Characterization of Aquifex aeolicus 4-diphosphocytidyl-2C-methyl-d-erythritol kinase – ligand recognition in a template for antimicrobial drug discovery

4-Diphosphocytidyl-2C-methyl-d-erythritol kinase (IspE) catalyses the ATP-dependent conversion of 4-diphosphocytidyl-2C-methyl-d-erythritol (CDPME) to 4-diphosphocytidyl-2C-methyl-d-erythritol 2-phosphate with the release of ADP. This reaction occurs in the non-mevalonate pathway of isoprenoid precursor biosynthesis and because it is essential in important microbial pathogens and absent from mammals it represents a potential target for anti-infective drugs. We set out to characterize the biochemical properties, determinants of molecular recognition and reactivity of IspE and report the cloning and purification of recombinant Aquifex aeolicus IspE (AaIspE), kinetic data, metal ion, temperature and pH dependence, crystallization and structure determination of the enzyme in complex with CDP, CDPME and ADP. In addition, 4-fluoro-3,5-dihydroxy-4-methylpent-1-enylphosphonic acid (compound 1) was designed to mimic a fragment of the substrate, a synthetic route to 1 was elucidated and the complex structure determined. Surprisingly, this ligand occupies the binding site for the ATP α-phosphate not the binding site for the methyl-d-erythritol moiety of CDPME. Gel filtration and analytical ultracentrifugation indicate that AaIspE is a monomer in solution. The enzyme displays the characteristic α/β galacto-homoserine-mevalonate-phosphomevalonate kinase fold, with the catalytic centre positioned in a deep cleft between the ATP- and CDPME-binding domains. Comparisons indicate a high degree of sequence conservation on the IspE active site across bacterial species, similarities in structure, specificity of substrate recognition and mechanism. The biochemical characterization, attainment of well-ordered and reproducible crystals and the models resulting from the analyses provide reagents and templates to support the structure-based design of broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents

Crystal structure of the DNA-bound VapBC2 antitoxin/toxin pair from Rickettsia felis

Besides their commonly attributed role in the maintenance of low-copy number plasmids, toxin/antitoxin (TA) loci, also called ‘addiction modules’, have been found in chromosomes and associated to a number of biological functions such as: reduction of protein synthesis, gene regulation and retardation of cell growth under nutritional stress. The recent discovery of TA loci in obligatory intracellular species of the Rickettsia genus has prompted new research to establish whether they work as stress response elements or as addiction systems that might be toxic for the host cell. VapBC2 is a TA locus from R. felis, a pathogen responsible for flea-borne spotted fever in humans. The VapC2 toxin is a PIN-domain protein, whereas the antitoxin, VapB2, belongs to the family of swapped-hairpin β-barrel DNA-binding proteins. We have used a combination of biophysical and structural methods to characterize this new toxin/antitoxin pair. Our results show how VapB2 can block the VapC2 toxin. They provide a first structural description of the interaction between a swapped-hairpin β-barrel protein and DNA. Finally, these results suggest how the VapC2/VapB2 molar ratio can control the self-regulation of the TA locus transcription

Regulation of the vapBC-1 Toxin-Antitoxin Locus in Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) are human-adapted commensal bacteria that can cause a number of chronic mucosal infections, including otitis media and bronchitis. One way for these organisms to survive antibiotic therapy and cause recurrent disease is to stop replicating, as most antimicrobials target essential biosynthetic pathways. Toxin-antitoxin (TA) gene pairs have been shown to facilitate entry into a reversible bacteriostatic state. Characteristically, these operons encode a protein toxin and an antitoxin that associate following translation to form a nontoxic complex, which then binds to and regulates the cognate TA promoter. Under stressful conditions, the labile antitoxin is degraded and the complex disintegrates, freeing the stable toxin to facilitate growth arrest. How these events affected the regulation of the TA locus, as well as how the transcription of the operon was subsequently returned to its normal state upon resumption of growth, was not fully understood. Here we show that expression of the NTHi vapBC-1 TA locus is repressed by a complex of VapB-1 and VapC-1 under conditions favorable for growth, and activated by the global transactivator Factor for Inversion Stimulation (Fis) upon nutrient upshift from stationary phase. Further, we demonstrate for the first time that the VapC-1 toxin alone can bind to its cognate TA locus control region and that the presence of VapB-1 directs the binding of the VapBC-1 complex in the transcriptional regulation of vapBC-1

Characterization of Phosphofructokinase Activity in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Reveals That a Functional Glycolytic Carbon Flow Is Necessary to Limit the Accumulation of Toxic Metabolic Intermediates under Hypoxia

10.1371/journal.pone.0056037PLoS ONE82

Txe, an endoribonuclease of the enterococcal Axe–Txe toxin–antitoxin system, cleaves mRNA and inhibits protein synthesis

The axe–txe operon encodes a toxin–antitoxin (TA) pair, Axe–Txe, that was initially identified on the multidrug-resistance plasmid pRUM in Enterococcus faecium. In Escherichia coli, expression of the Txe toxin is known to inhibit cell growth, and co-expression of the antitoxin, Axe, counteracts the toxic effect of Txe. Here, we report the nucleotide sequence of pS177, a 39 kb multidrug-resistant plasmid isolated from vancomycin-resistant Ent. faecium, which harbours the axe–txe operon and the vanA gene cluster. RT-PCR analysis revealed that the axe–txe transcript is produced by strain S177 as well as by other vancomycin-resistant enteroccoci. Moreover, we determine the mechanism by which the Txe protein exerts its toxic activity. Txe inhibits protein synthesis in E. coli without affecting DNA or RNA synthesis, and inhibits protein synthesis in a cell-free system. Using in vivo primer extension analysis, we demonstrate that Txe preferentially cleaves single-stranded mRNA at the first base after an AUG start codon. We conclude that Txe is an endoribonuclease which cleaves mRNA and inhibits protein synthesis

Structural and biochemical characterization of HP0315 from Helicobacter pylori as a VapD protein with an endoribonuclease activity

VapD-like virulence-associated proteins have been found in many organisms, but little is known about this protein family including the 3D structure of these proteins. Recently, a relationship between the Cas2 family of ribonucleases associated with the CRISPR system of microbial immunity and VapD was suggested. Here, we show for the first time the structure of a member of the VapD family and present a relationship of VapD with Cas2 family and toxin–antitoxin (TA) systems. The crystal structure of HP0315 from Helicobacter pylori was solved at a resolution of 2.8 Å. The structure of HP0315, which has a modified ferredoxin-like fold, is very similar to that of the Cas2 family. Like Cas2 proteins, HP0315 shows endoribonuclease activity. HP0315-cleaved mRNA, mainly before A and G nucleotides preferentially, which means that HP0315 has purine-specific endoribonuclease activity. Mutagenesis studies of HP0315 revealed that D7, L13, S43 and D76 residues are important for RNase activity, in contrast, to the Cas2 family. HP0315 is arranged as an operon with HP0316, which was found to be an antitoxin-related protein. However, HP0315 is not a component of the TA system. Thus, HP0315 may be an evolutionary intermediate which does not belong to either the Cas2 family or TA system

Comprehensive Functional Analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Toxin-Antitoxin Systems: Implications for Pathogenesis, Stress Responses, and Evolution

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems, stress-responsive genetic elements ubiquitous in microbial genomes, are unusually abundant in the major human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Why M. tuberculosis has so many TA systems and what role they play in the unique biology of the pathogen is unknown. To address these questions, we have taken a comprehensive approach to identify and functionally characterize all the TA systems encoded in the M. tuberculosis genome. Here we show that 88 putative TA system candidates are present in M. tuberculosis, considerably more than previously thought. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the vast majority of these systems are conserved in the M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC), but largely absent from other mycobacteria, including close relatives of M. tuberculosis. We found that many of the M. tuberculosis TA systems are located within discernable genomic islands and were thus likely acquired recently via horizontal gene transfer. We discovered a novel TA system located in the core genome that is conserved across the genus, suggesting that it may fulfill a role common to all mycobacteria. By expressing each of the putative TA systems in M. smegmatis, we demonstrate that 30 encode a functional toxin and its cognate antitoxin. We show that the toxins of the largest family of TA systems, VapBC, act by inhibiting translation via mRNA cleavage. Expression profiling demonstrated that four systems are specifically activated during stresses likely encountered in vivo, including hypoxia and phagocytosis by macrophages. The expansion and maintenance of TA genes in the MTBC, coupled with the finding that a subset is transcriptionally activated by stress, suggests that TA systems are important for M. tuberculosis pathogenesis

The ζ Toxin Induces a Set of Protective Responses and Dormancy

The ζε module consists of a labile antitoxin protein, ε, which in dimer form (ε2) interferes with the action of the long-living monomeric ζ phosphotransferase toxin through protein complex formation. Toxin ζ, which inhibits cell wall biosynthesis and may be bactericide in nature, at or near physiological concentrations induces reversible cessation of Bacillus subtilis proliferation (protective dormancy) by targeting essential metabolic functions followed by propidium iodide (PI) staining in a fraction (20–30%) of the population and selects a subpopulation of cells that exhibit non-inheritable tolerance (1–5×10−5). Early after induction ζ toxin alters the expression of ∼78 genes, with the up-regulation of relA among them. RelA contributes to enforce toxin-induced dormancy. At later times, free active ζ decreases synthesis of macromolecules and releases intracellular K+. We propose that ζ toxin induces reversible protective dormancy and permeation to PI, and expression of ε2 antitoxin reverses these effects. At later times, toxin expression is followed by death of a small fraction (∼10%) of PI stained cells that exited earlier or did not enter into the dormant state. Recovery from stress leads to de novo synthesis of ε2 antitoxin, which blocks ATP binding by ζ toxin, thereby inhibiting its phosphotransferase activity

VapC Toxins from Mycobacterium tuberculosis Are Ribonucleases that Differentially Inhibit Growth and Are Neutralized by Cognate VapB Antitoxins

The chromosome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) encodes forty seven toxin-antitoxin modules belonging to the VapBC family. The role of these modules in the physiology of Mtb and the function(s) served by their expansion are unknown. We investigated ten vapBC modules from Mtb and the single vapBC from M. smegmatis. Of the Mtb vapCs assessed, only Rv0549c, Rv0595c, Rv2549c and Rv2829c were toxic when expressed from a tetracycline-regulated promoter in M. smegmatis. The same genes displayed toxicity when conditionally expressed in Mtb. Toxicity of Rv2549c in M. smegmatis correlated with the level of protein expressed, suggesting that the VapC level must exceed a threshold for toxicity to be observed. In addition, the level of Rv2456 protein induced in M. smegmatis was markedly lower than Rv2549c, which may account for the lack of toxicity of this and other VapCs scored as ‘non-toxic’. The growth inhibitory effects of toxic VapCs were neutralized by expression of the cognate VapB as part of a vapBC operon or from a different chromosomal locus, while that of non-cognate antitoxins did not. These results demonstrated a specificity of interaction between VapCs and their cognate VapBs, a finding corroborated by yeast two-hybrid analyses. Deletion of selected vapC or vapBC genes did not affect mycobacterial growth in vitro, but rendered the organisms more susceptible to growth inhibition following toxic VapC expression. However, toxicity of ‘non-toxic’ VapCs was not unveiled in deletion mutant strains, even when the mutation eliminated the corresponding cognate VapB, presumably due to insufficient levels of VapC protein. Together with the ribonuclease (RNase) activity demonstrated for Rv0065 and Rv0617 – VapC proteins with similarity to Rv0549c and Rv3320c, respectively – these results suggest that the VapBC family potentially provides an abundant source of RNase activity in Mtb, which may profoundly impact the physiology of the organism