Heat Shock Transcription Factor σ32 Co-opts the Signal Recognition Particle to Regulate Protein Homeostasis in E. coli

Abstract

Author SummaryAll cells have to adjust to frequent changes in their environmental conditions. The heat shock response is a signaling pathway critical for survival of all organisms exposed to elevated temperatures. Under such conditions, the heat shock response maintains enzymes and other proteins in a properly folded state. The mechanisms for sensing temperature and the subsequent induction of the appropriate transcriptional response have been extensively studied. Prior to this work, however, the circuitry described in the best studied bacterium E. coli could not fully explain the range of cellular responses that are observed following heat shock. We report the discovery of this missing link. Surprisingly, we find that σ32, a transcription factor that induces gene expression during heat shock, needs to be localized to the membrane, rather than being active as a soluble cytoplasmic protein as previously thought. We show that, equally surprisingly, σ32 is targeted to the membrane by the signal recognition particle (SRP) and its receptor (SR). SRP and SR constitute a conserved protein targeting machine that normally only operates on membrane and periplasmic proteins that contain identifiable signal sequences. Intriguingly, σ32 does not have any canonical signal sequence for export or membrane-integration. Our results indicate that membrane-associated σ32, not soluble cytoplasmic σ32, is the preferred target of regulatory control in response to heat shock. Our new model thus explains how protein folding status from both the cytoplasm and bacterial cell membrane can be integrated to control the heat shock response.