes were increased in expression over the experimental time course. On the other hand, up-regulated transcripts were detected by 30 min in MAA-infected animals and peaked by 2 hr. Differences in the numbers of down-regulated genes between MAP-infected and MAA-infected animals (compared to PBS-infected controls) were less pronounced. At the earliest time points, MAP-infected calves had a greater number of down-regulated genes than did animals infected with MAA. This trend was reversed at 8 and 12 hr post-infection. Keywords: Gene expression profiling by microarray Microarrays were used to examine the transcriptional profiles of bovine intestinal mucosa inoculated with PBS, MAP or MAA and across six time points (30 min, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 hours). Experiments were performed in quadruplicate for PBS, MAP, and MAA (bovine ligated ileal loops surgeries were performed with four calves). For one surgery, MAA was used for 4 time ponts only, thus generateing a total of 70 arrays.

Dataset Information

Methylation of GPLs in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium avium.

Publications

Methylation of GPLs in Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium avium.

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