The Chaperone ClpX Stimulates Expression of Staphylococcus aureus Protein A by Rot Dependent and Independent Pathways

The Clp ATPases (Hsp100) constitute a family of closely related proteins that have protein reactivating and remodelling activities typical of molecular chaperones. In Staphylococcus aureus the ClpX chaperone is essential for virulence and for transcription of spa encoding Protein A. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanism by which ClpX stimulates expression of Protein A. For this purpose, we prepared antibodies directed against Rot, an activator of spa transcription, and demonstrated that cells devoid of ClpX contain three-fold less Rot than wild-type cells. By varying Rot expression from an inducible promoter we showed that expression of Protein A requires a threshold level of Rot. In the absence of ClpX the Rot content is reduced below this threshold level, hence, explaining the substantially reduced Protein A expression in the clpX mutant. Experiments addressed at pinpointing the role of ClpX in Rot synthesis revealed that ClpX is required for translation of Rot. Interestingly, translation of the spa mRNA was, like the rot mRNA, enhanced by ClpX. These data demonstrate that ClpX performs dual roles in regulating Protein A expression, as ClpX stimulates transcription of spa by enhancing translation of Rot, and that ClpX additionally is required for full translation of the spa mRNA. The current findings emphasize that ClpX has a central role in fine-tuning virulence regulation in S. aureus

Capturing the cloud of diversity reveals complexity and heterogeneity of MRSA carriage, infection and transmission.

Genome sequencing is revolutionizing clinical microbiology and our understanding of infectious diseases. Previous studies have largely relied on the sequencing of a single isolate from each individual. However, it is not clear what degree of bacterial diversity exists within, and is transmitted between individuals. Understanding this 'cloud of diversity' is key to accurate identification of transmission pathways. Here, we report the deep sequencing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among staff and animal patients involved in a transmission network at a veterinary hospital. We demonstrate considerable within-host diversity and that within-host diversity may rise and fall over time. Isolates from invasive disease contained multiple mutations in the same genes, including inactivation of a global regulator of virulence and changes in phage copy number. This study highlights the need for sequencing of multiple isolates from individuals to gain an accurate picture of transmission networks and to further understand the basis of pathogenesis.Thanks to Dr Alex O’Neill, University of Leeds and Dr Matthew Ellington, Public Health England for provision of RN4220 and RN4200mutS. We thank the core sequencing and informatics team at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute for sequencing of the isolates described in this study. This work was supported by a Medical Research Council Partnership grant (G1001787/1) held between the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge (M.A.H.), the School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge (S.J.P.), the Moredun Research Institute, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (J.P. and S.J.P). S.J.P. receives support from the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. M.T.G.H., S.R.H. and J.P. were funded by Wellcome Trust grant no. 098051. G.G.R.M. was funded by an MRC studentship.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms756

Experimental discovery of small RNAs in Staphylococcus aureus reveals a riboregulator of central metabolism

Using an experimental approach, we investigated the RNome of the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus to identify 30 small RNAs (sRNAs) including 14 that are newly confirmed. Among the latter, 10 are encoded in intergenic regions, three are generated by premature transcription termination associated with riboswitch activities, and one is expressed from the complementary strand of a transposase gene. The expression of four sRNAs increases during the transition from exponential to stationary phase. We focused our study on RsaE, an sRNA that is highly conserved in the bacillales order and is deleterious when over-expressed. We show that RsaE interacts in vitro with the 5′ region of opp3A mRNA, encoding an ABC transporter component, to prevent formation of the ribosomal initiation complex. A previous report showed that RsaE targets opp3B which is co-transcribed with opp3A. Thus, our results identify an unusual case of riboregulation where the same sRNA controls an operon mRNA by targeting two of its cistrons. A combination of biocomputational and transcriptional analyses revealed a remarkably coordinated RsaE-dependent downregulation of numerous metabolic enzymes involved in the citrate cycle and the folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism. As we observed that RsaE accumulates transiently in late exponential growth, we propose that RsaE functions to ensure a coordinate downregulation of the central metabolism when carbon sources become scarce

Global Regulatory Functions of the Staphylococcus aureus Endoribonuclease III in Gene Expression

RNA turnover plays an important role in both virulence and adaptation to stress in the Gram-positive human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. However, the molecular players and mechanisms involved in these processes are poorly understood. Here, we explored the functions of S. aureus endoribonuclease III (RNase III), a member of the ubiquitous family of double-strand-specific endoribonucleases. To define genomic transcripts that are bound and processed by RNase III, we performed deep sequencing on cDNA libraries generated from RNAs that were co-immunoprecipitated with wild-type RNase III or two different cleavage-defective mutant variants in vivo. Several newly identified RNase III targets were validated by independent experimental methods. We identified various classes of structured RNAs as RNase III substrates and demonstrated that this enzyme is involved in the maturation of rRNAs and tRNAs, regulates the turnover of mRNAs and non-coding RNAs, and autoregulates its synthesis by cleaving within the coding region of its own mRNA. Moreover, we identified a positive effect of RNase III on protein synthesis based on novel mechanisms. RNase III–mediated cleavage in the 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR) enhanced the stability and translation of cspA mRNA, which encodes the major cold-shock protein. Furthermore, RNase III cleaved overlapping 5′UTRs of divergently transcribed genes to generate leaderless mRNAs, which constitutes a novel way to co-regulate neighboring genes. In agreement with recent findings, low abundance antisense RNAs covering 44% of the annotated genes were captured by co-immunoprecipitation with RNase III mutant proteins. Thus, in addition to gene regulation, RNase III is associated with RNA quality control of pervasive transcription. Overall, this study illustrates the complexity of post-transcriptional regulation mediated by RNase III

The Staphylococcus aureus RNome and Its Commitment to Virulence

Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen causing a wide spectrum of nosocomial and community-associated infections with high morbidity and mortality. S. aureus generates a large number of virulence factors whose timing and expression levels are precisely tuned by regulatory proteins and RNAs. The aptitude of bacteria to use RNAs to rapidly modify gene expression, including virulence factors in response to stress or environmental changes, and to survive in a host is an evolving concept. Here, we focus on the recently inventoried S. aureus regulatory RNAs, with emphasis on those with identified functions, two of which are directly involved in pathogenicity

Heat capacity and phase equilibria of hollandite polymorph of KAlSi 3 O 8

The low-temperature heat capacity ( C p ) of KAlSi 3 O 8 with a hollandite structure was measured over the range of 5–303 K with a physical properties measurement system. The standard entropy of KAlSi 3 O 8 hollandite is 166.2±0.2 J mol −1  K −1 , including an 18.7 J mol −1  K −1 contribution from the configurational entropy due to disorder of Al and Si in the octahedral sites. The entropy of K 2 Si 4 O 9 with a wadeite structure (Si-wadeite) was also estimated to facilitate calculation of phase equilibria in the system K 2 O–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 . The calculated phase equilibria obtained using Perple_x are in general agreement with experimental studies. Calculated phase relations in the system K 2 O–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 confirm a substantial stability field for kyanite–stishovite/coesite–Si-wadeite intervening between KAlSi 3 O 8 hollandite and sanidine. The upper stability of kyanite is bounded by the reaction kyanite (Al 2 SiO 5 ) = corundum (Al 2 O 3 )  + stishovite (SiO 2 ), which is located at 13–14 GPa for 1,100–1,400 K. The entropy and enthalpy of formation for K-cymrite (KAlSi 3 O 8 ·H 2 O) were modified to better fit global best-fit compilations of thermodynamic data and experimental studies. Thermodynamic calculations were undertaken on the reaction of K-cymrite to KAlSi 3 O 8 hollandite +  H 2 O, which is located at 8.3–10.0 GPa for the temperature range 800–1,600 K, well inside the stability field of stishovite. The reaction of muscovite to KAlSi 3 O 8 hollandite + corundum + H 2 O is placed at 10.0–10.6 GPa for the temperature range 900–1,500 K, in reasonable agreement with some but not all experiments on this reaction.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46910/1/269_2006_Article_63.pd

Interactions of the intact FsrC membrane histidine kinase with its pheromone ligand GBAP revealed through synchrotron radiation circular dichroism

FsrC is the membrane-bound histidine kinase component of the Fsr two-component signal transduction system involved in quorum sensing in the hospital-acquired infection agent Enterococcus faecalis. Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism spectroscopy was used here to study the intact purified protein solubilised in detergent micelles. Conditions required for FsrC stability in detergent were firstly determined and tested by prolonged exposure of stabilised protein to far-ultraviolet radiation. Using stabilised purified protein, far-ultraviolet synchrotron radiation circular dichroism revealed that FsrC is 61% α-helical and that it is relatively thermostable, retaining at least 57% secondary structural integrity at 90 °C in the presence or absence of gelatinase biosynthesis-activating pheromone (GBAP). Whilst binding of the quorum pheromone ligand GBAP did not significantly affect FsrC secondary structure, near-ultraviolet spectra revealed that the tertiary structure in the regions of the Tyr and Trp residues was significantly affected. Titration experiments revealed a calculated k d value of 2 μM indicative of relatively loose binding of gelatinase biosynthesis-activating pheromone to FsrC. Although use of synchrotron radiation circular dichroism has been applied to membrane proteins previously, to our knowledge this is the first report of its use to determine a k d value for an intact membrane protein. Based on our findings, we suggest that synchrotron radiation circular dichroism will be a valuable technique for characterising ligand binding by other membrane sensor kinases and indeed other membrane proteins in general. It further provides a valuable screening tool for membrane protein stability under a range of detergent conditions prior to downstream structural methods such as crystallisation and NMR experiments particularly when lower detergent concentrations are used