Protein kinase B-mediated phosphorylation controls binding of global transcriptional regulator Lsr2 to DNA in Mycobacterium tuberculosis

ABSTRACT: Two billion people are estimated to have latent tuberculosis infection associated with dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mycobacteria possess a great portfolio of regulatory proteins which that control transitions betweento dormancy and resuscitation, including the essential protein kinase B (PknB). Here, we established that depletion of PknB resulted in global alteration of the M. tuberculosis transcriptome, and identified and implicated the DNA-binding protein Lsr2 as a main transcriptional regulator likely responsible for these changes. Furthermore, we showed that Lsr2 was phosphorylated by PknB in vitro and phosphorylation of Lsr2 on threonine 112 was important for M. tuberculosis growth and survival in the Wayne non-replicating persistence model. Our fluorescence anisotropy and electromobility shift assays revealed demonstrated that phosphorylation prevented reduced affinity of Lsr2 binding to DNA, and ChHIP-sequencing experiments confirmed increased DNA binding by of a phosphoablative (T112A) Lsr2 mutant in M. tuberculosis. According to our structural modelling studies revealed that phosphomimetic T112D mutation (T112D) to Lsr2 resulted in increased dynamics of the C-terminal part and a shift of the DNA binding loop of in the Lsr2 DNA binding domain, which disrupted prevented the DNA-protein interactions. Our findings suggest that PknB- mediated phosphorylation of Lsr2 is necessary for fine- tuning of gene expression during M. tuberculosis growth and transition to dormancy enabling M. tuberculosis to adapt and survive to cause disease.

ORGANISM(S): Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv

SUBMITTER: Simon Waddell 

PROVIDER: E-MTAB-7627 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress