Similar Datasets
Project description:Most Sinorhizobium meliloti ECF-sigma factors perform accessory functions
| PRJNA479859 | ENA
Project description:Bacteria must sense alterations in their environment and respond with changes in function and/or structure in order to cope. Extracytoplasmic function sigma factors (ECF ?s) modulate transcription in response to cellular and environmental signals. The symbiotic nitrogen-fixing alphaproteobacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti carries genes for 11 ECF-like ?s (RpoE1 to -E10 and FecI). We hypothesized that some of these play a role in mediating the interaction between the bacterium and its plant symbiotic partner. The bacterium senses changes in its immediate environment as it establishes contact with the plant root, initiates invasion of the plant as the root nodule is formed, traverses several root cell layers, and enters plant cortical cells via endocytosis. We used genetics, transcriptomics, and functionality to characterize the entire S. meliloti cohort of ECF ?s. We discovered new targets for individual ?s, confirmed others by overexpressing individual ECF ?s, and identified or confirmed putative promoter motifs for nine of them. We constructed precise deletions of each ECF ? gene and its demonstrated or putative anti-? gene and also a strain in which all 11 ECF ? and anti-? genes were deleted. This all-ECF ? deletion strain showed no major defects in free-living growth, in Biolog Phenotype MicroArray assays, or in response to multiple stresses. None of the ECF ?s were required for symbiosis on the host plants Medicago sativa and Medicago truncatula: the strain deleted for all ECF ? and anti-? genes was symbiotically normal.IMPORTANCE Fixed (reduced) soil nitrogen plays a critical role in soil fertility and successful food growth. Much soil fertility relies on symbiotic nitrogen fixation: the bacterial partner infects the host plant roots and reduces atmospheric dinitrogen in exchange for host metabolic fuel, a process that involves complex interactions between the partners mediated by changes in gene expression in each partner. Here we test the roles of a family of 11 extracytoplasmic function (ECF) gene regulatory proteins (sigma factors [?s]) that interact with RNA polymerase to determine if they play a significant role in establishing a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis or in responding to various stresses, including cell envelope stress. We discovered that symbiotic nitrogen fixation occurs even when all 11 of these regulatory genes are deleted, that most ECF sigma factors control accessory functions, and that none of the ECF sigma factors are required to survive envelope stress.
| S-EPMC6180224 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We characterized transcriptomes for strains overexpressing each of the Sinorhizobium meliloti ECF sigma factors the via a plasmid-borne, melibiose-inducible promoter plasmid (PmelA; pCAP11: Pinedo et al. 2008 J Bacteriol 190:2947-2956) compared to control strains carrying the empty vector.
2018-09-05 | GSE116665 | GEO
Project description:Sinorhizobium meliloti can live as a soil saprophyte, and can engage in a nitrogen fixing symbiosis with plant roots. To succeed in such diverse environments, the bacteria must continually adjust gene expression. Transcriptional plasticity in eubacteria is often mediated by alternative sigma factors interacting with core RNA polymerase. The S. meliloti genome encodes 14 of these alternative sigmas, including two putative RpoH (heat shock) sigmas. We used custom Affymetrix Symbiosis Chips to characterize the global transcriptional response of S. meliloti rpoH1, rpoH2 and rpoH1 rpoH2 mutants during heat shock and stationary phase growth. Under these conditions, expression of over 300 genes is dependent on rpoH1 and rpoH2.
2012-10-02 | GSE36186 | GEO
Project description:Overexpression of Sinorhizobium meliloti ECF sigma factors.
| PRJNA479836 | ENA
Project description:The plant symbiotic ?-proteobacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti has two RpoH-type sigma factors, RpoH1 and RpoH2. The former induces the synthesis of heat shock proteins and optimizes interactions with the host. Using a Western blot analysis, we examined time course changes in the intracellular contents of these factors upon a temperature upshift. The RpoH1 level was relatively high and constant, suggesting that its regulatory role in the heat shock response is attained through the activation of the pre-existing RpoH1 protein. In contrast, the RpoH2 level was initially undetectable, and gradually increased. These differential patterns reflect the functional diversification of these factors.
| S-EPMC5745026 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Sinorhizobium meliloti can live as a soil saprophyte, and can engage in a nitrogen fixing symbiosis with plant roots. To succeed in such diverse environments, the bacteria must continually adjust gene expression. Transcriptional plasticity in eubacteria is often mediated by alternative sigma factors interacting with core RNA polymerase. The S. meliloti genome encodes 14 of these alternative sigmas, including two putative RpoH (heat shock) sigmas. We used custom Affymetrix Symbiosis Chips to characterize the global transcriptional response of S. meliloti rpoH1, rpoH2 and rpoH1 rpoH2 mutants during heat shock and stationary phase growth. Under these conditions, expression of over 300 genes is dependent on rpoH1 and rpoH2. Gene expression profiling of Sinorhizobium meliloti Rm1021 and its isogenic rpoH1, rpoH2, and rpoH1rpoH2 mutants, subjected to heat shock or stationary phase growth, was performed using custom Affymetrix GeneChips
2012-10-02 | E-GEOD-36186 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Rhizobia are soil bacteria able to establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with legume plants. Both in soil and in planta, rhizobia spend non-growing periods resembling the stationary phase of in vitro-cultured bacteria. The primary objective of this work was to better characterize gene regulation in this biologically relevant growth stage in Sinorhizobium meliloti. By a tap-tag/mass spectrometry approach, we identified five sigma factors co-purifying with the RNA polymerase in stationary phase: the general stress response regulator RpoE2, the heat shock sigma factor RpoH2, and three extra-cytoplasmic function sigma factors (RpoE1, RpoE3 and RpoE4) belonging to the poorly characterized ECF26 subgroup. We then showed that RpoE1 and RpoE4 i) are activated upon metabolism of sulfite-generating compounds (thiosulfate and taurine), ii) display overlapping regulatory activities, iii) govern a dedicated sulfite response by controlling expression of the sulfite dehydrogenase SorT, iv) are activated in stationary phase, likely as a result of endogenous sulfite generation during bacterial growth. We showed that SorT is required for optimal growth of S. meliloti in the presence of sulfite, suggesting that the response governed by RpoE1 and RpoE4 may be advantageous for bacteria in stationary phase either by providing a sulfite detoxification function or by contributing to energy production through sulfite respiration. This paper therefore reports the first characterization of ECF26 sigma factors, the first description of sigma factors involved in control of sulphur metabolism, and the first indication that endogenous sulfite may act as a signal for regulation of gene expression upon entry of bacteria in stationary phase.
| S-EPMC3511301 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Bacterial σ factors are dissociable subunits of the core RNA polymerase and important for promoter recognition and transcription initiation. Extracytoplasmic function (ECF) σ factors (σs) represent the most minimalistic and diverse group of alternative σs within the σ70 protein family. It has been shown that heterologous ECF σs hold great potential as context independent regulators in a variety of bacterial species and we implemented a core set of 12 heterologous ECF σs and their cognate promoters in Sinorhizobium meliloti. To analyze if heterologous ECF σs affect transcription from the host genome, we overexpressed the ecf02_2817 gene encoding σE from E. coli and the ecf11_0987 gene from Vibrio parahaemolyticus from ~20 copy number plasmid in RFF625c, a S. meliloti Rm1021 strain deleted for all native ECF/anti-σ genes (Lang et al. 2018, DOI: 10.1128/mSphereDirect.00454-18) . We employed Cappable-Seq to globally determine transcription start sites (TSS) in theses strains and compared it to the TSS profile of an empty vector control strain.
2023-01-26 | E-MTAB-12127 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Bacterial genome evolution is characterized by gains, losses, and rearrangements of functional genetic segments. The extent to which large-scale genomic alterations influence genotype-phenotype relationships has not been investigated in a high-throughput manner. In the symbiotic soil bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti, the genome is composed of a chromosome and two large extrachromosomal replicons (pSymA and pSymB, which together constitute 45% of the genome). Massively parallel transposon insertion sequencing (Tn-seq) was employed to evaluate the contributions of chromosomal genes to growth fitness in both the presence and absence of these extrachromosomal replicons. Ten percent of chromosomal genes from diverse functional categories are shown to genetically interact with pSymA and pSymB. These results demonstrate the pervasive robustness provided by the extrachromosomal replicons, which is further supported by constraint-based metabolic modeling. A comprehensive picture of core S. meliloti metabolism was generated through a Tn-seq-guided in silico metabolic network reconstruction, producing a core network encompassing 726 genes. This integrated approach facilitated functional assignments for previously uncharacterized genes, while also revealing that Tn-seq alone missed over a quarter of wild-type metabolism. This work highlights the many functional dependencies and epistatic relationships that may arise between bacterial replicons and across a genome, while also demonstrating how Tn-seq and metabolic modeling can be used together to yield insights not obtainable by either method alone.
| S-EPMC5929573 | biostudies-literature