Project description:Background: The human pathogen Corynebacterium diphtheriae is the causative agent of the disease diphtheria. In the 1990s a large diphtheria outbreak in Eastern Europe was caused by the strain C. diphtheriae NCTC 13129. Although the genome was sequenced several years ago, not much is known about the transcriptome. Our aim was to use RNA Sequencing to close this knowledge gap and gain insights into the transcriptional landscape of C. diphtheriae. Results: We applied two different RNA Sequencing techniques, one to retrieve 5' ends of primary transcripts and one to obtain full length transcripts, to gain insights into various features of the C. diphtheriae NCTC 13129 transcriptome. By examining the data we identified 1,657 transcription start sites (TSS) of which 1,229 were assigned to genes and 428 to putative novel transcripts. By using the TSS data SigA promotor regions and their motifs could be analyzed in detail, revealing a well conserved –10 but unconserved –35 motif, respectively. Furthermore with the TSS data in hand 5' UTR lengths were explored. The observed 5' UTRs range from leaderless, which make up 20 % of all genes, up to over 450 bp long leaders, which may harbor regulatory functions. The C. diphtheriae transcriptome consists of 470 operons which are further divided into 167 sub-operon structures. In addition we discovered that the deletion of the iron sensing transcription regulator DtxR, which also controls expression of diphtheria toxin (DT), has a strong influence on general gene expression. Nearly 15 % of the genome is differentially expressed, indicating that DtxR might have other functions next to regulation of iron metabolism and DT. Furthermore we shed light on the transcriptional landscape of the DT encoding gene tox and present evidence for an additional TSS and three tox antisense RNAs, which might reveal new ways of transcriptional regulation. Conclusions: This study presents extensive insights into the transcriptome of C. diphtheriae and provides a basis for future studies regarding transcriptional regulators, gene characterization and the tox gene in particular.

Project description:We assessed changes in gene expression in response to manganese availability for the human pathogen Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Total RNA was harvested from wild-type C. diphtheriae strain 1737 and an isogenic ΔmntR (dip0619) grown in semi-defined metal-limited media (mPGT) without or with 5 µM manganese chloride supplementation. Three biological replicates were prepared and five genes were assessed by real-time PCR to validate the array results: dip0124, dip0169, dip0615, dip1923, and dip2261. (Abstract) Corynebacterium diphtheriae is the causative agent of a severe respiratory disease in humans. The bacterial systems required for infection are poorly understood, but the acquisition of metals such as manganese (Mn) are likely critical for host colonization. MntR is a Mn-dependent transcriptional regulator in C. diphtheriae and was previously shown to repress the expression of the mntABCD genes, which encode an ABC metal transporter. However, other targets of Mn and MntR regulation in C. diphtheriae have not been identified. In this study, we use comparisons between the gene expression profiles of wild-type C. diphtheriae strain 1737 grown without or with Mn supplementation and comparisons of gene expression between wild-type and an mntR mutant to characterize the C. diphtheriae Mn and MntR regulon. MntR was observed to both repress and induce the expression of various target genes in a Mn-dependent manner. Genes induced by MntR include the Mn-superoxide dismutase, sodA, and the putative ABC transporter locus, iutABCD. DNA binding studies showed that MntR interacts at the promoter regions for several genes identified in the expression study, and a 17-bp consensus MntR DNA binding site was identified. We found that an mntR mutant displayed increased sensitivity to Mn and Cd that could be alleviated by the additional deletion of the mntA-D transport locus, providing evidence that the MntABCD transporter functions as a Mn uptake system in C. diphtheriae. The findings in this study further our understanding of metal uptake systems and global metal regulatory networks in this important human pathogen.

Project description:We assessed changes in gene expression in response to zinc availability for the human pathogen Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Expression profiles of wild-type C. diphtheriae strain 1737 grown in semi-defined metal-poor media (mPGT) without and with 5 µM zinc chloride supplementation were compared; the expression profile of wild-type C. diphtheriae strain 1737 in zinc-replete conditions was also compared against an isogenic Δzur mutant grown in zinc-replete conditions. Three biological replicates were prepared by isolating total RNA from mid-logarithmic growth cultures and eleven genes (dip0013, dip0093, dip0173, dip0438, dip1087, dip1486, dip1724, dip2114, dip2128, dip2162, and dip2325) were assessed by real-time PCR to validate the array results. (Abstract) Corynebacterium diphtheriae is a Gram-positive bacterial pathogen and the causative agent of diphtheria, a severe disease of the upper respiratory tract of humans. Factors required for C. diphtheriae to survive in the human host are not well defined, but likely include the acquisition of essential metals such as zinc. In C. diphtheriae, zinc-responsive global gene regulation is controlled by the Zinc Uptake Regulator (Zur), a member of the Fur-family of transcriptional regulators. In this study, we use transcriptomics to identify zinc-regulated genes in C. diphtheriae by comparing gene expression of a wild-type strain grown without and with zinc supplementation. Zur-regulated genes were identified by comparing wild-type gene expression with that of an isogenic zur mutant. We observed zinc repression of several putative surface proteins, the heme efflux system hrtBA, various ABC transporters, and the non-ribosomal peptide synthetase/polyketide synthase cluster sidAB. Furthermore, increased gene expression in response to zinc was observed for the alcohol dehydrogenase, adhA. Zinc and Zur regulation were confirmed for several genes by complementing the zur deletion and subsequent qPCR analysis. We used MEME to predict Zur binding sites within the promoter regions of zinc- and Zur-regulated genes, and verified Zur binding by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Additionally, we characterized cztA (dip1101), which encodes a putative cobalt/zinc/cadmium efflux family protein. Deletion of cztA results in increased sensitivity to zinc, but not to cobalt or cadmium. This study advances our knowledge of changes to Zur-dependent global gene expression in response to zinc in C. diphtheriae. The identification of zinc-regulated ABC transporters herein will facilitate future studies to characterize zinc transport in C. diphtheriae.

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Corynebacterium diphtheriae bv. intermedius str. NCTC 5011

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