Dataset Information

Expression and regulation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa hibernation promoting factor.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial biofilms contain subpopulations of cells that are dormant and highly tolerant to antibiotics. While dormant, the bacteria must maintain the integrity of macromolecules required for resuscitation. Previously, we showed that hibernation promoting factor (HPF) is essential for protecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa from ribosomal loss during dormancy. In this study, we mapped the genetic components required for hpf expression. Using 5'-RACE and fluorescent protein reporter fusions, we show that hpf is expressed as part of the rpoN operon, but that hpf also has a second promoter (Phpf ) within the rpoN gene. Phpf is active when the cells enter stationary phase, and expression from Phpf is modulated, but not eliminated, in mutant strains impaired in stationary phase transition (?dksA2, ?rpoS and ?relA/?spoT mutants). The results of reporter gene studies and mRNA folding predictions indicated that the 5' end of the hpf mRNA may also influence hpf expression. Mutations that opened or that stabilized the mRNA hairpin loop structures strongly influenced the amount of HPF produced. The results demonstrate that hpf is expressed independently of rpoN, and that hpf regulation includes both transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes, allowing the cells to produce sufficient HPF during stationary phase to maintain viability while dormant.

SUBMITTER: Akiyama T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7474867 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Expression and regulation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa hibernation promoting factor.

Akiyama Tatsuya T Williamson Kerry S KS Franklin Michael J MJ

Molecular microbiology 20181015 2

Bacterial biofilms contain subpopulations of cells that are dormant and highly tolerant to antibiotics. While dormant, the bacteria must maintain the integrity of macromolecules required for resuscitation. Previously, we showed that hibernation promoting factor (HPF) is essential for protecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa from ribosomal loss during dormancy. In this study, we mapped the genetic components required for hpf expression. Using 5'-RACE and fluorescent protein reporter fusions, we show tha ...[more]

PMID: 29885070

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Project description:Hibernation-promoting factor (HPF) is a ribosomal accessory protein that inactivates ribosomes during bacterial starvation. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, HPF protects ribosome integrity while the cells are dormant. The sequence of HPF has diverged among bacteria but contains conserved charged amino acids in its two alpha helices that interact with the rRNA. Here, we characterized the function of HPF in P. aeruginosa by performing mutagenesis of the conserved residues and then assaying mutant HPF alleles for their ability to protect ribosome integrity of starved P. aeruginosa cells. The results show that HPF functionally tolerates point mutations in charged residues and in the conserved Y71 residue as well as a C-terminal truncation. Double and triple mutations of charged residues in helix 1 in combination with a Y71F substitution reduce HPF activity. Screening for single point mutations that caused impaired HPF activity identified additional substitutions in the two HPF alpha helices. However, alanine substitutions in equivalent positions restored HPF activity, indicating that HPF is tolerant to mutations that do not disrupt the protein structure. Surprisingly, heterologous HPFs from Gram-positive bacteria that have long C-terminal domains functionally complement the P. aeruginosa Δhpf mutant, suggesting that HPF may play a similar role in ribosome protection in other bacterial species. Collectively, the results show that HPF has diverged among bacteria and is tolerant to most single amino acid substitutions. The Y71 residue in combination with helix 1 is important for the functional role of HPF in ribosome protection during bacterial starvation and resuscitation of the bacteria from dormancy.IMPORTANCE In most environments, bacteria experience conditions where nutrients may be readily abundant or where nutrients are limited. Under nutrient limitation conditions, even non-spore-forming bacteria may enter a dormant state. Dormancy is accompanied by a variety of cellular physiological changes that are required for the cells to remain viable during dormancy and to resuscitate when nutrients become available. Among the physiological changes that occur in dormant bacteria is the inactivation and preservation of ribosomes by the dormancy protein, hibernation-promoting factor (HPF). In this study, we characterized the activity of HPF of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen that causes persistent infections, and analyzed the role of HPF in ribosome protection and bacterial survival during dormancy.

Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes biofilm-associated infections. P. aeruginosa can survive in a dormant state with reduced metabolic activity in nutrient-limited environments, including the interiors of biofilms. When entering dormancy, the bacteria undergo metabolic remodeling, which includes reduced translation and degradation of cellular proteins. However, a supply of essential macromolecules, such as ribosomes, are protected from degradation during dormancy. The small ribosome-binding proteins, hibernation promoting factor (HPF) and ribosome modulation factor (RMF), inhibit translation by inducing formation of inactive 70S and 100S ribosome monomers and dimers. The inactivated ribosomes are protected from the initial steps in ribosome degradation, including endonuclease cleavage of the ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Here, we characterized the role of HPF in ribosomal protein (rProtein) stability and degradation during P. aeruginosa nutrient limitation. We determined the effect of the physiological status of P. aeruginosa prior to starvation on its ability to recover from starvation, and on its rRNA and rProtein stability during cell starvation. The results show that the wild-type strain and a stringent response mutant (∆relA∆spoT strain) maintain high cellular abundances of the rProteins L5 and S13 over the course of eight days of starvation. In contrast, the abundances of L5 and S13 reduce in the ∆hpf mutant cells. The loss of rProteins in the ∆hpf strain is dependent on the physiology of the cells prior to starvation. The greatest rProtein loss occurs when cells are first cultured to stationary phase prior to starvation, with less rProtein loss in the ∆hpf cells that are first cultured to exponential phase or in balanced minimal medium. Regardless of the pre-growth conditions, P. aeruginosa recovery from starvation and the integrity of its rRNA are impaired in the absence of HPF. The results indicate that protein remodeling during P. aeruginosa starvation includes the degradation of rProteins, and that HPF is essential to prevent rProtein loss in starved P. aeruginosa. The results also indicate that HPF is produced throughout cell growth, and that regardless of the cellular physiological status, HPF is required to protect against ribosome loss when the cells subsequently enter starvation phase.

Project description:Bacterial and eukaryotic hibernation factors prevent translation by physically blocking the decoding center of ribosomes, a phenomenon called ribosome hibernation that often occurs in response to nutrient deprivation. The human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus lacking the sole hibernation factor HPF undergoes massive ribosome degradation via an unknown pathway. Using genetic and biochemical approaches, we find that inactivating the 3'-to-5' exonuclease RNase R suppresses ribosome degradation in the Δhpf mutant. In vitro cell-free degradation assays confirm that 30S and 70S ribosomes isolated from the Δhpf mutant are extremely susceptible to RNase R, in stark contrast to nucleolytic resistance of the HPF-bound 70S and 100S complexes isolated from the wild type. In the absence of HPF, specific S. aureus 16S rRNA helices are sensitive to nucleolytic cleavage. These RNase hot spots are distinct from that found in the Escherichia coli ribosomes. S. aureus RNase R is associated with ribosomes, but unlike the E. coli counterpart, it is not regulated by general stressors and acetylation. The results not only highlight key differences between the evolutionarily conserved RNase R homologs but also provide direct evidence that HPF preserves ribosome integrity beyond its role in translational avoidance, thereby poising the hibernating ribosomes for rapid resumption of translation. IMPORTANCE Ribosome hibernation is pivotal for the rapid recovery of translation after quiescence in both bacteria and eukaryotes. Ribosome hibernation factors sterically occlude the entry of mRNA and tRNA and are thought to primarily maintain ribosomes in a translation-repressive state, thereby providing a pool of readily recyclable 70S or 80S complexes upon dissociation of the hibernation factors. Ribosomes in Staphylococcus aureus cells lacking the sole hibernation factor HPF are extremely unstable. Here, we show that HPF binding inhibits ribosome degradation by the evolutionarily conserved exoribonuclease RNase R. The data not only uncover a direct protective role of HPF in ribosome stability but also reinforce the versatility of RNase R in RNA processing, decay, and ribosome quality control.

Project description:Bacteria growing in biofilms are physiologically heterogeneous, due in part to their adaptation to local environmental conditions. Here, we characterized the local transcriptional responses of Pseudomonas aeruginosa growing in biofilms by using microarray analysis of isolated biofilm subpopulations. The results demonstrated that cells at the top of the biofilms had high mRNA abundances for genes involved in general metabolic functions, while mRNAs for these housekeeping genes were low in cells at the bottom of the biofilms. Selective GFP labeling showed that cells at the top of the biofilm were actively dividing. However, the dividing cells had high mRNAs levels for genes regulated by the hypoxia induced regulator, Anr. Slow-growing cells deep in the biofilms had little expression of Anr-regulated genes and may have experienced long-termanoxia. Transcripts for ribosomal proteins were primarily associated with the metabolically active cell fraction, while ribosomal RNAs were abundant throughout the biofilms, indicating that ribosomes are stably maintained even in slowly growing cells. Consistent with these results was the identification of mRNAs for ribosome hibernation factors (rmf and PA4463) at the bottom of the biofilms. A P. aeruginosa M-bM-^HM-^Frmf strain had increased uptake of the membrane integrity stain, propidium iodide. Using selective GFP labeling and cell sorting, we showed that the dividing cells were more susceptible to tobramycin and ciprofloxacin than the dormant subpopulation. The results demonstrate that in thick P. aeruginosa biofilms, cells are physiologically distinct spatially, with cells deep in the biofilm in a viable but antibiotic-tolerant slow-growth state. 52-hour Pseudomonas aeruginosa TSA colony biofilms were cryoembedded, thin sectioned, and laser dissected (LCM) to obtain samples from the top and bottom 50 M-BM-5m of the biofilms. 9 sections per biofilm were pooled. RNA was extracted with the RNeasy Micro kit, Turbo DNase treated, poly(A) tailed, and amplified using the Quantitect WTA kit. After clean up, the resulting product was fragmented and end labeled before hybridization.

Dataset Information

Expression and regulation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa hibernation promoting factor.

Publications

Expression and regulation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa hibernation promoting factor.

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