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Role of novel polysaccharide layers in assembly of the exosporium, the outermost protein layer of the Bacillus anthracis spore.

ABSTRACT: A fundamental question in cell biology is how cells assemble their outer layers. The bacterial endospore is a well-established model for cell layer assembly. However, the assembly of the exosporium, a complex protein shell comprising the outermost layer in the pathogen Bacillus anthracis, remains poorly understood. Exosporium assembly begins with the deposition of proteins at one side of the spore surface, followed by the progressive encirclement of the spore. We seek to resolve a major open question: the mechanism directing exosporium assembly to the spore, and then into a closed shell. We hypothesized that material directly underneath the exosporium (the interspace) directs exosporium assembly to the spore and drives encirclement. In support of this, we show that the interspace possesses at least two distinct layers of polysaccharide. Secondly, we show that putative polysaccharide biosynthetic genes are required for exosporium encirclement, suggesting a direct role for the interspace. These results not only significantly clarify the mechanism of assembly of the exosporium, an especially widespread bacterial outer layer, but also suggest a novel mechanism in which polysaccharide layers drive the assembly of a protein shell.

SUBMITTER: Lehmann D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9549345 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Role of novel polysaccharide layers in assembly of the exosporium, the outermost protein layer of the Bacillus anthracis spore.

Lehmann Dörte D Sladek Margaret M Khemmani Mark M Boone Tyler J TJ Rees Eric E Driks Adam A

Molecular microbiology 20220815 3

A fundamental question in cell biology is how cells assemble their outer layers. The bacterial endospore is a well-established model for cell layer assembly. However, the assembly of the exosporium, a complex protein shell comprising the outermost layer in the pathogen Bacillus anthracis, remains poorly understood. Exosporium assembly begins with the deposition of proteins at one side of the spore surface, followed by the progressive encirclement of the spore. We seek to resolve a major open que ...[more]

PMID: 35900297

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Project description:The exosporium of Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores is morphologically distinct from exosporia observed for the spores of many other species. Previous work has demonstrated that unidentified genes carried on one of the large indigenous plasmids are required for the assembly of the Bacillus megaterium exosporium. Here, we provide evidence that pBM600-encoded orthologues of the Bacillus subtilis CotW and CotX proteins, which form the crust layer in spores of that species, are structural components of the Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spore exosporium. The introduction of plasmid-borne cotW and orthologous cotX genes to the PV361 strain, which lacks all indigenous plasmids and produces spores that are devoid of an exosporium, results in the development of spores with a rudimentary exosporium-type structure. Additionally, purified recombinant CotW protein is shown to assemble at the air-water interface to form thin sheets of material, which is consistent with the idea that this protein may form a basal layer in the Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 exosporium.IMPORTANCE When starved of nutrients, some bacterial species develop metabolically dormant spores that can persist in a viable state in the environment for several years. The outermost layers of spores are of particular interest since (i) these represent the primary site for interaction with the environment and (ii) the protein constituents may have biotechnological applications. The outermost layer, or exosporium, in Bacillus megaterium QM B1551 spores is of interest, as it is morphologically distinct from the exosporia of spores of the pathogenic Bacillus cereus family. In this work, we provide evidence that structurally important protein constituents of the Bacillus megaterium exosporium are different from those in the Bacillus cereus family. We also show that one of these proteins, when purified, can assemble to form sheets of exosporium-like material. This is significant, as it indicates that spore-forming bacteria employ different proteins and mechanisms of assembly to construct their external layers.

Project description:In preliminary experiments, the absence of anthrose in our genetic Sterne knockout was found to decrease pagA expression in BHI broth containing glucose (Fig 5A and B). This contrasted with the large spike in pagA expression when the Sterne antC mutant is grown in protein rich HIB media which does not contain sugars. When exogenous anthrose was added during growth in BHI broth, expression from PpagA increased in both WT (purple line in Fig 5A) and antC Sterne (purple line in Fig 5B). Many bacteria respond to levels of metabolic intermediates and modulate gene expression accordingly. We hypothesized intracellular or extracellular anthrose levels could impact the vegetative cells through modification of gene expression during vegetative growth. Wildtype B. anthracis Sterne was grown in the presence and absence of exogenously added pure anthrose to avoid any possibility of confounding data in a deletion mutant. Bacteria were harvested at two timepoints post-addition of anthrose, 30 min and 2 h, and compared to diluent only treated cultures (Fig 5C). After 30 min treatment, there were 6 genes significantly upregulated more than two-fold while 17 genes were downregulated (Fig 5D). These genes were mainly involved in generating metabolic intermediates such as pyruvate and trehalose. The most upregulated gene was a putative membrane protein (log2FC=10.98) followed by a gene encoding a GerPF homologue at a log2FC of 10.98. Mutation of GerPF family proteins have been linked to a super-dormant spore phenotype[10]. The gene experiencing the highest downregulation was a putative lipoprotein (log2FC = -20.02). No genes located on pXO1 were detected at 30 min. A subset of differentially transcribed genes from the 30 min timepoint are listed in Fig 5F. After 2 h of anthrose treatment, 52 genes experienced significant up regulation, 18 of which were hypothetical proteins (Fig 5E). Forty-five genes experienced significant down regulation across replicates, 13 of which were hypothetical proteins.

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Role of novel polysaccharide layers in assembly of the exosporium, the outermost protein layer of the Bacillus anthracis spore.

Publications

Role of novel polysaccharide layers in assembly of the exosporium, the outermost protein layer of the Bacillus anthracis spore.

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