Project description:All free-living microorganisms homeostatically maintain the fluidity of their membranes by adapting lipid composition to environmental temperatures. A quantitative description of how organisms maintain constant fluidity at all growth temperatures has not been achieved. By quantifying both enzymes and metabolic intermediates of the Escherichia coli fatty acid and phospholipid synthesis pathways, we discover how E. coli measures steady-state temperature and restores optimal membrane fluidity within a single generation after temperature shocks.
Project description:Inorganic polyphosphate (Poly P) is a polymer of various phosphate residues linked by phosphoanhydride bonds as in ATP. It is found in all cells in nature with roles in the origin and survival of species, particularly in bacteria. To study the role of the inorganic polyphosphate in bacteria, we obtained knockout mutants of polyP metabolism genes in Escherichia coli K12. We performed DNA microarray experiments of single mutants in polyphosphate kinase 1 (PPK1), exopolyphosphatase (PPX) and also with the double mutant (PPK1 and PPX). The mutant strains growth normally in LB medium but have different colony morphology phenotypes. All mutants have flagellation problems and a detail description of all gain and lost phenotypes o these strains will be published soon because we performed a complete phenotypic microarray study of all three mutant strains.
Project description:While in transit within and between hosts, uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) encounter multiple stresses, including substantial levels of nitric oxide and reactive nitrogen intermediates. Strains of UPEC become conditioned to high concentrations of acidified sodium nitrite (ASN), a model system used to generate nitrosative stress. We used microarrays to define the expression profile of UPEC that have been conditioned for growth in ASN.
Project description:Bacterial stress responses have been studied at the phenotypic, transcriptional, and translational levels, demonstrating the presence of an “alarm” phase immediately after stress exposure. However, the contributions of RNA modifications during stress adaptation remain largely unexplored. Here, we map the epitranscriptomic changes of Escherichia coli after exposure to oxidative and acid stress using direct RNA sequencing of mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA, combined with mass spectrometry, deletion mutant phenotyping, and single-nucleotide PCR. We identified widespread, dynamic RNA modifications that include central metabolism transcripts and increased levels of rRNA methylations (m4Cm and m5C) under both stresses, with potential consequences for translation. In uncharged tRNAs, stress-specific modifications via the Mnm and Q pathways accumulated at the wobble position; these modifications proved crucial for survival. Together, these findings reveal a multifaceted layer of post-transcriptional regulation, establishing the first comprehensive view of the bacterial epitranscriptome during the alarm phase of stress adaptation.
Project description:A strain of UPEC CFT073 lacking the three known NO detoxifiaction mechanisms, Hmp, FlRd and Nrf is used to study the global effect of NO on the pathogen
Project description:Membraneless droplets formed through liquid-liquid phase separation of ribonucleoprotein particles contribute to mRNA storage in eukaryotic cells. How such aggresomes contribute to mRNA dynamics under stress, and their functional role, is less understood in bacteria. Here we used multiple approaches including imaging, modelling and transcriptomics to show that prolonged stress leading to ATP depletion in Escherichia coli results in increased aggresome formation, their compaction, and enrichment of mRNA within aggresomes compared to the cytosol. Transcript length was longer in aggresomes compared to the cytosol. Mass spectrometry showed exclusion of mRNA ribonucleases from aggresomes, which was due to negative charge repulsion. Experiments with fluorescent reporters and disruption of aggresome formation showed that mRNA storage within aggresomes promoted translation and associated with reduced lag phases during growth after stress removal. Our findings suggest that mRNA storage within aggresomes confers an advantage for bacterial survival and recovery from stress.