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Salt-Induced Stress Stimulates a Lipoteichoic Acid-Specific Three-Component Glycosylation System in Staphylococcus aureus.

ABSTRACT: Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) in Staphylococcus aureus is a poly-glycerophosphate polymer anchored to the outer surface of the cell membrane. LTA has numerous roles in cell envelope physiology, including regulating cell autolysis, coordinating cell division, and adapting to environmental growth conditions. LTA is often further modified with substituents, including d-alanine and glycosyl groups, to alter cellular function. While the genetic determinants of d-alanylation have been largely defined, the route of LTA glycosylation and its role in cell envelope physiology have remained unknown, in part due to the low levels of basal LTA glycosylation in S. aureus We demonstrate here that S. aureus utilizes a membrane-associated three-component glycosylation system composed of an undecaprenol (Und) N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) charging enzyme (CsbB; SAOUHSC_00713), a putative flippase to transport loaded substrate to the outside surface of the cell (GtcA; SAOUHSC_02722), and finally an LTA-specific glycosyltransferase that adds ?-GlcNAc moieties to LTA (YfhO; SAOUHSC_01213). We demonstrate that this system is specific for LTA with no cross recognition of the structurally similar polyribitol phosphate containing wall teichoic acids. We show that while wild-type S. aureus LTA has only a trace of GlcNAcylated LTA under normal growth conditions, amounts are raised upon either overexpressing CsbB, reducing endogenous d-alanylation activity, expressing the cell envelope stress responsive alternative sigma factor SigB, or by exposure to environmental stress-inducing culture conditions, including growth media containing high levels of sodium chloride.IMPORTANCE The role of glycosylation in the structure and function of Staphylococcus aureus lipoteichoic acid (LTA) is largely unknown. By defining key components of the LTA three-component glycosylation pathway and uncovering stress-induced regulation by the alternative sigma factor SigB, the role of N-acetylglucosamine tailoring during adaptation to environmental stresses can now be elucidated. As the dlt and glycosylation pathways compete for the same sites on LTA and induction of glycosylation results in decreased d-alanylation, the interplay between the two modification systems holds implications for resistance to antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides.

SUBMITTER: Kho K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5971477 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Salt-Induced Stress Stimulates a Lipoteichoic Acid-Specific Three-Component Glycosylation System in Staphylococcus aureus.

Kho Kelvin K Meredith Timothy C TC

Journal of bacteriology 20180524 12

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) in <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> is a poly-glycerophosphate polymer anchored to the outer surface of the cell membrane. LTA has numerous roles in cell envelope physiology, including regulating cell autolysis, coordinating cell division, and adapting to environmental growth conditions. LTA is often further modified with substituents, including d-alanine and glycosyl groups, to alter cellular function. While the genetic determinants of d-alanylation have been largely defined ...[more]

PMID: 29632092

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Project description:S. aureus possesses 16 two-component systems (TCS), two of which (GraRS & NsaRS) belong to the intramembrane-sensing histidine kinase (IM-HK) family, conserved within the firmicutes. NsaRS has recently been documented as being important for nisin-resistance in S. aureus. In this study we present a detailed characterization of NsaRS and reveal that, as with other IM-HK TCS, it responds to disruptions in cell-wall stability. Analysis using a lacZ reporter-gene fusion demonstrated that nsaRS expression is upregulated by a variety of cell-wall damaging antibiotics, including Phosphomycin, Ampicillin, Nisin and Penicillin G. Additionally; we reveal that NsaRS regulates a downstream transporter, NsaAB, during nisin-induced stress. NsaS mutants also display a 200-fold decreased ability to develop resistance to the cell-wall targetting antibiotic bacitracin. Microarray analysis reveals the transcription of 245 genes is altered in a nsaS mutant, with the vast majority down-regulated. Included within this list are genes involved in transport, drug-resistance, cell-envelope synthesis, transcriptional regulation, amino acid metabolism and virulence. Using ICP-MS we observed a decrease in intracellular divalent metal ions in an nsaS mutant when grown under low affinity conditions. Characterization of cells using electron microscopy reveals that nsaS mutants have alterations in both cell-wall and cell-envelope structure. Finally, a variety of virulence related phenotypes are impaired in nsaS mutants, including biofilm formation, resistance to killing by human macrophages and survival in whole human blood. Thus NsaRS is important in sensing cell-wall instability in S. aureus, and functions to reprogram gene expression to modify cell-envelope architecture, facilitating adaptation and survival. We did four hybridizations for this experiment, including a biological replicate and a dye-swap experiment for each replicate to account for dye-bias. Spots flagged as empty or bad were excluded and the raw data from each slide was normalized using LOWESS method, with background correction. The data from the replicates were combined (using the median value) and a one-sample t-test was performed. The volcano plot was used with a fold change cut-off of >= 2 and a p-value of <0.05, to filter the genes that were differentially expressed.

Project description:UnlabelledStaphylococcus aureus is both a commensal and a pathogen of the human host. Survival in the host environment requires resistance to host-derived nitric oxide (NO·). However, S. aureus lacks the NO·-sensing transcriptional regulator NsrR that is used by many bacteria to sense and respond to NO·. In this study, we show that S. aureus is able to sense and respond to both NO· and hypoxia by means of the SrrAB two-component system (TCS). Analysis of the S. aureus transcriptome during nitrosative stress demonstrates the expression of SrrAB-dependent genes required for cytochrome biosynthesis and assembly (qoxABCD, cydAB, hemABCX), anaerobic metabolism (pflAB, adhE, nrdDG), iron-sulfur cluster repair (scdA), and NO· detoxification (hmp). Targeted mutations in SrrAB-regulated loci show that hmp and qoxABCD are required for NO· resistance, whereas nrdDG is specifically required for anaerobic growth. We also show that SrrAB is required for survival in static biofilms, most likely due to oxygen limitation. Activation by hypoxia, NO·, or a qoxABCD quinol oxidase mutation suggests that the SrrAB TCS senses impaired electron flow in the electron transport chain rather than directly interacting with NO· in the manner of NsrR. Nevertheless, like NsrR, SrrAB achieves the physiological goals of selectively expressing hmp in the presence of NO· and minimizing the potential for Fenton chemistry. Activation of the SrrAB regulon allows S. aureus to maintain energy production and essential biosynthetic processes, repair damage, and detoxify NO· in diverse host environments.ImportanceThe Hmp flavohemoglobin is required for nitric oxide resistance and is widely distributed in bacteria. Hmp expression must be tightly regulated, because expression under aerobic conditions in the absence of nitric oxide can exacerbate oxidative stress. In most organisms, hmp expression is controlled by the Fe-S cluster-containing repressor NsrR, but this transcriptional regulator is absent in the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. We show here that S. aureus achieves hmp regulation in response to nitric oxide and oxygen limitation by placing it under the control of the SrrAB two-component system, which senses reduced electron flow through the respiratory chain. This provides a striking example of convergent evolution, in which the common physiological goals of responding to nitrosative stress while minimizing Fenton chemistry are achieved by distinct regulatory mechanisms.

Dataset Information

Salt-Induced Stress Stimulates a Lipoteichoic Acid-Specific Three-Component Glycosylation System in Staphylococcus aureus.

Publications

Salt-Induced Stress Stimulates a Lipoteichoic Acid-Specific Three-Component Glycosylation System in Staphylococcus aureus.

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