Quorum sensing-dependent regulation and blockade of exoprotease production in Aeromonas hydrophila. (1/54)

In Aeromonas hydrophila, the ahyI gene encodes a protein responsible for the synthesis of the quorum sensing signal N-butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL). Inactivation of the ahyI gene on the A. hydrophila chromosome abolishes C4-HSL production. The exoprotease activity of A. hydrophila consists of both serine protease and metalloprotease activities; in the ahyI-negative strain, both are substantially reduced but can be restored by the addition of exogenous C4-HSL. In contrast, mutation of the LuxR homolog AhyR results in the loss of both exoprotease activities, which cannot be restored by exogenous C4-HSL. Furthermore, a substantial reduction in the production of exoprotease by the ahyI+ parent strain is obtained by the addition of N-acylhomoserine lactone analogs that have acyl side chains of 10, 12, or 14 carbons. The inclusion of N-(3-oxododecanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone or N-(3-oxotetradecanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone at 10 microM in overnight cultures of A. hydrophila abolishes exoprotease production in azocasein assays and reduces the activity of all the exoprotease species seen in zymograms.  (+info)

A new 30-kDa ubiquitin-related SUMO-1 hydrolase from bovine brain. (2/54)

SUMO-1 is a ubiquitin-like protein functioning as an important reversible protein modifier. To date there is no report on a SUMO-1 hydrolase/isopeptidase catalyzing the release of SUMO-1 from its precursor or SUMO-1-ligated proteins in mammalian tissues. Here we found multiple activities that cleave the SUMO-1 moiety from two model substrates, (125)I-SUMO-1-alphaNH-HSTVGSMHISPPEPESEEEEEHYC and/or GST-SUMO-1-(35)S-RanGAP1 conjugate, in bovine brain extracts. Of them, a major SUMO-1 C-terminal hydrolase had been partially purified by successive chromatographic operations. The enzyme had the ability to cleave SUMO-1 not only from its precursor but also from a SUMO-1-ligated RanGAP1 but did not exhibit any significant cleavage of the ubiquitin- and NEDD8-precursor. The activity of SUMO-1 hydrolase was almost completely inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide, but not by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, EDTA, and ubiquitin-aldehyde known as a potent inhibitor of deubiquitinylating enzymes. Intriguingly, the apparent molecular mass of the isolated SUMO-1 hydrolase was approximately 30 kDa, which is significantly smaller than the recently identified yeast Smt3/SUMO-1 specific protease Ulp1. These results indicate that there are multiple SUMO-1 hydrolase/isopeptidases in mammalian cells and that the 30-kDa small SUMO-1 hydrolase plays a central role in processing of the SUMO-1-precursor.  (+info)

Global GacA-steered control of cyanide and exoprotease production in Pseudomonas fluorescens involves specific ribosome binding sites. (3/54)

The conserved two-component regulatory system GacS/GacA determines the expression of extracellular products and virulence factors in a variety of Gram-negative bacteria. In the biocontrol strain CHA0 of Pseudomonas fluorescens, the response regulator GacA is essential for the synthesis of extracellular protease (AprA) and secondary metabolites including hydrogen cyanide. GacA was found to exert its control on the hydrogen cyanide biosynthetic genes (hcnABC) and on the aprA gene indirectly via a posttranscriptional mechanism. Expression of a translational hcnA'-'lacZ fusion was GacA-dependent whereas a transcriptional hcnA-lacZ fusion was not. A distinct recognition site overlapping with the ribosome binding site appears to be primordial for GacA-steered regulation. GacA-dependence could be conferred to the Escherichia coli lacZ mRNA by a 3-bp substitution in the ribosome binding site. The gene coding for the global translational repressor RsmA of P. fluorescens was cloned. RsmA overexpression mimicked partial loss of GacA function and involved the same recognition site, suggesting that RsmA is a downstream regulatory element of the GacA control cascade. Mutational inactivation of the chromosomal rsmA gene partially suppressed a gacS defect. Thus, a central, GacA-dependent switch from primary to secondary metabolism may operate at the level of translation.  (+info)

A regulatory RNA (PrrB RNA) modulates expression of secondary metabolite genes in Pseudomonas fluorescens F113. (4/54)

The GacS-GacA two-component signal transduction system, which is highly conserved in gram-negative bacteria, is required for the production of exoenzymes and secondary metabolites in Pseudomonas spp. Screening of a Pseudomonas fluorescens F113 gene bank led to the isolation of a previously undefined locus which could restore secondary metabolite production to both gacS and gacA mutants of F113. Sequence analysis of this locus demonstrated that it did not contain any obvious Pseudomonas protein-coding open reading frames or homologues within available databases. Northern analysis indicated that the locus encodes an RNA (PrrB RNA) which is able to phenotypically complement gacS and gacA mutants and is itself regulated by the GacS-GacA two-component signal transduction system. Primer extension analysis of the 132-base transcript identified the transcription start site located downstream of a sigma(70) promoter sequence from positions -10 to -35. Inactivation of the prrB gene in F113 resulted in a significant reduction of 2, 4-diacetylphloroglucinol (Phl) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) production, while increased metabolite production was observed when prrB was overexpressed. The prrB gene sequence contains a number of imperfect repeats of the consensus sequence 5'-AGGA-3', and sequence analysis predicted a complex secondary structure featuring multiple putative stem-loops with the consensus sequences predominantly positioned at the single-stranded regions at the ends of the stem-loops. This structure is similar to the CsrB and RsmB regulatory RNAs in Escherichia coli and Erwinia carotovora, respectively. Results suggest that a regulatory RNA molecule is involved in GacA-GacS-mediated regulation of Phl and HCN production in P. fluorescens F113.  (+info)

African swine fever virus protease, a new viral member of the SUMO-1-specific protease family. (5/54)

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a complex DNA virus that employs polyprotein processing at Gly-Gly-Xaa sites as a strategy to produce several major core components of the viral particle. The virus gene S273R encodes a 31-kDa protein that contains a "core domain" with the conserved catalytic residues characteristic of SUMO-1-specific proteases and the adenovirus protease. Using a COS cell expression system, it was found that protein pS273R is capable of cleaving the viral polyproteins pp62 and pp220 in a specific way giving rise to the same intermediates and mature products as those produced in ASFV-infected cells. Furthermore, protein pS273R, like adenovirus protease and SUMO-1-specific enzymes, is a cysteine protease, because its activity is abolished by mutation of the predicted catalytic histidine and cysteine residues and is inhibited by sulfhydryl-blocking reagents. Protein pS273R is expressed late after infection and is localized in the cytoplasmic viral factories, where it is found associated with virus precursors and mature virions. In the virions, the protein is present in the core shell, a domain where the products of the viral polyproteins are also located. The identification of the ASFV protease will allow a better understanding of the role of polyprotein processing in virus assembly and may contribute to our knowledge of the emerging family of SUMO-1-specific proteases.  (+info)

SmcR-dependent regulation of adaptive phenotypes in Vibrio vulnificus. (6/54)

Vibrio vulnificus contains homologues of the V. harveyi luxR and luxS genes. A null mutation in smcR (luxR) resulted in a defect in starvation survival, inhibition of starvation-induced maintenance of culturability that occurs when V. vulnificus is starved prior to low-temperature incubation, and increased expression of stationary-phase phenotypes.  (+info)

Two-dimensional structure of the native light-harvesting complex LH2 from Rubrivivax gelatinosus and of a truncated form. (7/54)

The light-harvesting complex LH2 of Rubrivivax gelatinosus has an oligomeric structure built from alpha-beta heterodimers containing three bacteriochlorophylls and one carotenoid each. The alpha subunit (71 residues) presents a C-terminal hydrophobic extension (residues 51-71) which is prone to attack by an endogenous protease. This extension can also be cleaved by a mild thermolysin treatment, as demonstrated by electrophoresis and by matrix-assisted laser desorption-time of flight mass spectrometry. This cleavage does not affect the pigment binding sites as shown by absorption spectroscopy. Electron microscopy was used to investigate the structures of the native and thermolysin cleaved forms of the complexes. Two-dimensional crystals of the reconstituted complexes were examined after negative staining and cryomicroscopy. Projection maps at 10 A resolution were calculated, demonstrating the nonameric ring-like organization of alpha-beta subunits. The cleaved form presents the same structural features. We conclude that the LH2 complex is structurally homologous to the Rhodopseudomonas acidophila LH2. The hydrophobic C-terminal extension does not fold back in the membrane, but lays out on the periplasmic surface of the complex.  (+info)

A second quorum-sensing system regulates cell surface properties but not phenazine antibiotic production in Pseudomonas aureofaciens. (8/54)

The root-associated biological control bacterium Pseudomonas aureofaciens 30-84 produces a range of exoproducts, including protease and phenazines. Phenazine antibiotic biosynthesis by phzXYFABCD is regulated in part by the PhzR-PhzI quorum-sensing system. Mutants defective in phzR or phzI produce very low levels of phenazines but wild-type levels of exoprotease. In the present study, a second genomic region of strain 30-84 was identified that, when present in trans, increased beta-galactosidase activity in a genomic phzB::lacZ reporter and partially restored phenazine production to a phzR mutant. Sequence analysis identified two adjacent genes, csaR and csaI, that encode members of the LuxR-LuxI family of regulatory proteins. No putative promoter region is present upstream of the csaI start codon and no lux box-like element was found in either the csaR promoter or the 30-bp intergenic region between csaR and csaI. Both the PhzR-PhzI and CsaR-CsaI systems are regulated by the GacS-GacA two-component regulatory system. In contrast to the multicopy effects of csaR and csaI in trans, a genomic csaR mutant (30-84R2) and a csaI mutant (30-84I2) did not exhibit altered phenazine production in vitro or in situ, indicating that the CsaR-CsaI system is not involved in phenazine regulation in strain 30-84. Both mutants also produced wild-type levels of protease. However, disruption of both csaI and phzI or both csaR and phzR eliminated both phenazine and protease production completely. Thus, the two quorum-sensing systems do not interact for phenazine regulation but do interact for protease regulation. Additionally, the CsaI N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) signal was not recognized by the phenazine AHL reporter 30-84I/Z but was recognized by the AHL reporters Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and Agrobacterium tumefaciens A136(pCF240). Inactivation of csaR resulted in a smooth mucoid colony phenotype and formation of cell aggregates in broth, suggesting that CsaR is involved in regulating biosynthesis of cell surface components. Strain 30-84I/I2 exhibited mucoid colony and clumping phenotypes similar to those of 30-84R2. Both phenotypes were reversed by complementation with csaR-csaI or by the addition of the CsaI AHL signal. Both quorum-sensing systems play a role in colonization by strain 30-84. Whereas loss of PhzR resulted in a 6.6-fold decrease in colonization by strain 30-84 on wheat roots in natural soil, a phzR csaR double mutant resulted in a 47-fold decrease. These data suggest that gene(s) regulated by the CsaR-CsaI system also plays a role in the rhizosphere competence of P. aureofaciens 30-84.  (+info)