An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element
Horizontal transfer of the integrative and conjugative element ICEMlSymR7A converts non-symbiotic Mesorhizobium spp. into nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts. Here, we discover subpopulations of Mesorhizobium japonicum R7A become epigenetically primed for quorum-sensing (QS) and QS-activated horizontal...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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OXFORD UNIV PRESS
2022
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| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT170100235 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89033 |
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| author | Ramsay, Josh Bastholm, T.R. Verdonk, Callum J. Tambalo, D.D. Sullivan, J.T. Harold, L.K. Panganiban, Beatrice A. Colombi, Elena Perry, B.J. Jowsey, W. Morris, C. Hynes, M.F. Bond, C.S. Cameron, A.D.S. Yost, C.K. Ronson, C.W. |
| author_facet | Ramsay, Josh Bastholm, T.R. Verdonk, Callum J. Tambalo, D.D. Sullivan, J.T. Harold, L.K. Panganiban, Beatrice A. Colombi, Elena Perry, B.J. Jowsey, W. Morris, C. Hynes, M.F. Bond, C.S. Cameron, A.D.S. Yost, C.K. Ronson, C.W. |
| author_sort | Ramsay, Josh |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Horizontal transfer of the integrative and conjugative element ICEMlSymR7A converts non-symbiotic Mesorhizobium spp. into nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts. Here, we discover subpopulations of Mesorhizobium japonicum R7A become epigenetically primed for quorum-sensing (QS) and QS-activated horizontal transfer. Isolated populations in this state termed R7A* maintained these phenotypes in laboratory culture but did not transfer the R7A* state to recipients of ICEMlSymR7A following conjugation. We previously demonstrated ICEMlSymR7A transfer and QS are repressed by the antiactivator QseM in R7A populations and that the adjacently-coded DNA-binding protein QseC represses qseM transcription. Here RNA-sequencing revealed qseM expression was repressed in R7A* cells and that RNA antisense to qseC was abundant in R7A but not R7A*. Deletion of the antisense-qseC promoter converted cells into an R7A*-like state. An adjacently coded QseC2 protein bound two operator sites and repressed antisense-qseC transcription. Plasmid overexpression of QseC2 stimulated the R7A* state, which persisted following curing of this plasmid. The epigenetic maintenance of the R7A* state required ICEMlSymR7A-encoded copies of both qseC and qseC2. Therefore, QseC and QseC2, together with their DNA-binding sites and overlapping promoters, form a stable epigenetic switch that establishes binary control over qseM transcription and primes a subpopulation of R7A cells for QS and horizontal transfer. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:30:34Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-89033 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:30:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | OXFORD UNIV PRESS |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-890332022-08-19T06:38:20Z An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element Ramsay, Josh Bastholm, T.R. Verdonk, Callum J. Tambalo, D.D. Sullivan, J.T. Harold, L.K. Panganiban, Beatrice A. Colombi, Elena Perry, B.J. Jowsey, W. Morris, C. Hynes, M.F. Bond, C.S. Cameron, A.D.S. Yost, C.K. Ronson, C.W. Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biochemistry & Molecular Biology SYMBIOSIS ISLAND MESORHIZOBIUM-LOTI TRANSCRIPTION REGULATION BACILLUS-SUBTILIS GENE PLASMID BISTABILITY EXPRESSION EVOLUTION PROTEIN Horizontal transfer of the integrative and conjugative element ICEMlSymR7A converts non-symbiotic Mesorhizobium spp. into nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts. Here, we discover subpopulations of Mesorhizobium japonicum R7A become epigenetically primed for quorum-sensing (QS) and QS-activated horizontal transfer. Isolated populations in this state termed R7A* maintained these phenotypes in laboratory culture but did not transfer the R7A* state to recipients of ICEMlSymR7A following conjugation. We previously demonstrated ICEMlSymR7A transfer and QS are repressed by the antiactivator QseM in R7A populations and that the adjacently-coded DNA-binding protein QseC represses qseM transcription. Here RNA-sequencing revealed qseM expression was repressed in R7A* cells and that RNA antisense to qseC was abundant in R7A but not R7A*. Deletion of the antisense-qseC promoter converted cells into an R7A*-like state. An adjacently coded QseC2 protein bound two operator sites and repressed antisense-qseC transcription. Plasmid overexpression of QseC2 stimulated the R7A* state, which persisted following curing of this plasmid. The epigenetic maintenance of the R7A* state required ICEMlSymR7A-encoded copies of both qseC and qseC2. Therefore, QseC and QseC2, together with their DNA-binding sites and overlapping promoters, form a stable epigenetic switch that establishes binary control over qseM transcription and primes a subpopulation of R7A cells for QS and horizontal transfer. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89033 10.1093/nar/gkab1217 English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT170100235 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ OXFORD UNIV PRESS fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biochemistry & Molecular Biology SYMBIOSIS ISLAND MESORHIZOBIUM-LOTI TRANSCRIPTION REGULATION BACILLUS-SUBTILIS GENE PLASMID BISTABILITY EXPRESSION EVOLUTION PROTEIN Ramsay, Josh Bastholm, T.R. Verdonk, Callum J. Tambalo, D.D. Sullivan, J.T. Harold, L.K. Panganiban, Beatrice A. Colombi, Elena Perry, B.J. Jowsey, W. Morris, C. Hynes, M.F. Bond, C.S. Cameron, A.D.S. Yost, C.K. Ronson, C.W. An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element |
| title | An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element |
| title_full | An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element |
| title_fullStr | An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element |
| title_full_unstemmed | An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element |
| title_short | An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element |
| title_sort | epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element |
| topic | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biochemistry & Molecular Biology SYMBIOSIS ISLAND MESORHIZOBIUM-LOTI TRANSCRIPTION REGULATION BACILLUS-SUBTILIS GENE PLASMID BISTABILITY EXPRESSION EVOLUTION PROTEIN |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT170100235 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89033 |