An Escherichia coli Nitrogen Starvation Response Is Important for Mutualistic Coexistence with Rhodopseudomonas palustris.

Microbial mutualistic cross-feeding interactions are ubiquitous and can drive important community functions. Engaging in cross-feeding undoubtedly affects the physiology and metabolism of individual species involved. However, the nature in which an individual species' physiology is influenced by cross-feeding and the importance of those physiological changes for the mutualism have received little attention. We previously developed a genetically tractable coculture to study bacterial mutualisms. The coculture consists of fermentative Escherichia coli and phototrophic Rhodopseudomonas palustris In this coculture, E. coli anaerobically ferments sugars into excreted organic acids as a carbon source for R. palustris In return, a genetically engineered R. palustris strain constitutively converts N2 into NH4+, providing E. coli with essential nitrogen. Using transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and proteomics, we identified transcript and protein levels that differ in each partner when grown in coculture versus monoculture. When in coculture with R. palustris, E. coli gene expression changes resembled a nitrogen starvation response under the control of the transcriptional regulator NtrC. By genetically disrupting E. coli NtrC, we determined that a nitrogen starvation response is important for a stable coexistence, especially at low R. palustris NH4+ excretion levels. Destabilization of the nitrogen starvation regulatory network resulted in variable growth trends and, in some cases, extinction. Our results highlight that alternative physiological states can be important for survival within cooperative cross-feeding relationships.IMPORTANCE Mutualistic cross-feeding between microbes within multispecies communities is widespread. Studying how mutualistic interactions influence the physiology of each species involved is important for understanding how mutualisms function and persist in both natural and applied settings. Using a bacterial mutualism consisting of Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Escherichia coli growing cooperatively through bidirectional nutrient exchange, we determined that an E. coli nitrogen starvation response is important for maintaining a stable coexistence. The lack of an E. coli nitrogen starvation response ultimately destabilized the mutualism and, in some cases, led to community collapse after serial transfers. Our findings thus inform on the potential necessity of an alternative physiological state for mutualistic coexistence with another species compared to the physiology of species grown in isolation.

Suppression and synthetic-lethal genetic relationships of ΔgpsB mutations indicate that GpsB mediates protein phosphorylation and penicillin-binding protein interactions in Streptococcus pneumoniae D39.

GpsB regulatory protein and StkP protein kinase have been proposed as molecular switches that balance septal and peripheral (side-wall like) peptidoglycan (PG) synthesis in Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus); yet, mechanisms of this switching remain unknown. We report that ΔdivIVA mutations are not epistatic to ΔgpsB division-protein mutations in progenitor D39 and related genetic backgrounds; nor is GpsB required for StkP localization or FDAA labeling at septal division rings. However, we confirm that reduction of GpsB amount leads to decreased protein phosphorylation by StkP and report that the essentiality of ΔgpsB mutations is suppressed by inactivation of PhpP protein phosphatase, which concomitantly restores protein phosphorylation levels. ΔgpsB mutations are also suppressed by other classes of mutations, including one that eliminates protein phosphorylation and may alter division. Moreover, ΔgpsB mutations are synthetically lethal with Δpbp1a, but not Δpbp2a or Δpbp1b mutations, suggesting GpsB activation of PBP2a activity. Consistent with this result, co-IP experiments showed that GpsB complexes with EzrA, StkP, PBP2a, PBP2b and MreC in pneumococcal cells. Furthermore, depletion of GpsB prevents PBP2x migration to septal centers. These results support a model in which GpsB negatively regulates peripheral PG synthesis by PBP2b and positively regulates septal ring closure through its interactions with StkP-PBP2x.