Control of a programmed cell death pathway in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by an antiterminator
| Autor: | Simon L. Dove, Kirsty A. McFarland, Kathryn M. Ramsey, Jennifer M. Peña, Tracy K. Kambara, Samantha M. Prezioso, Padraig Deighan |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
Transcription Genetic DNA damage Science 030106 microbiology General Physics and Astronomy Virulence Apoptosis Guanosine Tetraphosphate Biology medicine.disease_cause General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Article 03 medical and health sciences chemistry.chemical_compound Bacteriolysis Bacterial Proteins Transcription (biology) RNA polymerase Bacterial genetics Operon medicine Promoter Regions Genetic Gene Regulation of gene expression Terminator Regions Genetic Multidisciplinary Binding Sites Pseudomonas aeruginosa General Chemistry DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases Gene Expression Regulation Bacterial Cell biology Gene regulation 030104 developmental biology chemistry Pathogens Transcription DNA DNA Damage Protein Binding |
| Zdroj: | Nature Communications Nature Communications, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
| Popis: | In Pseudomonas aeruginosa the alp system encodes a programmed cell death pathway that is switched on in a subset of cells in response to DNA damage and is linked to the virulence of the organism. Here we show that the central regulator of this pathway, AlpA, exerts its effects by acting as an antiterminator rather than a transcription activator. In particular, we present evidence that AlpA positively regulates the alpBCDE cell lysis genes, as well as genes in a second newly identified target locus, by recognizing specific DNA sites within the promoter, then binding RNA polymerase directly and allowing it to bypass intrinsic terminators positioned downstream. AlpA thus functions in a mechanistically unusual manner to control the expression of virulence genes in this opportunistic pathogen. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the protein AlpA activates the expression of the alp locus in response to DNA damage, leading to lysis in a subset of cells and enhancing virulence of other, surviving cells. Here, the authors show that AlpA acts as an antiterminator rather than a transcriptional activator. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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