Albert Bolhuis

Signal Peptide-Dependent Protein Transport in Bacillus subtilis: a Genome-Based Survey of the Secretome

SUMMARY One of the most salient features of Bacillus subtilis and related bacilli is their natural capacity to secrete a variety of proteins into their environment, frequently to high concentrations. This has led to the commercial exploitation of bacilli as major “cell factories” for secreted enzymes. The recent sequencing of the genome of B. subtilis has provided major new impulse for analysis of the molecular mechanisms underlying protein secretion by this organism. Most importantly, the genome sequence has allowed predictions about the composition of the secretome, which includes both the pathways for protein transport and the secreted proteins. The present survey of the secretome describes four distinct pathways for protein export from the cytoplasm and approximately 300 proteins with the potential to be exported. By far the largest number of exported proteins are predicted to follow the major “Sec” pathway for protein secretion. In contrast, the twin-arginine translocation “Tat” pathway, a type IV prepilin-like export pathway for competence development, and ATP-binding cassette transporters can be regarded as “special-purpose” pathways, through which only a few proteins are transported. The properties of distinct classes of amino-terminal signal peptides, directing proteins into the various protein transport pathways, as well as the major components of each pathway are discussed. The predictions and comparisons in this review pinpoint important differences as well as similarities between protein transport systems in B. subtilis and other well-studied organisms, such as Escherichia coli and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Thus, they may serve as a lead for future research and applications.

TatB and TatC Form a Functional and Structural Unit of the Twin-arginine Translocase from Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli, a subset of periplasmic proteins is exported via the twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway. In the present study, we have purified the Tat complex from E. coli, and we show that it contains only TatA, TatB, and TatC. Within the purified complex, TatB and TatC are present in a strict 1:1 ratio, suggesting a functional association. This has been confirmed by expression of a translational fusion between TatB and TatC. This Tat(BC) chimera supports efficient Tat-dependent export, indicating that TatB and TatC act as a unit in both structural and functional terms. The purified Tat complex contains varying levels of TatA, suggesting a gradual loss during isolation and a looser association. The molecular mass of the complex is ∼600 kDa, demonstrating the presence of multiple copies of TatA, B, and C. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments show that TatC is required for the interaction of TatA with TatB, suggesting that TatA may interact with the complex via binding to TatC.

Protein targeting by the twin-arginine translocation pathway

The twin-arginine translocation pathway operates in the thylakoid membrane of chloroplasts and in the plasma membrane of most free-living bacteria. Its main function is to transport fully folded proteins across the membrane. Three important tat genes have been identified and the sequences of the encoded proteins, together with the unusual properties of the pathway, indicate that the Tat system is completely different from other protein translocases.

A novel two-component regulatory system in Bacillus subtilis for the survival of severe secretion stress

The Gram‐positive eubacterium Bacillus subtilis is well known for its high capacity to secrete proteins into the environment. Even though high‐level secretion of proteins is an efficient process, it imposes stress on the cell. The present studies were aimed at the identification of systems required to combat this so‐called secretion stress. A two‐component regulatory system, named CssR–CssS, was identified, which bears resemblance to the CpxR–CpxA system of Escherichia coli. The results show that the CssR/S system is required for the cell to survive the severe secretion stress caused by a combination of high‐level production of the α‐amylase AmyQ and reduced levels of the extracytoplasmic folding factor PrsA. As shown with a prsA3 mutation, the Css system is required to degrade misfolded exported proteins at the membrane–cell wall interface. This view is supported by the observation that transcription of the htrA gene, encoding a predicted membrane‐bound protease of B. subtilis, is strictly controlled by CssS. Notably, CssS represents the first identified sensor for extracytoplasmic protein misfolding in a Gram‐positive eubacterium. In conclusion, the results show that quality control systems for extracytoplasmic protein folding are not exclusively present in the periplasm of Gram‐negative eubacteria, but also in the Gram‐positive cell envelope.

SecDF of Bacillus subtilis, a Molecular Siamese Twin Required for the Efficient Secretion of Proteins

In the present studies, we show that the SecD and SecF equivalents of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis are jointly present in one polypeptide, denoted SecDF, that is required to maintain a high capacity for protein secretion. Unlike the SecD subunit of the pre-protein translocase ofEscherichia coli, SecDF of B. subtilis was not required for the release of a mature secretory protein from the membrane, indicating that SecDF is involved in earlier translocation steps. Strains lacking intact SecDF showed a cold-sensitive phenotype, which was exacerbated by high level production of secretory proteins, indicating that protein translocation in B. subtilis is intrinsically cold-sensitive. Comparison with SecD and SecF proteins from other organisms revealed the presence of 10 conserved regions in SecDF, some of which appear to be important for SecDF function. Interestingly, the SecDF protein of B. subtilis has 12 putative transmembrane domains. Thus, SecDF does not only show sequence similarity but also structural similarity to secondary solute transporters. Our data suggest that SecDF of B. subtilisrepresents a novel type of the SecD and SecF proteins, which seems to be present in at least two other organisms.

Novel Clues on the Specific Association of Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp gallolyticus With Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND The prevalence of Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp gallolyticus ( Streptococcus bovis biotype I) endocarditis is in general low but very often linked to colorectal cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the virulence characteristics that distinguish this opportunistic pathogen from a panel of (closely related) intestinal bacteria. METHODS The route of infection was reconstructed in vitro with adhesion, invasion, and translocation assays on differentiated Caco-2 cells. Furthermore, cellular immune responses upon infection and bacterial biofilm formation were analyzed in a comparative manner. RESULTS S. gallolyticus subsp gallolyticus strains were demonstrated to have a relative low adhesiveness and could not internalize epithelial cells. However, these bacteria were uniquely able to paracellularly cross a differentiated epithelium without inducing epithelial interleukin 8 or 1β responses. Importantly, they had an outstanding ability to form biofilms on collagen-rich surfaces, which in vivo are found at damaged heart valves and (pre)cancerous sites with a displaced epithelium. CONCLUSIONS Together, these data show that S. gallolyticus subsp gallolyticus has a unique repertoire of virulence factors that facilitate infection through (pre)malignant colonic lesions and subsequently can provide this bacterium with a competitive advantage in (1) evading the innate immune system and (2) forming resistant vegetations at collagen-rich sites in susceptible patients with colorectal cancer.

Thiol-Disulfide Oxidoreductases Are Essential for the Production of the Lantibiotic Sublancin 168

Thiol-disulfide oxidoreductases are required for disulfide bond formation in proteins that are exported from the cytoplasm. Four enzymes of this type, termed BdbA, BdbB, BdbC, and BdbD, have been identified in the Gram-positive eubacteriumBacillus subtilis. BdbC and BdbD have been shown to be critical for the folding of a protein required for DNA uptake during natural competence. In contrast, no function has been assigned so far to the BdbA and BdbB proteins. The bdbA andbdbB genes are located in one operon that also contains the genes specifying the lantibiotic sublancin 168 and the ATP-binding cassette transporter SunT. Interestingly sublancin 168 contains two disulfide bonds. The present studies demonstrate that SunT and BdbB, but not BdbA, are required for the production of active sublancin 168. In addition, the BdbB paralogue BdbC is at least partly able to replace BdbB in sublancin 168 production. These observations show the unprecedented involvement of thiol-disulfide oxidoreductases in the synthesis of a peptide antibiotic. Notably BdbB cannot complement BdbC in competence development, showing that these two closely related thiol-disulfide oxidoreductases have different, but partly overlapping, substrate specificities.

Functional Analysis of Paralogous Thiol-disulfide Oxidoreductases in Bacillus subtilis

The in vivo formation of disulfide bonds, which is critical for the stability and/or activity of many proteins, is catalyzed by thiol-disulfide oxidoreductases. In the present studies, we show that the Gram-positive eubacteriumBacillus subtilis contains three genes, denotedbdbA, bdbB, and bdbC, for thiol-disulfide oxidoreductases. Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase, containing two disulfide bonds, was unstable when secreted by B. subtilis cells lacking BdbB or BdbC, and notably, the expression levels of bdbB and bdbC appeared to set a limit for the secretion of active alkaline phosphatase. Cells lacking BdbC also showed decreased stability of cell-associated forms of E. coli TEM-β-lactamase, containing one disulfide bond. In contrast, BdbA was not required for the stability of alkaline phosphatase or β-lactamase. Because BdbB and BdbC are typical membrane proteins, our findings suggest that they promote protein folding at the membrane-cell wall interface. Interestingly, pre-β-lactamase processing to its mature form was stimulated in cells lacking BdbC, suggesting that the unfolded form of this precursor is a preferred substrate for signal peptidase. Surprisingly, cells lacking BdbC did not develop competence for DNA uptake, indicating the involvement of disulfide bond-containing proteins in this process. Unlike E. coli and yeast, none of the thiol-disulfide oxidoreductases of B. subtilis was required for growth in the presence of reducing agents. In conclusion, our observations indicate that BdbB and BdbC have a general role in disulfide bond formation, whereas BdbA may be dedicated to a specific process.

Quantitative export of a reporter protein, GFP, by the twin-arginine translocation pathway in Escherichia coli

The Tat system mediates the transport of folded proteins across the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. To study the properties of the Escherichia coli Tat-system, we used green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to the twin-arginine signal peptide of TMAO reductase (TorA). In the presence of arabinose, low levels of this protein rapidly saturate the translocase and cause the accumulation of inactive, membrane-bound TorA-GFP; fluorescence microscopy also showed active TorA-GFP to be distributed throughout the cytoplasm. However, the efficiency of export can be massively increased by alteration of the growth conditions, and further increased by overexpression of the tatABC genes. Under these conditions, the levels of GFP in the periplasm are raised over 20-fold and the export efficiency nears 100%. These results show that the Tat-system is relatively inactive under some growth conditions and the data suggest that the system may be applicable for the larger-scale export of heterologous proteins.

Characterisation of a highly stable α-amylase from the halophilic archaeon Haloarcula hispanica

Intracellular and extracellular proteins from halophilic archaea face very saline conditions and must be able to maintain stability and functionality at nearly saturated salt concentrations. Haloarchaeal proteins contain specific adaptations to prevent aggregation and loss of activity in such conditions, but these adaptations usually result in a lack of stability in the absence of salt. Here, we present the characterisation of a secreted α-amylase (AmyH) from the halophilic archaeon Haloarcula hispanica. AmyH was shown to be very halophilic but, unusually for a halophilic protein, it retained activity in the absence of salt. Intrinsic fluorescence measurements and activity assays showed that AmyH was very stable in high-salt buffer and even maintained stability upon the addition of urea. Urea-induced denaturation was only achieved in the absence of NaCl, demonstrating clearly that the stability of the protein was salt-dependent. Sequencing of the amyH gene showed an amino acid composition typical of halophilic proteins and, moreover, the presence of a signal peptide containing diagnostic features characteristic of export via the Twin-arginine translocase (Tat). Analysis of the export of AmyH showed that it was translocated post-translationally, most likely in a folded and active conformation, confirming that AmyH is a substrate of the Tat pathway.