GntR Family Transcriptional Regulator Research Articles

Discovery and Engineered Overproduction of Antimicrobial Nucleoside Antibiotic A201A from the Deep-Sea Marine Actinomycete Marinactinospora thermotolerans SCSIO 00652

Marinactinospora thermotolerans SCSIO 00652, originating from a deep-sea marine sediment of the South China Sea, was discovered to produce antimicrobial nucleoside antibiotic A201A. Whole-genome scanning and annotation strategies enabled us to localize the genes responsible for A201A biosynthesis and to experimentally identify the gene cluster; inactivation of mtdF, an oxidoreductase gene within the suspected gene cluster, abolished A201A production. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that a gene designated mtdA furthest upstream within the A201A biosynthetic gene cluster encodes a GntR family transcriptional regulator. To determine the role of MtdA in regulating A201A production, the mtdA gene was inactivated in frame and the resulting ΔmtdA mutant was fermented alongside the wild-type strain as a control. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses of fermentation extracts revealed that the ΔmtdA mutant produced A201A in a yield ∼25-fold superior to that of the wild-type strain, thereby demonstrating that MtdA is a negative transcriptional regulator governing A201A biosynthesis. By virtue of its high production capacity, the ΔmtdA mutant constitutes an ideal host for the efficient large-scale production of A201A. These results validate M. thermotolerans as an emerging source of antibacterial agents and highlight the efficiency of metabolic engineering for antibiotic titer improvement.

Identification of a TRAP transporter for malonate transport and its expression regulated by GtrA from Sinorhizobium meliloti

Sinorhizobium meliloti can live as a saprophyte in soil or as a nitrogen-fixing symbiont inside the root nodule cells of alfalfa and related legumes by utilizing different organic compounds as its carbon source. Here we have identified the matPQMAB operon in S. meliloti 1021. Within this operon, matP, matQ and the M region of the fused gene matMA encode an extracytoplasmic solute receptor, a small transmembrane protein and a large transmembrane protein, consisting of three components of the tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP) transporter for malonate transport. The A region of the fused gene matMA and matB encode malonate-metabolizing enzymes, malonyl-CoA decarboxylase and malonyl-CoA synthetase. The null mutant of each matPQMAB gene is unable to grow on M9 minimal medium containing malonate as the sole carbon source. However, these mutants can induce the formation of efficient nitrogen-fixing root nodules on alfalfa. The matPQMAB operon is expressed in free-living bacterial cells and symbiotic bacterial cells from infection threads and root nodules. The GntR family transcriptional regulator, GtrA, specifically binds the promoter of the matPQMAB operon, positively regulating its expression. Moreover, the matPQMAB can be transcriptionally induced by malonate. These results suggested that a C 3-dicarboxylic acid TRAP transporter is responsible for malonate transport in S. meliloti.

A New GntR Family Transcriptional Regulator inStreptomyces coelicolorIs Required for Morphogenesis and Antibiotic Production and Controls Transcription of an ABC Transporter in Response to Carbon Source

We recently reported the isolation and initial characterization of a transposon-generated mutation that resulted in defects in both morphogenesis and antibiotic production in Streptomyces coelicolor. The insertion identified the SCO7168 open reading frame whose predicted product is a GntR family transcriptional regulator. Here, we show that this gene acts to repress transcription of itself as well as a series of genes immediately adjacent to it on the S. coelicolor chromosome that likely encode an ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-type transporter for carbohydrate uptake. Transcription of this transporter is strongly induced by growth on relatively poor carbon sources such as trehalose and melibiose and weakly induced by lactose and glycerol but not glucose, and induction is not repressed by the presence of glucose. Constructed deletions of the ABC transporter itself resulted in the suppression of the original transposon mutation, suggesting that inappropriate expression of the ABC transporter is responsible, at least in part, for the mutant phenotype. Because this transporter responds to the presence of alpha-glucosides and has similarity to two other carbohydrate transporters of this class, we have named the genes of the transporter agl3E, agl3F, and agl3G and the GntR-like protein that regulates transcription of the transporter agl3R in accordance with established nomenclature. We suggest that agl3R is one of a number of homologous proteins in Streptomyces (there are 57 putative GntR family regulators in the S. coelicolor genome) that respond to nutritional and/or environmental signals to control genes that affect morphogenesis and antibiotic production.

Tn5-mutagenesis and indentification of atr operon and trpE gene responsible for indole-3-acetic acid synthesis in Azospirillum brasilense Yu62*

Abstract To bring more information about synthesis of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) from Azospirillum brasilense, a Tn5-insertion library of A. brasilense Yu62 was constructed and subjected to screening for IAA producing mutants. Two mutants with decreased IAA levels, named as A3 and A24, were isolated. The sequence analysis of loci tagged showed that the Tn5-1063a was located in the atrA gene encoidng GntR family transcriptional regulator and trpE gene encoding component I of anthranilate synthase respectively. At the same time, atrC were clustered in an operon. Mutagenesis and complementation studies showed that atrA and atrC were involved in IAA synthesis. IAA levels of trpE mutant and wild-type strain could be improved by adding anthranilate into the medium. *Supported by National High-Tech Project (Grant No. 2003AA241170), and the Major State Basic Research Development Programm of China(Grant No. 001CB108904)

A GntR family transcriptional regulator (PigT) controls gluconate-mediated repression and defines a new, independent pathway for regulation of the tripyrrole antibiotic, prodigiosin, in Serratia

Biosynthesis of the red, tripyrrole antibiotic prodigiosin (Pig) by Serratia sp. ATCC 39006 (39006) is controlled by a complex regulatory network involving an N-acyl homoserine lactone (N-AHL) quorum-sensing system, at least two separate two-component signal transduction systems and a multitude of other regulators. In this study, a new transcriptional activator, PigT, and a physiological cue (gluconate), which are involved in an independent pathway controlling Pig biosynthesis, have been characterized. PigT, a GntR homologue, activates transcription of the pigA-O biosynthetic operon in the absence of gluconate. However, addition of gluconate to the growth medium of 39006 repressed transcription of pigA-O, via a PigT-dependent mechanism, resulting in a decrease in Pig production. Finally, expression of the pigT transcript was shown to be maximal in exponential phase, preceding the onset of Pig production. This work expands our understanding of both the physiological and genetic factors that impinge on the biosynthesis of the secondary metabolite Pig in 39006.

Isolation of transposon mutants from Azospirillum brasilense Yu62 and characterization of genes involved in indole-3-acetic acid biosynthesis

The molecular genetics of indole-3-acetic (IAA) synthesis and regulation in Azospirillum brasilense was investigated in this study. Tn5 mutagenesis was performed and five mutants with decreased IAA production were isolated. Five Tn5-inserted genes from these mutants were cloned and sequenced. Four genes were reported for the first time to be involved in IAA production, namely, atrA, ftsA, omaA and aldA that code for GntR-family transcriptional regulator, iron-binding protein component of ABC-type Fe 3+ transport system, outer membrane protein, and aldehyde dehydrogenase, respectively. In addition, two genes atrB and atrC, with predicted proteins that showed high homology to aminotransferases, were cloned from the downstream of atrA in this bacterium. Studies also showed that complementation of atrA, ftsA and omaA were able to restore the IAA production of the corresponding IAA − mutants. Comparison of Fe 3+ concentrations in culture supernatants of the wild-type strain, the ftsA mutant and the complemented strain revealed that the iron-uptake ability of the ftsA mutant was highly reduced. This result also points to the necessity of iron as a metal ion in IAA synthesis. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the IAA accumulated in cells between the omaA mutant and the wild-type strain, suggesting the omaA might not affect IAA secretion but be involved in IAA production in other unknown ways.