scholarly journals A Gain-of-Function Mutation in Gating of Corynebacterium glutamicum NCgl1221 Causes Constitutive Glutamate Secretion

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (15) ◽  
pp. 5432-5434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshitaka Nakayama ◽  
Kenjiro Yoshimura ◽  
Hidetoshi Iida

ABSTRACTThe A-to-V mutation at position 111 (A111V) in the mechanosensitive channel NCgl1221 (MscCG) causes constitutive glutamate secretion inCorynebacterium glutamicum. Patch clamp experiments revealed that NCgl1221 (A111V) had a significantly smaller gating threshold than the wild-type counterpart and displayed strong hysteresis, suggesting that the gain-of-function mutation in the gating of NCgl1221 leads to the oversecretion of glutamate.

2018 ◽  
Vol 200 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Griffin Chure ◽  
Heun Jin Lee ◽  
Akiko Rasmussen ◽  
Rob Phillips

ABSTRACTRapid changes in extracellular osmolarity are one of many insults microbial cells face on a daily basis. To protect against such shocks,Escherichia coliand other microbes express several types of transmembrane channels that open and close in response to changes in membrane tension. InE. coli, one of the most abundant channels is the mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL). While this channel has been heavily characterized through structural methods, electrophysiology, and theoretical modeling, our understanding of its physiological role in preventing cell death by alleviating high membrane tension remains tenuous. In this work, we examine the contribution of MscL alone to cell survival after osmotic shock at single-cell resolution using quantitative fluorescence microscopy. We conducted these experiments in anE. colistrain which is lacking all mechanosensitive channel genes save for MscL, whose expression was tuned across 3 orders of magnitude through modifications of the Shine-Dalgarno sequence. While theoretical models suggest that only a few MscL channels would be needed to alleviate even large changes in osmotic pressure, we find that between 500 and 700 channels per cell are needed to convey upwards of 80% survival. This number agrees with the average MscL copy number measured in wild-typeE. colicells through proteomic studies and quantitative Western blotting. Furthermore, we observed zero survival events in cells with fewer than ∼100 channels per cell. This work opens new questions concerning the contribution of other mechanosensitive channels to survival, as well as regulation of their activity.IMPORTANCEMechanosensitive (MS) channels are transmembrane protein complexes which open and close in response to changes in membrane tension as a result of osmotic shock. Despite extensive biophysical characterization, the contribution of these channels to cell survival remains largely unknown. In this work, we used quantitative video microscopy to measure the abundance of a single species of MS channel in single cells, followed by their survival after a large osmotic shock. We observed total death of the population with fewer than ∼100 channels per cell and determined that approximately 500 to 700 channels were needed for 80% survival. The number of channels we found to confer nearly full survival is consistent with the counts of the numbers of channels in wild-type cells in several earlier studies. These results prompt further studies to dissect the contribution of other channel species to survival.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 5102-5110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Ramírez-Zavala ◽  
Selene Mogavero ◽  
Eva Schöller ◽  
Christoph Sasse ◽  
P. David Rogers ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTOverexpression of the multidrug efflux pumpMDR1is one mechanism by which the pathogenic yeastCandida albicansdevelops resistance to the antifungal drug fluconazole. The constitutive upregulation ofMDR1in fluconazole-resistant, clinicalC. albicansisolates is caused by gain-of-function mutations in the zinc cluster transcription factor Mrr1. It has been suggested that Mrr1 activatesMDR1transcription by recruiting Ada2, a subunit of the SAGA/ADA coactivator complex. However,MDR1expression is also regulated by the bZIP transcription factor Cap1, which mediates the oxidative stress response inC. albicans. Here, we show that a hyperactive Mrr1 containing a gain-of-function mutation promotesMDR1overexpression independently of Ada2. In contrast, a C-terminally truncated, hyperactive Cap1 causedMDR1overexpression in a wild-type strain but only weakly in mutants lackingADA2. In the presence of benomyl or H2O2, compounds that induceMDR1expression in an Mrr1- and Cap1-dependent fashion,MDR1was upregulated with the same efficiency in wild-type andada2Δ cells. These results indicate that Cap1, but not Mrr1, recruits Ada2 to theMDR1promoter to induce the expression of this multidrug efflux pump and that Ada2 is not required forMDR1overexpression in fluconazole-resistantC. albicansstrains containing gain-of-function mutations in Mrr1.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (15) ◽  
pp. 4586-4594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masato Ikeda ◽  
Aya Miyamoto ◽  
Sumire Mutoh ◽  
Yuko Kitano ◽  
Mei Tajima ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTTo develop the infrastructure for biotin production through naturally biotin-auxotrophicCorynebacterium glutamicum, we attempted to engineer the organism into a biotin prototroph and a biotin hyperauxotroph. To confer biotin prototrophy on the organism, the cotranscribedbioBFgenes ofEscherichia coliwere introduced into theC. glutamicumgenome, which originally lacked thebioFgene. The resulting strain still required biotin for growth, but it could be replaced by exogenous pimelic acid, a source of the biotin precursor pimelate thioester linked to either coenzyme A (CoA) or acyl carrier protein (ACP). To bridge the gap between the pimelate thioester and its dedicated precursor acyl-CoA (or -ACP), thebioIgene ofBacillus subtilis, which encoded a P450 protein that cleaves a carbon-carbon bond of an acyl-ACP to generate pimeloyl-ACP, was further expressed in the engineered strain by using a plasmid system. This resulted in a biotin prototroph that is capable of thede novosynthesis of biotin. On the other hand, thebioYgene responsible for biotin uptake was disrupted in wild-typeC. glutamicum. Whereas the wild-type strain required approximately 1 μg of biotin per liter for normal growth, thebioYdisruptant (ΔbioY) required approximately 1 mg of biotin per liter, almost 3 orders of magnitude higher than the wild-type level. The ΔbioYstrain showed a similar high requirement for the precursor dethiobiotin, a substrate forbioB-encoded biotin synthase. To eliminate the dependency on dethiobiotin, thebioBgene was further disrupted in both the wild-type strain and the ΔbioYstrain. By selectively using the resulting two strains (ΔbioBand ΔbioBY) as indicator strains, we developed a practical biotin bioassay system that can quantify biotin in the seven-digit range, from approximately 0.1 μg to 1 g per liter. This bioassay proved that the engineered biotin prototroph ofC. glutamicumproduced biotin directly from glucose, albeit at a marginally detectable level (approximately 0.3 μg per liter).


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (20) ◽  
pp. 7223-7228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiraya Srisimarat ◽  
Jarunee Kaulpiboon ◽  
Kuakarun Krusong ◽  
Wolfgang Zimmermann ◽  
Piamsook Pongsawasdi

ABSTRACTCorynebacterium glutamicumamylomaltase (CgAM) catalyzes the formation of large-ring cyclodextrins (LR-CDs) with a degree of polymerization of 19 and higher. The clonedCgAMgene was ligated into the pET-17b vector and used to transformEscherichia coliBL21(DE3). Site-directed mutagenesis of Tyr-172 inCgAM to alanine (Y172A) was performed to determine its role in the control of LR-CD production. Both the recombinant wild-type (WT) and Y172A enzymes were purified to apparent homogeneity and characterized. The Y172A enzyme exhibited lower disproportionation, cyclization, and hydrolysis activities than the WT. Thekcat/Kmof the disproportionation reaction of the Y172A enzyme was 2.8-fold lower than that of the WT enzyme. The LR-CD product profile from enzyme catalysis depended on the incubation time and the enzyme concentration. Interestingly, the Y172A enzyme showed a product pattern different from that of the WTCgAM at a long incubation time. The principal LR-CD products of the Y172A mutated enzyme were a cycloamylose mixture with a degree of polymerization of 28 or 29 (CD28 or CD29), while the principal LR-CD product of the WT enzyme was CD25 at 0.05 U of amylomaltase. These results suggest that Tyr-172 plays an important role in determining the LR-CD product profile of this novelCgAM.


2005 ◽  
Vol 125 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andriy Anishkin ◽  
Chien-Sung Chiang ◽  
Sergei Sukharev

The tension-driven gating transition in the large mechanosensitive channel MscL proceeds through detectable states of intermediate conductance. Gain-of-function (GOF) mutants with polar or charged substitutions in the main hydrophobic gate display altered patterns of subconducting states, providing valuable information about gating intermediates. Here we present thermodynamic analysis of several GOF mutants to clarify the nature and position of low-conducting conformations in the transition pathway. Unlike wild-type (WT) MscL, which predominantly occupies the closed and fully open states with very brief substates, the mild V23T GOF mutant frequently visits a multitude of short-lived subconducting states. Severe mutants V23D and G22N open in sequence: closed (C) → low-conducting substate (S) → open (O), with the first subtransition occurring at lower tensions. Analyses of equilibrium state occupancies as functions of membrane tension show that the C→S subtransition in WT MscL is associated with only a minor conductance increment, but the largest in-plane expansion and free energy change. The GOF substitutions strongly affect the first subtransition by reducing area (ΔA) and energy (ΔE) changes between C and S states commensurably with the severity of mutation. GOF mutants also exhibited a considerably larger ΔE associated with the second (S→O) subtransition, but a ΔA similar to WT. The area changes indicate that closed conformations of GOF mutants are physically preexpanded. The tension dependencies of rate constants for channel closure (koff) predict different positions of rate-limiting barriers on the energy-area profiles for WT and GOF MscL. The data support the two-gate mechanism in which the first subtransition (C→S) can be viewed as opening of the central (M1) gate, resulting in an expanded water-filled “leaky” conformation. Strong facilitation of this step by polar GOF substitutions suggests that separation of M1 helices associated with hydration of the pore in WT MscL is the major energetic barrier for opening. Mutants with a stabilized S1 gate demonstrate impeded transitions from low-conducting substates to the fully open state, whereas extensions of S1–M1 linkers result in a much higher probability of reverse O→S transitions. These data strongly suggest that the bulk of conductance gain in the second subtransition (S→O) occurs through the opening of the NH2-terminal (S1) gate and the linkers are coupling elements between the M1 and S1 gates.


2016 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Hasegawa ◽  
Yuya Tanaka ◽  
Masako Suda ◽  
Toru Jojima ◽  
Masayuki Inui

ABSTRACT In the analysis of a carbohydrate metabolite pathway, we found interesting phenotypes in a mutant strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum deficient in pfkB1, which encodes fructose-1-phosphate kinase. After being aerobically cultivated with fructose as a carbon source, this mutant consumed glucose and produced organic acid, predominantly l-lactate, at a level more than 2-fold higher than that of the wild-type grown with glucose under conditions of oxygen deprivation. This considerably higher fermentation capacity was unique for the combination of pfkB1 deletion and cultivation with fructose. In the metabolome and transcriptome analyses of this strain, marked intracellular accumulation of fructose-1-phosphate and significant upregulation of several genes related to the phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system, glycolysis, and organic acid synthesis were identified. We then examined strains overexpressing several of the identified genes and demonstrated enhanced glucose consumption and organic acid production by these engineered strains, whose values were found to be comparable to those of the model pfkB1 deletion mutant grown with fructose. l-Lactate production by the ppc deletion mutant of the engineered strain was 2,390 mM (i.e., 215 g/liter) after 48 h under oxygen deprivation, which was a 2.7-fold increase over that of the wild-type strain with a deletion of ppc. IMPORTANCE Enhancement of glycolytic flux is important for improving microbiological production of chemicals, but overexpression of glycolytic enzymes has often resulted in little positive effect. That is presumably because the central carbon metabolism is under the complex and strict regulation not only transcriptionally but also posttranscriptionally, for example, by the ATP/ADP ratio. In contrast, we studied a mutant strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum that showed markedly enhanced glucose consumption and organic acid production and, based on the findings, identified several genes whose overexpression was effective in enhancing glycolytic flux under conditions of oxygen deprivation. These results will further understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of glycolytic flux and can be widely applied to the improvement of the microbial production of useful chemicals.


2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 2243-2251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Calvin Ho-Fung Lau ◽  
Sebastien Fraud ◽  
Marcus Jones ◽  
Scott N. Peterson ◽  
Keith Poole

ABSTRACTTheamgRSoperon encodes a presumed membrane stress-responsive two-component system linked to intrinsic aminoglycoside resistance inPseudomonas aeruginosa. Genome sequencing of a lab isolate showing modest pan-aminoglycoside resistance, strain K2979, revealed a number of mutations, including a substitution inamgSthat produced an R182C change in the AmgS sensor kinase product of this gene. Introduction of this mutation into an otherwise wild-type strain recapitulated the resistance phenotype, while correcting the mutation in the resistant mutant abrogated the resistant phenotype, confirming that theamgSmutation is responsible for the aminoglycoside resistance of strain K2979. TheamgSR182mutation promoted an AmgR-dependent, 2- to 3-fold increase in expression of the AmgRS target geneshtpXand PA5528, mirroring the impact of aminoglycoside exposure of wild-type cells onhtpXand PA5528 expression. This suggests thatamgSR182is a gain-of-function mutation that activates AmgS and the AmgRS two-component system in promoting modest resistance to aminoglycosides. Screening of several pan-aminoglycoside-resistant clinical isolates ofP. aeruginosarevealed three that showed elevatedhtpXand PA5528 expression and harbored single amino acid-altering mutations inamgS(V121G or D106N) and no mutations inamgR. Introduction of theamgSV121Gmutation into wild-typeP. aeruginosagenerated a resistance phenotype reminiscent of theamgSR182mutant and produced a 2- to 3-fold increase inhtpXand PA5528 expression, confirming that it, too, is a gain-of-function aminoglycoside resistance-promoting mutation. These results highlight the contribution ofamgSmutations and activation of the AmgRS two-component system to acquired aminoglycoside resistance in lab and clinical isolates ofP. aeruginosa.


2018 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhemin Wang ◽  
Xiaomin Wang ◽  
Ping Lu ◽  
Chunshan Ni ◽  
Yuezhou Li ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMechanosensitive channels are ubiquitous in bacteria and provide an essential mechanism to survive sudden exposure to a hypo-osmotic environment by the sensing and release of increased turgor pressure. No mechanosensitive channels have thus far been identified and characterized for the human-specific bacterial pathogenNeisseria gonorrhoeae. In this study, we identified and characterized theN. gonorrhoeaeMscS-like mechanosensitive channel (Ng-MscS). Electrophysiological analyses by the patch clamp method showed that Ng-MscS is stretch activated and contains pressure-dependent gating properties. Further mutagenesis studies of critical residues forming the hydrophobic vapor lock showed that gain-of-function mutations in Ng-MscS inhibited bacterial growth. Subsequent analysis of the function of Ng-MscS inN. gonorrhoeaeby osmotic down-shock assays revealed that the survival of Ng-mscSdeletion mutants was significantly reduced compared with that of wild-type strains, while down-shock survival was restored upon the ectopic complementation ofmscS. Finally, to investigate whether Ng-MscS is important forN. gonorrhoeaeduring infections, competition assays were performed by using a murine vaginal tract infection model. Ng-mscSdeletion mutants were outcompeted byN. gonorrhoeaewild-type strains for colonization and survival in this infection model, highlighting that Ng-MscS contributes toin vivocolonization and survival. Therefore, Ng-MscS might be a promising target for the future development of novel antimicrobials.


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (24) ◽  
pp. 8753-8761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoya Maeda ◽  
Masaaki Wachi

ABSTRACTWe previously reported that theCorynebacterium glutamicumRNase E/G encoded by therneGgene (NCgl2281) is required for the 5′ maturation of 5S rRNA. In the search for the intracellular target RNAs of RNase E/G other than the 5S rRNA precursor, we detected that the amount of isocitrate lyase, an enzyme of the glyoxylate cycle, increased inrneGknockout mutant cells grown on sodium acetate as the sole carbon source. Rifampin chase experiments showed that the half-life of theaceAmRNA was about 4 times longer in therneGknockout mutant than in the wild type. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis also confirmed that the level ofaceAmRNA was approximately 3-fold higher in therneGknockout mutant strain than in the wild type. Such differences were not observed in other mRNAs encoding enzymes involved in acetate metabolism. Analysis by 3′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends suggested that RNase E/G cleaves theaceAmRNA at a single-stranded AU-rich region in the 3′ untranslated region (3′-UTR). ThelacZfusion assay showed that the 3′-UTR renderedlacZmRNA RNase E/G dependent. These findings indicate that RNase E/G is a novel regulator of the glyoxylate cycle inC. glutamicum.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (22) ◽  
pp. 6974-6983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Witthoff ◽  
Alice Mühlroth ◽  
Jan Marienhagen ◽  
Michael Bott

ABSTRACTMethanol is considered an interesting carbon source in “bio-based” microbial production processes. SinceCorynebacterium glutamicumis an important host in industrial biotechnology, in particular for amino acid production, we performed studies of the response of this organism to methanol. TheC. glutamicumwild type was able to convert13C-labeled methanol to13CO2. Analysis of global gene expression in the presence of methanol revealed several genes of ethanol catabolism to be upregulated, indicating that some of the corresponding enzymes are involved in methanol oxidation. Indeed, a mutant lacking the alcohol dehydrogenase geneadhAshowed a 62% reduced methanol consumption rate, indicating that AdhA is mainly responsible for methanol oxidation to formaldehyde. Further studies revealed that oxidation of formaldehyde to formate is catalyzed predominantly by two enzymes, the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase Ald and the mycothiol-dependent formaldehyde dehydrogenase AdhE. The ΔaldΔadhEand ΔaldΔmshCdeletion mutants were severely impaired in their ability to oxidize formaldehyde, but residual methanol oxidation to CO2was still possible. The oxidation of formate to CO2is catalyzed by the formate dehydrogenase FdhF, recently identified by us. Similar to the case with ethanol, methanol catabolism is subject to carbon catabolite repression in the presence of glucose and is dependent on the transcriptional regulator RamA, which was previously shown to be essential for expression ofadhAandald. In conclusion, we were able to show thatC. glutamicumpossesses an endogenous pathway for methanol oxidation to CO2and to identify the enzymes and a transcriptional regulator involved in this pathway.


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