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Complex Signal Transduction Systems in Bacteria

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A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology and Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 17451

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Kirsten Jung

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Guest Editor

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
Interests: signaling networks; membrane-integrated receptors; transport proteins; translational regulation; bacterial stress response

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Throughout their life, bacteria interact with their surrounding by exchanging information with other cells, by exploring optimal growth conditions, and by sensing and responding to environmental stress. Thus, the signaling network of bacteria is a complex and indispensable aspect of bacterial life. Therefore, it is not surprising that research in this field is highly dynamic, and novel and important phenomena and mechanisms related to bacterial signaling are continuously uncovered and elucidated.

The bacterial cell is surrounded by the cell envelope, which is the basis for the cell's shape and its physiological individuality. Signaling can thus be conceptually divided into processes which occur outside the cell, across the membrane between the interior and the exterior and within the cytoplasmic compartment. This Special Issue shall provide new insights into all facets of the complex signal transduction systems in bacteria.

Prof. Dr. Kirsten Jung
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

One-/multi-component signal transduction systems
Intra- and inter-species bacterial communication
Quorum sensing
Chemotaxis
Signaling in biofilms
Signaling in bacterial stress response
Signaling and bacterial development
Sensing of nutrients
Second messengers
Intracellular sensors
Small noncoding RNAs and stress response
Sigma factors and stress response

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 1541 KiB

Open AccessArticle

C-di-AMP Is a Second Messenger in Corynebacterium glutamicum That Regulates Expression of a Cell Wall-Related Peptidase via a Riboswitch

by Sebastian J. Reich, Oliver Goldbeck, Tsenguunmaa Lkhaasuren, Dominik Weixler, Tamara Weiß and Bernhard J. Eikmanns

Microorganisms 2023, 11(2), 296; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms11020296 - 23 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1800

Abstract

Cyclic di-adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) is a bacterial second messenger discovered in Bacillus subtilis and involved in potassium homeostasis, cell wall maintenance and/or DNA stress response. As the role of c-di-AMP has been mostly studied in Firmicutes, we sought to increase the understanding of its role in Actinobacteria, namely in Corynebacterium glutamicum. This organism is a well-known industrial production host and a model organism for pathogens, such as C. diphtheriae or Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Here, we identify and analyze the minimal set of two C. glutamicum enzymes, the diadenylate cyclase DisA and the phosphodiesterase PdeA, responsible for c-di-AMP metabolism. DisA synthesizes c-di-AMP from two molecules of ATP, whereas PdeA degrades c-di-AMP, as well as the linear degradation intermediate phosphoadenylyl-(3′→5′)-adenosine (pApA) to two molecules of AMP. Here, we show that a ydaO/kimA-type c-di-AMP-dependent riboswitch controls the expression of the strictly regulated cell wall peptidase gene nlpC in C. glutamicum. In contrast to previously described members of the ydaO/kimA-type riboswitches, our results suggest that the C. glutamicum nlpC riboswitch likely affects the translation instead of the transcription of its downstream gene. Although strongly regulated by different mechanisms, we show that the absence of nlpC, the first known regulatory target of c-di-AMP in C. glutamicum, is not detrimental for this organism under the tested conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Complex Signal Transduction Systems in Bacteria)

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13 pages, 3868 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Pathogenic Role for FcγRI in the Immune Response against Chlamydial Respiratory Infection

by Jiajia Zeng, Shuaini Yang, Ruoyuan Sun, Yuqing Tuo, Lu Tan, Hong Zhang, Yongci Zhang, Xuchun Che, Tingsha Lu, Xuejun Zhang and Hong Bai

Microorganisms 2023, 11(1), 39; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms11010039 - 22 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1342

Abstract

FcγRI is an important cell surface receptor reported to be involved in multiple immune responses, although it has not yet been extensively studied in intracellular bacterial infections. Here, using a mouse model of C. muridarum respiratory infection, we were able to determine how FcγRI regulates the host resistance against chlamydial invasion. According to our findings, the chlamydial loads and pulmonary pathology were both reduced in FcγRI deficient (Fcgr1^−/−) animals. Being infected, monocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, DCs, CD4⁺/CD8⁺ T cells, and effector Th1 subsets displayed increased FcγRI expression patterns. Altered infiltration of these cells in the lungs of Fcgr1^−/− mice further demonstrated the regulation of FcγRI in the immune system and identified Th1 cells and macrophages as its target cell populations. As expected, we observed that the Th1 response was augmented in Fcgr1^−/− mice, while the pro-inflammatory M1 macrophage polarization was constrained. These findings might indicate FcγRI as a potential regulator for host immunity and inflammatory response during chlamydial infection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Complex Signal Transduction Systems in Bacteria)

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21 pages, 2110 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Biological Significance of Pyruvate Sensing and Uptake in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium

by Stephanie Paulini, Florian D. Fabiani, Anna S. Weiss, Ana Laura Moldoveanu, Sophie Helaine, Bärbel Stecher and Kirsten Jung

Microorganisms 2022, 10(9), 1751; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms10091751 - 30 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2164

Abstract

Pyruvate (CH₃COCOOH) is the simplest of the alpha-keto acids and is at the interface of several metabolic pathways both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In an amino acid-rich environment, fast-growing bacteria excrete pyruvate instead of completely metabolizing it. The role of pyruvate uptake in pathological conditions is still unclear. In this study, we identified two pyruvate-specific transporters, BtsT and CstA, in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). Expression of btsT is induced by the histidine kinase/response regulator system BtsS/BtsR upon sensing extracellular pyruvate, whereas expression of cstA is maximal in the stationary phase. Both pyruvate transporters were found to be important for the uptake of this compound, but also for chemotaxis to pyruvate, survival under oxidative and nitrosative stress, and persistence of S. Typhimurium in response to gentamicin. Compared with the wild-type cells, the ΔbtsTΔcstA mutant has disadvantages in antibiotic persistence in macrophages, as well as in colonization and systemic infection in gnotobiotic mice. These data demonstrate the surprising complexity of the two pyruvate uptake systems in S. Typhimurium. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Complex Signal Transduction Systems in Bacteria)

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12 pages, 3017 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Involvement of the MxtR/ErdR (CrbS/CrbR) Two-Component System in Acetate Metabolism in Pseudomonas putida KT2440

by Tania Henriquez and Heinrich Jung

Microorganisms 2021, 9(8), 1558; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms9081558 - 22 Jul 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2586

Abstract

MxtR/ErdR (also called CrbS/CrbR) is a two-component system previously identified as important for the utilization of acetate in Vibrio cholerae and some Pseudomonas species. In addition, evidence has been found in Pseudomonas aeruginosa for a role in regulating the synthesis and expression, respectively, of virulence factors such as siderophores and RND transporters. In this context, we investigated the physiological role of the MxtR/ErdR system in the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440. To that end, mxtR and erdR were individually deleted and the ability of the resulting mutants to metabolize different carbon sources was analyzed in comparison to wild type. We also assessed the impact of the deletions on siderophore production, expression of mexEF-oprN (RND transporter), and the biocontrol properties of the strain. Furthermore, the MxtR/ErdR-dependent expression of putative target genes and binding of ErdR to respective promoter regions were analyzed. Our results indicated that the MxtR/ErdR system is active and essential for acetate utilization in P. putida KT2440. Expression of scpC, pp_0354, and acsA-I was stimulated by acetate, while direct interactions of ErdR with the promoter regions of the genes scpC, pp_0354, and actP-I were demonstrated by an electromobility shift assay. Finally, our results suggested that MxtR/ErdR is neither involved in regulating siderophore production nor the expression of mexEF-oprN in P. putida KT2440 under the conditions tested. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Complex Signal Transduction Systems in Bacteria)

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22 pages, 13948 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genome-Wide Mapping Reveals Complex Regulatory Activities of BfmR in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

by Ke Fan, Qiao Cao and Lefu Lan

Microorganisms 2021, 9(3), 485; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms9030485 - 25 Feb 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2656

Abstract

BfmR is a response regulator that modulates diverse pathogenic phenotypes and induces an acute-to-chronic virulence switch in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an important human pathogen causing serious nosocomial infections. However, the mechanisms of action of BfmR remain largely unknown. Here, using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq), we showed that 174 chromosomal regions of P. aeruginosa MPAO1 genome were highly enriched by coimmunoprecipitation with a C-terminal Flag-tagged BfmR. Integration of these data with global transcriptome analyses revealed that 172 genes in 106 predicted transcription units are potential targets for BfmR. We determined that BfmR binds to and modulates the promoter activity of genes encoding transcriptional regulators CzcR, ExsA, and PhoB. Intriguingly, BfmR bound to the promoters of a number of genes belong to either CzcR or PhoB regulon, or both, indicating that CzcRS and PhoBR two-component systems (TCSs) deeply feed into the BfmR-mediated regulatory network. In addition, we demonstrated that phoB is required for BfmR to promote the biofilm formation by P. aeruginosa. These results delineate the direct BfmR regulon and exemplify the complexity of BfmR-mediated regulation of cellular functions in P. aeruginosa. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Complex Signal Transduction Systems in Bacteria)

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Review

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26 pages, 2611 KiB

Open AccessReview

Regulation of Resistance in Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci: The VanRS Two-Component System

by Alexandra A. Guffey and Patrick J. Loll

Microorganisms 2021, 9(10), 2026; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/microorganisms9102026 - 25 Sep 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5449

Abstract

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are a serious threat to human health, with few treatment options being available. New therapeutics are urgently needed to relieve the health and economic burdens presented by VRE. A potential target for new therapeutics is the VanRS two-component system, which regulates the expression of vancomycin resistance in VRE. VanS is a sensor histidine kinase that detects vancomycin and in turn activates VanR; VanR is a response regulator that, when activated, directs expression of vancomycin-resistance genes. This review of VanRS examines how the expression of vancomycin resistance is regulated, and provides an update on one of the field’s most pressing questions: How does VanS sense vancomycin? Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Complex Signal Transduction Systems in Bacteria)

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