Cathy L. Miller

Role of rpoS (katF) in oxyR-independent regulation of hydroperoxidase I in Escherichia coli

We present evidence showing that rpoS (katF) is a regulator of katG gene transcription In an oxyR‐independent manner. Mutation of the rpoS gene in several different Escherichia coli strains caused a significant reduction in catalase HPI activity. In rpoSδoxyR double mutants, the level of HPI was considerably lower compared to the δoxyR parent strain, and was restored when transformed with an rpoS+ plasmid. Overproduction of HPI in oxyR suppressor strains was greatly diminished after inactivation of the rpoS gene and was accompanied by a substantial increase in sensitivity to menadione. Beta‐galactostdase expression from a katG::lacZ promoter was lower in rpoS strains compared to rpoS+ isogenic parents. Several δoxyR strains had detectable levels of katG transcription that was significantly diminished after rpoS gene inactivation.

Reovirus Nonstructural Protein μNS Recruits Viral Core Surface Proteins and Entering Core Particles to Factory-Like Inclusions

ABSTRACT Mammalian reoviruses are thought to assemble and replicate within cytoplasmic, nonmembranous structures called viral factories. The viral nonstructural protein μNS forms factory-like globular inclusions when expressed in the absence of other viral proteins and binds to the surfaces of the viral core particles in vitro. Given these previous observations, we hypothesized that one or more of the core surface proteins may be recruited to viral factories through specific associations with μNS. We found that all three of these proteins—λ1, λ2, and σ2—localized to factories in infected cells but were diffusely distributed through the cytoplasm and nucleus when each was separately expressed in the absence of other viral proteins. When separately coexpressed with μNS, on the other hand, each core surface protein colocalized with μNS in globular inclusions, supporting the initial hypothesis. We also found that λ1, λ2, and σ2 each localized to filamentous inclusions formed upon the coexpression of μNS and μ2, a structurally minor core protein that associates with microtubules. The first 40 residues of μNS, which are required for association with μ2 and the RNA-binding nonstructural protein σNS, were not required for association with any of the three core surface proteins. When coexpressed with μ2 in the absence of μNS, each of the core surface proteins was diffusely distributed and displayed only sporadic, weak associations with μ2 on filaments. Many of the core particles that entered the cytoplasm of cycloheximide-treated cells following entry and partial uncoating were recruited to inclusions of μNS that had been preformed in those cells, providing evidence that μNS can bind to the surfaces of cores in vivo. These findings expand a model for how viral and cellular components are recruited to the viral factories in infected cells and provide further evidence for the central but distinct roles of viral proteins μNS and μ2 in this process.

Carboxyl-Proximal Regions of Reovirus Nonstructural Protein μNS Necessary and Sufficient for Forming Factory-Like Inclusions

ABSTRACT Mammalian orthoreoviruses are believed to replicate in distinctive, cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, commonly called viral factories or viroplasms. The viral nonstructural protein μNS has been implicated in forming the matrix of these structures, as well as in recruiting other components to them for putative roles in genome replication and particle assembly. In this study, we sought to identify the regions of μNS that are involved in forming factory-like inclusions in transfected cells in the absence of infection or other viral proteins. Sequences in the carboxyl-terminal one-third of the 721-residue μNS protein were linked to this activity. Deletion of as few as eight residues from the carboxyl terminus of μNS resulted in loss of inclusion formation, suggesting that some portion of these residues is required for the phenotype. A region spanning residues 471 to 721 of μNS was the smallest one shown to be sufficient for forming factory-like inclusions. The region from positions 471 to 721 (471-721 region) includes both of two previously predicted coiled-coil segments in μNS, suggesting that one or both of these segments may also be required for inclusion formation. Deletion of the more amino-terminal one of the two predicted coiled-coil segments from the 471-721 region resulted in loss of the phenotype, although replacement of this segment with Aequorea victoria green fluorescent protein, which is known to weakly dimerize, largely restored inclusion formation. Sequences between the two predicted coiled-coil segments were also required for forming factory-like inclusions, and mutation of either one His residue (His570) or one Cys residue (Cys572) within these sequences disrupted the phenotype. The His and Cys residues are part of a small consensus motif that is conserved across μNS homologs from avian orthoreoviruses and aquareoviruses, suggesting this motif may have a common function in these related viruses. The inclusion-forming 471-721 region of μNS was shown to provide a useful platform for the presentation of peptides for studies of protein-protein association through colocalization to factory-like inclusions in transfected cells.

Reovirus σNS Protein Localizes to Inclusions through an Association Requiring the μNS Amino Terminus

ABSTRACT Cells infected with mammalian reoviruses contain phase-dense inclusions, called viral factories, in which viral replication and assembly are thought to occur. The major reovirus nonstructural protein μNS forms morphologically similar phase-dense inclusions when expressed in the absence of other viral proteins, suggesting it is a primary determinant of factory formation. In this study we examined the localization of the other major reovirus nonstructural protein, σNS. Although σNS colocalized with μNS in viral factories during infection, it was distributed diffusely throughout the cell when expressed in the absence of μNS. When coexpressed with μNS, σNS was redistributed and colocalized with μNS inclusions, indicating that the two proteins associate in the absence of other viral proteins and suggesting that this association may mediate the localization of σNS to viral factories in infected cells. We have previously shown that μNS residues 1 to 40 or 41 are both necessary and sufficient for μNS association with the viral microtubule-associated protein μ2. In the present study we found that this same region of μNS is required for its association with σNS. We further dissected this region, identifying residues 1 to 13 of μNS as necessary for association with σNS, but not with μ2. Deletion of σNS residues 1 to 11, which we have previously shown to be required for RNA binding by that protein, resulted in diminished association of σNS with μNS. Furthermore, when treated with RNase, a large portion of σNS was released from μNS coimmunoprecipitates, suggesting that RNA contributes to their association. The results of this study provide further evidence that μNS plays a key role in forming the reovirus factories and recruiting other components to them.

Interaction between Parvovirus NS2 Protein and Nuclear Export Factor Crm1 Is Important for Viral Egress from the Nucleus of Murine Cells

ABSTRACT A mutation that disrupts the interaction between the NS2 protein of minute virus of mice and the nuclear export factor Crm1 results in a block to egress of mutant-generated full virions from the nucleus of infected murine cells. These mutants produce wild-type levels of monomer and dimer replicative DNA forms but are impaired in their ability to generate progeny single-stranded DNA in restrictive murine cells in the first round of infection. The NS2-Crm1 interaction mutant can be distinguished phenotypically from an NS2-null mutant and reveals a role for the Crm1-mediated export pathway at a late step in viral infection.

Localization of Mammalian Orthoreovirus Proteins to Cytoplasmic Factory-Like Structures via Nonoverlapping Regions of μNS

ABSTRACT Virally induced structures called viral factories form throughout the cytoplasm of cells infected with mammalian orthoreoviruses (MRV). When expressed alone in cells, MRV nonstructural protein μNS forms factory-like structures very similar in appearance to viral factories, suggesting that it is involved in forming the structural matrix of these structures. μNS also associates with MRV core particles; the core proteins μ2, λ1, λ2, λ3, and σ2; and the RNA-binding nonstructural protein σNS. These multiple associations result in the recruitment or retention of these viral proteins or particles at factory-like structures. In this study, we identified the regions of μNS necessary and sufficient for these associations and additionally examined the localization of viral RNA synthesis in infected cells. We found that short regions within the amino-terminal 220 residues of μNS are necessary for associations with core particles and necessary and sufficient for associations with the proteins μ2, λ1, λ2, σ2, and σNS. We also found that only the λ3 protein associates with the carboxyl-terminal one-third of μNS and that viral RNA is synthesized within viral factories. These results suggest that μNS may act as a cytoplasmic scaffolding protein involved in localizing and coordinating viral replication or assembly intermediates for the efficient production of progeny core particles during MRV infection.

Mammalian Orthoreovirus Particles Induce and Are Recruited into Stress Granules at Early Times Postinfection

ABSTRACT Infection with many mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV) strains results in shutoff of host, but not viral, protein synthesis via protein kinase R (PKR) activation and phosphorylation of translation initiation factor eIF2α. Following inhibition of protein synthesis, cellular mRNAs localize to discrete structures in the cytoplasm called stress granules (SGs), where they are held in a translationally inactive state. We examined MRV-infected cells to characterize SG formation in response to MRV infection. We found that SGs formed at early times following infection (2 to 6 h postinfection) in a manner dependent on phosphorylation of eIF2α. MRV induced SG formation in all four eIF2α kinase knockout cell lines, suggesting that at least two kinases are involved in induction of SGs. Inhibitors of MRV disassembly prevented MRV-induced SG formation, indicating that viral uncoating is a required step for SG formation. Neither inactivation of MRV virions by UV light nor treatment of MRV-infected cells with the translational inhibitor puromycin prevented SG formation, suggesting that viral transcription and translation are not required for SG formation. Viral cores were found to colocalize with SGs; however, cores from UV-inactivated virions did not associate with SGs, suggesting that viral core particles are recruited into SGs in a process that requires the synthesis of viral mRNA. These results demonstrate that MRV particles induce SGs in a step following viral disassembly but preceding viral mRNA transcription and that core particles are themselves recruited to SGs, suggesting that the cellular stress response may play a role in the MRV replication cycle.

Mammalian Orthoreovirus Escape from Host Translational Shutoff Correlates with Stress Granule Disruption and Is Independent of eIF2α Phosphorylation and PKR

ABSTRACT In response to mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV) infection, cells initiate a stress response that includes eIF2α phosphorylation and protein synthesis inhibition. We have previously shown that early in infection, MRV activation of eIF2α phosphorylation results in the formation of cellular stress granules (SGs). In this work, we show that as infection proceeds, MRV disrupts SGs despite sustained levels of phosphorylated eIF2α and, further, interferes with the induction of SGs by other stress inducers. MRV interference with SG formation occurs downstream of eIF2α phosphorylation, suggesting the virus uncouples the cellular stress signaling machinery from SG formation. We additionally examined mRNA translation in the presence of SGs induced by eIF2α phosphorylation-dependent and -independent mechanisms. We found that irrespective of eIF2α phosphorylation status, the presence of SGs in cells correlated with inhibition of viral and cellular translation. In contrast, MRV disruption of SGs correlated with the release of viral mRNAs from translational inhibition, even in the presence of phosphorylated eIF2α. Viral mRNAs were also translated in the presence of phosphorylated eIF2α in PKR−/− cells. These results suggest that MRV escape from host cell translational shutoff correlates with virus-induced SG disruption and occurs in the presence of phosphorylated eIF2α in a PKR-independent manner.

Highly Divergent Strains of Porcine Reproductive And Respiratory Syndrome Virus Incorporate Multiple Isoforms of Nonstructural Protein 2 into Virions

ABSTRACT Viral structural proteins form the critical intermediary between viral infection cycles within and between hosts, function to initiate entry, participate in immediate early viral replication steps, and are major targets for the host adaptive immune response. We report the identification of nonstructural protein 2 (nsp2) as a novel structural component of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) particle. A set of custom α-nsp2 antibodies targeting conserved epitopes within four distinct regions of nsp2 (the PLP2 protease domain [OTU], the hypervariable domain [HV], the putative transmembrane domain [TM], and the C-terminal region [C]) were obtained commercially and validated in PRRSV-infected cells. Highly purified cell-free virions of several PRRSV strains were isolated through multiple rounds of differential density gradient centrifugation and analyzed by immunoelectron microscopy (IEM) and Western blot assays using the α-nsp2 antibodies. Purified viral preparations were found to contain pleomorphic, predominantly spherical virions of uniform size (57.9 nm ± 8.1 nm diameter; n = 50), consistent with the expected size of PRRSV particles. Analysis by IEM indicated the presence of nsp2 associated with the viral particle of diverse strains of PRRSV. Western blot analysis confirmed the presence of nsp2 in purified viral samples and revealed that multiple nsp2 isoforms were associated with the virion. Finally, a recombinant PRRSV genome containing a myc-tagged nsp2 was used to generate purified virus, and these particles were also shown to harbor myc-tagged nsp2 isoforms. Together, these data identify nsp2 as a virion-associated structural PRRSV protein and reveal that nsp2 exists in or on viral particles as multiple isoforms.

AatA Is a Novel Autotransporter and Virulence Factor of Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT Autotransporters (AT) are widespread in Gram-negative bacteria, and many of them are involved in virulence. An open reading frame (APECO1_O1CoBM96) encoding a novel AT was located in the pathogenicity island of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) O1s virulence plasmid, pAPEC-O1-ColBM. This 3.5-kb APEC autotransporter gene (aatA) is predicted to encode a 123.7-kDa protein with a 25-amino-acid signal peptide, an 857-amino-acid passenger domain, and a 284-amino-acid β domain. The three-dimensional structure of AatA was also predicted by the threading method using the I-TASSER online server and then was refined using four-body contact potentials. Molecular analysis of AatA revealed that it is translocated to the cell surface, where it elicits antibody production in infected chickens. Gene prevalence analysis indicated that aatA is strongly associated with E. coli from avian sources but not with E. coli isolated from human hosts. Also, AatA was shown to enhance adhesion of APEC to chicken embryo fibroblast cells and to contribute to APEC virulence.