scholarly journals Deciphering the genetic and transcriptional basis of cross-stress responses in Escherichia coli under complex evolutionary scenarios

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violeta Zorraquino-Salvo ◽  
Semarhy Quinones-Soto ◽  
Minseung Kim ◽  
Navneet Rai ◽  
Ilias Tagkopoulos

A tantalizing question in microbial physiology is the inter-dependence and evolutionary potential of cellular stress response across multiple environmental dimensions. To address this question, we comprehensively characterized the cross-stress behavior of wild-type and evolved Escherichia coli populations in five abiotic stresses (n-butanol, osmotic, alkaline, acidic, and oxidative) by performing genome-scale genetic, transcriptional and growth profiling, thus identifying 18 cases of cross-stress protection and one case of cross-stress vulnerability. We identified 18 cases of cross-stress protection and one case of cross-stress vulnerability, along with core and stress-specific networks. We tested several hypotheses regarding the effect of the stress order, stress combinations, mutation reversal and varying environments to the evolution and final cellular fitness of the respective populations. Our results argue of a common systems-level core of the stress response with several crucial implicated pathways that include metal ion binding and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis that is further complemented by a stress-specific expression program.

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Shweta Devi ◽  
Vijay Kumar ◽  
Sandeep Kumar Singh ◽  
Ashish Kant Dubey ◽  
Jong-Joo Kim

Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington’s disease (HD), are the most concerning disorders due to the lack of effective therapy and dramatic rise in affected cases. Although these disorders have diverse clinical manifestations, they all share a common cellular stress response. These cellular stress responses including neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, proteotoxicity, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress, which combats with stress conditions. Environmental stress/toxicity weakened the cellular stress response which results in cell damage. Small molecules, such as flavonoids, could reduce cellular stress and have gained much attention in recent years. Evidence has shown the potential use of flavonoids in several ways, such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic, yet their mechanism is still elusive. This review provides an insight into the potential role of flavonoids against cellular stress response that prevent the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders.


1993 ◽  
Vol 51 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Luis P. Reynaldo ◽  
Toru Maruyama ◽  
William DeW. Horrocks ◽  
Joseph.J. Villafranca

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (14) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Merchel Piovesan Pereira ◽  
Xiaokang Wang ◽  
Ilias Tagkopoulos

ABSTRACT The mechanisms of the bacterial response to biocides are poorly understood, despite their broad application. To identify the genetic basis and pathways implicated in the biocide stress response, we exposed Escherichia coli populations to 10 ubiquitous biocides. By comparing the transcriptional responses between a short-term exposure (30 min) and a long-term exposure (8 to 12 h) to biocide stress, we established the common gene and pathway clusters that are implicated in general and biocide-specific stress responses. Our analysis revealed a temporal choreography, starting from the upregulation of chaperones to the subsequent repression of motility and chemotaxis pathways and the induction of an anaerobic pool of enzymes and biofilm regulators. A systematic analysis of the transcriptional data identified a zur-regulated gene cluster to be highly active in the stress response against sodium hypochlorite and peracetic acid, presenting a link between the biocide stress response and zinc homeostasis. Susceptibility assays with knockout mutants further validated our findings and provide clear targets for downstream investigation of the implicated mechanisms of action. IMPORTANCE Antiseptics and disinfectant products are of great importance to control and eliminate pathogens, especially in settings such as hospitals and the food industry. Such products are widely distributed and frequently poorly regulated. Occasional outbreaks have been associated with microbes resistant to such compounds, and researchers have indicated potential cross-resistance with antibiotics. Despite that, there are many gaps in knowledge about the bacterial stress response and the mechanisms of microbial resistance to antiseptics and disinfectants. We investigated the stress response of the bacterium Escherichia coli to 10 common disinfectant and antiseptic chemicals to shed light on the potential mechanisms of tolerance to such compounds.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsuzsa Bebok ◽  
Lianwu Fu

Abstract Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a life-shortening, genetic disorder caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene (CFTR). The primary cause of CF is reduced CFTR-mediated chloride and bicarbonate transport, due to mutations in CFTR. However, inflammation and persistent infections influence clinical outcome. Cellular stress response pathways, such as the unfolded protein response (UPR) and the integrated stress response (ISR), referred to here as cellular stress response pathways (SRPs), contribute to the pathology of human disorders. Multiple studies have indicated activation of SRPs in CF tissues. We review our present understanding of how SRPs are activated in CF and their contribution to pathology. We conclude that reduced CFTR function in CF organs establishes a tissue environment in which internal or external insults activate SRPs. SRPs contribute to CF pathogenesis by reducing CFTR expression, enhancing inflammation with consequent tissue remodeling. Understanding the contribution of SRPs to CF pathogenesis is crucial even in the era of CFTR “modulators” that are designed to potentiate, correct or amplify CFTR function, since there is an urgent need for supportive treatments. Importantly, CF patients with established pathology could benefit from the targeted use of drugs that modulate SRPs to reduce the symptoms.


2006 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 2019-2033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Smith ◽  
Stephen C. Schmechel ◽  
Arvind Raghavan ◽  
Michelle Abelson ◽  
Cavan Reilly ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Following infection with most reovirus strains, viral protein synthesis is robust, even when cellular translation is inhibited. To gain further insight into pathways that regulate translation in reovirus-infected cells, we performed a comparative microarray analysis of cellular gene expression following infection with two strains of reovirus that inhibit host translation (clone 8 and clone 87) and one strain that does not (Dearing). Infection with clone 8 and clone 87 significantly increased the expression of cellular genes characteristic of stress responses, including the integrated stress response. Infection with these same strains decreased transcript and protein levels of P58IPK, the cellular inhibitor of the eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α) kinases PKR and PERK. Since infection with host shutoff-inducing strains of reovirus impacted cellular pathways that control eIF2α phosphorylation and unphosphorylated eIF2α is required for translation initiation, we examined reovirus replication in a variety of cell lines with mutations that impact eIF2α phosphorylation. Our results revealed that reovirus replication is more efficient in the presence of eIF2α kinases and phosphorylatable eIF2α. When eIF2α is phosphorylated, it promotes the synthesis of ATF4, a transcription factor that controls cellular recovery from stress. We found that the presence of this transcription factor increased reovirus yields 10- to 100-fold. eIF2α phosphorylation also led to the formation of stress granules in reovirus-infected cells. Based on these results, we hypothesize that eIF2α phosphorylation facilitates reovirus replication in two ways—first, by inducing ATF4 synthesis, and second, by creating an environment that places abundant reovirus transcripts at a competitive advantage for limited translational components.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 667-667
Author(s):  
Bradford Hull ◽  
George Sutphin

Abstract Cellular stress is a fundamental component of age-associated disease. Cells experience many forms of stress (oxidative, heavy metal, etc.), and as we age the burden of stress and resulting damage increases while our cells’ ability to deal with the consequences becomes diminished due to dysregulation of cellular stress response pathways. By understanding how cells respond to stress we aim to slow age-associated deterioration and develop treatment targets for age-associated disease. The majority of past work has focused on understanding responses to individual stressors. In contrast, how pathology and stress responses differ in the presence of multiple stressors is relatively unknown; we investigate that here. We cultured worms on agar plates with different combinations of arsenic, copper, and DTT (which create oxidative/proteotoxic, heavy metal, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, respectively) at doses that result in 20% lifespan reduction individually and measured the effect on lifespan. We found that arsenic/copper and arsenic/DTT combinations created additive lifespan reductions while the copper/DTT combination created an antagonistic lifespan reduction when compared to controls (p<0.05). This antagonistic toxicity suggests an interaction either between the mechanisms of toxicity or the cellular response to copper and DTT. We are now evaluating the impact of copper and DTT individually and in combination on unfolded protein and heavy metal response pathways to understand the underlying mechanism of the interaction. Additionally, we are continuing to screen stressors to identify combinations that cause non-additive (synergistic or antagonistic) toxicity to build a comprehensive model of the genetic stress response network in C. elegans.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huijing Wang ◽  
GW McElfresh ◽  
Nishantha Wijesuriya ◽  
Adam Podgorny ◽  
Andrew D Hecht ◽  
...  

Cellular responses to stress can cause a similar change in some facets of fitness even if the stresses are different. Lactose as a sole carbon source for Escherichia coli is an established example: too little causes starvation while excessive lactose import causes toxicity as a side-effect. In an E. coli strain that is robust to osmotic and ionic differences in growth media, B REL606, the rate of antibiotic-tolerant persister formation is elevated in both starvation-inducing and toxicity-inducing concentrations of lactose in comparison to less stressful intermediate concentrations. Such similarities between starvation and toxification raise the question of how much the global stress response stimulon differs between them. We hypothesized that a common stress response is conserved between the two conditions, but that a previously shown threshold driving growth rate heterogeneity in a lactose-toxifying medium would reveal that the growing fraction of cells in that medium to be missing key stress responses that curb growth. To test this, we performed RNA-seq in three representative conditions for differential expression analysis. In comparison to nominally unstressed cultures, both stress conditions showed global shifts in gene expression, with informative similarities and differences. Functional analysis of pathways, gene ontology terms, and clusters of orthogonal groups revealed signatures of overflow metabolism, membrane component shifts, and altered cytosolic and periplasmic contents in toxified cultures. Starving cultures showed an increased tendency toward stringent response-like regulatory signatures. Along with other emerging evidence, our results show multiple possible pathways to stress responses, persistence, and possibly other phenotypes. These results suggest a set of overlapping responses that drives emergence of stress-tolerant phenotypes in diverse conditions.


mBio ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerrie L. May ◽  
Kelly M. Lehman ◽  
Angela M. Mitchell ◽  
Marcin Grabowicz

ABSTRACTGram-negative bacteria produce lipid-anchored lipoproteins that are trafficked to their outer membrane (OM). These lipoproteins are essential components in each of the molecular machines that build the OM, including the Bam machine that assembles β-barrel proteins and the Lpt pathway that transports lipopolysaccharide. Stress responses are known to monitor Bam and Lpt function, yet no stress system has been found that oversees the fundamental process of lipoprotein trafficking. We used genetic and chemical biology approaches to induce several different lipoprotein trafficking stresses inEscherichia coli. Our results identified the Cpx two-component system as a stress response for monitoring trafficking. Cpx is activated by trafficking defects and is required to protect the cell against the consequence of the resulting stress. The OM-targeted lipoprotein NlpE acts as a sensor that allows Cpx to gauge trafficking efficiency. We reveal that NlpE signals to Cpx while it is transiting the inner membrane (IM)en routeto the OM and that only a small highly conserved N-terminal domain is required for signaling. We propose that defective trafficking causes NlpE to accumulate in the IM, activating Cpx to mount a transcriptional response that protects cells. Furthermore, we reconcile this new role of NlpE in signaling trafficking defects with its previously proposed role in sensing copper (Cu) stress by demonstrating that Cu impairs acylation of lipoproteins and, consequently, their trafficking to the OM.IMPORTANCEThe outer membrane built by Gram-negative bacteria such asEscherichia coliforms a barrier that prevents antibiotics from entering the cell, limiting clinical options at a time of prevalent antibiotic resistance. Stress responses ensure that barrier integrity is continuously maintained. We have identified the Cpx signal transduction system as a stress response that monitors the trafficking of lipid-anchored lipoproteins to the outer membrane. These lipoproteins are needed by every machine that builds the outer membrane. Cpx monitors just one lipoprotein, NlpE, to detect the efficiency of lipoprotein trafficking in the cell. NlpE and Cpx were previously shown to play a role in resistance to copper. We show that copper blocks lipoprotein trafficking, reconciling old and new observations. Copper is an important element in innate immunity against pathogens, and our findings suggest that NlpE and Cpx helpE. colisurvive the assault of copper on a key outer membrane assembly pathway.


1995 ◽  
Vol 312 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
N E Le Brun ◽  
S C Andrews ◽  
J R Guest ◽  
P M Harrison ◽  
G R Moore ◽  
...  

The bacterioferritin (BFR) of Escherichia coli takes up iron in the ferrous form and stores it within its central cavity as a hydrated ferric oxide mineral. The mechanism by which oxidation of iron (II) occurs in BFR is largely unknown, but previous studies indicated that there is ferroxidase activity associated with a site capable of forming a dinuclear-iron centre within each subunit [Le Brun, Wilson, Andrews, Harrison, Guest, Thomson and Moore (1993) FEBS Lett. 333, 197-202]. We now report site-directed mutagenesis experiments based on a putative dinuclear-metal-ion-binding site located within the BFR subunit. The data reveal that this dinuclear-iron centre is located at a site within the four-alpha-helical bundle of each subunit of BFR, thus identified as the ferroxidase centre of BFR. The metal-bound form of the centre bears a remarkable similarity to the dinuclear-iron sites of the hydroxylase subunit of methane mono-oxygenase and the R2 subunit of ribonucleotide reductase. Details of how the dinuclear centre of BFR is involved in the oxidation mechanism were investigated by studying the inhibition of iron (II) oxidation by zinc (II) ions. Data indicate that zinc (II) ions bind at the ferroxidase centre of apo-BFR in preference to iron (II), resulting in a dramatic reduction in the rate of oxidation. The mechanism of iron (II) oxidation is discussed in the light of this and previous work.


2011 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 849-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
SILVIO PENG ◽  
TAURAI TASARA ◽  
JÖRG HUMMERJOHANN ◽  
ROGER STEPHAN

The ability of foodborne pathogens to survive in certain foods mainly depends on stress response mechanisms. Insight into molecular properties enabling pathogenic bacteria to survive in food is valuable for improvement of the control of pathogens during food processing. Raw milk cheeses are a potential source for human infections with Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC). In this review, we focused on the stress response mechanisms important for allowing STEC to survive raw milk cheese production processes. The major components and regulation pathways for general, acid, osmotic, and heat shock stress responses in E. coli and the implications of these responses for the survival of STEC in raw milk cheeses are discussed.


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