RcgA and RcgR, Two Novel Proteins Involved in the Conjugative Transfer of Rhizobial Plasmids
ABSTRACT Rhizobia are Gram-negative bacteria that are able to establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiotic interaction with leguminous plants. Rhizobia genomes usually harbor several plasmids which can be transferred to other organisms by conjugation. Two main mechanisms of the regulation of rhizobial plas...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Society for Microbiology
2022-10-01
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| Series: | mBio |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.01949-22 |
| _version_ | 1828100166191677440 |
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| author | Lucas G. Castellani Abril Luchetti Juliet F. Nilsson Julieta Pérez-Giménez Ben Struck Andreas Schlüter Alfred Pühler Karsten Niehaus David Romero Mariano Pistorio Gonzalo Torres Tejerizo |
| author_facet | Lucas G. Castellani Abril Luchetti Juliet F. Nilsson Julieta Pérez-Giménez Ben Struck Andreas Schlüter Alfred Pühler Karsten Niehaus David Romero Mariano Pistorio Gonzalo Torres Tejerizo |
| author_sort | Lucas G. Castellani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Rhizobia are Gram-negative bacteria that are able to establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiotic interaction with leguminous plants. Rhizobia genomes usually harbor several plasmids which can be transferred to other organisms by conjugation. Two main mechanisms of the regulation of rhizobial plasmid transfer have been described: quorum sensing (QS) and the rctA/rctB system. Nevertheless, new genes and molecules that modulate conjugative transfer have recently been described, demonstrating that new actors can tightly regulate the process. In this work, by means of bioinformatics tools and molecular biology approaches, two hypothetical genes are identified as playing key roles in conjugative transfer. These genes are located between conjugative genes of plasmid pRfaLPU83a from Rhizobium favelukesii LPU83, a plasmid that shows a conjugative transfer behavior depending on the genomic background. One of the two mentioned genes, rcgA, is essential for conjugation, while the other, rcgR, acts as an inhibitor of the process. In addition to introducing this new regulatory system, we show evidence of the functions of these genes in different genomic backgrounds and confirm that homologous proteins from non-closely related organisms have the same functions. These findings set up the basis for a new regulatory circuit of the conjugative transfer of plasmids. IMPORTANCE Extrachromosomal DNA elements, such as plasmids, allow for the adaptation of bacteria to new environments by conferring new determinants. Via conjugation, plasmids can be transferred between members of the same bacterial species, different species, or even to organisms belonging to a different kingdom. Knowledge about the regulatory systems of plasmid conjugative transfer is key in understanding the dynamics of their dissemination in the environment. As the increasing availability of genomes raises the number of predicted proteins with unknown functions, deeper experimental procedures help to elucidate the roles of these determinants. In this work, two uncharacterized proteins that constitute a new regulatory circuit with a key role in the conjugative transfer of rhizobial plasmids were discovered. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T08:25:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fa8467139f5841718d83f01740b81d90 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2150-7511 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T08:25:14Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | mBio |
| spelling | doaj.art-fa8467139f5841718d83f01740b81d902022-12-22T04:34:47ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologymBio2150-75112022-10-0113510.1128/mbio.01949-22RcgA and RcgR, Two Novel Proteins Involved in the Conjugative Transfer of Rhizobial PlasmidsLucas G. Castellani0Abril Luchetti1Juliet F. Nilsson2Julieta Pérez-Giménez3Ben Struck4Andreas Schlüter5Alfred Pühler6Karsten Niehaus7David Romero8Mariano Pistorio9Gonzalo Torres Tejerizo10Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular, CCT-La Plata-CONICET, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, ArgentinaInstituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular, CCT-La Plata-CONICET, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, ArgentinaInstituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular, CCT-La Plata-CONICET, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, ArgentinaInstituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular, CCT-La Plata-CONICET, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, ArgentinaCenter for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Genome Research of Industrial Microorganisms, Bielefeld, GermanyCenter for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Genome Research of Industrial Microorganisms, Bielefeld, GermanyCenter for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Genome Research of Industrial Microorganisms, Bielefeld, GermanyCenter for Biotechnology (CeBiTec), Bielefeld University, Genome Research of Industrial Microorganisms, Bielefeld, GermanyPrograma de Ingeniería Genómica, Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, MéxicoInstituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular, CCT-La Plata-CONICET, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, ArgentinaInstituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular, CCT-La Plata-CONICET, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, ArgentinaABSTRACT Rhizobia are Gram-negative bacteria that are able to establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiotic interaction with leguminous plants. Rhizobia genomes usually harbor several plasmids which can be transferred to other organisms by conjugation. Two main mechanisms of the regulation of rhizobial plasmid transfer have been described: quorum sensing (QS) and the rctA/rctB system. Nevertheless, new genes and molecules that modulate conjugative transfer have recently been described, demonstrating that new actors can tightly regulate the process. In this work, by means of bioinformatics tools and molecular biology approaches, two hypothetical genes are identified as playing key roles in conjugative transfer. These genes are located between conjugative genes of plasmid pRfaLPU83a from Rhizobium favelukesii LPU83, a plasmid that shows a conjugative transfer behavior depending on the genomic background. One of the two mentioned genes, rcgA, is essential for conjugation, while the other, rcgR, acts as an inhibitor of the process. In addition to introducing this new regulatory system, we show evidence of the functions of these genes in different genomic backgrounds and confirm that homologous proteins from non-closely related organisms have the same functions. These findings set up the basis for a new regulatory circuit of the conjugative transfer of plasmids. IMPORTANCE Extrachromosomal DNA elements, such as plasmids, allow for the adaptation of bacteria to new environments by conferring new determinants. Via conjugation, plasmids can be transferred between members of the same bacterial species, different species, or even to organisms belonging to a different kingdom. Knowledge about the regulatory systems of plasmid conjugative transfer is key in understanding the dynamics of their dissemination in the environment. As the increasing availability of genomes raises the number of predicted proteins with unknown functions, deeper experimental procedures help to elucidate the roles of these determinants. In this work, two uncharacterized proteins that constitute a new regulatory circuit with a key role in the conjugative transfer of rhizobial plasmids were discovered.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.01949-22RhizobiaplasmidconjugationRhizobiumgene regulation |
| spellingShingle | Lucas G. Castellani Abril Luchetti Juliet F. Nilsson Julieta Pérez-Giménez Ben Struck Andreas Schlüter Alfred Pühler Karsten Niehaus David Romero Mariano Pistorio Gonzalo Torres Tejerizo RcgA and RcgR, Two Novel Proteins Involved in the Conjugative Transfer of Rhizobial Plasmids mBio Rhizobia plasmid conjugation Rhizobium gene regulation |
| title | RcgA and RcgR, Two Novel Proteins Involved in the Conjugative Transfer of Rhizobial Plasmids |
| title_full | RcgA and RcgR, Two Novel Proteins Involved in the Conjugative Transfer of Rhizobial Plasmids |
| title_fullStr | RcgA and RcgR, Two Novel Proteins Involved in the Conjugative Transfer of Rhizobial Plasmids |
| title_full_unstemmed | RcgA and RcgR, Two Novel Proteins Involved in the Conjugative Transfer of Rhizobial Plasmids |
| title_short | RcgA and RcgR, Two Novel Proteins Involved in the Conjugative Transfer of Rhizobial Plasmids |
| title_sort | rcga and rcgr two novel proteins involved in the conjugative transfer of rhizobial plasmids |
| topic | Rhizobia plasmid conjugation Rhizobium gene regulation |
| url | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.01949-22 |
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