Regulation of carbon metabolism in Chlamydia trachomatis.

The biological significance of glycogen accumulation and how the process is regulated in Chlamydia trachomatis remains poorly defined. C. trachomatis-infected HeLa cells were cultured in medium containing various glucose concentrations (0, 0.1, 1 or 10 mg ml-1) or in the presence of gluconeogenic carbon sources (20 mM glutamate, 20 mM malate, 20 mM alpha-ketoglutarate or 20 mM oxaloacetate), and the effects of these different culture conditions on the production of infectious chlamydial elementary bodies and glycogen accumulation were monitored. When chlamydiae were cultured in glucose concentrations greater than 1 mg ml-1, optimal growth and maximal glycogen accumulation occurred. In contrast to uninfected HeLa cells, which increased their glycogen stores when grown in the presence of high glucose concentrations, chlamydial glycogen accumulation remained essentially constant. When cultured in medium supplemented with either reduced glucose concentrations or any of the gluconeogenic carbon sources, chlamydiae still grew; however, the yield of elementary bodies was substantially decreased, and there was no significant amount of glycogen accumulated by host HeLa cells or C. trachomatis. This suggests that glycogen accumulation may not be essential for chlamydial survival. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results indicated that, despite the fact that the source and amount of carbon available in the medium affected chlamydial glycogen accumulation, the expression of genes required for glycogen metabolism was not significantly changed. Similarly, the expression of several genes encoding key enzymes of central metabolism was not affected by alterations in carbon source or availability. Taken together, the data suggest that, unlike most free-living bacteria, chlamydia are unable to alter the expression of genes involved in carbon metabolism in response to changes in environmental conditions.

Cloning and characterization of ribonucleotide reductase from Chlamydia trachomatis.

In all organisms the deoxyribonucleotide precursors required for DNA synthesis are synthesized from ribonucleotides, a reaction catalyzed by ribonucleotide reductase. In a previous study we showed that Chlamydia trachomatis growth was inhibited by hydroxyurea, an inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase, and a mutant resistant to the cytotoxic effects of the drug was isolated. Here we report the cloning, expression, and purification of the R1 and R2 subunits of the C. trachomatis ribonucleotide reductase. In comparison with other ribonucleotide reductases, the primary sequence of protein R1 has an extended amino terminus, and the R2 protein has a phenylalanine where the essential tyrosine is normally located. Despite its unusual primary structure, the recombinant enzyme catalyzes the reduction of CDP to dCDP. Results from deletion mutagenesis experiments indicate that while the extended amino terminus of the R1 protein is not required for enzyme activity, it is needed for allosteric inhibition mediated by dATP. Results with site-directed mutants of protein R2 suggest that the essential tyrosine is situated two amino acids downstream of its normal location. Finally, Western blot analysis show that the hydroxyurea-resistant mutant C. trachomatis isolate overexpresses both subunits of ribonucleotide reductase. At the genetic level, compared with wild type C. trachomatis, the resistant isolate has a single base mutation just upstream of the ATG start codon of the R2 protein. The possibility that this mutation affects translational efficiency is discussed.

Glucose metabolism in Chlamydia trachomatis: the 'energy parasite' hypothesis revisited.

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular eubacteria that is dependent on a eukaryotic host cell for a variety of metabolites. For years, it has been speculated that chlamydiae are energy parasites, totally dependent on their host cell for ATP and other high-energy intermediates. To determine whether C. trachomatis contains functional enzymes that produce energy or reducing power, four enzymes involved in glycolysis or the pentose phosphate pathway, specifically pyruvate kinase, phosphoglycerate kinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, were cloned, sequenced and expressed as recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. The deduced amino acid sequences obtained show high homology to other pyruvate kinase, phosphoglycerate kinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzymes. In contrast to numerous other bacterial species, chlamydial glycolytic genes are not arranged in an operon, but are dispersed throughout the genome. Results from reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis indicate that all four genes are maximally expressed in the middle of the chlamydial developmental cycle. The chlamydial genes are capable of complementing mutant E. coli strains lacking the respective enzyme activities. In vitro enzyme analysis indicates that recombinant chlamydial enzymes expressed in E. coli are active and, interestingly, recombinant chlamydial pyruvate kinase is not regulated allosterically by fructose 1,6 bisphosphate or AMP, as found with other bacterial pyruvate kinases. In summary, identification and characterization of these glucose-catabolizing enzymes indicate that chlamydia contains the functional capacity to produce its own ATP and reducing power.