Exploration of the effects of a degS mutant on the growth of Vibrio cholerae and the global regulatory function of degS by RNA sequencing

Background DegS is a periplasmic serine protease that is considered to be the initiator of the σE stress response pathway, and this protein plays an important role in the regulation of the stress response in E. coli. However, knowledge of the biological function and global regulatory network of DegS...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jian Huang, Yuxi Chen, Jie Chen, Changjin Liu, Tao Zhang, Shilu Luo, Meirong Huang, Xun Min
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2019-10-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/7959.pdf
_version_ 1797420563609681920
author Jian Huang
Yuxi Chen
Jie Chen
Changjin Liu
Tao Zhang
Shilu Luo
Meirong Huang
Xun Min
author_facet Jian Huang
Yuxi Chen
Jie Chen
Changjin Liu
Tao Zhang
Shilu Luo
Meirong Huang
Xun Min
author_sort Jian Huang
collection DOAJ
description Background DegS is a periplasmic serine protease that is considered to be the initiator of the σE stress response pathway, and this protein plays an important role in the regulation of the stress response in E. coli. However, knowledge of the biological function and global regulatory network of DegS in Vibrio cholerae remains limited. In this study, we aimed to characterize the molecular functions and further investigate the regulatory network of degS in V. cholerae. Methods A deletion mutant of degS was constructed in the V. cholerae HN375 strain. Bacterial colony morphology was observed by a plate-based growth experiment, and bacterial growth ability was observed by a growth curve experiment. High-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology was used to analyze the differential transcriptomic profiles between the wild-type and degS mutant strains. Gene ontology (GO), pathway analysis and Gene-Act-network analysis were performed to explore the main functions of the differentially expressed genes. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to validate the reliability and accuracy of the RNA-Seq analysis. The complementation experiments were used to test the roles of degS and ropS in the small colony degS mutant phenotype. Results When degS was deleted, the degS mutant exhibited smaller colonies on various media and slower growth than the wild-type strain. A total of 423 differentially expressed genes were identified, including 187 genes that were upregulated in the degS mutant compared to the wild-type strain and 236 genes that were relatively downregulated. GO categories and pathway analysis showed that many differentially expressed genes were associated with various cellular metabolic pathways and the cell cycle. Furthermore, Gene-Act network analysis showed that many differentially expressed genes were involved in cellular metabolic pathways and bacterial chemotaxis. The cAMP-CRP-RpoS signaling pathway and the LuxPQ signal transduction system were also affected by the degS mutant. The expression patterns of nine randomly selected differentially expressed genes were consistent between the qRT-PCR and RNA-seq results. The complementation experiments showed that the small colony degS mutant phenotype could be partially restored by complementation with the pBAD24-degS or pBAD24-rpoS plasmid. Discussion These results suggest that the degS gene is important for normal growth of V. cholerae. Some of the differentially expressed genes were involved in various cellular metabolic processes and the cell cycle, which may be associated with bacterial growth. Several new degS-related regulatory networks were identified. In addition, our results suggested that the cAMP-CRP-RpoS signaling pathway may be involved in the small colony degS mutant phenotype. Overall, we believe that these transcriptomic data will serve as useful genetic resources for research on the functions of degS in V. cholerae.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T07:03:16Z
format Article
id doaj.art-72a87a8f1cbd49c588a17ce185f5118c
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2167-8359
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T07:03:16Z
publishDate 2019-10-01
publisher PeerJ Inc.
record_format Article
series PeerJ
spelling doaj.art-72a87a8f1cbd49c588a17ce185f5118c2023-12-03T09:46:37ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592019-10-017e795910.7717/peerj.7959Exploration of the effects of a degS mutant on the growth of Vibrio cholerae and the global regulatory function of degS by RNA sequencingJian Huang0Yuxi Chen1Jie Chen2Changjin Liu3Tao Zhang4Shilu Luo5Meirong Huang6Xun Min7Department of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaDepartment of Blood Transfusion, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, ChinaBackground DegS is a periplasmic serine protease that is considered to be the initiator of the σE stress response pathway, and this protein plays an important role in the regulation of the stress response in E. coli. However, knowledge of the biological function and global regulatory network of DegS in Vibrio cholerae remains limited. In this study, we aimed to characterize the molecular functions and further investigate the regulatory network of degS in V. cholerae. Methods A deletion mutant of degS was constructed in the V. cholerae HN375 strain. Bacterial colony morphology was observed by a plate-based growth experiment, and bacterial growth ability was observed by a growth curve experiment. High-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology was used to analyze the differential transcriptomic profiles between the wild-type and degS mutant strains. Gene ontology (GO), pathway analysis and Gene-Act-network analysis were performed to explore the main functions of the differentially expressed genes. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to validate the reliability and accuracy of the RNA-Seq analysis. The complementation experiments were used to test the roles of degS and ropS in the small colony degS mutant phenotype. Results When degS was deleted, the degS mutant exhibited smaller colonies on various media and slower growth than the wild-type strain. A total of 423 differentially expressed genes were identified, including 187 genes that were upregulated in the degS mutant compared to the wild-type strain and 236 genes that were relatively downregulated. GO categories and pathway analysis showed that many differentially expressed genes were associated with various cellular metabolic pathways and the cell cycle. Furthermore, Gene-Act network analysis showed that many differentially expressed genes were involved in cellular metabolic pathways and bacterial chemotaxis. The cAMP-CRP-RpoS signaling pathway and the LuxPQ signal transduction system were also affected by the degS mutant. The expression patterns of nine randomly selected differentially expressed genes were consistent between the qRT-PCR and RNA-seq results. The complementation experiments showed that the small colony degS mutant phenotype could be partially restored by complementation with the pBAD24-degS or pBAD24-rpoS plasmid. Discussion These results suggest that the degS gene is important for normal growth of V. cholerae. Some of the differentially expressed genes were involved in various cellular metabolic processes and the cell cycle, which may be associated with bacterial growth. Several new degS-related regulatory networks were identified. In addition, our results suggested that the cAMP-CRP-RpoS signaling pathway may be involved in the small colony degS mutant phenotype. Overall, we believe that these transcriptomic data will serve as useful genetic resources for research on the functions of degS in V. cholerae.https://peerj.com/articles/7959.pdfVibrio choleraeDegSGrowthRNA sequencing
spellingShingle Jian Huang
Yuxi Chen
Jie Chen
Changjin Liu
Tao Zhang
Shilu Luo
Meirong Huang
Xun Min
Exploration of the effects of a degS mutant on the growth of Vibrio cholerae and the global regulatory function of degS by RNA sequencing
PeerJ
Vibrio cholerae
DegS
Growth
RNA sequencing
title Exploration of the effects of a degS mutant on the growth of Vibrio cholerae and the global regulatory function of degS by RNA sequencing
title_full Exploration of the effects of a degS mutant on the growth of Vibrio cholerae and the global regulatory function of degS by RNA sequencing
title_fullStr Exploration of the effects of a degS mutant on the growth of Vibrio cholerae and the global regulatory function of degS by RNA sequencing
title_full_unstemmed Exploration of the effects of a degS mutant on the growth of Vibrio cholerae and the global regulatory function of degS by RNA sequencing
title_short Exploration of the effects of a degS mutant on the growth of Vibrio cholerae and the global regulatory function of degS by RNA sequencing
title_sort exploration of the effects of a degs mutant on the growth of vibrio cholerae and the global regulatory function of degs by rna sequencing
topic Vibrio cholerae
DegS
Growth
RNA sequencing
url https://peerj.com/articles/7959.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT jianhuang explorationoftheeffectsofadegsmutantonthegrowthofvibriocholeraeandtheglobalregulatoryfunctionofdegsbyrnasequencing
AT yuxichen explorationoftheeffectsofadegsmutantonthegrowthofvibriocholeraeandtheglobalregulatoryfunctionofdegsbyrnasequencing
AT jiechen explorationoftheeffectsofadegsmutantonthegrowthofvibriocholeraeandtheglobalregulatoryfunctionofdegsbyrnasequencing
AT changjinliu explorationoftheeffectsofadegsmutantonthegrowthofvibriocholeraeandtheglobalregulatoryfunctionofdegsbyrnasequencing
AT taozhang explorationoftheeffectsofadegsmutantonthegrowthofvibriocholeraeandtheglobalregulatoryfunctionofdegsbyrnasequencing
AT shiluluo explorationoftheeffectsofadegsmutantonthegrowthofvibriocholeraeandtheglobalregulatoryfunctionofdegsbyrnasequencing
AT meironghuang explorationoftheeffectsofadegsmutantonthegrowthofvibriocholeraeandtheglobalregulatoryfunctionofdegsbyrnasequencing
AT xunmin explorationoftheeffectsofadegsmutantonthegrowthofvibriocholeraeandtheglobalregulatoryfunctionofdegsbyrnasequencing