Project description:Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) is the most devastating citrus disease in the world. Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las) is the prevalent HLB pathogen, which is yet to be cultivated. A recent study demonstrates that Las does not contain pathogenicity factors that are directly responsible for HLB symptoms. Instead, Las triggers systemic and chronic immune responses. Importantly, overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) causes systemic cell death of phloem tissues, thus causing HLB symptoms. Because Las resides in the phloem tissues, it is expected that phloem cell might recognize outer membrane proteins, outer membrane vesicle (OMV) proteins and extracellular proteins of Las to contribute to the immune responses. Because Las has not been cultivated, we used Liberibacter crescens (Lcr) as a surrogate to identify the OMPs, OMV proteins and extracellular proteins by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We observed OMVs of Lcr under scanning electron microscope, representing the first experimental evidence that Liberibacter can deliver proteins into the host. In addition, we also further analyzed LC-MS/MS data using bioinformatic tools. Our study provides valuable information regarding the biology of Ca. Liberibacter species and identifies many putative proteins that may interact with host proteins in the phloem tissues.
Project description:<p>Cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) is a well-known second messenger that plays a key role in many physiological processes in bacteria. The synthesis of lipids is essential for bacterial biofilm formation. However, whether c-di-GMP signaling modulates the synthesis of lipid and further regulates biofilm formation in mycobacteria is unclear, and the c-di-GMP receptor involved remains unknown. In this study, we characterized the nucleoid-associated protein (NAP) Lsr2 as a novel c-di-GMP receptor in mycobacteria. c-di-GMP specifically binds to Lsr2 at a ratio of 1:1. We showed that c-di-GMP promotes mycobacterial biofilm formation in a manner dependent on Lsr2. Furthermore, Lsr2 mediates the synthesis of keto-mycolic acid, the lipid component of the mycobacterial cell wall, by positively regulating the expression of HadD, a (3R)-hydroxyacyl-ACP dehydratase, thus, Lsr2 ultimately controls biofilm formation. Finally, c-di-GMP promotes the positive regulation of HadD by Lsr2 and mycobacterial biofilm formation. Thus, we report a novel c-di-GMP receptor that links the second messenger’s function to lipid synthesis and biofilm formation in mycobacteria.</p>
Project description:The SaeRS two-component regulatory system of Staphylococcus aureus is known to affect the expression of many genes. The SaeS protein is the histidine kinase responsible for phosphorylation of the response regulator SaeR. In S. aureus Newman, the sae system is constitutively expressed due to a point mutation in saeS, relative to other S. aureus strains, which results in substitution of proline for leucine at amino acid 18. Strain Newman is unable to form a robust biofilm and we report here that the biofilm-deficient phenotype is due to the saeSP allele. Replacement of the Newman saeSP with saeSL, or deletion of saeRS, resulted in a biofilm-proficient phenotype. Newman culture supernatants were observed to inhibit biofilm formation by other S. aureus strains, but did not affect biofilm formation by S. epidermidis. Culture supernatants of Newman saeSL or Newman ΔsaeRS had no significant effect on biofilm formation. The inhibitory factor was inactivated by incubation with proteinase K, but survived heating, indicating that the inhibitory protein is heat-stable. The inhibitory protein was found to affect the attachment step in biofilm formation, but had no effect on preformed biofilms. Replacement of saeSL with saeSP in the biofilm-proficient S. aureus USA300 FPR3757 resulted in the loss of biofilm formation. Culture supernatants of USA300 FPR3757 saeSP, did not inhibit biofilm formation by other staphylococci, suggesting that the inhibitory factor is produced but not secreted in the mutant strain. A number of biochemical methods were utilized to isolate the inhibitory protein. Although a number of candidate proteins were identified, none were found to be the actual inhibitor. In an effort to reduce the number of potential inhibitory genes, RNA-Seq analyses were done with wild-type strain Newman and the saeSL and ΔsaeRS mutants. RNA-Seq results indicated that sae regulates many genes that may affect biofilm formation by Newman.