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Proteomic analysis reveals global iron starvation response to metal mixture exposure in a Bacillus cereus strain native to a heavy metal contaminated site

ABSTRACT: Globally, multiple heavy metal contamination is an increasingly common problem. As heavy metals have the potential to disrupt microbially-mediated biogeochemical cycling, it is critical to understand their impact on microbial physiology. However, systems-level studies on the effects of a combination of heavy metals on bacteria are lacking. Here, we use a native Bacillus cereus isolate from the subsurface of the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR; Oak Ridge, TN, USA) subsurface— representing a highly abundant species at the site— to assess the combined impact of eight metal contaminants. Using this metal mixture and individual metals, all at concentrations based on the ORR site geochemistry, we performed growth experiments and proteomic analyses of the B. cereus strain, in combination with targeted MS-based metabolomics and gene expression profiling. We found that the combination of eight metals impacts cell physiology in a manner that could not have been predicted from summing phenotypic responses to the individual metals. Specifically, exposure to the metal mixture elicited global iron starvation responses not observed in any of the individual metal treatments. As nitrate is also a significant contaminant at the ORR site and nitrate and nitrite reductases are iron-containing enzymes, we also examined the effects of the metal mixture on reduction of nitrogen oxides. We found that the metal mixture inhibits the activity of these enzymes through a combination of direct enzymatic damage and post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation. Altogether, these data suggest that metal mixture studies are critical for understanding how multiple rather than individual metals influence microbial processes in the environment.

INSTRUMENT(S): Orbitrap Exploris 480

ORGANISM(S): Bacillus Cereus Group

SUBMITTER: Christopher Petzold

LAB HEAD: Christopher Petzold

PROVIDER: PXD035730 | Pride | 2022-09-19

REPOSITORIES: Pride

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Project description:Background: The high number of heavy metal resistance genes in the soil bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 makes it an interesting model organism to study microbial responses to heavy metals. Results: In this study the transcriptional response of this bacterium was measured after challenging it to a wide range of sub-lethal concentrations of various essential or toxic metals. Considering the global transcriptional responses for each challenge as well as by identifying the overlap in upregulated genes between different metal responses, the sixteen metals could be clustered in three different groups. Additionally, next to the assessment of the transcriptional response of already known metal resistance genes, new metal response gene clusters were identified. The majority of the metal response loci showed similar expression profiles when cells were exposed to different metals, suggesting complex cross-talk at transcriptional level between the different metal responses. The highly redundant nature of these metal resistant regions – illustrated by the large number of paralogous genes – combined with the phylogenetic distribution of these metal response regions within evolutionary related and other metal resistant bacteria, provides important insights on the recent evolution of this naturally soil dwelling bacterium towards a highly metal-resistant strain found in harsh and anthropogenic environments. Conclusions: The metal-resistant soil bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 displays myriads of gene expression patterns when exposed to a wide range of heavy metals at non-lethal concentrations. The interplay between the different gene expression clusters points towards a complex cross-regulated regulatory network governing heavy metal resistance in C. metallidurans CH34. Keywords: Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34, transcriptional regulation, heavy metal resistance Two-condition experiments. Comparing samples after induction with heavy metals versus non-induced samples. Biological duplicate or triplicate. Each array contains 3 or 4 technical replicates.

Project description:The recent development of a custom cDNA microarray platform for one of thé standard organisms in aquatic toxicology, Daphnia magna, opened up new ways to mechanistic insights of toxicological responses. In this study, gene expression and (sub)organismal responses (Cellular Energy Allocation, growth) were assayed after short-term waterborne metal exposure. Microarray analysis of Ni-exposed daphnids revealed several affected functional gene classes, of which the largest ones were involved in different metabolic processes (mainly protein and chitin related processes), cuticula turnover, transport and signal transduction. Furthermore, genes involved in oxygen transport and heme metabolism (hemoglobin, δ-aminolevilunate synthase) were down-regulated. Applying a Partial Least Squares regression on nickel fingerprints and biochemical (sub)organismal parameters revealed a set of co-varying genes (hemoglobin, RNA terminal phosphate cyclase, a ribosomal protein and an “unknown” gene fragment). An inverse relationship was seen between the mRNA expression levels of different cuticula proteins and available energy reserves. In addition to the nickel exposure, daphnids were exposed to binary mixtures of nickel and cadmium or nickel and lead. Using multivariate analysis techniques, the mixture gene expression fingerprints (Ni2++Cd2+, Ni2++Pb2+) were compared to those of the single metal treatments (Ni2+, Cd2+, Pb2+). It was hypothesized that the molecular fingerprints of the mixtures would be additive combinations of the gene expression profiles of the individual compounds present in the mixture. However, our results clearly showed additionally affected pathways after mixture treatment (e.g. additional affected genes involved in carbohydrate catabolic processes and proteolysis), indicating interactive molecular responses which are not merely the additive sum of the individual metals. These findings, although indicative of the complex nature of mixture toxicity evaluation, underline the potential of a toxicogenomics approach in gaining more mechanistic information on the effects of single compounds and mixtures.

Project description:Our main objectives were: 1) to identify transcriptional signatures specific to the exposure to two metals: Ni and Cd; 2) to investigate the mechanisms of toxicity for these two metals; and 3) to develop a predictive tool to identify the sublethal effects of Ni and Cd contaminants in fish sampled from natural environments. The molecular mechanisms underlying nickel (Ni) and cadmium (Cd) toxicity and their specific effects on fish are poorly understood. Documenting gene transcription profiles offers a powerful approach towards identifying the molecular mechanisms affected by these metals and to discover biomarkers of their toxicity. However, confounding environmental factors can complicate the interpretation of the results and the detection of biomarkers for fish captured in their natural environment. In the present study, a 1000 candidate-gene microarray, developed from a previous RNA-seq study on a subset of individual fish from contrasting level of metal contamination, was used to investigate the transcriptional response to metal (Ni and Cd) and non metal (temperature, oxygen, and diet) stressors in yellow perch (Perca flavescens). Specifically, we aimed at 1) identifying transcriptional signatures specific to Ni and Cd exposure, 2) investigating the mechanisms of their toxicity, and 3) developing a predictive tool to identify the sublethal effects of Ni and Cd contaminants in fish sampled from natural environments. A total of 479 genes displayed significantly different transcription levels when temperature varied while 287 and 177 genes were differentially transcribed at different concentrations of Ni and Cd, respectively. These metals were found to mainly affect the transcription level of genes involved in iron metabolism, transcriptional and translational processes, vitamin metabolism, blood coagulation, and calcium transport. In addition, a linear discriminant analysis (LDA) made using gene transcription levels yielded 94% correctly reassigned samples regarding their level of metal contamination, which indicates the potential of the microarray to detect perch response to Cd or Ni effects.

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	CPTF_Cd-R1.raw	Raw
	CPTF_Cd-R2.raw	Raw

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Proteomic analysis reveals global iron starvation response to metal mixture exposure in a Bacillus cereus strain native to a heavy metal contaminated site

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