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Journal of Bacteriology, April 2006, p. 2715-2720, Vol. 188, No. 7
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JB.188.7.2715-2720.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Frontier Project "Life's Adaptation Strategies to Environmental Changes," Department of Life Science, College of Science, Rikkyo University, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-8501, Japan
Received 28 October 2005/ Accepted 13 January 2006
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In the genome of Bacillus subtilis, one of the best-characterized gram-positive bacteria, genes encoding L31, L33, and S14 proteins are duplicated and are present in both the C+ and C forms (9, 10). Our previous report showed that two types of L31 protein can be detected in ribosomes prepared from cells at different growth phases in zinc-limiting minimal medium (12). We reported that RpmE (C+ form) is stable when it contains a zinc ion bound to its CxxC motif and that the expression of ytiA, coding for the C form of the L31 protein, is repressed by Zur, a zinc-specific transcriptional repressor that controls zinc transport operons (2, 3). From these results, we proposed that alternation of two types of L31 protein in the ribosome is triggered by changes in the concentration of zinc in the environment. Although a similar hypothesis was proposed based on in silico analyses of Zur-regulated genes in several bacteria (16), our study provided the first experimental evidence to support this model (12).
The detailed mechanisms explaining the alternation of L31 proteins under zinc-deficient conditions remain to be defined. In particular, clarification is necessary as to whether liberation of RpmE from ribosomes is due to (i) inability of RpmE to bind to a zinc ion because the ion is not available, (ii) incorporation of YtiA into ribosomes instead of RpmE, or (iii) active displacement of RpmE from ribosomes by newly synthesized YtiA. If the first model is true, RpmE will not be associated with the ribosome under zinc-deficient conditions even in the absence of YtiA. Thus, the expression of YtiA and the destabilization of RpmE under zinc-deficient conditions would not be directly correlated with each other. If the second model is true, YtiA will be preferentially incorporated into ribosomes and thus RpmE will be unable to bind. Finally, the third model predicts that RpmE will be ejected from the ribosome once YtiA is synthesized. This model might also allow for the modulation of intracellular concentrations of zinc in the cell under zinc-deficient conditions (16). To obtain further information about this regulatory mechanism, we have studied the stability of RpmE in vivo and the relative binding affinities of these proteins to the ribosomes in vitro.
Involvement of YtiA in the stability of RpmE in vivo. To study the two types of L31, we made rpmE and ytiA single disruptants and an rpmE ytiA double mutant. RIK802, carrying a ytiA::erm mutation, was constructed by replacing the 197-bp sequence from +11 through +207 in the ytiA gene (nucleotide numbers indicate positions relative to the first base of the translation start codon ATG) with the erythromycin resistance gene (erm) derived from pTC3 (formally named pAE41 [7]). RIK803, carrying an rpmE::spc mutation, was obtained by replacing the 149-bp sequence from +11 through +159 in the rpmE gene with the spectinomycin resistance cassette derived from pBEST517A (19). Chromosomal DNA extracted from RIK803 was used to transform RIK802 to generate RIK814 (rpmE::spc ytiA::erm). These strains were precultured on LB agar plates (17) at 28°C for about 16 h, then inoculated into CSM at an optical density at 600 nm of ca. 0.03, and incubated at 37°C with shaking. CSM is a simple semisynthetic competence and sporulation medium, based on Spizizen's minimal glucose medium (11). The composition of CSM is as follows: 6 g of KH2PO4, 14 g of K2HPO4, 2 g of (NH4)2SO4, 1 g of trisodium citrate · 2H2O per liter of deionized water, 0.2% glucose, 0.02% casein acid hydrolysate (Amicase; Sigma), 1 mM MgSO4, 1 mM Ca(NO3)2, 1 µM FeSO4, 10 µM MnCl2, and 50 µg ml1 of tryptophan. As shown in Fig. 1A, the rpmE single mutant as well as the rpmE ytiA double mutant grew slowly in CSM compared to the wild type. In contrast, the ytiA mutant grew normally in CSM (Fig. 1A). These results suggest that although neither gene is essential, RpmE may function as the main L31 protein.
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FIG. 1. (A) Growth characteristics of L31 mutants in CSM at 37°C. Symbols: , 168 (ytiA+ rpmE+); , RIK802 (ytiA::erm); , RIK803 (rpmE::spc); , RIK814 (ytiA::erm rpmE::spc). (B and C) Effect of ytiA mutation (B) or overexpression of ytiA (C) on intracellular levels of RpmE. (B) Cells were incubated in CSM at 37°C with shaking and were collected at the indicated times. Crude extracts containing 60 µg of proteins were separated by Tricine-sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (18), and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes (Millipore). Immunodetection procedures were carried out as described previously (13). An anti-RpmE antibody (12) and an anti-YtiA antibody (which was prepared from a rabbit immunized with purified YtiA protein) were used at a 1:1,000 dilution. (C) RIK812 cells carrying the inducible ytiA expression plasmid, pDGytiA, were grown in CSM at 37°C with or without 1 mM IPTG. Cells were collected at the indicated times after inoculation, and aliquots of extracts containing 60 µg of total proteins were used for Western blot analysis.
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To examine whether or not YtiA is involved in the posttranscriptional regulation of RpmE, we next introduced a multicopy plasmid, pDGytiA, into the wild type and monitored the effect of overexpressed ytiA on the intracellular level of RpmE. pDGytiA carries a ytiA gene controlled by an isopropyl-ß-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible Pspac promoter. The plasmid was constructed as follows. First, the ytiA gene was amplified by means of primers pDGytiA-F (5'-GCCGAAGCTTTTTATTGAAAGGAGATACCC-3') and pDGytiA-R (5'-GCCTGCCTTATTTCCCCATGT-3'). (The underlined sequence represents a HindIII restriction site.) Second, the terminator region of the rpmE gene was amplified by PCR using primers rpmEter-F (5'-ATATAACATGGGGAAATAAGGCAGGCGTAATAATAGATTTCTCAACAGG-3') and rpmEter-R (5'-ACGCGTCGACCTGCCAGCTGTGTTTTAGAC-3'). (The underlined sequence represents a SalI restriction site.) These fragments were then used simultaneously as the template for PCR amplification using primers pDGytiA-F and rpmEter-R. The resulting fragment was digested with HindIII and SalI and cloned into pDG148 (8). Using this strain containing pDG148 (RIK812), we found that in the presence of IPTG (1 mM), RpmE protein levels decrease rapidly after the end of exponential growth in CSM (Fig. 1B). Similar results were obtained using a zur disruptant, in which constitutive expression of ytiA is observed (data not shown). From these results, it was hypothesized that YtiA affects the stability of RpmE in the cell. To prove this, we next examined the relative stability of RpmE. As shown in Fig. 2, the half-life of RpmE in cells incubated with IPTG is about 80 min, whereas it is about 470 min in the absence of IPTG (Fig. 2). These results indicate that RpmE protein is destabilized by overexpression of ytiA. CSM contains only about 14 nM (13.6 ± 1.3 nM) of trace zinc ions, whose value was determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). However, it was expected that cells growing exponentially in CSM would contain enough zinc to repress the expression of ytiA, because the cells were precultured on LB plates which contained 15 µM of trace zinc (11, 12, 15). It is thus likely that destabilization of RpmE is enhanced under zinc-deficient conditions, in which RpmE would not carry a zinc ion.
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FIG. 2. Effect of overexpression of YtiA on the relative stability of RpmE. RIK812 cells were grown in CSM at 37°C with or without 1 mM IPTG. Chloramphenicol (100 µg/ml) and rifampin (10 µg/ml) were added to the culture when the optical density reached ca. 0.2. Time zero was taken as being 5 min after the addition of the antibiotics, and cells were collected at the times indicated. Aliquots of extracts containing 50 µg of protein ( ) (without IPTG) or 70 µg () (with IPTG) were used for Western blot analysis. Relative RpmE amounts were quantified with ImageQuant 5.2 software (Molecular Dynamics). Each result is the average of three determinations. The ordinate (expressed with a log scale) shows the percentage of RpmE remaining. Error bars, standard deviations.
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FIG. 3. RFHR 2D gel electrophoresis of ribosomes prepared from YtiA-overproducing cells. RIK812 cells were grown in CSM at 37°C with shaking with or without 1 mM IPTG and were harvested 2 h after inoculation. Crude ribosomes were then purified and analyzed by RFHR 2-dimensional electrophoresis, which was carried out as described previously (12). PhastGel Blue R (Amersham) was used to stain the gels.
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FIG. 4. (A, B, and C) Competitive incorporation of RpmE and YtiA into L31-depleted ribosomes. Crude ribosomes prepared from RIK814 (rpmE::spc ytiA::erm) cells (A) and purified RpmE and YtiA proteins were used for the incorporation assay as described in the text. (B and C) RFHR 2D gels of the ribosome fraction before (B) or after (C) centrifugation. (D, E, and F) Incorporation of YtiA into RpmE-containing ribosomes. Crude ribosomes obtained from RIK802 (ytiA::erm) cells (D) and purified YtiA protein were mixed. (E and F) RFHR 2D gels of the ribosome fraction before (E) or after (F) centrifugation.
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To examine whether YtiA protein can liberate RpmE from ribosomes, we next performed the same experiments using purified YtiA protein and crude ribosomes obtained from the ytiA mutant (RIK802). Crude ribosomes originally contain RpmE, and the amount does not change after centrifugation in the presence or absence of 1 mM ZnSO4 (data not shown). Therefore, it is suggested that RpmE cannot be released from ribosomes in the absence of YtiA, even if cells encounter zinc-deficient conditions. As shown in Fig. 4E and F, the addition of purified YtiA (1.4 nmol) reduces the amount of RpmE copelleted with the ribosome, while 41% of the added YtiA is ribosome associated. We also found that the amount of RpmE copelleted with ribosomes depends on the concentration of YtiA added to the reaction. Indeed, RpmE could not be detected at all when 2.8 nmol of purified YtiA was added (data not shown). These results indicate that YtiA can be incorporated into at least a portion of the RpmE-containing ribosomes, and they further suggest that YtiA incorporation results in liberation of RpmE.
From these results, we propose a model for the alternation of RpmE and YtiA in the ribosome under changing zinc conditions (Fig. 5). In the absence of zinc, Zur is unable to bind to the "Zur box," and derepression of ytiA occurs. Since the newly synthesized YtiA has a higher affinity for the ribosome than RpmE, YtiA can be efficiently incorporated into the ribosome and actively displaces bound RpmE. RpmE thus released is then degraded by an unknown protease(s). On the other hand, under these conditions newly synthesized RpmE would not be able to bind zinc and would thus be unstable. Since ribosomes are highly abundant in the cell, this alternation may be virtually able to increase the concentration of zinc ions which are available for other zinc-binding proteins in the cell. Therefore, this regulatory system would contribute to the zinc homeostasis in the cell under zinc-deficient conditions, as proposed by Panina et al. (16). However, the contribution of this alternation to zinc homeostasis may be partial, because the rpmE gene is dispensable for the cell growing under zinc-limiting conditions, though it grew slowly under these conditions (Fig. 1A).
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FIG. 5. Model of the replacement of RpmE by YtiA under zinc-deficient conditions. See the text for details.
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