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Abstract Microbial cells must continually adapt their physiology in the face of changing environmental conditions. Archaea living in extreme conditions, such as saturated salinity, represent important examples of such resilience. The model salt‐loving organismHaloferax volcaniiexhibits remarkable plasticity in its morphology, biofilm formation, and motility in response to variations in nutrients and cell density. However, the mechanisms regulating these lifestyle transitions remain unclear. In prior research, we showed that the transcriptional regulator, TrmB, maintains the rod shape in the related speciesHalobacterium salinarumby activating the expression of enzyme‐coding genes in the gluconeogenesis metabolic pathway. InHbt. salinarum, TrmB‐dependent production of glucose moieties is required for cell surface glycoprotein biogenesis. Here, we use a combination of genetics and quantitative phenotyping assays to demonstrate that TrmB is essential for growth under gluconeogenic conditions inHfx. volcanii. The ∆trmBstrain rapidly accumulated suppressor mutations in a gene encoding a novel transcriptional regulator, which we nametrmBsuppressor, or TbsP (a.k.a. “tablespoon”). TbsP is required for adhesion to abiotic surfaces (i.e., biofilm formation) and maintains wild‐type cell morphology and motility. We use functional genomics and promoter fusion assays to characterize the regulons controlled by each of TrmB and TbsP, including joint regulation of the glucose‐dependent transcription ofgapII, which encodes an important gluconeogenic enzyme. We conclude that TrmB and TbsP coregulate gluconeogenesis, with downstream impacts on lifestyle transitions in response to nutrients inHfx. volcanii.
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TroR is the primary regulator of the iron homeostasis transcription network in the halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii
Abstract Maintaining the intracellular iron concentration within the homeostatic range is vital to meet cellular metabolic needs and reduce oxidative stress. Previous research revealed that the haloarchaeon Halobacterium salinarum encodes four diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) family transcription factors (TFs) that together regulate the iron response through an interconnected transcriptional regulatory network (TRN). However, the conservation of the TRN and the metal specificity of DtxR TFs remained poorly understood. Here we identified and characterized the TRN of Haloferax volcanii for comparison. Genetic analysis demonstrated that Hfx. volcanii relies on three DtxR transcriptional regulators (Idr, SirR, and TroR), with TroR as the primary regulator of iron homeostasis. Bioinformatics and molecular approaches revealed that TroR binds a conserved cis-regulatory motif located ∼100 nt upstream of the start codon of iron-related target genes. Transcriptomics analysis demonstrated that, under conditions of iron sufficiency, TroR repressed iron uptake and induced iron storage mechanisms. TroR repressed the expression of one other DtxR TF, Idr. This reduced DtxR TRN complexity relative to that of Hbt. salinarum appeared correlated with natural variations in iron availability. Based on these data, we hypothesize that variable environmental conditions such as iron availability appear to select for increasing TRN complexity.
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- PAR ID:
- 10475354
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nucleic Acids Research
- Volume:
- 52
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0305-1048
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 125-140
- Size(s):
- p. 125-140
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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