Search

GerR is a sporulation-specific transcriptional factor of Bacillus subtilis that has been identified as a negative regulator of genes transcribed by [[sigma].sup.E]-containing RNA polymerase and as a positive effector of the expression of three late sporulation genes. Here we confirmed that gerR transcription is dependent on [[sigma].sup.E]-containing RNA polymerase but also observed that it requires the transcriptional regulator SpoIIID. The study of the role of GerR in regulating the expression of several late sporulation genes allowed us to observe that its effect is strongly positive on spoVIF, cotC, and cotG, weakly positive on cotB, and negative on cotU. The results of chromatin immunoprecipitation (CHIP) experiments indicated that GerR binds to the promoter regions of some, but not all, of the GerR-controlled genes, leading us to propose that GerR controls late sporulation genes in two ways: (i) directly, by acting on the transcription of cotB, cotU and spoVIF; and (ii) indirectly, through the activation of SpoVIF, which stabilizes the transcriptional activator GerE and consequently induces the expression of the GerE-dependent genes cotC and cotG. doi: 10.1128/JB.00329-10

Bacillus subtilis is a Gram-positive spore-bearing bacterium long used as a probiotic product and more recently regarded as an attractive vehicle for delivering heterologous antigens to be used for mucosal vaccination. This report describes the in vitro interaction between human macrophages and B. subtilis spores displaying the tetanus toxin fragment C or the B subunit of the heat-labile toxin of Escherichia coli on their surface in comparison to spores of the parental strain. Recombinant and parental B. subtilis spores were similarly internalized by human macrophages, at a frequency lower than 2.5%. Inside macrophages, nearly all spores germinated and were killed within 6 h. Using germination-defective spores and inhibiting spore germination inside macrophages, evidence was produced that only germinated spores were killed by human macrophages and that intracellular spore germination was mediated by an alanine-dependent pathway. The germinated spores were killed by macrophages before any round of cell duplication, as estimated by fluorescence microscopy analysis of macrophages infected with spores carrying the gfp gene fused to abrB, a B. subtilis gene shown here to be expressed at the transition between outgrowth and vegetative growth. Monitoring of macrophage infection never revealed cytotoxic effects being exerted by B. subtilis spores. These in vitro data support the hypothesis that B. subtilis spores may potentially be used as a suitable and safe vehicle for administering heterologous antigens to humans.

We report evidence that CotC and CotU, two previously identified components of the Bacillus subtilis spore coat, are produced concurrently in the mother cell chamber of the sporulating cell under the control of [[sigma].sup.l] and GerE and immediately assembled around the forming spore. In the coat, the two proteins interact to forma coat component of 23 kDa. The CotU-CotC interaction was not detected in two heterologous hosts, suggesting that it occurs only in B. subtilis. Monomeric forms of both CotU and CotC failed to be assembled at the surface of the developing spore and accumulated in the mother cell compartment of cells mutant for cotE. In contrast, neither CotU nor CotC accumulated in the mother cell compartment of cells mutant for cotH. These results suggest that CotH is required to protect both CotU and CotC in the mother cell compartment of the sporangium and that CotE is needed to allow their assembly and subsequent interaction at the spore surface.

The assembly of a multiprotein coat around the Bacillus subtilis spore confers resistance to lytic enzymes and noxious chemicals and ensures normal germination. Part of the coat is cross-linked and resistant to solubilization. The coat contains [epsilon]-([gamma]-glutamyl)lysyl cross-links, and the expression of the gene (tgl) for a spore-associated transglutaminase was shown before to be required for the cross-linking of coat protein GerQ. Here, we have investigated the assembly and function of Tgl. We found that Tgl associates, albeit at somewhat reduced levels, with the coats of mutants that are unable to assemble the outer coat (cotE), that are missing the inner coat and with a greatly altered outer coat (gerE), or that are lacking discernible inner and outer coat structures (cotE gerE double mutant). This suggests that Tgl is present at various levels within the coat lattice. The assembly of Tgl occurs independently of its own activity, as a single amino acid substitution of a cysteine to an alanine (C116A) at the active site of Tgl does not affect its accumulation or assembly. However, like a tgl insertional mutation, the tglC116A allele causes increased extractability of polypeptides of about 40, 28, and 16 kDa in addition to GerQ (20 kDa) and affects the structural integrity of the coat. We show that most Tgl is assembled onto the spore surface soon after its synthesis in the mother cell under [[sigma].sup.K] control but that the complete insolubilization of at least two of the Tgl-controlled polypeptides occurs several hours later. We also show that a multicopy allele of tgl causes increased assembly of Tgl and affects the assembly, structure, and functional properties of the coat.

Citrobacter rodentium is a murine pathogen that is now widely used as an in vivo model for gastrointestinal infections due to its similarities with human enteropathogens, such as the possession of a locus for enterocyte effacement (the LEE island). We studied the lrp gene of C. rodentium and found that it encodes a product highly similar to members of the Lrp (leucine-responsive regulatory protein) family of transcriptional regulators, able to recognize leucine as an effector and to repress the expression of its own structural gene. In enterobacteria, Lrp is a global regulator of gene expression, as it controls a large variety of genes, including those coding for cell appendages and other potential virulence factors. Based on the well-established role of Lrp on the expression of pilus genes in Escherichia coli, we also studied the role of Lrp in controlling the formation of the type I pilus in C. rodentium. Type I pili, produced by the fim system, are virulence factors of uropathogens, involved in mediating bacterial adhesion to bladder epithelial cells. Yeast agglutination assays showed that Lrp is needed for type I pilus formation and real-time PCR experiments indicated that Lrp has a strong leucine-mediated effect on the expression of the fim AICDFGH operon. Mutant studies indicated that this positive action is exerted mainly through a positive control of Lrp on the phase variation mechanism that regulates fimAICDFGH expression. A quantitative analysis of its expression suggested that this operon may also be negatively regulated at the level of transcription.

Evidence is presented that expression of the cotH gene, whose product is required for the correct assembly of the Bacillus subtilis spore coat, is negatively controlled by the transcriptional regulator GorE. Mutations in the GerE-box, present in the cotH promoter region, increased expression of this gene, which also remained elevated during late stages of sporulation, when in wild-type cells cotH is normally turned off. Such alterations of cotH expression did not significantly affect spore coat structure or function but caused the accumulation of CotC molecules in the mother cell compartment, most likely as a consequence of CotH-mediated protection of CotC.

Spores formed by wild-type Bacillus subtilis are encased in a multilayered protein structure (called the coat) formed by the ordered assembly of over 30 polypeptides. One polypeptide (CotB) is a surface-exposed coat component that has been used as a vehicle for the display of heterologous antigens at the spore surface. The cotB gene was initially identified by reverse genetics as encoding an abundant coat component, cotB is predicted to code for a 43-kDa polypeptide, but the form that prevails in the spore coat has a molecular mass of about 66 kDa (herein designated CotB-66). Here we show that in good agreement with its predicted size, expression of cotB in Escherichia coli results in the accumulation of a 46-kDa protein (CotB-46). Expression of cotB in sporulating cells of B. subtilis also results in a 46-kDa polypeptide which appears to be rapidly converted into CotB-66. These results suggest that soon after synthesis, CotB undergoes a posttranslational modification. Assembly of CotB-66 has been shown to depend on expression of both the cotH and cotG loci. We found that CotB-46 is the predominant form found in extracts prepared from sporulating cells or in spore coat preparations of cotH or cotG mutants. Therefore, both cotH and cotG are required for the efficient conversion of CotB46 into CotB-66 but are dispensable for the association of CotB-46 with the spore coat. We also show that CotG does not accumulate in sporulating cells of a cotH mutant, suggesting that CotH (or a CotH-controlled factor) stabilizes the otherwise unstable CotG. Thus, the need for CotH for formation of CotB-66 results in part from its role in the stabilization of CotG. We also found that CotB-46 is present in complexes with CotG at the time when formation of CotB-66 is detected. Moreover, using a yeast two-hybrid system, we found evidence that CotB directly interacts with CotG and that both CotB and CotG self-interact. We suggest that an interaction between CotG and CotB is required for the formation of CotB-66, which may represent a multimeric form of CotB.

We report evidence that the CotC polypeptide, a previously identified component of the Bacillus subtilis spore coat, is assembled into at least four distinct forms. Two of these, having molecular masses of 12 and 21 kDa, appeared 8 h after the onset of sporulation and were probably assembled on the forming spore immediately after their synthesis, since no accumulation of either of them was detected in the mother cell compartment, where their synthesis occurs. The other two components, 12.5 and 30 kDa, were generated 2 h later and were probably the products of posttranslational modifications of the two early forms occurring directly on the coat surface during spore maturation. None of the CotC forms was found either on the spore coat or in the mother cell compartment of a cotH mutant. This indicates that CotH serves a dual role of stabilizing the early forms of CotC and promoting the assembly of both early and late forms on the spore surface.

Domestication is an intriguing evolutionary process. Many domestic populations are subjected to strong human‐mediated selection, and when some individuals return to the wild, they are again subjected to selective forces associated with new environments. Generally, these feral populations evolve into something different from their wild predecessors and their members typically possess a combination of both wild and human selected traits. Feralisation can manifest in different forms on a spectrum from a wild to a domestic phenotype. This depends on how the rewilded domesticated populations can readapt to natural environments based on how much potential and flexibility the ancestral genome retains after its domestication signature. Whether feralisation leads to the evolution of new traits that do not exist in the wild or to convergence with wild forms, however, remains unclear. To address this question, we performed population genomic, olfactory, dietary, and gut microbiota analyses on different populations of Sus scrofa (wild boar, hybrid, feral and several domestic pig breeds). Porcine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) analysis shows that the feral population represents a cluster distinctly separate from all others. Its members display signatures of past artificial selection, as demonstrated by values of FST in specific regions of the genome and bottleneck signature, such as the number and length of runs of homozygosity. Generalised FST values, reacquired olfactory abilities, diet, and gut microbiota variation show current responses to natural selection. Our results suggest that feral pigs are an independent evolutionary unit which can persist so long as levels of human intervention remain unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]