IS911 transpososome assembly as analysed by tethered particle motion

Initiation of transposition requires formation of a synaptic complex between both transposon ends and the transposase (Tpase), the enzyme which catalyses DNA cleavage and strand transfer and which ensures transposon mobility. We have used a single-molecule approach, tethered particle motion (TPM), to observe binding of a Tpase derivative, OrfAB[149], amputated for its C-terminal catalytic domain, to DNA molecules carrying one or two IS911 ends. Binding of OrfAB[149] to a single IS911 end provoked a small shortening of the DNA. This is consistent with a DNA bend introduced by protein binding to a single end. This was confirmed using a classic gel retardation assay with circularly permuted DNA substrates. When two ends were present on the tethered DNA in their natural, inverted, configuration, Tpase not only provoked the short reduction in length but also generated species with greatly reduce effective length consistent with DNA looping between the ends. Once formed, this ‘looped’ species was very stable. Kinetic analysis in real-time suggested that passage from the bound unlooped to the looped state could involve another species of intermediate length in which both transposon ends are bound. DNA carrying directly repeated ends also gave rise to the looped species but the level of the intermediate species was significantly enhanced. Its accumulation could reflect a less favourable synapse formation from this configuration than for the inverted ends. This is compatible with a model in which Tpase binds separately to and bends each end (the intermediate species) and protein–protein interactions then lead to synapsis (the looped species)

SpxA1 Involved in Hydrogen Peroxide Production, Stress Tolerance and Endocarditis Virulence in Streptococcus sanguinis

Streptococcus sanguinis is one of the most common agents of infective endocarditis. Spx proteins are a group of global regulators that negatively or positively control global transcription initiation. In this study, we characterized the spxA1 gene in S. sanguinis SK36. The spxA1 null mutant displayed opaque colony morphology, reduced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production, and reduced antagonistic activity against Streptococcus mutans UA159 relative to the wild type strain. The ΔspxA1 mutant also demonstrated decreased tolerance to high temperature, acidic and oxidative stresses. Further analysis revealed that ΔspxA1 also exhibited a ∼5-fold reduction in competitiveness in an animal model of endocarditis. Microarray studies indicated that expression of several oxidative stress genes was downregulated in the ΔspxA1 mutant. The expression of spxB and nox was significantly decreased in the ΔspxA1 mutant compared with the wild type. These results indicate that spxA1 plays a major role in H2O2 production, stress tolerance and endocarditis virulence in S. sanguinis SK36. The second spx gene, spxA2, was also found in S. sanguinis SK36. The spxA2 null mutant was found to be defective for growth under normal conditions and showed sensitivity to high temperature, acidic and oxidative stresses

A target specificity switch in IS911 transposition: the role of the OrfA protein

The role played by insertion sequence IS911 proteins, OrfA and OrfAB, in the choice of a target for insertion was studied. IS911 transposition occurs in several steps: synapsis of the two transposon ends (IRR and IRL); formation of a figure-of-eight intermediate where both ends are joined by a single-strand bridge; resolution into a circular form carrying an IRR–IRL junction; and insertion into a DNA target. In vivo, with OrfAB alone, an IS911-based transposon integrated with high probability next to an IS911 end located on the target plasmid. OrfA greatly reduced the proportion of these events. This was confirmed in vitro using a transposon with a preformed IRR–IRL junction to examine the final insertion step. Addition of OrfA resulted in a large increase in insertion frequency and greatly increased the proportion of non-targeted insertions. The intermolecular reaction leading to targeted insertion may resemble the intramolecular reaction involving figure-of-eight molecules, which leads to the formation of circles. OrfA could, therefore, be considered as a molecular switch modulating the site-specific recombination activity of OrfAB and facilitating dispersion of the insertion sequence (IS) to ‘non-homologous’ target sites

Bias between the Left and Right Inverted Repeats during IS911 Targeted Insertion ▿

IS911 is a bacterial insertion sequence composed of two consecutive overlapping open reading frames (ORFs [orfA and orfB]) encoding the transposase (OrfAB) as well as a regulatory protein (OrfA). These ORFs are bordered by terminal left and right inverted repeats (IRL and IRR, respectively) with several differences in nucleotide sequence. IS911 transposition is asymmetric: each end is cleaved on one strand to generate a free 3′-OH, which is then used as the nucleophile in attacking the opposite insertion sequence (IS) end to generate a free IS circle. This will be inserted into a new target site. We show here that the ends exhibit functional differences which, in vivo, may favor the use of one compared to the other during transposition. Electromobility shift assays showed that a truncated form of the transposase [OrfAB(1-149)] exhibits higher affinity for IRR than for IRL. While there was no detectable difference in IR activities during the early steps of transposition, IRR was more efficient during the final insertion steps. We show here that the differential activities between the two IRs correlate with the different affinities of OrfAB(1-149) for the IRs during assembly of the nucleoprotein complexes leading to transposition. We conclude that the two inverted repeats are not equivalent during IS911 transposition and that this asymmetry may intervene to determine the ordered assembly of the different protein-DNA complexes involved in the reaction

Dual role of transcription and transcript stability in the regulation of gene expression in Escherichia coli cells cultured on glucose at different growth rates

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Membrane Recognition and Dynamics of the RNA Degradosome

10.1371/journal.pgen.1004961PLoS Genetics112Jan-2

Requirement of IS911 replication before integration defines a new bacterial transposition pathway

Movement of transposable elements is often accompanied by replication to ensure their proliferation. Replication is associated with both major classes of transposition mechanisms: cut-and-paste and cointegrate formation (paste-and-copy). Cut-and-paste transposition is often activated by replication of the transposon, while in cointegrate formation replication completes integration. We describe a novel transposition mechanism used by insertion sequence IS911, which we call copy-and-paste. IS911 transposes using a circular intermediate (circle), which then integrates into a target. We demonstrate that this is derived from a branched intermediate (figure-eight) in which both ends are joined by a single-strand bridge after a first-strand transfer. In vivo labelling experiments show that the process of circle formation is replicative. The results indicate that the replication pathway not only produces circles from figure-eight but also regenerates the transposon donor plasmid. To confirm the replicative mechanism, we have also used the Escherichia coli terminators (terC) which, when bound by the Tus protein, inhibit replication forks in a polarised manner. Finally, we demonstrate that the primase DnaG is essential, implicating a host-specific replication pathway