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Alginate synthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: environmental regulation of the algC promoter.

ABSTRACT: The exopolysaccharide alginate is a major virulence factor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains that infect the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. The synthesis of alginate is almost uniquely associated with the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa within the environment of the cystic fibrosis lung. The gene algC is one of the essential alginate biosynthetic genes and codes for the enzyme phosphomannomutase. In this report, we present data on the transcriptional regulation of algC expression. The activity of the algC promoter is modulated by the response regulator, AlgR1, a member of the two-component signal transduction protein family, which also regulates other alginate-specific promoters. In both mucoid (alginate-positive) and nonmucoid (alginate-negative) P. aeruginosa strains, transcriptional activation of algC increased with the osmolarity of the culture medium. This osmolarity-induced activation was found to be dependent on AlgR1. AlgR1 was found to interact directly with the algC promoter. Deletion mapping, in conjunction with mobility shift assays, showed that AlgR1 specifically bound with two regions of algC upstream DNA. A fragment spanning nucleotide positions -378 to -73 showed strong specific binding, while a fragment located between positions -73 and +187 interacted relatively weakly with AlgR1. Phosphorylation of the AlgR1 protein resulted in the stimulation of its in vitro ability to bind to the algC promoter region (a fragment spanning nucleotides -378 to -73). Transcription from the algC promoter, which has significant homology with the RNA polymerase sigma-54 (RpoN) recognition sequence, decreased in an rpoN mutant of P. aeruginosa.

SUBMITTER: Zielinski NA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC207481 | biostudies-other | 1992 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Alginate synthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: environmental regulation of the algC promoter.

Zielinski N A NA Maharaj R R Roychoudhury S S Danganan C E CE Hendrickson W W Chakrabarty A M AM

Journal of bacteriology 19921201 23

The exopolysaccharide alginate is a major virulence factor of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains that infect the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. The synthesis of alginate is almost uniquely associated with the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa within the environment of the cystic fibrosis lung. The gene algC is one of the essential alginate biosynthetic genes and codes for the enzyme phosphomannomutase. In this report, we present data on the transcriptional regulation of algC expression. The activit ...[more]

PMID: 1447138

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Project description:UNLABELLED:The molecular mechanisms of alginate polymerization/modification/secretion by a proposed envelope-spanning multiprotein complex are unknown. Here, bacterial two-hybrid assays and pulldown experiments showed that the catalytic subunit Alg8 directly interacts with the proposed copolymerase Alg44 while embedded in the cytoplasmic membrane. Alg44 additionally interacts with the lipoprotein AlgK bridging the periplasmic space. Site-specific mutagenesis of Alg44 showed that protein-protein interactions and stability were independent of conserved amino acid residues R17 and R21, which are involved in c-di-GMP binding, the N-terminal PilZ domain, and the C-terminal 26 amino acids. Site-specific mutagenesis was employed to investigate the c-di-GMP-mediated activation of alginate polymerization by the PilZAlg44 domain and Alg8. Activation was found to be different from the proposed activation mechanism for cellulose synthesis. The interactive role of Alg8, Alg44, AlgG (epimerase), and AlgX (acetyltransferase) on alginate polymerization and modification was studied by using site-specific deletion mutants, inactive variants, and overproduction of subunits. The compositions, molecular masses, and material properties of resulting novel alginates were analyzed. The molecular mass was reduced by epimerization, while it was increased by acetylation. Interestingly, when overproduced, Alg44, AlgG, and the nonepimerizing variant AlgG(D324A) increased the degree of acetylation, while epimerization was enhanced by AlgX and its nonacetylating variant AlgX(S269A). Biofilm architecture analysis showed that acetyl groups promoted cell aggregation while nonacetylated polymannuronate alginate promoted stigmergy. Overall, this study sheds new light on the arrangement of the multiprotein complex involved in alginate production. Furthermore, the activation mechanism and the interplay between polymerization and modification of alginate were elucidated. IMPORTANCE:This study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of the synthesis of the unique polysaccharide, alginate, which not only is an important virulence factor of the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa but also has, due to its material properties, many applications in medicine and industry. Unraveling the assembly and composition of the alginate-synthesizing and envelope-spanning multiprotein complex will be of tremendous significance for the scientific community. We identified a protein-protein interaction network inside the multiprotein complex and studied its relevance with respect to alginate polymerization/modification as well as the c-di-GMP-mediated activation mechanism. A relationship between alginate polymerization and modification was shown. Due to the role of alginate in pathogenesis as well as its unique material properties harnessed in numerous applications, results obtained in this study will aid the design and development of inhibitory drugs as well as the commercial bacterial production of tailor-made alginates.

Project description:Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients chronically infected with both Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus have worse health outcomes than patients who are monoinfected with either P. aeruginosa or S. aureus We showed previously that mucoid strains of P. aeruginosa can coexist with S. aureusin vitro due to the transcriptional downregulation of several toxic exoproducts typically produced by P. aeruginosa, including siderophores, rhamnolipids, and HQNO (2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide). Here, we demonstrate that exogenous alginate protects S. aureus from P. aeruginosa in both planktonic and biofilm coculture models under a variety of nutritional conditions. S. aureus protection in the presence of exogenous alginate is due to the transcriptional downregulation of pvdA, a gene required for the production of the iron-scavenging siderophore pyoverdine as well as the downregulation of the PQS (Pseudomonas quinolone signal) (2-heptyl-3,4-dihydroxyquinoline) quorum sensing system. The impact of exogenous alginate is independent of endogenous alginate production. We further demonstrate that coculture of mucoid P. aeruginosa with nonmucoid P. aeruginosa strains can mitigate the killing of S. aureus by the nonmucoid strain of P. aeruginosa, indicating that the mechanism that we describe here may function in vivo in the context of mixed infections. Finally, we investigated a panel of mucoid clinical isolates that retain the ability to kill S. aureus at late time points and show that each strain has a unique expression profile, indicating that mucoid isolates can overcome the S. aureus-protective effects of mucoidy in a strain-specific manner.IMPORTANCE CF patients are chronically infected by polymicrobial communities. The two dominant bacterial pathogens that infect the lungs of CF patients are P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, with ∼30% of patients coinfected by both species. Such coinfected individuals have worse outcomes than monoinfected patients, and both species persist within the same physical space. A variety of host and environmental factors have been demonstrated to promote P. aeruginosa-S. aureus coexistence, despite evidence that P. aeruginosa kills S. aureus when these organisms are cocultured in vitro Thus, a better understanding of P. aeruginosa-S. aureus interactions, particularly mechanisms by which these microorganisms are able to coexist in proximal physical space, will lead to better-informed treatments for chronic polymicrobial infections.

Project description:Alginate is a viscous extracellular polymer produced by mucoid strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that cause chronic pulmonary infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. Alginate is polymerized from GDP-mannuronate to a linear polymer of beta-1-4-linked residues of D-mannuronate and its C5-epimer, L-guluronate. We previously identified a gene called algG in the alginate biosynthetic operon that is required for incorporation of L-guluronate residues into alginate. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the product of algG is a C5-epimerase that directly converts D-mannuronate to L-guluronate. The DNA sequence of algG was determined, and an open reading frame encoding a protein (AlgG) of approximately 60 kDa was identified. The inferred amino terminus of AlgG protein contained a putative signal sequence of 35 amino acids. Expression of algG in Escherichia coli demonstrated both 60-kDa pre-AlgG and 55-kDa mature AlgG proteins, the latter of which was localized to the periplasm. An N-terminal analysis of AlgG showed that the signal sequence was removed in the mature form. Pulse-chase experiments in both E. coli and P. aeruginosa provided evidence for conversion of the 60- to the 55-kDa size in vivo. Expression of algG from a plasmid inan algG (i.e., polymannuronate-producing) mutant of P. aeruginosa restored production of an alginate containing L-guluronate residues. The observation that AlgG is apparently processed and exported from the cytoplasm suggested that it may act as a polymer-level mannuronan C5-epimerase. An in vitro assay for mannuronan C5 epimerization was developed wherein extracts of E. coli expressing high levels of AlgG were incubated with polymannuronate. Epimerization of D-mannuronate to L-guluronate residues in the polymer was detected enzymatically, using a L-guluronate-specific alginate lyase of Klebsiella aerogenes. Epimerization was also detected in the in vitro reaction between recombinant AlgG and poly-D-mannuronate, using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography. The epimerization reaction was detected only when acetyl groups were removed from the poly-D-mannuronate substrate, suggesting that AlgG epimerization activity in vivo may be sensitive to acetylation of the D-mannuronan residues. These results demonstrate that AlgG has polymer-level mannuronan C5-epimerase activity.

Dataset Information

Alginate synthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: environmental regulation of the algC promoter.

Publications

Alginate synthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: environmental regulation of the algC promoter.

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