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Structures of Neisseria gonorrhoeae MtrR-operator complexes reveal molecular mechanisms of DNA recognition and antibiotic resistance-conferring clinical mutations.

ABSTRACT: Mutations within the mtrR gene are commonly found amongst multidrug resistant clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which has been labelled a superbug by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These mutations appear to contribute to antibiotic resistance by interfering with the ability of MtrR to bind to and repress expression of its target genes, which include the mtrCDE multidrug efflux transporter genes and the rpoH oxidative stress response sigma factor gene. However, the DNA-recognition mechanism of MtrR and the consensus sequence within these operators to which MtrR binds has remained unknown. In this work, we report the crystal structures of MtrR bound to the mtrCDE and rpoH operators, which reveal a conserved, but degenerate, DNA consensus binding site 5'-MCRTRCRN4YGYAYGK-3'. We complement our structural data with a comprehensive mutational analysis of key MtrR-DNA contacts to reveal their importance for MtrR-DNA binding both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, we model and generate common clinical mutations of MtrR to provide plausible biochemical explanations for the contribution of these mutations to multidrug resistance in N. gonorrhoeae. Collectively, our findings unveil key biological mechanisms underlying the global stress responses of N. gonorrhoeae.

SUBMITTER: Beggs GA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8053128 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:UNLABELLED:MtrA is a member of the AraC family of transcriptional regulators and has been shown to play an important role in enhancing transcription of the mtrCDE operon, which encodes a tripartite multidrug efflux pump, when gonococci are exposed to a sublethal level of antimicrobials. Heretofore, the DNA-binding properties of MtrA were unknown. In order to understand how MtrA activates mtrCDE expression, we successfully purified MtrA and found that it could bind specifically to the mtrCDE promoter region. The affinity of MtrA for the mtrCDE promoter increased 2-fold in the presence of a known effector and substrate of the MtrCDE pump, the nonionic detergent Triton X-100 (TX-100). When placed in competition with MtrR, the transcriptional repressor of mtrCDE, MtrA was found to bind with apparent lower affinity than MtrR to the same region. However, preincubation of MtrA with TX-100 prior to addition of the promoter-containing DNA probe increased MtrA binding and greatly reduced its dissociation from the promoter upon addition of MtrR. Two independent approaches (DNase I footprinting and a screen for bases important in MtrA binding) defined the MtrA-binding site 20-30 bp upstream of the known MtrR-binding site. Collectively, these results suggest that the MtrA and MtrR-binding sites are sterically close and that addition of an effector increases the affinity of MtrA for the mtrCDE promoter such that MtrR binding is negatively impacted. Our results provide a mechanism for transcriptional activation of mtrCDE by MtrA and highlight the complexity of transcriptional control of drug efflux systems possessed by gonococci. IMPORTANCE:Antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been increasing in recent years, such that in 2007 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed N. gonorrhoeae as a "superbug." One of the major contributors to antibiotic resistance in N. gonorrhoeae is the MtrCDE efflux pump. Until now, most work on the regulation of the genes encoding this efflux pump has been done on the transcriptional repressor, MtrR. This study is the first one to purify and define the DNA-binding ability of the transcriptional activator, MtrA. Understanding how levels of the MtrCDE efflux pump are regulated increases our knowledge of gonococcal biology and how the gonococcus can respond to various stresses, including antimicrobials.

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Structures of Neisseria gonorrhoeae MtrR-operator complexes reveal molecular mechanisms of DNA recognition and antibiotic resistance-conferring clinical mutations.

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