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Pseudomonas aeruginosa AlgF is a protein-protein interaction mediator required for acetylation of the alginate exopolysaccharide.

ABSTRACT: Enzymatic modifications of bacterial exopolysaccharides enhance immune evasion and persistence during infection. In the Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, acetylation of alginate reduces opsonic killing by phagocytes and improves reactive oxygen species scavenging. Although it is well known that alginate acetylation in P. aeruginosa requires AlgI, AlgJ, AlgF, and AlgX, how these proteins coordinate polymer modification at a molecular level remains unclear. Here, we describe the structural characterization of AlgF and its protein interaction network. We characterize direct interactions between AlgF and both AlgJ and AlgX in vitro and demonstrate an association between AlgF and AlgX, as well as AlgJ and AlgI, in P. aeruginosa. We determine that AlgF does not exhibit acetylesterase activity and is unable to bind to polymannuronate in vitro. Therefore, we propose that AlgF functions to mediate protein-protein interactions between alginate acetylation enzymes, forming the periplasmic AlgJFXK (AlgJ-AlgF-AlgX-AlgK) acetylation and export complex required for robust biofilm formation.

SUBMITTER: Low KE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10641220 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Pseudomonas aeruginosa AlgF is a protein-protein interaction mediator required for acetylation of the alginate exopolysaccharide.

Low Kristin E KE Gheorghita Andreea A AA Tammam Stephanie D SD Whitfield Gregory B GB Li Yancheng E YE Riley Laura M LM Weadge Joel T JT Caldwell Shane J SJ Chong P Andrew PA Walvoort Marthe T C MTC Kitova Elena N EN Klassen John S JS Codée Jeroen D C JDC Howell P Lynne PL

The Journal of biological chemistry 20231004 11

Enzymatic modifications of bacterial exopolysaccharides enhance immune evasion and persistence during infection. In the Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, acetylation of alginate reduces opsonic killing by phagocytes and improves reactive oxygen species scavenging. Although it is well known that alginate acetylation in P. aeruginosa requires AlgI, AlgJ, AlgF, and AlgX, how these proteins coordinate polymer modification at a molecular level remains unclear. Here, we desc ...[more]

PMID: 37797696

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Project description:Mucoid strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa overproduce alginate, a linear exopolysaccharide Of D-mannuronate and variable amounts of L-guluronate. The mannuronate residues undergo modification by C-5 epimerization to form the L-guluronates and by the addition of acetyl groups at the 0-2 and 0-3 positions. Through genetic analysis, we previously identified algF, located upstream of algA in the 18-kb alginate biosynthetic operon, as a gene required for alginate acetylation. Here, we show the sequence of a 3.7-kb fragment containing the open reading frames termed algI, algJ, and algF. An algI::Tn5O1 mutant, which was defective in algIJFA because of the polar nature of the transposon insertion, produced alginate when algA was provided in trans. This indicated that the algIJF gene products were not required for polymer biosynthesis. To examine the potential role of these genes in alginate modification, mutants were constructed by gene replacement in which each gene (algI, algJ, or algF) was replaced by a polar gentamicin resistance cassette. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that polymers produced by strains deficient in algIJF still contained a mixture of D-mannuronate and L-guluronate, indicating that C-5 epimerization was not affected. Alginate acetylation was evaluated by a colorimetric assay and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, and this analysis showed that strains deficient in algIJF produced nonacetylated alginate. Plasmids that supplied the downstream gene products affected by the polar mutations were introduced into each mutant. The strain defective only in algF expression produced an alginate that was not acetylated, confirming previous results. Strains missing only algJ or algI also produced nonacetylated alginates. Providing the respective missing gene (algI, algJ, or algF) in trans restored alginate acetylation. Mutants defective in algI or algJ, obtained by chemical and transposon mutagenesis, were also defective in their ability to acetylate alginate. Therefore, algI and algJ represent newly identified genes that, in addition to algF, are required for alginate acetylation.

Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, isolated from chronically infected patients with cystic fibrosis, produce the O-acetylated extracellular polysaccharide, alginate, giving these strains a mucoid phenotype. O acetylation of alginate plays an important role in the ability of mucoid P. aeruginosa to form biofilms and to resist complement-mediated phagocytosis. The O-acetylation process is complex, requiring a protein with seven transmembrane domains (AlgI), a type II membrane protein (AlgJ), and a periplasmic protein (AlgF). The cellular localization of these proteins suggests a model wherein alginate is modified at the polymer level after the transport of O-acetyl groups to the periplasm. Here, we demonstrate that this mechanism for polysaccharide esterification may be common among bacteria, since AlgI homologs linked to type II membrane proteins are found in a variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In some cases, genes for these homologs have been incorporated into polysaccharide biosynthetic operons other than for alginate biosynthesis. The phylogenies of AlgI do not correlate with the phylogeny of the host bacteria, based on 16S rRNA analysis. The algI homologs and the gene for their adjacent type II membrane protein present a mosaic pattern of gene arrangement, suggesting that individual components of the multigene cassette, as well as the entire cassette, evolved by lateral gene transfer. AlgJ and the other type II membrane proteins, although more diverged than AlgI, contain conserved motifs, including a motif surrounding a highly conserved histidine residue, which is required for alginate O-acetylation activity by AlgJ. The AlgI homologs also contain an ordered series of motifs that included conserved amino acid residues in the cytoplasmic domain CD-4; the transmembrane domains TM-C, TM-D, and TM-E; and the periplasmic domain PD-3. Site-directed mutagenesis studies were used to identify amino acids important for alginate O-acetylation activity, including those likely required for (i) the interaction of AlgI with the O-acetyl precursor in the cytoplasm, (ii) the export of the O-acetyl group across the cytoplasmic membrane, and (iii) the transfer of the O-acetyl group to a periplasmic protein or to alginate. These results indicate that AlgI belongs to a family of membrane proteins required for modification of polysaccharides and that a mechanism requiring an AlgI homolog and a type II membrane protein has evolved by lateral gene transfer for the esterification of many bacterial extracellular polysaccharides.

Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important pathogen that causes chronic infections that involve multicellular aggregates called biofilms. Within biofilms, bacteria are surrounded in a protective extracellular matrix of proteins, exopolysaccharides (EPS), and DNA. A key P. aeruginosa matrix protein is an extracellular adhesin called CdrA, which promotes aggregation by binding to the EPS Psl and via CdrA-CdrA interactions. We hypothesized that because of its ability to bind Psl, CdrA would be important only for strains that use Psl as the primary EPS (e.g., the laboratory strain PAO1). Thus, we predicted that cdrA might be dispensable for biofilm formation by strains that do not utilize Psl (e.g., the laboratory strain PA14). Instead, we observed that cdrA deletion strains exhibited biofilm defects, regardless of their EPS dependencies. We screened a panel of clinical and environmental P. aeruginosa isolates for the presence of the cdrA allele and production of CdrA protein. All isolates that we tested contained the cdrA allele, and these alleles had minimal sequence variation compared to the reference PAO1 cdrA gene. Additionally, all isolates except one produced detectable CdrA protein. We investigated the possible mechanisms of CdrA-promoted biofilm formation in these strains where Psl is not dominant, and we discovered that CdrA binds to Pel. Although Psl and Pel chemical structures are distinct, this appears to be a specific interaction, since previous work has shown that CdrA binds discriminately to other EPS. Our findings provide new understanding of biofilm formation across P. aeruginosa isolates and emphasize the versatility of CdrA.IMPORTANCE Depending upon the strain, Pseudomonas aeruginosa can use different exopolysaccharides (e.g., Psl, Pel, and alginate) to build its biofilm matrix. Previously, we demonstrated that the biofilm matrix protein CdrA binds to Psl, promoting biofilm formation and aggregate stability. As such, it was thought that CdrA might be important for biofilm assembly only in strains that rely upon Psl. However, past studies indicated that CdrA can interact with monosaccharides not present in Psl, including N-acetylglucosamine, a constituent of another EPS called Pel. We discovered that CdrA also binds to Pel and promotes biofilm formation by strains in which Psl is not dominant. Thus, our findings suggest that CdrA plays a common role as a biofilm matrix cross-linker across P. aeruginosa isolates with different EPS.

Project description:UnlabelledThe molecular mechanisms of alginate polymerization/modification/secretion by a proposed envelope-spanning multiprotein complex are unknown. Here, bacterial two-hybrid assays and pulldown experiments showed that the catalytic subunit Alg8 directly interacts with the proposed copolymerase Alg44 while embedded in the cytoplasmic membrane. Alg44 additionally interacts with the lipoprotein AlgK bridging the periplasmic space. Site-specific mutagenesis of Alg44 showed that protein-protein interactions and stability were independent of conserved amino acid residues R17 and R21, which are involved in c-di-GMP binding, the N-terminal PilZ domain, and the C-terminal 26 amino acids. Site-specific mutagenesis was employed to investigate the c-di-GMP-mediated activation of alginate polymerization by the PilZAlg44 domain and Alg8. Activation was found to be different from the proposed activation mechanism for cellulose synthesis. The interactive role of Alg8, Alg44, AlgG (epimerase), and AlgX (acetyltransferase) on alginate polymerization and modification was studied by using site-specific deletion mutants, inactive variants, and overproduction of subunits. The compositions, molecular masses, and material properties of resulting novel alginates were analyzed. The molecular mass was reduced by epimerization, while it was increased by acetylation. Interestingly, when overproduced, Alg44, AlgG, and the nonepimerizing variant AlgG(D324A) increased the degree of acetylation, while epimerization was enhanced by AlgX and its nonacetylating variant AlgX(S269A). Biofilm architecture analysis showed that acetyl groups promoted cell aggregation while nonacetylated polymannuronate alginate promoted stigmergy. Overall, this study sheds new light on the arrangement of the multiprotein complex involved in alginate production. Furthermore, the activation mechanism and the interplay between polymerization and modification of alginate were elucidated.ImportanceThis study provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms of the synthesis of the unique polysaccharide, alginate, which not only is an important virulence factor of the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa but also has, due to its material properties, many applications in medicine and industry. Unraveling the assembly and composition of the alginate-synthesizing and envelope-spanning multiprotein complex will be of tremendous significance for the scientific community. We identified a protein-protein interaction network inside the multiprotein complex and studied its relevance with respect to alginate polymerization/modification as well as the c-di-GMP-mediated activation mechanism. A relationship between alginate polymerization and modification was shown. Due to the role of alginate in pathogenesis as well as its unique material properties harnessed in numerous applications, results obtained in this study will aid the design and development of inhibitory drugs as well as the commercial bacterial production of tailor-made alginates.

Dataset Information

Pseudomonas aeruginosa AlgF is a protein-protein interaction mediator required for acetylation of the alginate exopolysaccharide.

Publications

Pseudomonas aeruginosa AlgF is a protein-protein interaction mediator required for acetylation of the alginate exopolysaccharide.

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