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Type I topoisomerase activity is required for proper chromosomal segregation in Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT: Type I DNA topoisomerases are ubiquitous enzymes involved in many aspects of DNA metabolism. Escherichia coli possesses two type I topoisomerase activities, DNA topoisomerase I (Topo I) and III (Topo III). The gene encoding Topo III (topB) can be deleted without affecting cell viability. Cells possessing a deletion of the gene encoding Topo I (topA) are only viable in the presence of an additional compensatory mutation. In the presence of compensatory mutations, Topo I deletion strains grow normally; however, if Topo III activity is repressed in these cells, they filament extensively and possess an abnormal nucleoid structure. These defects can be suppressed by the deletion of the recA gene, suggesting that these enzymes may be involved in RecA-mediated recombination and may specifically resolve recombination intermediates before partitioning.

SUBMITTER: Zhu Q

PROVIDER: S-EPMC55527 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Type I topoisomerase activity is required for proper chromosomal segregation in Escherichia coli.

Zhu Q Q Pongpech P P DiGate R J RJ

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20010807 17

Type I DNA topoisomerases are ubiquitous enzymes involved in many aspects of DNA metabolism. Escherichia coli possesses two type I topoisomerase activities, DNA topoisomerase I (Topo I) and III (Topo III). The gene encoding Topo III (topB) can be deleted without affecting cell viability. Cells possessing a deletion of the gene encoding Topo I (topA) are only viable in the presence of an additional compensatory mutation. In the presence of compensatory mutations, Topo I deletion strains grow norm ...[more]

PMID: 11493711

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Project description:Topoisomerase I (Topo I) of Escherichia coli, encoded by topA, acts to relax negative supercoils in DNA. Topo I deficiency results in hypernegative supercoiling, formation of transcription-associated RNA-DNA hybrids (R-loops), and DnaA- and oriC-independent constitutive stable DNA replication (cSDR), but some uncertainty persists as to whether topA is essential for viability in E. coli and related enterobacteria. Here, we show that several topA alleles, including ΔtopA, confer lethality in derivatives of wild-type E. coli strain MG1655. Viability in the absence of Topo I was restored with two perturbations, neither of which reversed the hypernegative supercoiling phenotype: (i) in a reduced-genome strain (MDS42) or (ii) by an RNA polymerase (RNAP) mutation, rpoB*35, that has been reported to alleviate the deleterious consequences of RNAP backtracking and transcription-replication conflicts. Four phenotypes related to cSDR were identified for topA mutants: (i) one of the topA alleles rescued ΔdnaA lethality; (ii) in dnaA+ derivatives, Topo I deficiency generated a characteristic copy number peak in the terminus region of the chromosome; (iii) topA was synthetically lethal with rnhA (encoding RNase HI, whose deficiency also confers cSDR); and (iv) topA rnhA synthetic lethality was itself rescued by ΔdnaA. We propose that the terminal lethal consequence of hypernegative DNA supercoiling in E. coli topA mutants is RNAP backtracking during transcription elongation and associated R-loop formation, which in turn leads to transcription-replication conflicts and to cSDR. IMPORTANCE In all life forms, double-helical DNA exists in a topologically supercoiled state. The enzymes DNA gyrase and topoisomerase I act, respectively, to introduce and to relax negative DNA supercoils in Escherichia coli. That gyrase deficiency leads to bacterial death is well established, but the essentiality of topoisomerase I for viability has been less certain. This study confirms that topoisomerase I is essential for E. coli viability and suggests that in its absence, aberrant chromosomal DNA replication and excessive transcription-replication conflicts occur that are responsible for lethality.

Project description:Dosage compensation refers to the equalization of most X-linked gene products between males and females. In Drosophila, it is mediated by the MSL complex that preferentially associates with numerous sites on the X chromosome in somatic cells of males, and is responsible for an enhancement of the transcriptional rate of a substantial number of X-linked genes. Here we show that topoisomerase II (Topo II) is an integral part of the mechanistic basis of dosage compensation and we highlight a novel function for this enzyme. A widely accepted model of transcription postulates that the moving bubble generated by an RNA polymerase elongating complex induces positive DNA supercoiling in the region ahead of the complex and negative supercoiling in its wake. These transitory changes in supercoiling are resolved by the action of topoisomerases. We have investigated the role of Topo II in dosage compensation by RNAi-mediated depletion, and we have used chromatin immunoprecipitation to determine its genomic distribution and relative abundance on X-linked genes. Topo II is enriched on dosage compensated genes and this enrichment is independent from the approximate two-fold enhancement in transcription of these genes. We have demonstrated an RNA-dependent association of Topo II with MLE, the ATPase-helicase subunit of the MSL complex. Our results indicate a role for Topo II that is additional to and different from its function in restoring normal DNA superhelicity during the transcription process. We suggest that the enhanced level of Topo II alters the DNA supercoiling of compensated gene units to facilitate transcription and could provide a basis for the recent report that the MSL complex enhances transcription by increasing the rate of elongation of RNA polymerase II. Investigation of dosage compensated gene expression levels in S2 and S2 Topo II RNAi knockdown cells. mRNA was isolated from S2 cells and S2 cells with RNAi knockdown of Topo II. The mRNA was then converted to cDNA and hybridized to a NimbleGen D. melanogaster gene expression array. 2 replicates each.

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Type I topoisomerase activity is required for proper chromosomal segregation in Escherichia coli.

Publications

Type I topoisomerase activity is required for proper chromosomal segregation in Escherichia coli.

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