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Regulons and protein-protein interactions of PRD-containing Bacillus anthracis virulence regulators reveal overlapping but distinct functions.

ABSTRACT: Bacillus anthracis produces three regulators, AtxA, AcpA and AcpB, which control virulence gene transcription and belong to an emerging class of regulators termed 'PCVRs' (Phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase regulation Domain-Containing Virulence Regulators). AtxA, named for its control of toxin gene expression, is the master virulence regulator and archetype PCVR. AcpA and AcpB are less well studied. Reports of PCVR activity suggest overlapping function. AcpA and AcpB independently positively control transcription of the capsule biosynthetic operon capBCADE, and culture conditions that enhance AtxA level or activity result in capBCADE transcription in strains lacking acpA and acpB. We used RNA-Seq to assess the regulons of the paralogous regulators in strains constructed to express individual PCVRs at native levels. Plasmid and chromosome-borne genes were PCVR controlled, with AtxA, AcpA and AcpB having a ? 4-fold effect on transcript levels of 145, 130 and 49 genes respectively. Several genes were coregulated by two or three PCVRs. We determined that AcpA and AcpB form homomultimers, as shown previously for AtxA, and we detected AtxA-AcpA heteromultimers. In co-expression experiments, AcpA activity was reduced by increased levels of AtxA. Our data show that the PCVRs have specific and overlapping activity and that PCVR stoichiometry and potential heteromultimerization can influence target gene expression.

SUBMITTER: Raynor MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6167206 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Regulons and protein-protein interactions of PRD-containing Bacillus anthracis virulence regulators reveal overlapping but distinct functions.

Raynor Malik J MJ Roh Jung-Hyeob JH Widen Stephen G SG Wood Thomas G TG Koehler Theresa M TM

Molecular microbiology 20180331

Bacillus anthracis produces three regulators, AtxA, AcpA and AcpB, which control virulence gene transcription and belong to an emerging class of regulators termed 'PCVRs' (Phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase regulation Domain-Containing Virulence Regulators). AtxA, named for its control of toxin gene expression, is the master virulence regulator and archetype PCVR. AcpA and AcpB are less well studied. Reports of PCVR activity suggest overlapping function. AcpA and AcpB independently ...[more]

PMID: 29603836

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Project description:Purpose: Bacillus anthracis produces three regulators, AtxA, AcpA and AcpB, which control virulence gene transcription and belong to an emerging class of regulators termed ‘PCVRs’ (Phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase regulation Domain-Containing Virulence Regulators). AtxA, named for its control of toxin gene expression, is the master virulence regulator and archetype PCVR. AcpA and AcpB are less well studied. Reports of PCVR activity suggest overlapping function. We used RNA-Seq to assess the regulons of the paralogous regulators in strains constructed to express individual PCVRs at native levels. Methods: Cultures were incubated in toxin-inducing conditions, and expression of each PCVR in the atxAacpAacpB-null background strain was induced with an IPTG concentration that yielded native protein levels for each PCVR. RNA was extracted when cultures reached late-exponential phase using saturated acid phenol extraction, followed by RNA precipitation from the aqueous phase. Creation of libraries for NGS analysis used total RNA (1.0 μg). Samples were treated with Ribo-Zero (Epicentre) to remove ribosomal RNA prior to fragmentation using divalent cations and heat. Libraries were created using an Illumina TruSeq sample preparation kit following the protocol as recommended by the manufacturer. NGS sequencing was performed as a paired-end 50 base sequence using an Illumina HiSeq 1500 following the protocol recommended by the manufacturer. Results: Plasmid and chromosome-borne genes were PCVR controlled, with AtxA, AcpA and AcpB having a ≥4-fold effect on transcript levels of 145, 130 and 49 genes respectively. Several genes were coregulated by two or three PCVRs. Of the 203 transcripts associated with pXO1, 15 were altered at least fourfold: 13 by AtxA and 2 by AcpA. No pXO1-derived transcripts were affected fourfold or greater by AcpB. Read maps revealed that many of the regulated transcripts from pXO1 were associated with the 35 kb region that lies within a larger 44.8 kb pathogenicity island (PAI) (Thorne, 1993). We detected transcripts for 110 genes on pXO2, of which 21 were regulated fourfold or greater by at least one of the three PCVRs. The highly regulated genes clustered within a 35.5 kb region of the plasmid, which includes the capsule biosynthetic operon capBCADE followed by the weakly co-transcribed acpB gene. A significantly smaller proportion of PCVR-regulated genes mapped to the chromosome. Of the 5593 transcripts, 198 were altered fourfold or greater by one or more PCVRs. Clustering of PCVR-regulated chromosome genes was not apparent. Among the most highly regulated chromosomal genes were many genes associated with branched chain amino acid (BCAA) synthesis and uptake. Of the 17 genes implicated in BCAA biosynthesis, expression of 13 of these genes is repressed by AtxA and AcpB. In this work, we have shown that the three PRD-containing virulence regulators of B. anthracis exhibit overlapping and divergent target gene specificities. Conclusions: In this work, we show the relative activities of the PCVRs for specific and co-regulated genes. The results reveal the vast effects of the PCVRs on B. anthracis gene expression and indicate a high degree of functional similarity among the regulators. Our investigations provide insight into control of B. anthracis gene expression and expand our knowledge of structure and function of this emerging class of virulence gene regulators.

Project description:AtxA, the master virulence regulator of Bacillus anthracis, regulates the expression of three toxins and genes for capsule formation that are required for the pathogenicity of B. anthracis. Recent transcriptome analyses showed that AtxA affects a large number of genes on the chromosome and plasmids, suggesting a role as a global regulator. However, information on genes directly regulated by AtxA is scarce. In this work, we conducted genome-wide analyses and cataloged the binding sites of AtxA in vivo and transcription start sites on the B. anthracis genome. By integrating these results, we detected eight genes as direct regulons of AtxA. These consisted of five protein-coding genes, including two of the three toxin genes, and three genes encoding the small RNAs XrrA and XrrB and a newly discovered 95-nucleotide small RNA, XrrC. Transcriptomes from single-knockout mutants of these small RNAs revealed changes in the transcription levels of genes related to the aerobic electron transport chain, heme biosynthesis, and amino acid metabolism, suggesting their function for the control of cell physiology. These results reveal the first layer of the gene regulatory network for the pathogenicity of B. anthracis and provide a data set for the further study of the genomics and genetics of B. anthracis. IMPORTANCE Bacillus anthracis is the Gram-positive bacterial species that causes anthrax. Anthrax is still prevalent in countries mainly in Asia and Africa, where it causes economic damage and remains a public health issue. The mechanism of pathogenicity is mainly explained by the three toxin proteins expressed from the pXO1 plasmid and by proteins involved in capsule formation expressed from the pXO2 plasmid. AtxA is a protein expressed from the pXO1 plasmid that is known to upregulate genes involved in toxin production and capsule formation and is thus considered the master virulence regulator of B. anthracis. Therefore, understanding the detailed mechanism of gene regulation is important for the control of anthrax. The significance of this work lies in the identification of genes that are directly regulated by AtxA via genome-wide analyses. The results reveal the first layer of the gene regulatory network for the pathogenicity of B. anthracis and provide useful resources for a further understanding of B. anthracis.

Dataset Information

Regulons and protein-protein interactions of PRD-containing Bacillus anthracis virulence regulators reveal overlapping but distinct functions.

Publications

Regulons and protein-protein interactions of PRD-containing Bacillus anthracis virulence regulators reveal overlapping but distinct functions.

Similar Datasets

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