Project description:The heat shock response is critical for organisms to survive at a high temperature. Heterologous expression of eukaryotic molecular chaperons protects Escherichia coli against heat stress. Here we report that expression of the plant E3 ligase BnTR1 significantly increase the thermotolerance of Escherichia coli. Different from eukaryotic chaperones, BnTR1 post-transcriptionally regulates the heat shock factor σ32 though zinc fingers of the RING domain, which interacts with DnaK resulting in stabilizing σ32 and subsequently up-regulating heat shock proteins. Our findings indicate the expression of BnTR1 confers thermoprotective effects on E. coli cells, and it may provide useful clues to engineer thermophilic bacterial strains.
Project description:N2 young adult animals were analyzed four hours after exposure to wild-type Candida albicans DAY185, heat-killed C. albicans DAY185 and heat-killed Escherichia coli OP50, all on Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) agar. It was necessary to use heat-killed E. coli OP50 as a control for these experiments because live E. coli OP50 (the normal nematode food source) is pathogenic to nematodes on BHI agar. These data identify the C. elegans genes that are differentially regulated during nematode infection with a human fungal pathogen.
Project description:The locus of heat resistance (LHR) confers extreme heat resistance in E. coli. This study explored the role of the LHR in pressure resistance of E. coli, as well as its relationship with protein folding and aggregation in vivo. The role of LHR was investigated in E. coli MG1655 expressing a ibpA-yfp fusion. The expression of proteins by the LHR was determined by mass spectrometry based proteomics; inclusion bodies of untreated and treated cells were also analysed by proteomics, and by observation with fluorescence microscope. In total, 11 proteins of LHR were expressed, including sHSP20, ClpKGI, sHSP, YdfX1 and YdfX2, HdeD, KefB, Trx, PsiE, DegP, and a hypothetical proteins. The proteomic analysis of inclusion bodies revealed a differential abundance of proteins related to oxidative stress in strains carrying the LHR. The LHR reduced the presence of inclusion bodies after heat or pressure treatment, indicating that proteins expressed by the LHR prevent or reverse protein aggregation. The phenotype of the LHR was also mediated by the expression of a fragment containing only sHSP20, ClpKGI, sHSP. The LHR and the fragment encoding only for sHSP20, ClpKGI, sHSP also enhanced pressure resistance in E. coli MG1655 but had no effect on pressure resistance of E. coli LMM1010. In conclusion, the LHR confers pressure resistance to some strains of E. coli, and reduces protein aggregation. Pressure and heat resistance, however, are also dependent on additional LHR-encoded functions.
Project description:The exchange of mobile genomic islands (MGIs) between microorganisms is often mediated by phages. As a consequence, not only phage genes are transferred, but also genes that have no particular function in the phage's lysogenic cycle. If they provide benefits to the phage's host, such genes are referred to as ‘morons’. The present study was aimed at characterizing a set of Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli isolates with exceptional antibiotic resistance phenotypes from patients in a neonatal ward. Unexpectedly, these analyses unveiled the existence of a novel family of closely related MGIs in Enterobacteriaceae. The respective MGI from E. cloacae was named MIR17-GI. Importantly, our observations show that MIR17-GI-like MGIs harbor genes associated with high-level resistance to cephalosporins. Further, we show that MIR17-GI-like islands are associated with integrated P4-like prophages. This implicates phages in the spread of cephalosporin resistance amongst Enterobacteriaceae. The discovery of a novel family of MGIs spreading ‘cephalosporinase morons’ is of high clinical relevance, because high-level cephalosporin resistance has serious implications for the treatment of patients with Enterobacteriaceal infections.
Project description:Integrating laterally acquired virulence genes into the backbone regulatory network is important for the pathogenesis of Escherichia coli O157:H7, which has captured many virulence genes through horizontal transfer during evolution. GadE is an essential transcriptional activator of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) system, the most efficient acid resistance mechanism in E. coli. The full contribution of GadE to the acid resistance and virulence of pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 remains largely unknown. We inactivated gadE in E. coli O157:H7 Sakai and compared global transcription profiles with that of wild type in exponential and stationary phases of growth using microarrays containing 6088 ORFs from three E. coli genomes. gadE inactivation significantly altered the expression of 60 genes independent of growth phase and 122 genes in a growth phase-dependent manner. Inactivation of gadE markedly down-regulated the expression of gadA, gadB, gadC and many acid fitness island genes in a growth phase-dependent manner. Nineteen genes encoded on the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE), including ler, showed a significant increase in expression upon gadE inactivation. Altogether, our data indicate that GadE is critical for acid resistance of E. coli O157:H7 and plays an important role in virulence by down-regulating expression of LEE.
Project description:Heat-responsive and time-resolved changes in transcriptome of E. coli BL21(DE3) Experimentally mapped transcriptome structure of Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) by hybridizing total RNA (including RNA species <200 nt) to genome-wide high-density tiling arrays (60 mer probes tiled every 10 nt).
Project description:To demonstrate plasmid transferability by conjugation, cultures of the donor S. Infantis, and recipient Escherichia coli (E. coli) K12 were mated. S. Infantis and transconjugant were screened for resistance genes.