N -glycosylation of a cargo protein C-terminal domain recognized by the type IX secretion system in Cytophaga hutchinsonii affects protein secretion and localization

Author(s):  
Shuaishuai Xie ◽  
Yahong Tan ◽  
Wenxia Song ◽  
Weican Zhang ◽  
Qingsheng Qi ◽  
...  

Cytophaga hutchinsonii is a Gram-negative bacterium belonging to the phylum Bacteroidetes . It digests crystalline cellulose with an unknown mechanism, and possesses a type IX secretion system (T9SS) that can recognize the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the cargo protein as a signal. In this study, the functions of CTD in the secretion and localization of T9SS substrates in C. hutchinsonii were studied by fusing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) with CTD from CHU_2708. CTD is necessary for the secretion of GFP by C. hutchinsonii T9SS. The GFP-CTD CHU_2708 fusion protein was found to be glycosylated in the periplasm with a molecular mass about 5 kDa higher than that predicted from its sequence. The glycosylated protein was sensitive to peptide- N -glycosidase F which can hydrolyze N -linked oligosaccharides. Analyses of mutants obtained by site-directed mutagenesis of asparagine residues in the N-X-S/T motif of CTD CHU_2708 suggest that N -glycosylation occurred on the CTD. CTD N- glycosylation is important for the secretion and localization of GFP-CTD recombinant proteins in C. hutchinsonii . Glycosyltransferase encoding gene chu_3842 , a homologous gene of Campylobacter jejuni pglA , was found to participate in the N -glycosylation of C. hutchinsonii . Deletion of chu_3842 affected cell motility, cellulose degradation, and cell resistance to some chemicals. Our study provided the evidence that CTD as the signal of T9SS was N -glycosylated in the periplasm of C. hutchinsonii . IMPORTANCE The bacterial N -glycosylation system has previously only been found in several species of Proteobacteria and Campylobacterota , and the role of N -linked glycans in bacteria is still not fully understood. C. hutchinsonii has a unique cell-contact cellulose degradation mechanism, and many cell surface proteins including cellulases are secreted by the T9SS. Here, we found that C. hutchinsonii , a member of the phylum Bacteroidetes , has an N -glycosylation system. Glycosyltransferase CHU_3842 was found to participate in the N -glycosylation of C. hutchinsonii proteins, and had effects on cell resistance to some chemicals, cell motility, and cellulose degradation. Moreover, N -glycosylation occurs on the CTD translocation signal of T9SS. The glycosylation of CTD apears to play an important role in affecting T9SS substrates transportation and localization. This study enriched our understanding of the widespread existence and multiple biological roles of N -glycosylation in bacteria.

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijuan Gao ◽  
Zhiwei Guan ◽  
Peng Gao ◽  
Weican Zhang ◽  
Qingsheng Qi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The type IX secretion system (T9SS), which is involved in pathogenicity, motility, and utilization of complex biopolymers, is a novel protein secretion system confined to the phylum Bacteroidetes. Cytophaga hutchinsonii, a common cellulolytic soil bacterium belonging to the phylum Bacteroidetes, can rapidly digest crystalline cellulose using a novel strategy. In this study, the deletion mutant of chu_0174 (gldN) was obtained using PY6 medium supplemented with Stanier salts. GldN was verified to be a core component of C. hutchinsonii T9SS, and is indispensable for cellulose degradation, motility, and secretion of C-terminal domain (CTD) proteins. Notably, the ΔgldN mutant showed significant growth defects in Ca2+- and Mg2+-deficient media. These growth defects could be relieved by the addition of Ca2+ or Mg2+. The intracellular concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ were markedly reduced in ΔgldN. These results demonstrated that GldN is essential for the acquisition of trace amounts of Ca2+ and Mg2+, especially for Ca2+. Moreover, an outer membrane efflux protein, CHU_2807, which was decreased in abundance on the outer membrane of ΔgldN, is essential for normal growth in PY6 medium. The reduced intracellular accumulation of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the Δ2807 mutant indicated that CHU_2807 is involved in the uptake of trace amounts of Ca2+ and Mg2+. This study provides insights into the role of T9SS in metal ion assimilation in C. hutchinsonii. IMPORTANCE The widespread Gram-negative bacterium Cytophaga hutchinsonii uses a novel but poorly understood strategy to utilize crystalline cellulose. Recent studies showed that a T9SS exists in C. hutchinsonii and is involved in cellulose degradation and motility. However, the main components of the C. hutchinsonii T9SS and their functions are still unclear. Our study characterized the function of GldN, which is a core component of the T9SS. GldN was proved to play vital roles in cellulose degradation and cell motility. Notably, GldN is essential for the acquisition of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions under Ca2+- and Mg2+-deficient conditions, revealing a link between the T9SS and the metal ion transport system. The outer membrane abundance of CHU_2807, which is essential for Ca2+ and Mg2+ uptake in PY6 medium, was affected by the deletion of GldN. This study demonstrated that the C. hutchinsonii T9SS has extensive functions, including cellulose degradation, motility, and metal ion assimilation, and contributes to further understanding of the function of the T9SS in the phylum Bacteroidetes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijuan Gao ◽  
Yahong Tan ◽  
Weican Zhang ◽  
Qingsheng Qi ◽  
Xuemei Lu

The type IX secretion system (T9SS) is a novel protein secretion system, which is found in and confined to the phylum Bacteroidetes. T9SS is involved in the secretion of virulence factors, cell surface adhesins, and complex biopolymer degrading enzymes to the cell surface or extracellular medium. Cytophaga hutchinsonii is a widely distributed bacterium, which is able to efficiently digest cellulose and rapidly glide along the solid surfaces. C. hutchinsonii has a full set of orthologs of T9SS components. However, the functions of most homologous proteins have not been verified. In C. hutchinsonii, CHU_0029 and CHU_2709 are similar in sequence to Flavobacterium johnsoniae T9SS components SprA and SprT, respectively. In this study, the single deletion mutants of chu_0029 (sprA) and chu_2709 (sprT) were obtained using a complex medium with the addition of Ca2+ and Mg2+. Single deletion of sprA or sprT resulted in defects in cellulose utilization and gliding motility. Moreover, the ΔsprA and ΔsprT mutants showed growth defects in Ca2+- and Mg2+-deficient media. The results of ICP-MS test showed that both the whole cell and intracellular concentrations of Ca2+ were dramatically reduced in the ΔsprA and ΔsprT mutants, indicating that SprA and SprT are both important for the assimilation of trace amount of Ca2+. While the assimilation of Mg2+ was not obviously influenced in the ΔsprA and ΔsprT mutants. Through proteomics analysis of the cell surface proteins of the wild type and mutants, we found that the ΔsprA and ΔsprT mutants were defective in secretion of the majority of T9SS substrates. Together, these results indicate that SprA and SprT are both essential components of C. hutchinsonii T9SS, which is required for protein secretion, Ca2+ acquisition, cellulose degradation, and gliding motility in C. hutchinsonii. Our study shed more light on the functions of SprA and SprT in T9SS, and further proved the link between the T9SS and Ca2+ uptake system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nhung Thi Trang Trinh ◽  
Hieu Quang Tran ◽  
Quyen Van Dong ◽  
Christian Cambillau ◽  
Alain Roussel ◽  
...  

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. e201900631
Author(s):  
Biswanath Jana ◽  
Dor Salomon ◽  
Eran Bosis

Bacteroidetes are Gram-negative bacteria that are abundant in the environment as well as in the gut microbiota of animals. Many bacteroidetes encode large proteins containing an N-terminal domain of unknown function, named TANFOR. In this work, we show that TANFOR-containing proteins carry polymorphic C-terminal toxin domains with predicted antibacterial and anti-eukaryotic activities. We also show that a C-terminal domain that is prevalent in TANFOR-containing proteins represents a novel family of antibacterial DNase toxins, which we named BaCT (Bacteroidetes C-terminal Toxin). Finally, we discover that TANFOR-encoding gene neighborhoods are enriched with genes that encode substrates of the type IX secretion system (T9SS), which is involved in exporting proteins from the periplasm across the outer membrane. Based on these findings, we conclude that TANFOR-containing proteins are a new class of polymorphic toxins, and we hypothesize that they are T9SS substrates.


Author(s):  
Lijuan Gao ◽  
Yaru Su ◽  
Wenxia Song ◽  
Weican Zhang ◽  
Qingsheng Qi ◽  
...  

Cytophaga hutchinsonii is an abundant soil cellulolytic bacterium that uses a unique cellulose degradation mechanism different from those that involve free cellulases or cellulosomes. Though several proteins were identified to be important for cellulose degradation, the mechanism used by C. hutchinsonii to digest crystalline cellulose remains a mystery. In this study, chu_0922 was identified by insertional mutation and gene deletion as an important gene locus indispensable for crystalline cellulose utilization. Deletion of chu_0922 resulted in defect in crystalline cellulose utilization. The Δ 0922 mutant completely lost the ability to grow on crystalline cellulose even with extended incubation, and selectively utilized the amorphous region of cellulose leading to the increased crystallinity. As a protein secreted by the type Ⅸ secretion system (T9SS), CHU_0922 was found to be located on the outer membrane, and the outer membrane localization of CHU_0922 relied on the T9SS. Comparative analysis of the outer membrane proteins revealed that the abundance of several cellulose binding proteins, including CHU_1276, CHU_1277, and CHU_1279, was reduced in the Δ 0922 mutant. Further study showed that CHU_0922 is crucial for the full expression of the gene cluster containing chu_1276 , chu_1277 , chu_1278 , chu_1279 , and chu_1280 ( cel9C ), which is essential for cellulose utilization. Moreover, CHU_0922 is required for the cell surface localization of CHU_3220, a cellulose binding protein that is essential for crystalline cellulose utilization. Our study provides insights into the complex system that C. hutchinsonii uses to degrade crystalline cellulose. IMPORTANCE The widespread aerobic cellulolytic bacterium Cytophaga hutchinsonii , belonging to the phylum Bacteroidetes , utilizes a novel mechanism to degrade crystalline cellulose. No genes encoding proteins specialized in loosening or disruption the crystalline structure of cellulose were identified in the genome of C. hutchinsonii , except for chu_3220 and chu_1557 . The crystalline cellulose degradation mechanism remains enigmatic. This study identified a new gene locus, chu_0922 , encoding a typical T9SS substrate that is essential for crystalline cellulose degradation. Notably, CHU_0922 is crucial for the normal transcription of chu_1276 , chu_1277 , chu_1278 , chu_1279 , and chu_1280 ( cel9C ), which play important roles in the degradation of cellulose. Moreover, CHU_0922 participates in the cell surface localization of CHU_3220. These results demonstrated that CHU_0922 plays a key role in the crystalline cellulose degradation network. Our study will promote the uncovering of the novel cellulose utilization mechanism of C. hutchinsonii.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (19) ◽  
pp. 6037-6045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Zhiquan Wang ◽  
Jing Cao ◽  
Zhiwei Guan ◽  
Xuemei Lu

ABSTRACTCytophaga hutchinsoniiis a widely distributed cellulolytic bacterium in the phylumBacteroidetes. It can digest crystalline cellulose rapidly without free cellulases or cellulosomes. The mechanism of its cellulose utilization remains a mystery. We developed an efficient method based on a linear DNA double-crossover and FLP-FRT recombination system to obtain unmarked deletions of both single genes and large genomic fragments inC. hutchinsonii. Unmarked deletion ofCHU_3237(porU), an ortholog of the C-terminal signal peptidase of a type IX secretion system (T9SS), resulted in defects in colony spreading, cellulose degradation, and protein secretion, indicating that it is a component of the T9SS and that T9SS plays an important role in cellulose degradation byC. hutchinsonii. Furthermore, deletions of four large genomic fragments were obtained using our method, and the sizes of the excised fragments varied from 9 to 19 kb, spanning from 6 to 22 genes. The customized FLP-FRT method provides an efficient tool for more rapid progress in the cellulose degradation mechanism and other physiological aspects ofC. hutchinsonii.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideharu Yukitake ◽  
Mikio Shoji ◽  
Keiko Sato ◽  
Yusuke Handa ◽  
Mariko Naito ◽  
...  

AbstractPorphyromonas gingivalis, a periodontal pathogen, translocates many virulence factors including the cysteine proteases referred to as gingipains to the cell surface via the type IX secretion system (T9SS). Expression of the T9SS component proteins is regulated by the tandem signaling of the PorXY two-component system and the ECF sigma factor SigP. However, the details of this regulatory pathway are still unknown. We found that one of the T9SS conserved C-terminal domain-containing proteins, PGN_0123, which we have designated PorA, is involved in regulating expression of genes encoding T9SS structural proteins and that PorA can be translocated onto the cell surface without the T9SS translocation machinery. X-ray crystallography revealed that PorA has a domain similar to the mannose-binding domain of Escherichia coli FimH, the tip protein of Type 1 pilus. Mutations in the cytoplasmic domain of the sensor kinase PorY conferred phenotypic recovery on the ΔporA mutant. The SigP sigma factor, which is activated by the PorXY two-component system, markedly decreased in the ΔporA mutant. These results strongly support a potential role for PorA in relaying a signal from the cell surface to the PorXY-SigP signaling pathway.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nhung Thi Trang Trinh ◽  
Hieu Quang Tran ◽  
Quyen Van Dong ◽  
Christian Cambillau ◽  
Alain Roussel ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sen Wang ◽  
Dong Zhao ◽  
Xinfeng Bai ◽  
Weican Zhang ◽  
Xuemei Lu

ABSTRACT Cytophaga hutchinsonii is a Gram-negative bacterium that can efficiently degrade crystalline cellulose by a unique mechanism different from the free cellulase or cellulosome strategy. In this study, chu_3220, encoding the hypothetical protein CHU_3220 (205 kDa), was identified by insertional mutation and gene deletion as the first gene essential for degradation of the crystalline region but not the amorphous region of cellulose by C. hutchinsonii. A chu_3220 deletion mutant was defective in the degradation of crystalline cellulose and increased the degree of crystallinity of Avicel PH101 but could still degrade amorphous cellulose completely. CHU_3220 was found to be located on the outer surface of the outer membrane and could bind to cellulose. It contains 15 PbH1 domains and a C-terminal domain (CHU_C) that was proved to be critical for the localization of CHU_3220 on the cell surface and the function of CHU_3220 in crystalline cellulose degradation. Moreover, the degradation of crystalline cellulose was intact-cell dependent and inhibited by NaN3. Further study showed that chu_3220 was induced by cellulose and that the endoglucanase activity on the cell surface was significantly reduced without chu_3220. Real-time PCR revealed that the transcription of most genes encoding endoglucanases located on the cell surface was decreased in the chu_3220 deletion mutant, indicating that chu_3220 might also play a role in the regulation of the expression of some endoglucanases. IMPORTANCE Cytophaga hutchinsonii could efficiently degrade crystalline cellulose with a unique mechanism without cellulosomes and free cellulases. It lacks proteins that are thought to play important roles in disruption of the crystalline region of cellulose, including exoglucanases, lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases, expansins, expansin-like proteins, or swollenins, and most of its endoglucanases lack carbohydrate binding modules. The mechanism of the degradation of crystalline cellulose is still unknown. In this study, chu_3220 was identified as the first gene essential for the degradation of the crystalline region but not the amorphous region of cellulose. CHU_3220 is a high-molecular-weight protein located on the outer surface of the outer membrane and could bind to cellulose. We proposed that CHU_3220 might be an essential component of a protein complex on the cell surface in charge of the decrystallization of crystalline cellulose. The degradation of crystalline cellulose by C. hutchinsonii was not only dependent on intact cells but also required the energy supplied by the cells. This was obviously different from other known cellulose depolymerization system. Our study has shed more light on the novel strategy of crystalline cellulose degradation by C. hutchinsonii.


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