Dataset Information

Regulation of cid and lrg expression by CcpA in Streptococcus mutans.

ABSTRACT: The Streptococcus mutans Cid/Lrg system represents an ideal model for studying this organism's ability to withstand various stressors encountered in the oral cavity. The lrg and cid operons display distinct and opposite patterns of expression in response to growth phase and glucose levels, suggesting that the activity and regulation of these proteins must be tightly coordinated in the cell and closely associated with metabolic pathways of the organism. Here, we demonstrate that expression of the cid and lrg operons is directly mediated by a global transcriptional regulator CcpA in response to glucose levels. Comparison of the cid and lrg promoter regions with the conserved CcpA binding motif revealed the presence of two potential cre sites (for CcpA binding) in the cid promoter (designated cid-cre1 and cid-cre2), which were arranged in a similar manner to those previously identified in the lrg promoter region (designated lrg-cre1 and lrg-cre2). We demonstrated that CcpA binds to both the cid and lrg promoters with a high affinity, but has an opposing glucose-dependent effect on the regulation of cid (positive) and lrg (negative) expression. DNase I footprinting analyses revealed potential binding sequences for CcpA in both cid and lrg promoter regions. Collectively, these data suggest that CcpA is a direct regulator of cid and lrg expression, and are suggestive of a potential mechanism by which Cid/Lrg-mediated virulence and cellular homeostasis is integrated with signals associated with both the environment and cellular metabolic status.

SUBMITTER: Kim HM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6600348 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Regulation of cid and lrg expression by CcpA in Streptococcus mutans.

Kim Hey-Min HM Waters Anthony A Turner Matthew E ME Rice Kelly C KC Ahn Sang-Joon SJ

Microbiology (Reading, England) 20181126 1

The Streptococcus mutans Cid/Lrg system represents an ideal model for studying this organism's ability to withstand various stressors encountered in the oral cavity. The lrg and cid operons display distinct and opposite patterns of expression in response to growth phase and glucose levels, suggesting that the activity and regulation of these proteins must be tightly coordinated in the cell and closely associated with metabolic pathways of the organism. Here, we demonstrate that expression of the ...[more]

PMID: 30475201

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Project description:The Streptococcus mutans lrgAB and cidAB operons have been previously described as a potential model system to dissect the complexity of biofilm development and virulence of S. mutans Herein, we have attempted to further characterize the Cid/Lrg system by focusing on CidB, which has been shown to be critical for the ability of S. mutans to survive and persist in a nonpreferred oxygen-enriched condition. We have found that the expression level of cidB is critical to oxidative stress tolerance of S. mutans, most likely by impacting lrg expression. Intriguingly, the impaired aerobic growth phenotype of the cidB mutant could be restored by the additional loss of either CidA or LrgA. Growth-dependent expression of cid and lrg was demonstrated to be tightly under the control of both CcpA and the VicKR two-component system (TCS), regulators known to play an essential role in controlling major catabolic pathways and cell envelope homeostasis, respectively. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis revealed that mutation of cidB resulted in global gene expression changes, comprising major domains of central metabolism and virulence processes, particularly in those involved with oxidative stress resistance. Loss of CidB also significantly changed the expression of genes related to genomic islands (GI) TnSmu1 and TnSmu2, the CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas system, and toxin-antitoxin (T/A) modules. Taken together, these data show that CidB impinges on the stress response, as well as the fundamental cellular physiology of S. mutans, and further suggest a potential link between Cid/Lrg-mediated cellular processes, S. mutans pathogenicity, and possible programmed growth arrest and cell death mechanisms.The ability of Streptococcus mutans to survive a variety of harmful or stressful conditions and to emerge as a numerically significant member of stable oral biofilm communities are essential elements for its persistence and cariogenicity. In this study, the homologous cidAB and lrgAB operons, previously identified as being highly balanced and coordinated during S. mutans aerobic growth, were further characterized through the functional and transcriptomic analysis of CidB. Precise control of CidB levels is shown to impact the expression of lrg, oxidative stress tolerance, major metabolic domains, and the molecular modules linked to cell death and lysis. This study advances our understanding of the Cid/Lrg system as a key player in the integration of complex environmental signals (such as oxidative stress) into the regulatory networks that modulate S. mutans virulence and cell homeostasis.

Project description:In the dental caries pathogen Streptococcus mutans, phosphotransacetylase (Pta) and acetate kinase (Ack) convert pyruvate into acetate with the concomitant generation of ATP. The genes for this pathway are tightly regulated by multiple environmental and intracellular inputs, but the basis for differential expression of the genes for Pta and Ack in S. mutans had not been investigated. Here, we show that inactivation in S. mutans of ccpA or codY reduced the activity of the ackA promoter, whereas a ccpA mutant displayed elevated pta promoter activity. The interactions of CcpA with the promoter regions of both genes were observed using electrophoretic mobility shift and DNase protection assays. CodY bound to the ackA promoter region but only in the presence of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). DNase footprinting revealed that the upstream region of both genes contains two catabolite-responsive elements (cre1 and cre2) that can be bound by CcpA. Notably, the cre2 site of ackA overlaps with a CodY-binding site. The CcpA- and CodY-binding sites in the promoter region of both genes were further defined by site-directed mutagenesis. Some differences between the reported consensus CodY binding site and the region protected by S. mutans CodY were noted. Transcription of the pta and ackA genes in the ccpA mutant strain was markedly different at low pH relative to transcription at neutral pH. Thus, CcpA and CodY are direct regulators of transcription of ackA and pta in S. mutans that optimize acetate metabolism in response to carbohydrate, amino acid availability, and environmental pH.IMPORTANCE The human dental caries pathogen Streptococcus mutans is remarkably adept at coping with extended periods of carbohydrate limitation during fasting periods. The phosphotransacetylase-acetate kinase (Pta-Ack) pathway in S. mutans modulates carbohydrate flux and fine-tunes the ability of the organisms to cope with stressors that are commonly encountered in the oral cavity. Here, we show that CcpA controls transcription of the pta and ackA genes via direct interaction with the promoter regions of both genes and that branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), particularly isoleucine, enhance the ability of CodY to bind to the promoter region of the ackA gene. A working model is proposed to explain how regulation of pta and ackA genes by these allosterically controlled regulatory proteins facilitates proper carbon flow and energy production, which are essential functions during infection and pathogenesis as carbohydrate and amino acid availability continually fluctuate.

Project description:CcpA is a global regulator of transcription in Gram-positive bacteria that controls gene expression in response to carbohydrate availability. Using the fructan hydrolase (fruA) gene of S. mutans as a model, we demonstrate that CcpA does indeed play a major role in carbohydrate catabolite repression. Using DNA microarrays, the expression of at least 170 genes differed in CcpA-deficient cells compared to the parental strains when cells are grown in the presence of glucose, but only 90 genes showed altered expression when cells were cultivated in the poorly-repressing substrate galactose. Interestingly, 90 genes were differently expressed in wild-type S. mutans in response to cultivation in glucose versus galactose, but the expression of over 500 genes was altered when growth in glucose and galactose were compared in the CcpA-deficient strain. The results support a major role for CcpA in regulation of gene expression, but reveal that a substantial CcpA-independent network exists in S. mutans to regulate gene expression in response to carbohydrate source. A reference RNA that had been isolated from 2 liters of UA159 cells grown in BHI broth to OD600 = 0.5 was used in every experiment. Our experimental conditions consisted of S. mutans UA159 and TW1 grown in TV supplemented with 0.5% glucose or 0.5% galactose and collected at the mid-exponential phase of growth (OD600 = 0.5). All RNAs were purified as described above and used to generate cDNA according to the protocol provided by TIGR with the following minor modifications. The amount of RNA in each reaction was increased to 10 ug and the molar ratio of dTTP:aa-dUTP was increased to 1:2. SuperscriptIII Reverse transcriptase (Invitrogen, Gaithersburg, MD) was used to increase cDNA yields. Purified cDNAs were coupled with indocarbocyanine (Cy3)-dUTP, while reference cDNA was coupled with indodicarbocyanine (Cy5)-dUTP (Amersham Biosciences, Piscataway, NJ). Four individual Cy3-labeled cDNA samples originating from four different cultures of UA159 or TW1, grown in each experimental condition, were hybridized to the arrays along with Cy5-labeled reference cDNA, generating a total of 16 slides. Hybridizations were carried out in a Maui 4-chamber hybridization system (BioMicro Systems, Salt Lake City, Utah) for 17 h at 42ºC. The slides were then washed according to TIGR protocols and scanned using a GenePix Scanner (Axon Instruments Inc., Union City, CA). After the slides were scanned, single-channel images were loaded into TIGR Spotfinder software and overlayed. A spot grid was created according to TIGR specifications and manually adjusted to fit all spots within the grid, then the intensity values of each spot were measured. Data was normalized using TIGR Microarray data analysis software (MIDAS), by using LOWESS and Iterative Log Mean Centering with default settings, followed by In-Slide Replicate Analysis. Statistical analysis was carried out using BRB Array Tools with a cutoff P value of 0.001 for class prediction and class comparison.

Dataset Information

Regulation of cid and lrg expression by CcpA in Streptococcus mutans.

Publications

Regulation of cid and lrg expression by CcpA in Streptococcus mutans.

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