Project description:MarR family proteins regulate the transcription of multiple antibiotic-resistance genes and are widely found in bacteria and archaea. Recently, a new MarR family gene was identified by genome analysis of the psychrophilic bacterium Paenisporosarcina sp. TG-14, which was isolated from sediment-laden basal ice in Antarctica. In this study, the crystal structure of the MarR protein from Paenisporosarcina sp. TG-14 (PaMarR) was determined at 1.6 Å resolution. In the crystal structure, a novel lipid-type compound (palmitic acid) was found in a deep cavity, which was assumed to be an effector-binding site. Comparative structural analysis of homologous MarR family proteins from a mesophile and a hyperthermophile showed that the DNA-binding domain of PaMarR exhibited relatively high mobility, with a disordered region between the β1 and β2 strands. In addition, structural comparison with other homologous complex structures suggests that this structure constitutes a conformer transformed by palmitic acid. Biochemical analysis also demonstrated that PaMarR binds to cognate DNA, where PaMarR is known to recognize two putative binding sites depending on its molar concentration, indicating that PaMarR binds to its cognate DNA in a stoichiometric manner. The present study provides structural information on the cold-adaptive MarR protein with an aliphatic compound as its putative effector, extending the scope of MarR family protein research.
Project description:Chemical signaling in the plant microbiome can have drastic effects on microbial community structure, and on host growth and development. Previously, we demonstrated that the auxin metabolic signal interference performed by the bacterial genus Variovorax via a novel auxin degradation locus was essential for maintaining stereotypic root development in an ecologically-relevant bacterial synthetic community. Here, we dissect the Variovorax auxin degradation locus to define the genes necessary and sufficient for indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) degradation and signal interference. We determine the crystal structures and binding properties of the operon’s MarR-family repressor with IAA and other auxins. We identify auxin-degradation operons across the bacterial tree of life and define two distinct types based on gene content and metabolic products: iac-like and iad-like. We solve the structures of MarRs from representatives of each auxin degradation operon type, establishing that each have distinct IAA binding pockets. Comparison of representative IAA degrading strains from diverse bacterial genera show that while all degrade IAA, only strains containing iad-like auxin degrading operons interfere with auxin signaling in a complex synthetic community context. This suggests that iad-like operon containing strains, including Variovorax species, play a key ecological role in modulating auxins in the plant microbiome.
Project description:Streptococcus pneumoniae D39 AdcR (adhesion competence repressor) is the first metal-sensing member of the MarR (multiple antibiotic resistance repressor) family to be characterized. Expression profiling of a ∆adcR strain grown in liquid culture under microaerobic conditions revealed that transcript amounts for 13 genes were up-regulated relative to the wild-type strain, among them adcR, adcCBA, encoding a high affinity ABC uptake system for zinc, and genes encoding cell-surface zinc-binding pneumococcal histidine triad (pht) and adcII (lmb, laminin binding) proteins. Down-regulated transcripts included those encoding two putative zinc-containing alcohol dehydrogenases.
Project description:Streptococcus pneumoniae D39 AdcR (adhesion competence repressor) is the first metal-sensing member of the MarR (multiple antibiotic resistance repressor) family to be characterized. Expression profiling of a âadcR strain grown in liquid culture under microaerobic conditions revealed that transcript amounts for 13 genes were up-regulated relative to the wild-type strain, among them adcR, adcCBA, encoding a high affinity ABC uptake system for zinc, and genes encoding cell-surface zinc-binding pneumococcal histidine triad (pht) and adcII (lmb, laminin binding) proteins. Down-regulated transcripts included those encoding two putative zinc-containing alcohol dehydrogenases. Bacterial strains were grown exponentially in rich (BHI) media at 37C and an atmosphere of 5% CO2 to OD620~0.2, and were processed as described in the related Sample records. Samples were collected from three independent biological replicates and included one dye swap. Data were normalized using the Lowess (block) method without background subtraction. Changes in relative transcript amounts of positive or negative 2-fold with Bayesian P value of <0.001 were considered significant, and were included as supplementary material for the accompanying manuscript (The metalloregulatory site in Streptococcus pneumoniae AdcR, a zinc-activated MarR-family repressor; Reyes-Caballero, H. et al, manuscript in preparation).