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External stresses affect gonococcal type 4 pilus dynamics

ABSTRACT: Bacterial type 4 pili (T4P) are extracellular polymers that serve both as adhesins and molecular motors. Functionally, they are involved in adhesion, colony formation, twitching motility, and horizontal gene transfer. T4P of the human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae have been shown to enhance survivability under treatment with antibiotics or hydrogen peroxide. However, little is known about the effect of external stresses on T4P production and motor properties. Here, we address this question by directly visualizing gonococcal T4P dynamics. We show that in the absence of stress gonococci produce T4P at a remarkably high rate of ~ 200 T4P min-1. T4P retraction succeeds elongation without detectable time delay. Treatment with azithromycin or ceftriaxone reduces the T4P production rate. RNA sequencing results suggest that reduced piliation is caused by combined downregulation of the complexes required for T4P extrusion from the cell envelope and cellular energy depletion. Various other stresses including inhibitors of cell wall synthesis and DNA replication, as well as hydrogen peroxide and lactic acid, inhibit T4P production. Moreover, hydrogen peroxide and acidic pH strongly affect pilus length and motor function. In summary, we show that gonococcal T4P are highly dynamic and diverse external stresses reduce piliation despite the protective effect of T4P against some of these stresses.

ORGANISM(S): Neisseria gonorrhoeae MS11

PROVIDER: GSE195465 | GEO | 2022/02/02

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Oxidative stress due to endogenous hydrogen peroxide production by Lactobacillus species is a well-known issue in the food industry. In this study, the transcriptional response to oxygen of Lactobacillus johnsonii, one of the H2O2-producing strains used in the food industry, was analyzed. It was found that aerobic growth conditions led to a more than two-fold downregulation of 45 genes as compared to anaerobic growth, whereas 6 genes were more than twofold upregulated. Among the upregulated genes were two genes that displayed significant homology to NADH-dependent oxidoreductase (NOX). The postulated transcriptional regulation of the nox promoter by oxygen was studied using a GUS-reporter construct, confirming a 2.1-fold upregulated GUS-expression upon aerobic growth. Exposure to sublethal levels of hydrogen peroxide did not result in significant regulation of the nox promoter. In a previous study of hydrogen peroxide production by L. johnsonii, a NADH flavin reductase (NFR) was identified to be involved in hydrogen peroxide production. An NFR-deficient derivative was strongly impaired in H2O2 production, but regained a partial H2O2 producing capacity upon prolonged oxygen exposure. The nox-promoter appeared to be 3.6-fold upregulated under aerobic conditions in the NFR-deficient background, which may imply a role of this gene in the regained H2O2 production. Indeed, deletion of the nox-gene in the NFR-deletion background, resulted in a strain that no longer produced H2O2, also during prolonged exposure to oxygen. The double-mutant (nfr, nox) displayed strongly impaired aerobic growth and oxygenation induced rapid growth stagnation that is not caused by H2O2. We conclude that H2O2 production in L. johnsonii is primarily dependent on NFR but can also involve an oxygen-inducible NADH oxidase under aerobic conditions. Moreover, our results imply that H2O2 production plays a prominent role in oxygen tolerance of L. johnsonii. loop design of the samples including two shortcuts

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External stresses affect gonococcal type 4 pilus dynamics

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