Stéphanie Champ

The hemK gene in Escherichia coli encodes the N5-glutamine methyltransferase that modifies peptide release factors

Class 1 peptide release factors (RFs) in Escherichia coli are N5‐methylated on the glutamine residue of the universally conserved GGQ motif. One other protein alone has been shown to contain N5‐methylglutamine: E.coli ribosomal protein L3. We identify the L3 methyltransferase as YfcB and show that it methylates ribosomes from a yfcB strain in vitro, but not RF1 or RF2. HemK, a close orthologue of YfcB, is shown to methylate RF1 and RF2 in vitro. hemK is immediately downstream of and co‐expressed with prfA. Its deletion in E.coli K12 leads to very poor growth on rich media and abolishes methylation of RF1. The activity of unmethylated RF2 from K12 strains is extremely low due to the cumulative effects of threonine at position 246, in place of alanine or serine present in all other bacterial RFs, and the lack of N5‐methylation of Gln252. Fast‐growing spontaneous revertants in hemK K12 strains contain the mutations Thr246Ala or Thr246Ser in RF2. HemK and YfcB are the first identified methyltransferases modifying glutamine, and are widely distributed in nature.

The essential role of the invariant GGQ motif in the function and stability in vivo of bacterial release factors RF1 and RF2.

Release factors RF1 and RF2 are required in bacteria for the cleavage of peptidyl‐tRNA. A single sequence motif, GGQ, is conserved in all eubacterial, archaebacterial and eukaryotic release factors and may mimic the CCA end of tRNA, although the position of the motif in the crystal structures of human eRF1 and Escherichia coli RF2 is strikingly different. Mutations have been introduced at each of the three conserved positions. Changing the Gln residue to Ala or Glu allowed the factors to retain about 22% of tetrapeptide release activity in vitro, but these mutants could not complement thermosensitive RF mutants in vivo. None of several mutants with altered Gly residues retained activity in vivo or in vitro. Many GGQ mutants were poorly expressed and are presumably unstable; many were also toxic to the cell. The toxic mutant factors or their degradation products may bind to ribosomes inhibiting the action of the normal factor. These data are consistent with a common role for the GGQ motif in bacterial and eukaryotic release factors, despite strong divergence in primary, secondary and tertiary structure, but are difficult to reconcile with the hypothesis that the amide nitrogen of the Gln plays a vital role in peptidyl‐tRNA hydrolysis.

Introduction of Methionines in the Gas Channel Makes [NiFe] Hydrogenase Aero-Tolerant

Hydrogenases catalyze the conversion between 2H(+) + 2e(-) and H(2)(1). Most of these enzymes are inhibited by O(2), which represents a major drawback for their use in biotechnological applications. Improving hydrogenase O(2) tolerance is therefore a major contemporary challenge to allow the implementation of a sustainable hydrogen economy. We succeeded in improving O(2) tolerance, which we define here as the ability of the enzyme to resist for several minutes to O(2) exposure, by substituting with methionines small hydrophobic residues strongly conserved in the gas channel. Remarkably, the mutated enzymes remained active in the presence of an O(2) concentration close to that found in aerobic solutions in equilibrium with air, while the wild type enzyme is inhibited in a few seconds. Crystallographic and spectroscopic studies showed that the structure and the chemistry at the active site are not affected by the mutations. Kinetic studies demonstrated that the inactivation is slower and reactivation faster in these mutants. We propose that in addition to restricting O(2) diffusion to the active site of the enzyme, methionine may also interact with bound peroxide and provide an assisted escape route for H(2)O(2) toward the gas channel. These results show for the first time that it is possible to improve O(2)-tolerance of [NiFe] hydrogenases, making possible the development of biohydrogen production systems.

The Zinc Finger Protein Ynr046w Is Plurifunctional and a Component of the eRF1 Methyltransferase in Yeast

Protein release factor eRF1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in complex with eRF3 and GTP, is methylated on a functionally crucial Gln residue by the S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferase Ydr140w. Here we show that eRF1 methylation, in addition to these previously characterized components, requires a 15-kDa zinc-binding protein, Ynr046w. Co-expression in Escherichia coli of Ynr046w and Ydr140w allows the latter to be recovered in soluble form rather than as inclusion bodies, and the two proteins co-purify on nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid chromatography when Ydr140w alone carries a His tag. The crystal structure of Ynr046w has been determined to 1.7 Å resolution. It comprises a zinc-binding domain built from both the N- and C-terminal sequences and an inserted domain, absent from bacterial and archaeal orthologs of the protein, composed of three α-helices. The active methyltransferase is the heterodimer Ydr140w·Ynr046w, but when alone, both in solution and in crystals, Ynr046w appears to be a homodimer. The Ynr046w eRF1 methyltransferase subunit is shared by the tRNA methyltransferase Trm11p and probably by two other enzymes containing a Rossman fold.

Transcription termination controls prophage maintenance in Escherichia coli genomes

Prophages represent a large fraction of prokaryotic genomes and often provide new functions to their hosts, in particular virulence and fitness. How prokaryotic cells maintain such gene providers is central for understanding bacterial genome evolution by horizontal transfer. Prophage excision occurs through site-specific recombination mediated by a prophage-encoded integrase. In addition, a recombination directionality factor (or excisionase) directs the reaction toward excision and prevents the phage genome from being reintegrated. In this work, we describe the role of the transcription termination factor Rho in prophage maintenance through control of the synthesis of transcripts that mediate recombination directionality factor expression and, thus, excisive recombination. We show that Rho inhibition by bicyclomycin allows for the expression of prophage genes that lead to excisive recombination. Thus, besides its role in the silencing of horizontally acquired genes, Rho also maintains lysogeny of defective and functional prophages.

Protein binding sites involved in the assembly of the KplE1 prophage intasome.

The organization of the recombination regions of the KplE1 prophage in Escherichia coli K12 differs from that observed in the lambda prophage. Indeed, the binding sites characterized for the IntS integrase, the TorI recombination directionality factor (RDF) and the integration host factor (IHF) vary in number, spacing and orientation on the attL and attR regions. In this paper, we performed site-directed mutagenesis of the recombination sites to decipher if all sites are essential for the site-specific recombination reaction and how the KplE1 intasome is assembled. We also show that TorI and IntS form oligomers that are stabilized in the presence of their target DNA. Moreover, we found that IHF is the only nucleoid associated protein (NAP) involved in KplE1 recombination, although it is dispensable. This is consistent with the presence of only one functional IHF site on attR and none on attL.

Tight Regulation of the intS Gene of the KplE1 Prophage: A New Paradigm for Integrase Gene Regulation

Temperate phages have the ability to maintain their genome in their host, a process called lysogeny. For most, passive replication of the phage genome relies on integration into the hosts chromosome and becoming a prophage. Prophages remain silent in the absence of stress and replicate passively within their host genome. However, when stressful conditions occur, a prophage excises itself and resumes the viral cycle. Integration and excision of phage genomes are mediated by regulated site-specific recombination catalyzed by tyrosine and serine recombinases. In the KplE1 prophage, site-specific recombination is mediated by the IntS integrase and the TorI recombination directionality factor (RDF). We previously described a sub-family of temperate phages that is characterized by an unusual organization of the recombination module. Consequently, the attL recombination region overlaps with the integrase promoter, and the integrase and RDF genes do not share a common activated promoter upon lytic induction as in the lambda prophage. In this study, we show that the intS gene is tightly regulated by its own product as well as by the TorI RDF protein. In silico analysis revealed that overlap of the attL region with the integrase promoter is widely encountered in prophages present in prokaryotic genomes, suggesting a general occurrence of negatively autoregulated integrase genes. The prediction that these integrase genes are negatively autoregulated was biologically assessed by studying the regulation of several integrase genes from two different Escherichia coli strains. Our results suggest that the majority of tRNA-associated integrase genes in prokaryotic genomes could be autoregulated and that this might be correlated with the recombination efficiency as in KplE1. The consequences of this unprecedented regulation for excisive recombination are discussed.

Chaperone-assisted Excisive Recombination, a Solitary Role for DnaJ (Hsp40) Chaperone in Lysogeny Escape

Background: Site-specific recombination is involved in the temperate phage lysogeny cycle. Results: DnaJ is recruited by a protein specific for excisive recombination. Conclusion: Bona fide chaperone activity of DnaJ enhances prophage excision. Significance: Stress response in E. coli contributes to mobilization of temperate phages. Temperate bacteriophage lytic development is intrinsically related to the stress response in particular at the DNA replication and virion maturation steps. Alternatively, temperate phages become lysogenic and integrate their genome into the host chromosome. Under stressful conditions, the prophage resumes a lytic development program, and the phage DNA is excised before being replicated. The KplE1 defective prophage of Escherichia coli K12 constitutes a model system because it is fully competent for integrative as well as excisive recombination and presents an atypical recombination module, which is conserved in various phage genomes. In this work, we identified the host-encoded stress-responsive molecular chaperone DnaJ (Hsp40) as an active participant in KplE1 prophage excision. We first show that the recombination directionality factor TorI of KplE1 specifically interacts with DnaJ. In addition, we found that DnaJ dramatically enhances both TorI binding to its DNA target and excisive recombination in vitro. Remarkably, such stimulatory effect by DnaJ was performed independently of its DnaK chaperone partner and did not require a functional DnaJ J-domain. Taken together, our results underline a novel and unsuspected functional interaction between the generic host stress-regulated chaperone and temperate bacteriophage lysogenic development.