skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Sinorhizobium meliloti CtrA Stability Is Regulated in a CbrA-Dependent Manner That Is Influenced by CpdR1
ABSTRACT CbrA is a DivJ/PleC-like histidine kinase of DivK that is required for cell cycle progression and symbiosis in the alphaproteobacteriumSinorhizobium meliloti. Loss ofcbrAresults in increased levels of CtrA as well as its phosphorylation. While many of the knownCaulobacter crescentusregulators of CtrA phosphorylation and proteolysis are phylogenetically conserved withinS. meliloti, the latter lacks the PopA regulator that is required for CtrA degradation inC. crescentus. In order to investigate whether CtrA proteolysis occurs inS. meliloti, CtrA stability was assessed. During exponential growth, CtrA is unstable and therefore likely to be degraded in a cell cycle-regulated manner. Loss ofcbrAsignificantly increases CtrA stability, but this phenotype is restored to that of the wild type by constitutive ectopic expression of a CpdR1 variant that cannot be phosphorylated (CpdR1D53A). Addition of CpdR1D53Afully suppressescbrAmutant cell cycle defects, consistent with regulation of CtrA stability playing a key role in mediating proper cell cycle progression inS. meliloti. Importantly, thecbrAmutant symbiosis defect is also suppressed in the presence of CpdR1D53A. Thus, regulation of CtrA stability by CbrA and CpdR1 is associated with free-living cell cycle outcomes and symbiosis. IMPORTANCEThe cell cycle is a fundamental process required for bacterial growth, reproduction, and developmental differentiation. Our objective is to understand how a two-component signal transduction network directs cell cycle events during free-living growth and host colonization. TheSinorhizobium melilotinitrogen-fixing symbiosis with plants is associated with novel cell cycle events. This study identifies a link between the regulated stability of an essential response regulator, free-living cell cycle progression, and symbiosis.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1062748
PAR ID:
10497117
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Editor(s):
DiRita, V. J.
Publisher / Repository:
American Society for Microbiology
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Bacteriology
Volume:
197
Issue:
13
ISSN:
0021-9193
Page Range / eLocation ID:
2139 to 2149
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; (, Journal of Bacteriology)
    Stock, Ann M. (Ed.)
    ABSTRACT Chemotaxis and motility are important traits that support bacterial survival in various ecological niches and in pathogenic and symbiotic host interaction. Chemotactic stimuli are sensed by chemoreceptors or m ethyl-accepting c hemotaxis p roteins (MCPs), which direct the swimming behavior of the bacterial cell. In this study, we present evidence that the cellular abundance of chemoreceptors in the plant symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti can be altered by the addition of several to as few as one amino acid residues and by including common epitope tags such as 3×FLAG and 6×His at their C termini. To further dissect this phenomenon and its underlying molecular mechanism, we focused on a detailed analysis of the amino acid sensor McpU. Controlled proteolysis is important for the maintenance of an appropriate stoichiometry of chemoreceptors and between chemoreceptors and chemotactic signaling proteins, which is essential for an optimal chemotactic response. We hypothesized that enhanced stability is due to interference with protease binding, thus affecting proteolytic efficacy. Location of the protease recognition site was defined through McpU stability measurements in a series of deletion and amino acid substitution mutants. Deletions in the putative protease recognition site had similar effects on McpU abundance, as did extensions at the C terminus. Our results provide evidence that the programmed proteolysis of chemotaxis proteins in S. meliloti is cell cycle regulated. This posttranslational control, together with regulatory pathways on the transcriptional level, limits the chemotaxis machinery to the early exponential growth phase. Our study identified parallels to cell cycle-dependent processes during asymmetric cell division in Caulobacter crescentus . IMPORTANCE The symbiotic bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti contributes greatly to growth of the agriculturally valuable host plant alfalfa by fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Chemotaxis of S. meliloti cells toward alfalfa roots mediates this symbiosis. The present study establishes programmed proteolysis as a factor in the maintenance of the S. meliloti chemotaxis system. Knowledge about cell cycle-dependent, targeted, and selective proteolysis in S. meliloti is important to understand the molecular mechanisms of maintaining a suitable chemotaxis response. While the role of regulated protein turnover in the cell cycle progression of Caulobacter crescentus is well understood, these pathways are just beginning to be characterized in S. meliloti . In addition, our study should alert about the cautionary use of epitope tags for protein quantification. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; ; ; (, PLOS Computational Biology)
    Csikász-Nagy, Attila (Ed.)
    The cell cycle of Caulobacter crescentus involves the polar morphogenesis and an asymmetric cell division driven by precise interactions and regulations of proteins, which makes Caulobacter an ideal model organism for investigating bacterial cell development and differentiation. The abundance of molecular data accumulated on Caulobacter motivates system biologists to analyze the complex regulatory network of cell cycle via quantitative modeling. In this paper, We propose a comprehensive model to accurately characterize the underlying mechanisms of cell cycle regulation based on the study of: a) chromosome replication and methylation; b) interactive pathways of five master regulatory proteins including DnaA, GcrA, CcrM, CtrA, and SciP, as well as novel consideration of their corresponding mRNAs; c) cell cycle-dependent proteolysis of CtrA through hierarchical protease complexes. The temporal dynamics of our simulation results are able to closely replicate an extensive set of experimental observations and capture the main phenotype of seven mutant strains of Caulobacter crescentus . Collectively, the proposed model can be used to predict phenotypes of other mutant cases, especially for nonviable strains which are hard to cultivate and observe. Moreover, the module of cyclic proteolysis is an efficient tool to study the metabolism of proteins with similar mechanisms. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; (, iScience)
    The crescent-shaped bacterium Caulobacter crescentus divides asymmetrically into a sessile (stalked) cell and a motile (flagellated) cell. This dimorphic cell division cycle is driven by the asymmetric appearance of scaffolding proteins at the cell’s stalk and flagellum poles. The scaffolding proteins recruit enzyme complexes that phosphorylate and degrade a master transcription factor, CtrA, and the abundance and phosphorylation state of CtrA control the onset of DNA synthesis and the differentiation of stalked and flagellated cell types. In this study, we use a Turing-pattern mechanism to simulate the spatiotemporal dynamics of scaffolding proteins in Caulobacter and how they influence the abundance and intracellular distribution of CtrA-P. Our mathematical model captures crucial features of wild-type and mutant strains and predicts the distributions of CtrA-P and signaling proteins in mutant strains. Our model accounts for Caulobacter polar morphogenesis and shows how spatial localization and phosphosignaling cooperate to establish asymmetry during the cell cycle. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Science Advances)
    Host range specificity is a prominent feature of the legume-rhizobial symbiosis.Sinorhizobium melilotiandSinorhizobium medicaeare two closely related species that engage in root nodule symbiosis with legume plants of theMedicagogenus, but certainMedicagospecies exhibit selectivity in their interactions with the two rhizobial species. We have identified aMedicagoreceptor–like kinase, which can discriminate between the two bacterial species, acting as a genetic barrier against infection by mostS. medicaestrains. Activation of this receptor-mediated nodulation restriction requires a bacterial gene that encodes a glycine-rich octapeptide repeat protein with distinct variants capable of distinguishingS. medicaefromS. meliloti. This study sheds light on the coevolution of host plants and rhizobia, shaping symbiotic selectivity in their respective ecological niches. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; (, Applied and Environmental Microbiology)
    Stabb, Eric V. (Ed.)
    ABSTRACT Some soil bacteria, called rhizobia, can interact symbiotically with legumes, in which they form nodules on the plant roots, where they can reduce atmospheric dinitrogen to ammonia, a form of nitrogen that can be used by growing plants. Rhizobium-plant combinations can differ in how successful this symbiosis is: for example, Sinorhizobium meliloti Rm1021 forms a relatively ineffective symbiosis with Medicago truncatula Jemalong A17, but Sinorhizobium medicae WSM419 is able to support more vigorous plant growth. Using proteomic data from free-living and symbiotic S. medicae WSM419, we previously identified a subset of proteins that were not closely related to any S. meliloti Rm1021 proteins and speculated that adding one or more of these proteins to S. meliloti Rm1021 would increase its effectiveness on M. truncatula A17. Three genes, Smed_3503, Smed_5985, and Smed_6456, were cloned into S. meliloti Rm1021 downstream of the E. coli lacZ promoter. Strains with these genes increased nodulation and improved plant growth, individually and in combination with one another. Smed_3503, renamed iseA ( i ncreased s ymbiotic e ffectiveness), had the largest impact, increasing M. truncatula biomass by 61%. iseA homologs were present in all currently sequenced S. medicae strains but were infrequent in other Sinorhizobium isolates. Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841 containing iseA led to more nodules on pea and lentil. Split-root experiments with M. truncatula A17 indicated that S. meliloti Rm1021 carrying the S. medicae iseA is less sensitive to plant-induced resistance to rhizobial infection, suggesting an interaction with the plant’s regulation of nodule formation. IMPORTANCE Legume symbiosis with rhizobia is highly specific. Rhizobia that can nodulate and fix nitrogen on one legume species are often unable to associate with a different species. The interaction can be more subtle. Symbiotically enhanced growth of the host plant can differ substantially when nodules are formed by different rhizobial isolates of a species, much like disease severity can differ when conspecific isolates of pathogenic bacteria infect different cultivars. Much is known about bacterial genes essential for a productive symbiosis, but less is understood about genes that marginally improve performance. We used a proteomic strategy to identify Sinorhizobium genes that contribute to plant growth differences that are seen when two different strains nodulate M. truncatula A17. These genes could also alter the symbiosis between R. leguminosarum bv. viciae 3841 and pea or lentil, suggesting that this approach identifies new genes that may more generally contribute to symbiotic productivity. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email