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Journal of Bacteriology, January 1999, p. 689-694, Vol. 181, No. 2
Department of Microbiology and Immunology,
University of South Alabama, College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama
38866,2 and
Department of Microbiology,
Received 10 September 1998/Accepted 3 November 1998
Two acid-inducible genes, aniC and aciK,
that require anaerobiosis and tyrosine for expression were
identified as orf326a encoding a potential amino
acid/polyamine antiporter and hyaB encoding
hydrogenase I, respectively. Cyclic AMP (cAMP) receptor protein, cAMP, and TyrR, regulator of aromatic amino acid metabolism, were strong positive regulators of both genes.
Salmonella typhimurium
undergoes extensive molecular and physiological changes following both
subtle and dramatic alterations in environmental pH (5, 12).
Changes that occur in response to acid pH shifts include an adaptation
to acid stress called the acid tolerance response (ATR), which helps
protect the organism from potentially lethal acid environments
(13). The ATR involves the induction of a series of
polypeptides called acid shock proteins (ASPs), some of which are
presumed to protect the cell from acid stress (4, 19, 22).
While the ASPs discussed above were found by using
two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel
electrophoresis, other acid-inducible genes have been identified by using gene fusion technology. Many of these acid pH-inducible genes
require medium components for induction in addition to low pH
(14). Although these genes have no known role in acid
tolerance, they are presumed to contribute in some way to survival in
low-pH environments. Our estimates indicate that over 100 genes are
transcriptionally sensitive to pH. In spite of the large number of
genes that respond to environmental pH, the transcriptional mechanisms
by which acidic pH alters gene expression are poorly understood.
The best-characterized acid-inducible gene systems are the lysine and
arginine decarboxylases of Escherichia coli. The
cadBA operon, encoding lysine decarboxylase
(cadA) and a lysine/cadaverine antiporter (cadB),
is controlled by acid pH through a membrane sensor protein called CadC
(25). The arginine decarboxylase system (adi) is
more complex than the cad operon in that adi
requires anaerobiosis, acid, and a combination of amino acids for
maximal induction (31). A positive regulator has been
identified in E. coli (adiY), but an antiporter
that would exchange arginine for its decarboxylation product, agmatine,
has not (32).
Previously, lacZ gene fusion techniques were used to
identify acid-inducible genes in S. typhimurium, or
regulators of those genes, that may be involved in acid tolerance
(11, 14). Most of the genes found were of unknown function.
One regulatory locus, atrE (also called oxrG),
had a clear effect on inducible acid tolerance. This regulator
controlled the expression of three acid-inducible loci called
aniC, aniI, and aciK that also
required an anaerobic environment and tyrosine for induction. The
ani designation reflected the original identification of
these genes as being anaerobiosis induced, while the aci
designation was based on an initial screen for acid induction. None of
these genes were characterized further at the time. Since
atrE participated in the acid tolerance response, the known
targets of this regulator were identified and their regulation by
tyrosine and pH was more clearly defined. The strains used throughout
this study are listed in Table 1.
Identification of aniC and aciK.
Transcriptional fusions of aniC and aciK with the
reporter gene lacZ were originally created via
MudJ insertions. The left ends of MudJ junctions
were cloned from chromosomal digests by first identifying the sizes of
SalI restriction fragments containing the kanamycin
resistance gene via Southern blot hybridization with a kanamycin gene
probe. Fragments of the appropriate size were excised and extracted
from an agarose gel and ligated to SalI-digested pBluescript
SK+ vector (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.). The ligated mixtures were
transformed via CaCl2 into XL1-Blue (EK112), with selection
for resistance to ampicillin. Sequencing of the junction sites was
performed by using an oligonucleotide specific to the left end of
Mu (Oligo 47; 5'CCAATGTCCTCCCGGTTTTT). The results of
homology searches using the predicted translation product of
aniC indicated that the gene from S. typhimurium
is homologous to orf326a in the adi region of
E. coli (100% identity over 15 amino acids), with the
insertion having occurred after codon 137, based on the E. coli sequence (Fig. 1A). This
identity was also consistent with respect to map position as both the
E. coli and S. typhimurium genes map to
similar locations (93 centisomes).
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Cyclic AMP Receptor Protein and TyrR Are Required
for Acid pH and Anaerobic Induction of hyaB and
aniC in Salmonella typhimurium

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TABLE 1.
Bacterial strains

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FIG. 1.
Locations of MudJ insertions and homologies.
Locations of MudJ insertions in the S. typhimurium homologs of E. coli aniC
(orf326a) (A), hyaB (B), and tyrR (C).
The upper diagrams in panels A and B illustrate gene organization in
E. coli and the approximate site of the MudJ
insertion in S. typhimurium as determined by the
sequence analysis shown at the bottom of each panel.
Regulation of aciK (hyaB) and
aniC.
Previous results indicated that aciK
(hyaB) and aniC are best expressed under
anaerobic, acidic conditions in complex media (1, 2). The
reason these genes were poorly expressed in minimal media proved to be
that they had a requirement for tyrosine as a coinducer
(14). Since one of these genes is the S. typhimurium homolog of hyaB, we decided to examine the
expression of both genes under conditions shown previously to affect
hya-lac expression in E. coli. In these
studies,
-galactosidase was measured according to the method of
Miller (24) with cells grown to mid-log phase prior to
assay. In E. coli, hya is repressed by
nitrate and induced by formate under anaerobic conditions
(7). The results of studies with S. typhimurium are shown in Table 2.
The data reaffirmed that maximum induction of aniC and
hyaB requires anaerobiosis, acid pH, and tyrosine. As
reported previously, nitrate stimulated expression of these genes at
neutral to alkaline pH (2), contrary to what has been
reported for E. coli hya (7). However, under optimally inducing acidic conditions (i.e., pH 5.8, anaerobic with
tyrosine), nitrate clearly reduced expression of both genes. Nitrate
repression was more dramatic for hyaB (24-fold) than for aniC (2-fold), indicating a major difference in the
regulation of these genes. Repression of hyaB by nitrate was
consistent with what has been reported for hyaB in
E. coli, although tyrosine was not used in that study
and the pH conditions were not clearly defined. Formate was then tested
for its ability to induce aniC and hyaB in
S. typhimurium. As noted above, growth with formate increased expression of hya in E. coli.
However, when tested with S. typhimurium, formate did
not increase expression of either aniC or hyaB
(aciK), contrary to results with E. coli hya
(3). Formate had no effect on S. typhimurium
hyaB expression, even under anaerobic conditions with tyrosine
(Table 2). The reason for this difference is unclear; however, we have
moved hyaB::MudJ into several clinical
strains of S. enterica and found similar results.
Consequently, the phenotype is consistent among the salmonella strains
tested.
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S (3). The effects of an
rpoS
pRR10(Ap) mutation on aniC and hya expression in S. typhimurium are shown
in Table 3. In addition, the effect of
the previously identified (14) positive regulator of these
genes, atrE, is also shown. The results clearly indicated that both aniC and hyaB are under positive
control by atrE. In addition, both genes were in some manner
negatively, not positively, regulated by RpoS. RpoS control was
modest, 2-fold for aniC and 1.5-fold for hyaB
(aciK), suggesting that the effect could be indirect.
Nevertheless, these results were once again the opposite of those
reported for the E. coli hya operon, where RpoS was
required for maximal activity.
|
The regulator of aromatic amino acid metabolism, TyrR, controls the tyrosine requirement for aniC and hyaB expression. A newly identified gene involved in the regulation of this system was identified following random Tn10dTc transposition into an aniC::MudJ strain. Tn10dTc insertions were generated by first introducing pNK972, containing the Tn10 transposase gene, into the strain targeted for Tn10dTc transposition. Tn10dTc does not contain the transposase gene. The strain containing pNK972 was then transduced (20) with P22 HT phage propagated on SF463 (TT10423). SF463 contains a Tn10dTc insertion on an F factor. Because there is no homology between the F factor and the recipient chromosome, tetracycline-resistant transductants arise only through transposition. Transposon mutagenesis was performed on MacConkey lactose medium and screened under aerobic and anaerobic conditions (GasPak Systems; Becton Dickinson). Tcr transductants were screened anaerobically on MacConkey lactose medium. Of approximately 10,000 insertion mutants screened, one produced a white colony under anaerobic conditions (JF3496). The insertion eliminated expression of both aniC (JF3496) and hyaB (JF4053; Table 3). Mapping of the Tn10 insertion was accomplished by using the Mud-P22 prophage system (6), which placed the insertion near sapD located at 33 centisomes (16, 17).
Identification of this regulatory gene as tyrR was made through sequencing the Tn10dTc insertion site by a minicircle technique. The Tn10dTc insertion with flanking DNA was identified from a SalI digest from JF3496 via Southern hybridization with a biotin-labeled tet gene. SalI does not cleave within the Tn10dTc transposon. The DNA was excised and extracted from an agarose gel, diluted 1:20, and ligated. An oligonucleotide homologous to the inverted repeats at the ends of Tn10 was used to PCR amplify DNA flanking Tn10 (Oligo 51; 5'GACAAGATGTGGATCCACCTTAAC). A 700-bp fragment was cloned into the pCRII TA cloning vector (Invitrogen, San Diego, Calif.) and used as a probe against SalI-digested chromosomal DNA from JF3496 and SF530 (tyrR+). The hybridization pattern indicated that the 700-bp fragment overlapped the insertion. The DNA sequence was then determined from the T7 primer site on pCRII. The results shown in Fig. 1C indicated that this gene is the S. typhimurium homolog of tyrR (90% identity over 30 amino acids), a regulator of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis and transport (15, 26). The effects of the tyrR::Tn10dTc insertion on gene expression are shown in Table 3. Confirmation that the insertion is in tyrR was obtained by showing that the function of the S. typhimurium tyrR::Tn10dTc insertion could be complemented with a plasmid carrying E. coli tyrR+ (Table 3, JF3618). The plasmid pJC100 was kindly provided by R. Somerville and does not express any E. coli genes other than tyrR (30). No previous report has suggested a role for TyrR in the regulation of any acid pH- or anaerobically controlled gene. Based upon these results, it is reasonable to predict that TyrR bound to tyrosine acts as a positive regulator of gene expression in this complex regulatory system. An important feature of regulatory regions controlled by TyrR is the presence of one or more 18-bp TyrR boxes (TGTAAAN6TTTACA [26]). A scan of the E. coli sequences revealed potential TyrR boxes upstream of hyaA, the first gene in the hya operon, and upstream of adiY, the gene immediately upstream of orf326a (the aniC homolog). These observations are consistent with a role for TyrR in the regulation of these genes, although no evidence that TyrR or tyrosine controls these genes in E. coli has been presented. Because aniC (encoding a potential amino acid antiporter) is located close to adiA (encoding arginine decarboxylase), we questioned whether tyrR might control adiA expression. However, tests in Moeller decarboxylase medium indicated that tyrR::Tn10dTc did not affect arginine decarboxylase activity (data not shown).Conclusions. We have identified two acid- and anaerobiosis-regulated genes in S. typhimurium as encoding hydrogenase I (hyaB, formerly aciK) and a potential amino acid antiporter (aniC). Regulatory factors required for their expression were also revealed. In addition to a previously identified gene designated atrE, we have now identified TyrR and CRP as essential regulators. TyrR, normally considered a regulator of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis and transport, plays an important role in regulating the expression of both genes and explains the requirement for tyrosine in their induction. TyrR, in E. coli, is a 53-kDa protein that represses the expression of aroFGHLM, tyrB, tyrR, and aroP (8). It activates mtr (a tryptophan-specific transport system) and can repress (in the presence of phenylalanine) or activate (in the presence of tyrosine) the tyrosine transport gene tyrP (26). Much is known about the function of TyrR in E. coli, but potential involvement in controlling low-pH- and anaerobiosis-inducible genes was not suspected. The function of the TyrR regulon under acidic and anaerobic conditions is a mystery. Experiments designed to reveal an anaerobic- or acid-medium phenotype related to tyrosine have so far failed. Tyrosine does not appear to provide an anaerobic growth advantage to wild-type versus tyrR mutant strains of S. typhimurium (data not shown).
A third essential positive regulator of these genes was determined to be the CRP which has previously been implicated in the pH control of another low-pH-regulated gene, aniG (now identified as exu [24a]). How pH controls the expression of these genes is unknown, but there are several possibilities. First, pH may affect DNA topology in the region of the target genes through alteration in DNA supercoiling (21). This has been suggested for several environmentally regulated genes (10). The alteration in DNA topology would influence the ability of TyrR and CRP to bind to their respective target DNA sequences. A second possibility is that there is another as yet unidentified pH sensor (possibly AtrE) that transmits a signal to the target genes. Finally, either TyrR or CRP might sense alterations in internal pH. Although one would not expect large differences in internal pH at external pH values between 6 and 8, the differences may be more significant under anaerobic conditions and in the presence of organic acid fermentation end products. Many of the acid pH-induced genes identified thus far require coinducers, such as tyrosine, for expression (11, 14, 19, 25, 29). The mechanisms used to integrate acid pH and coregulator signals are not fully elucidated but clearly vary depending upon the system. It is apparent that S. typhimurium possesses specific genetic systems that sense and respond to encounters with acidic pH. Which pH response systems become engaged depends in large measure on the chemical composition of the environment. While the adaptive advantage of some of these systems (cadBA) is apparent (e.g., acid tolerance), the benefits of others (aniC and hyaB) remain enigmatic.| |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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We thank R. Somerville, K. Sanderson, and R. Curtiss III for their generous gifts of various strains and plasmids. Various discussions with M. Moreno and M. Spector were especially helpful and are gratefully acknowledged.
This work was supported by an award (GM48017) from the National Institutes of Health.
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FOOTNOTES |
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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Alabama, College of Medicine, Mobile, AL 38866. Phone: (334) 460-6323. Fax: (334) 460-7931. E-mail: fosterj{at}sungcg.usouthal.edu.
Present address: Laboratoire de Microbiologie de
l'Environnement, IRBA, Université de Caen, 14032 Caen Cedex, France.
Present address: Department of Microbiology and Molecular
Genetics, University of California
Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
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