Inactivation of pecS restores the virulence of mutants devoid of osmoregulated periplasmic glucans in the phytopathogenic bacterium Dickeya dadantii

International audienceDickeya dadantii is a phytopathogenic enterobacterium that causes soft rot disease in a wide range of plant species. Maceration, an apparent symptom of the disease, is the result of the synthesis and secretion of a set of plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs), but many additional factors are required for full virulence. Among these, osmoregulated periplasmic glucans (OPGs) and the PecS transcriptional regulator are essential virulence factors. Several cellular functions are controlled by both OPGs and PecS. Strains devoid of OPGs display a pleiotropic phenotype including total loss of virulence, loss of motility and severe reduction in the synthesis of PCWDEs. PecS is one of the major regulators of virulence in D. dadantii, acting mainly as a repressor of various cellular functions including virulence, motility and synthesis of PCWDEs. The present study shows that inactivation of the pecS gene restored virulence in a D. dadantii strain devoid of OPGs, indicating that PecS cannot be de-repressed in strains devoid of OPGs

Transcriptional regulation of two stage-specifically expressed genes in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii

The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii differentially expresses two distinct enolase isoenzymes known as ENO1 and ENO2, respectively. To understand differential gene expression during tachyzoite to bradyzoite conversion, we have characterized the two T.gondii enolase promoters. No homology could be found between these sequences and no TATA or CCAAT boxes were evident. The differential activation of the ENO1 and ENO2 promoters during tachyzoite to bradyzoite differentiation was investigated by deletion analysis of 5′-flanking regions fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter followed by transient transfection. Our data indicate that in proliferating tachyzoites, the repression of ENO1 involves a negative distal regulatory region (nucleotides −1245 to −625) in the promoter whereas a proximal regulatory region in the ENO2 promoter directs expression at a low level. In contrast, the promoter activity of ENO1 is highly induced following the conversion of tachyzoites into resting bradyzoites. The ENO2 promoter analysis in bradyzoites showed that there are two upstream repression sites (nucleotides −1929 to −1067 and −456 to −222). Furthermore, electrophoresis mobility shift assays demonstrated the presence of DNA-binding proteins in tachyzoite and bradyzoite nuclear lysates that bound to stress response elements (STRE), heat shock-like elements (HSE) and other cis-regulatory elements in the upstream regulatory regions of ENO1 and ENO2. Mutation of the consensus AGGGG sequence, completely abolished protein binding to an oligonucleotide containing this element. This study defines the first characterization of cis-regulatory elements and putative transcription factors involved in gene regulation of the important pathogen T.gondii

The EnvZ-OmpR Two-Component Signaling System Is Inactivated in a Mutant Devoid of Osmoregulated Periplasmic Glucans in Dickeya dadantii

Osmoregulated periplasmic glucans (OPGs) are general constituents of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-Proteobacteria. This polymer of glucose is required for full virulence of many pathogens including Dickeya dadantii (D. dadantii). The phytopathogenic enterobacterium D. dadantii causes soft-rot disease in a wide range of plants. An OPG-defective mutant is impaired in environment sensing. We previously demonstrated that (i) fluctuation of OPG concentration controlled the activation level of the RcsCDB system, and (ii) RcsCDB along with EnvZ/OmpR controlled the mechanism of OPG succinylation. These previous data lead us to explore whether OPGs are required for other two-component systems. In this study, we demonstrate that inactivation of the EnvZ/OmpR system in an OPG-defective mutant restores full synthesis of pectinase but only partial virulence. Unlike for the RcsCDB system, the EnvZ-OmpR system is not controlled by OPG concentration but requires OPGs for proper activation

Concentration of osmoregulated periplasmic glucans (OPGs) modulates the activation level of the RcsCD RcsB phosphorelay in the phytopathogen bacteria Dickeya dadantii

International audienceOsmoregulated periplasmic glucans (OPGs) are general constituents of many Proteobacteria. Synthesis of these oligosaccharides is repressed by increased osmolarity of the medium. OPGs are important factors required for full virulence in many zoo-or phytopathogens including Dickeya dadantii. The phytopathogen enterobacterium D. dadantii causes soft-rot disease on a wide range of plant species. The total loss of virulence of opg-negative strains of D. dadantii is linked to the constitutive activation of the RcsCD RcsB phosphorelay highlighting relationship between this phosphorelay and OPGs. Here we show that OPGs control the RcsCD RcsB activation in a concentration-dependent manner, are required for proper activation of this phosphorelay by medium osmolarity, and a high concentration of OPGs in planta is maintained to achieve the low level of activation of the RcsCD RcsB phosphorelay required for full virulence in D. dadantii

A Novel Toxoplasma gondii Nuclear Factor TgNF3 Is a Dynamic Chromatin-Associated Component, Modulator of Nucleolar Architecture and Parasite Virulence

International audienceIn Toxoplasma gondii, cis-acting elements present in promoter sequences of genes that are stage-specifically regulated have been described. However, the nuclear factors that bind to these cis-acting elements and regulate promoter activities have not been identified. In the present study, we performed affinity purification, followed by proteomic analysis, to identify nuclear factors that bind to a stage-specific promoter in T. gondii. This led to the identification of several nuclear factors in T. gondii including a novel factor, designated herein as TgNF3. The N-terminal domain of TgNF3 shares similarities with the N-terminus of yeast nuclear FK506-binding protein (FKBP), known as a histone chaperone regulating gene silencing. Using anti-TgNF3 antibodies, HA-FLAG and YFP-tagged TgNF3, we show that TgNF3 is predominantly a parasite nucleolar, chromatin-associated protein that binds specifically to T. gondii gene promoters in vivo. Genome-wide analysis using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) identified promoter occupancies by TgNF3. In addition, TgNF3 has a direct role in transcriptional control of genes involved in parasite metabolism, transcription and translation. The ectopic expression of TgNF3 in the tachyzoites revealed dynamic changes in the size of the nucleolus, leading to a severe attenuation of virulence in vivo. We demonstrate that TgNF3 physically interacts with H3, H4 and H2A/H2B assembled into bona fide core and nucleosome-associated histones. Furthermore, TgNF3 interacts specifically to histones in the context of stage-specific gene silencing of a promoter that lacks active epigenetic acetylated histone marks. In contrast to virulent tachyzoites, which express the majority of TgNF3 in the nucleolus, the protein is exclusively located in the cytoplasm of the avirulent bradyzoites. We propose a model where TgNF3 acts essentially to coordinate nucleolus and nuclear functions by modulating nucleosome activities during the intracellular proliferation of the virulent tachyzoites of T. gondii

Analyse moléculaire d'une protéine-kinase, PrkC, et d'une phosphatase, PrpC, impliquées dans deux processus de développement chez Bacillus subtilis

La phosphorylation des protéines sur les résidus Ser/Thr/Tyr est d'une importance vitale dans de nombreux processus cellulaires. Mes travaux de thèse concernent la caractérisation, pour la première fois de PrkC, une Ser/Thr protéine-kinase de type eucaryote chez Bacillus subtilis. PrkC est une protéine membranaire dont l'organisation topologique est similaire à celle des récepteurs à activité kinase chez l'homme, avec un domaine extracellulaire, présumé senseur, un domaine transmembranaire unique (TMD) et un domaine kinase conservé. Grâce à l'utilisation d'un système génétique, j'ai montré que PrkC forme des dimères, le TMD et le domaine extracellulaire étant capables de promouvoir la dimérisation. En présence d'ATP, la protéine PrkC purifiée, est capable de s'autophosphoryler et de phosphoryler la protéine exogène MBP. Dans les deux cas, la phosphorylation concerne un ou plusieurs résidus thréonine. En collaboration avec Ole Jensen (Danemark), nous avons pu identifier après analyse par spectrométrie de masse en mode tandem MS/MS, huit résidus phosphorylés chez PrkC. Ainsi, quatre Thr sont localisées dans la boucle d'activation, trois Thr dans la région jouxtant la membrane et une Ser dans une région non conservée. La mutagénèse dirigée de ces résidus a montré que l'autophosphorylation de la Ser et des thréonines dans la boucle d'activation est essentielle pour l'activité kinase de PrkC. Parallèlement à ce travail, PrpC, une protéine homologue de la phosphatase humaine PP2C, a été caractérisée. La forme autophosphorylée de PrkC est déphosphorylée par PrpC. Le fait que PrkC et PrpC soient codées par deux gènes adjacents sur le chromosome et cotranscrits, suggère que ces enzymes pourraient fonctionner in vivo comme un couple kinase/phosphatase. La délétion des gènes prkC ou prpC réduit l'efficacité de la sporulation et la formation de biofilms. Une meilleure compréhension du rôle de PrkC et PrpC dans la cellule exige l'identification de leurs cibles/partenaires.Protein phosphorylation on Ser/Thr/Tyr residues plays a vital role in many cellular processes. My studies in this Thesis concerned the characterization, for the first time of PrkC, a membrane linked protein kinase in Bacillus subtilis, belonging to the super-family of Hanks kinases, predominantly found in eukaryotes. PrkC was shown to be an integral membrane protein with the topology of some receptor kinases found in humans, with an external domain presumed sensor, a single transmembrane domain (TMD) and a highly conserved kinase domain. I have shown that PrkC forms dimers with both the extracellular domain and the TMD capable of promoting dimerization. In the presence of ATP, PrkC or its catalytic domain, PrkCc, autophosphorylates in vitro and phosphorylates MBP. In both cases, phosphorylation involves one or more Thr residues. In collaboration with Ole Jensen (Danemark), we were able to identify precisely eight phosphorylated residues in PrkC by mass spectrometry. These residues were localised to specific regions of a 3D structure of PrkCc modelled on known kinase structures. Four Thr were localised to the activation loop whereas three Thr are in the juxtamembrane region, and one Ser in a non conserved region. Site directed mutagenesis of these residues confirmed that autophosphorylation of Ser214 and the threonine residues in the activation loop is essential for kinase activity. In a complementary approach, PrpC, a protein phosphatase homologue of the human PP2C family was also characterized. The autophosphorylated form of PrkC was dephosphorylated by PrpC. PrkC and PrpC are encoded by adjacent genes which are co-transcribed. These results indicate that these enzymes form a functional protein kinase/phosphatase couple. Moreover, other studies showed that mutants deleted for prkC or prpC displayed reduced biofilm formation and sporulation frequencies. A better understanding of the role of PrkC and PrpC in the cell requires identification of targets/partners.ORSAY-PARIS 11-BU Sciences (914712101) / SudocSudocFranceF