A synthetically methylotrophic Escherichia coli as a chassis for bioproduction
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Proteome characterization of three E. coli strains: a methanol-dependent strain (MEvo1-0) and two synthetically methylotrophic strains (MEcoli_ref_1, MEcoli_ref_2)
Project description:Tripartite Tc toxins are virulence factors of bacterial pathogens. Although their structure and mechanism of action are well understood, it remains elusive where this large macromolecular complex is assembled and how it is released. Here we show by an integrative multiscale imaging approach that Yersinia entomophaga Tc (YenTc) toxin components are expressed only in a subpopulation of cells that are “primed” with several other potential virulence factors, including filaments of the protease M66/StcE. A phage-like lysis cassette (LC) is required for YenTc release; however, before resulting in complete cell lysis, the LC generates intermediate “ghost” cells, which may serve as assembly compartments and become densely packed with assembled YenTc holotoxins. We hypothesize that this stepwise mechanism evolved to minimize the number of cells that need to be sacrificed. The occurrence of similar lysis cassettes in diverse organisms indicates a conserved mechanism for Tc toxin release that may apply to other extracellular macromolecular machines.
Project description:To study the role of the gap junction coupled astrocytic network, we generated inducible double knockouts to selectively delete Cx30 and Cx43 from astrocytes in adult mice. Mice carrying loxP-flanked Gjb6 (Cx30fl/fl mice) (Boulay et al., 2013) and Gja1 (Cx43fl/fl mice) (Theis et al., 2003) alleles were crossbred with mice expressing the tamoxifen-sensitive Cre-recombinase CreERT2 under the endogenous GLAST(Slc1a3)-promoter (Mori et al., 2006). Adult, 8-10 week old mice (Cx30fl/fl:Cx43fl/fl:GLASTCreERT2/+, termed cKO) and littermate control mice (Cx30fl/fl:Cx43fl/fl:GLAST+/+) were injected with tamoxifen for 5 consecutive days and hippocampi were isolated for subsequent TMT-based proteomics analysis 90 days after tamoxifen treatment, to study the consequences of astrocyte decoupling and connexin deletion.
Project description:To study the role oligodendroglial Kir4.1 in regulating axonal energy metabolism, oligodendrocyte-specific Kir4.1 knockout mice and their littermate controls were used; optic nerve lysates were prepared for subsequent TMT-based proteomics.
Project description:Nogo-A is a major player in neural development and regeneration, and it is the target of several clinical trials. However, its functions outside the nervous system are mostly unknown. We observed that Nogo-A is expressed in dental epithelial cells, responsible for the formation of enamel, and we showed that the deletion of Nogo-A in transgenic mouse models leads to the formation of defective enamel. We observed that Nogo-A directly interacts with molecules important for gene expression regulation, and its deletion perturbs their cellular localization. As a result, Nogo-A deletion induces overexpression of genes involved in cell differentiation and enamel production. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that intracellular Nogo-A, and not cell surface Nogo-A, is responsible for gene expression modulation. Taken together, our results indicate a new role for Nogo-A as regulator of enamel formation and suggest a new possible cell-autonomous function in regulating gene expression and cell differentiation.
Project description:Hepatic fat accumulation has been widely associated with diabetes and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we aim to characterize the metabolic response that high fat availability elicits in livers prior to development of these diseases. We find that, after a short term on high fat diet, otherwise healthy mice show elevated hepatic glucose metabolization, activated glucose uptake, glycolysis and glucose contribution to serine as well as elevated pyruvate carboxylase activity compared to control diet mice. To understand other changes in the liver tissue after high fat diet exposure, we conducted untargeted transcriptomics and proteomics. This glucose phenotype occurred independent from transcriptional or proteomic programming, which identified increased peroxisomal and lipid metabolism pathways. Interestingly, we observe that high fat diet fed mice exhibit an increased lactate production when challenged with glucose. This trait seems to find a parallel in a human cohort, where we observe a correlation between waist circumference and lactate secretion after an oral glucose bolus across healthy individuals. In an in vitro model of hepatoma cells, we found physiologically relevant palmitate exposure stimulated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glucose uptake, a similar glycolytic phenotype to the in vivo study. This effect is inhibited upon interference with peroxisomal lipid metabolism and ROS production. Furthermore, we find that with exposure to an HCC-inducing hepatic carcinogen, continuation of high fat diet enhances the formation of HCC (100% with resectable tumors) as compared to control (50% with resectable tumors) in mice. However, regardless of the dietary background, all murine tumors showed similar alterations in glucose metabolism compared to those identified in fat exposed non-transformed mouse livers. Further, the presence of tumors in high fat diet exposed mice normalized glucose tolerance. Lipidomics analysis of tumor tissue and liver tissue from high fat diet exposed mice identified tumor tissue enrichment of diacylglycerol (DG) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) species. Some of these species were also increased in high fat diet liver tissue compared to control diet liver tissue. These findings suggest that fat can induce similar metabolic changes in non-transformed liver cells than found in HCC, and that peroxisomal metabolism of lipids may be a factor in driving a glycolytic metabolism In conclusion, we show that normal, non-transformed livers respond to fat by inducing glucose metabolism.
Project description:Using a combination of proteomics, interaction studies and structural characterization we show that WDR73 and BRAT1 are interactors of the heterodimer INTS9-11 of INT. Both proteins are involved in the stability and formation of the cleavage module of INT consisting of INTS4-9-11.
Project description:Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cooperating metabolic communities (SeMeCos) were chronologically aged in minimal media (no amino acid supplementation). Samples were collected during exponential, early stationary and stationary phases for proteomic analysis. Comparison was performed between wild-type (knock-in, "kin"), 4p-SeMeCo ("4p") and MET15-3p-SeMeCo ("3p") cultures. Four independent biological replicates were acquired for each timepoint measured.
Project description:Proteomic analysis of FACS-sorted and unsorted auxotrophic amd prototrophic subpopulations inSelf-establishing metabolically cooperating (SeMeCo) and control wild-type yeast communities. Microbial communities are composed of cells of varying metabolic capacity and regularly include auxotrophs; cells that lack essential metabolic pathways. By analysing auxotrophs for amino acid biosynthesis pathways in microbiome data microbiome data derived from over 12,000 natural microbial communities obtained as part of the Earth Microbiome Project (EMP), and studying auxotrophic-prototrophic interactions in self-establishing metabolically cooperating yeast communities (SeMeCos), we reveal a metabolically imprinted mechanism that links the presence of auxotrophs to an increase in metabolic interactions and gains in antimicrobial drug tolerance. As a consequence of the metabolic adaptations necessary to uptake specific metabolites, auxotrophs obtain altered metabolic flux distributions, export more metabolites, and in this way metabolite-enrich the community environments. Moreover, the increased efflux activities reduce intracellular drug concentrations, allowing cells to grow in the presence of drug levels that are above the minimal inhibitory concentrations. For example, the antifungal action of azoles is greatly diminished in auxotrophs and prototrophs that uptake metabolites from a metabolically enriched environment. Our results hence show why cells are more robust to drug exposure when they interact metabolically.