Project description:KaiC is the central cog of the circadian clock in Cyanobacteria. Close homologs of this protein are widespread among bacteria not known to have a circadian physiology. The function, interaction network, and mechanism of action of these KaiC homologs are still largely unknown. Here, we focus on KaiC homologs found in environmental Pseudomonas species. We characterize experimentally the only KaiC homolog present in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 and Pseudomonas protegens CHA0. Through phenotypic assays and transcriptomics, we show that KaiC is involved in osmotic and oxidative stress resistance in P. putida and in biofilm production in both P. putida and P. protegens.
Project description:Fluoride is the anionic form of fluorine, the 13th most abundant element in Earth's crust, and it is toxic to many organisms above a threshold concentration. Environmental bacteria can withstand relatively high fluoride concentrations, but the only mechanism described so far is the CrcB-dependent efflux. CrcB-mediated export is the primary mechanism of F-tolerance in the model environmental bacterium Pseudomonas putida, yet spontaneous NaF-tolerant mutants arise in the absence of the CrcB transporter, showing that this is not the sole pathway of tolerance. We used whole-genome sequencing, proteomic, and transcriptomic analyses to identify mechanisms that affect fluoride tolerance in Pseudomonas putida.
