A widespread family of WYL-domain transcriptional regulators co-localizes with diverse phage defence systems and islands

Autor: David M. Picton, Joshua D. Harling-Lee, Samuel J. Duffner, Sam C. Went, Richard D. Morgan, Jay C. D. Hinton, Tim R. Blower
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nucleic Acids Research, 2022, Vol.50(9), pp.5191-5207 [Peer Reviewed Journal]
Picton, D M, Harling-Lee, J D, Duffner, S J, Went, S C, Morgan, R D, Hinton, J C D & Blower, T R 2022, ' A widespread family of WYL-domain transcriptional regulators co-localizes with diverse phage defence systems and islands ', Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 50, no. 9, pp. 5191-5207 . https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkac334
ISSN: 1362-4962
0305-1048
DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac334
Popis: Bacteria are under constant assault by bacteriophages and other mobile genetic elements. As a result, bacteria have evolved a multitude of systems that protect from attack. Genes encoding bacterial defence mechanisms can be clustered into “defence islands”, providing a potentially synergistic level of protection against a wider range of assailants. However, there is a comparative paucity of information on how expression of these defence systems is controlled. Here, we functionally characterise a transcriptional regulator, BrxR, encoded within a recently described phage defence island from a multidrug resistant plasmid of the emerging pathogen Escherichia fergusonii. Using a combination of reporters and electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we discovered that BrxR acts as a repressor. We present the structure of BrxR to 2.15 Å, the first structure of this family of transcription factors, and pinpoint a likely binding site for ligands within the WYL-domain. Bioinformatic analyses demonstrated that BrxR homologues are widespread amongst bacteria. About half (48%) of identified BrxR homologues were co-localised with a diverse array of known phage defence systems, either alone or clustered into defence islands. BrxR is a novel regulator that reveals a common mechanism for controlling the expression of the bacterial phage defence arsenal.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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