The transcriptional regulator Np20 is the zinc uptake regulator in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Zinc is essential for all bacteria, but excess amounts of the metal can have toxic effects. To address this, bacteria have developed tightly regulated zinc uptake systems, such as the ZnuABC zinc transporter which is regulated by the Fur-like zinc uptake regulator (Zur). In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Matthew L Ellison, John M Farrow, Whitney Parrish, Allison S Danell, Everett C Pesci
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3781045?pdf=render
_version_ 1818923827411812352
author Matthew L Ellison
John M Farrow
Whitney Parrish
Allison S Danell
Everett C Pesci
author_facet Matthew L Ellison
John M Farrow
Whitney Parrish
Allison S Danell
Everett C Pesci
author_sort Matthew L Ellison
collection DOAJ
description Zinc is essential for all bacteria, but excess amounts of the metal can have toxic effects. To address this, bacteria have developed tightly regulated zinc uptake systems, such as the ZnuABC zinc transporter which is regulated by the Fur-like zinc uptake regulator (Zur). In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Zur protein has yet to be identified experimentally, however, sequence alignment revealed that the zinc-responsive transcriptional regulator Np20, encoded by np20 (PA5499), shares high sequence identity with Zur found in other bacteria. In this study, we set out to determine whether Np20 was functioning as Zur in P. aeruginosa. Using RT-PCR, we determined that np20 (hereafter known as zur) formed a polycistronic operon with znuC and znuB. Mutant strains, lacking the putative znuA, znuB, or znuC genes were found to grow poorly in zinc deplete conditions as compared to wild-type strain PAO1. Intracellular zinc concentrations in strain PAO-Zur (Δzur) were found to be higher than those for strain PAO1, further implicating the zur as the zinc uptake regulator. Reporter gene fusions and real time RT-PCR revealed that transcription of znuA was repressed in a zinc-dependent manner in strain PAO1, however zinc-dependent transcriptional repression was alleviated in strain PAO-Zur, suggesting that the P. aeruginosa Zur homolog (ZurPA) directly regulates expression of znuA. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays also revealed that recombinant ZurPA specifically binds to the promoter region of znuA and does not bind in the presence of the zinc chelator N,N',N-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine (TPEN). Taken together, these data support the notion that Np20 is the P. aeruginosa Zur, which regulates the transcription of the genes encoding the high affinity ZnuABC zinc transport system.
first_indexed 2024-12-20T02:15:37Z
format Article
id doaj.art-fba1874cff7d4c98a0d4efb9a6b3fb37
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-20T02:15:37Z
publishDate 2013-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-fba1874cff7d4c98a0d4efb9a6b3fb372022-12-21T19:56:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-0189e7538910.1371/journal.pone.0075389The transcriptional regulator Np20 is the zinc uptake regulator in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.Matthew L EllisonJohn M FarrowWhitney ParrishAllison S DanellEverett C PesciZinc is essential for all bacteria, but excess amounts of the metal can have toxic effects. To address this, bacteria have developed tightly regulated zinc uptake systems, such as the ZnuABC zinc transporter which is regulated by the Fur-like zinc uptake regulator (Zur). In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a Zur protein has yet to be identified experimentally, however, sequence alignment revealed that the zinc-responsive transcriptional regulator Np20, encoded by np20 (PA5499), shares high sequence identity with Zur found in other bacteria. In this study, we set out to determine whether Np20 was functioning as Zur in P. aeruginosa. Using RT-PCR, we determined that np20 (hereafter known as zur) formed a polycistronic operon with znuC and znuB. Mutant strains, lacking the putative znuA, znuB, or znuC genes were found to grow poorly in zinc deplete conditions as compared to wild-type strain PAO1. Intracellular zinc concentrations in strain PAO-Zur (Δzur) were found to be higher than those for strain PAO1, further implicating the zur as the zinc uptake regulator. Reporter gene fusions and real time RT-PCR revealed that transcription of znuA was repressed in a zinc-dependent manner in strain PAO1, however zinc-dependent transcriptional repression was alleviated in strain PAO-Zur, suggesting that the P. aeruginosa Zur homolog (ZurPA) directly regulates expression of znuA. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays also revealed that recombinant ZurPA specifically binds to the promoter region of znuA and does not bind in the presence of the zinc chelator N,N',N-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl) ethylenediamine (TPEN). Taken together, these data support the notion that Np20 is the P. aeruginosa Zur, which regulates the transcription of the genes encoding the high affinity ZnuABC zinc transport system.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3781045?pdf=render
spellingShingle Matthew L Ellison
John M Farrow
Whitney Parrish
Allison S Danell
Everett C Pesci
The transcriptional regulator Np20 is the zinc uptake regulator in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
PLoS ONE
title The transcriptional regulator Np20 is the zinc uptake regulator in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
title_full The transcriptional regulator Np20 is the zinc uptake regulator in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
title_fullStr The transcriptional regulator Np20 is the zinc uptake regulator in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
title_full_unstemmed The transcriptional regulator Np20 is the zinc uptake regulator in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
title_short The transcriptional regulator Np20 is the zinc uptake regulator in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
title_sort transcriptional regulator np20 is the zinc uptake regulator in pseudomonas aeruginosa
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3781045?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT matthewlellison thetranscriptionalregulatornp20isthezincuptakeregulatorinpseudomonasaeruginosa
AT johnmfarrow thetranscriptionalregulatornp20isthezincuptakeregulatorinpseudomonasaeruginosa
AT whitneyparrish thetranscriptionalregulatornp20isthezincuptakeregulatorinpseudomonasaeruginosa
AT allisonsdanell thetranscriptionalregulatornp20isthezincuptakeregulatorinpseudomonasaeruginosa
AT everettcpesci thetranscriptionalregulatornp20isthezincuptakeregulatorinpseudomonasaeruginosa
AT matthewlellison transcriptionalregulatornp20isthezincuptakeregulatorinpseudomonasaeruginosa
AT johnmfarrow transcriptionalregulatornp20isthezincuptakeregulatorinpseudomonasaeruginosa
AT whitneyparrish transcriptionalregulatornp20isthezincuptakeregulatorinpseudomonasaeruginosa
AT allisonsdanell transcriptionalregulatornp20isthezincuptakeregulatorinpseudomonasaeruginosa
AT everettcpesci transcriptionalregulatornp20isthezincuptakeregulatorinpseudomonasaeruginosa