RESUMO
Bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SS) are a highly diversified but evolutionarily related family of macromolecule transporters that can secrete proteins and DNA into the extracellular medium or into target cells. It was recently shown that a subtype of T4SS harboured by the plant pathogen Xanthomonas citri transfers toxins into target cells. Here, we show that a similar T4SS from the multi-drug-resistant opportunistic pathogen Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is proficient in killing competitor bacterial species. T4SS-dependent duelling between S. maltophilia and X. citri was observed by time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. A bioinformatic search of the S. maltophilia K279a genome for proteins containing a C-terminal domain conserved in X. citri T4SS effectors (XVIPCD) identified twelve putative effectors and their cognate immunity proteins. We selected a putative S. maltophilia effector with unknown function (Smlt3024) for further characterization and confirmed that it is indeed secreted in a T4SS-dependent manner. Expression of Smlt3024 in the periplasm of E. coli or its contact-dependent delivery via T4SS into E. coli by X. citri resulted in reduced growth rates, which could be counteracted by expression of its cognate inhibitor Smlt3025 in the target cell. Furthermore, expression of the VirD4 coupling protein of X. citri can restore the function of S. maltophilia ΔvirD4, demonstrating that effectors from one species can be recognized for transfer by T4SSs from another species. Interestingly, Smlt3024 is homologous to the N-terminal domain of large Ca2+-binding RTX proteins and the crystal structure of Smlt3025 revealed a topology similar to the iron-regulated protein FrpD from Neisseria meningitidis which has been shown to interact with the RTX protein FrpC. This work expands our current knowledge about the function of bacteria-killing T4SSs and increases the panel of effectors known to be involved in T4SS-mediated interbacterial competition, which possibly contribute to the establishment of S. maltophilia in clinical and environmental settings.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Bactérias/fisiologia , Stenotrophomonas maltophilia/fisiologia , Stenotrophomonas maltophilia/patogenicidade , Sistemas de Secreção Tipo IV/fisiologia , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Antibiose/genética , Antibiose/fisiologia , Proteínas de Bactérias/química , Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Sequência Conservada , Cristalografia por Raios X , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Genes Bacterianos , Infecções por Bactérias Gram-Negativas/microbiologia , Humanos , Proteínas Reguladoras de Ferro/química , Proteínas Reguladoras de Ferro/genética , Proteínas Reguladoras de Ferro/fisiologia , Modelos Moleculares , Infecções Oportunistas/microbiologia , Proteínas Recombinantes/química , Proteínas Recombinantes/genética , Proteínas Recombinantes/metabolismo , Especificidade da Espécie , Stenotrophomonas maltophilia/genética , Sistemas de Secreção Tipo IV/química , Sistemas de Secreção Tipo IV/genética , Xanthomonas/genética , Xanthomonas/crescimento & desenvolvimentoRESUMO
The peptidoglycan in Gram-negative bacteria is a dynamic structure in constant remodeling. This dynamism, achieved through synthesis and degradation, is essential because the peptidoglycan is necessary to maintain the structure of the cell but has to have enough plasticity to allow the transport and assembly of macromolecular complexes in the periplasm and outer membrane. In addition, this remodeling has to be coordinated with the division process. Among the multiple mechanisms bacteria have to degrade the peptidoglycan are the lytic transglycosidases, enzymes of the lysozyme family that cleave the glycan chains generating gaps in the mesh structure increasing its permeability. Because these enzymes can act as autolysins, their activity has to be tightly regulated, and one of the mechanisms bacteria have evolved is the synthesis of membrane bound or periplasmic inhibitors. In the present study, we identify a periplasmic lytic transglycosidase inhibitor (PhiA) in Brucella abortus and demonstrate that it inhibits the activity of SagA, a lytic transglycosidase we have previously shown is involved in the assembly of the type IV secretion system. A phiA deletion mutant results in a strain with the incapacity to synthesize a complete lipopolysaccharide but with a higher replication rate than the wild-type parental strain, suggesting a link between peptidoglycan remodeling and speed of multiplication.
Assuntos
Brucella abortus/patogenicidade , N-Acetil-Muramil-L-Alanina Amidase/antagonistas & inibidores , Glicosídeo Hidrolases/fisiologia , Lipopolissacarídeos/biossíntese , Complexos Multienzimáticos/fisiologia , Peptidoglicano/metabolismo , Transferases/fisiologia , Sistemas de Secreção Tipo IV/fisiologia , VirulênciaRESUMO
Brucella ovis is a major cause of reproductive failure in rams and it is one of the few well-described Brucella species that is not zoonotic. Previous work showed that a B. ovis mutant lacking a species-specific ABC transporter (ΔabcBA) was attenuated in mice and was unable to survive in macrophages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of this ABC transporter during intracellular survival of B. ovis. In HeLa cells, B. ovis WT was able to survive and replicate at later time point (48 hpi), whereas an ΔabcBA mutant was attenuated at 24 hpi. The reduced survival of the ΔabcBA mutant was associated with a decreased ability to exclude the lysosomal marker LAMP1 from its vacuolar membrane, suggesting a failure to establish a replicative niche. The ΔabcBA mutant showed a reduced abundance of the Type IV secretion system (T4SS) proteins VirB8 and VirB11 in both rich and acid media, when compared to WT B. ovis. However, mRNA levels of virB1, virB8, hutC, and vjbR were similar in both strains. These results support the notion that the ABC transporter encoded by abcEDCBA or its transported substrate acts at a post-transcriptional level to promote the optimal expression of the B. ovis T4SS within infected host cells.