Project description:RNA degradation is an essential process that allows bacteria to regulate gene expression and has emerged as an important mechanism for controlling virulence. However, the individual contributions of RNases in this process are mostly unknown. Here, we report that of 11 tested potential RNases of the intestinal pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, two, the endoribonuclease RNase III and the exoribonuclease PNPase, repress the synthesis of the master virulence regulator LcrF. LcrF activates the expression of virulence plasmid genes encoding the type III secretion system (Ysc-T3SS) and its substrates (Yop proteins), that are employed to inhibit immune cell functions during infection. Loss of both RNases led to an increase in lcrF mRNA levels and stability. Our work indicates that PNPase exerts its influence through YopD, known to accelerate lcrF mRNA degradation. Loss of RNase III results in the downregulation of the CsrB and CsrC RNAs, leading to increased availability of active CsrA, which has previously been shown to enhance lcrF mRNA translation and stability. Other factors that influence the translation process and were found to be differentially expressed in the RNase III-deficient mutant could support this process. Transcriptomic profiling further revealed that Ysc-T3SS-mediated Yop secretion leads to global reprogramming of the Yersinia transcriptome with a massive shift of the expression from chromosomal towards virulence plasmid-encoded genes. A similar extensive transcriptional reprogramming was also observed in the RNase III-deficient mutant under non-secretion conditions. This illustrated that RNase III enables immediate coordination of virulence traits, such as Ysc-T3SS/Yops, with other functions required for host-pathogen interactions and survival in the host.
Project description:RNA degradation is an essential process that allows bacteria to regulate gene expression and has emerged as an important mechanism for controlling virulence. However, the individual contributions of RNases in this process are mostly unknown. Here, we tested the influence of 11 potential RNases in the intestinal pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis on the expression of its type III secretion system (T3SS) and associated effectors (Yops) that are encoded on the Yersinia virulence plasmid. We found that exoribonuclease PNPase and endoribonuclease RNase III inhibit T3SS and yop gene transcription by repressing the synthesis of LcrF, the master activator of Yop-T3SS. Loss of both RNases led to an increase in lcrF mRNA levels. Our work indicates that PNPase exerts its influence via YopD, which accelerates lcrF mRNA degradation. Loss of RNase III, on the other hand, results in the downregulation of the CsrB and CsrC RNAs, thereby increasing the availability of active CsrA, which has been shown previously to enhance lcrF mRNA translation and stability. This CsrA-promoted increase of lcrF mRNA translation could be supported by other factors promoting the protein translation efficiency (e.g. IF-3, RimM, RsmG) that were also found to be repressed by RNase III. Transcriptomic profiling further revealed that Ysc-T3SS-mediated Yop secretion leads to global reprogramming of the Yersinia transcriptome with a massive shift of the expression from chromosomal to virulence plasmid-encoded genes. A similar reprogramming was also observed in the RNase III-deficient mutant under non-secretion conditions. Overall, our work revealed a complex control system where RNases orchestrate the expression of the T3SS/Yop machinery on multiple levels to antagonize phagocytic uptake and elimination by innate immune cells.
Project description:RNase Y of Bacillus subtilis is a key member of the degradosome and important for bulk mRNA turnover. In contrast to B. subtilis, the RNase Y homologue (rny/cvfA) of Staphylococcus aureus is not essential for growth. Here we found that RNase Y plays a major role in virulence gene regulation. Accordingly, rny deletion mutants demonstrated impaired virulence in a murine bacteraemia model. RNase Y is important for the processing and stabilisation of the immature transcript of the global virulence regulator system SaePQRS. Moreover, RNase Y is involved in the activation of virulence gene expression at the promoter level. This control is independent of both the virulence regulator agr and the saePQRS processing and may be mediated by small RNAs some of which were shown to be degraded by RNase Y. Besides this regulatory effect, mRNA levels of several operons were significantly increased in the rny mutant and the half-life of one of these operons was shown to be extremely extended. However, the half-life of many mRNA species was not significantly altered. Thus, RNase Y in S. aureus influences mRNA expression in a tightly controlled regulatory manner and is essential for coordinated activation of virulence genes.
Project description:Whole transcriptome assessment of the Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strain YPIII. The Y. pseudotuberculosis rovA regulon was determined in Yersinia minimal minimum developed for the study. RovA is a key regulator for Yersinia virulence.
Project description:Whole transcriptome assessment of the Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strain YPIII. The Y. pseudotuberculosis csrA regulon was determined in Yersinia minimal minimum developed for the study. CsrA is a key regulator coordinating virulence and metabolism.
Project description:Whole transcriptome assessment of the Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strain YPIII. The Y. pseudotuberculosis crp regulon was determined in Yersinia minimal minimum developed for the study. Crp is a key regulator coordinating virulence and metabolism.
Project description:RNase Y of Bacillus subtilis is a key member of the degradosome and important for bulk mRNA turnover. In contrast to B. subtilis, the RNase Y homologue (rny/cvfA) of Staphylococcus aureus is not essential for growth. Here we found that RNase Y plays a major role in virulence gene regulation. Accordingly, rny deletion mutants demonstrated impaired virulence in a murine bacteraemia model. RNase Y is important for the processing and stabilisation of the immature transcript of the global virulence regulator system SaePQRS. Moreover, RNase Y is involved in the activation of virulence gene expression at the promoter level. This control is independent of both the virulence regulator agr and the saePQRS processing and may be mediated by small RNAs some of which were shown to be degraded by RNase Y. Besides this regulatory effect, mRNA levels of several operons were significantly increased in the rny mutant and the half-life of one of these operons was shown to be extremely extended. However, the half-life of many mRNA species was not significantly altered. Thus, RNase Y in S. aureus influences mRNA expression in a tightly controlled regulatory manner and is essential for coordinated activation of virulence genes. Three biological replicates of both wild type and rny (cvfA) mutant bacteria were grown in complex medium until the late exponential phase at which point RNA was prepared for microarray analysis on GeneChip S. aureus Genome Array (Affymetrix). Preliminary results indicated that during the late exponential growth phase, the most prominent differences between wild type and rny mutants were observed when selected gene expression was analysed by Northern hybridisation.
Project description:Whole transcriptome assessment of the Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strain YPIII. The Y. pseudotuberculosis rovA regulon was determined in Yersinia minimal minimum developed for the study. RovA is a key regulator for Yersinia virulence. Y. pseudotuberculosis YPIII or the isogenic rovA mutant strain were cultivated at 25M-BM-0C under aeration on a rotary shaker. First pre-cultures were grown in a 1:1 mixture of HAMM-bM-^@M-^Ys F-12 Nutrient Mixture (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, US) and liquid DMEM medium (Biochrom, Berlin, DE). Second pre-cultures and main cultures were grown in a Yersinia minimal medium (YMM). The analysis comprised three biological replicates for each strain. In addition, samples, taken at three different time points of the exponential growth phase, were used to validate constant expression during the cultivation. Total RNA was extracted using SV Total RNA Isolation System (Promega). The samples were treated with RNase-free DNase (Roche Applied Science) and the quality of the RNA was confirmed by the lack of PCR amplification of the hns gene and by using an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer.
Project description:Bordetella pertussis has been shown to encode regulatory RNAs, yet the post-transcriptional regulatory circuits on which they act remain to be fully elucidated. We generated mutants lacking the endonucleases RNase III and RNase E and assessed their individual impact on the B. pertussis transcriptome. RNA-Seq analysis showed differential expression of ~25% of the B. pertussis transcriptome in each mutant with only 28% overlap between data sets. Both endonucleases exhibited substantial impact on genes involved in amino acid uptake e.g. ABC transporters, and in virulence e.g. the type III secretion system, and the autotransporters vag8, tcfA and brkA. Interestingly, mutations in RNase III and RNase E drove the stability of many transcripts, including those involved in virulence, in opposite directions; a result that was validated by qPCR and immunoblot for tcfA and brkA. Of note, whereas similar mutations to RNase E in E. coli have subtle effects on transcript stability, a striking >20-fold reduction in four gene transcripts, including tcfA and vag8, was observed in B. pertussis. We further compared our data set to the regulon controlled by the RNA chaperone Hfq to identify B. pertussis loci influenced by regulatory RNAs. This analysis identified ~120 genes and 19 operons potentially regulated at the post-transcriptional level. Thus, our findings revealed how changes in RNase III- and RNase E-mediated RNA turnover influence pathways associated with virulence and cellular homeostasis. Moreover, we highlighted loci potentially influenced by regulatory RNAs, providing insights into the post-transcriptional regulatory networks involved in fine tuning B. pertussis gene expression.
Project description:Whole transcriptome assessment of the Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strain YPIII. The Y. pseudotuberculosis csrA regulon was determined in Yersinia minimal minimum developed for the study. CsrA is a key regulator coordinating virulence and metabolism. Y. pseudotuberculosis YPIII or the isogenic csrA mutant strain were cultivated at 25M-BM-0C under aeration on a rotary shaker. First pre-cultures were grown in a 1:1 mixture of HAMM-bM-^@M-^Ys F-12 Nutrient Mixture (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, US) and liquid DMEM medium (Biochrom, Berlin, DE). Second pre-cultures and main cultures were grown in a Yersinia minimal medium (YMM). The analysis comprised three biological replicates for each strain. In addition, samples, taken at three different time points of the exponential growth phase, were used to validate constant expression during the cultivation. Total RNA was extracted using SV Total RNA Isolation System (Promega). The samples were treated with RNase-free DNase (Roche Applied Science) and the quality of the RNA was confirmed by the lack of PCR amplification of the hns gene and by using an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer.