Processing by rhomboid protease is required for Providencia stuartii TatA to interact with TatC and to form functional homo-oligomeric complexes.

The twin arginine transport (Tat) system transports folded proteins across the prokaryotic cytoplasmic membrane and the plant thylakoid membrane. In Escherichia coli three membrane proteins, TatA, TatB and TatC, are essential components of the machinery. TatA from Providencia stuartii is homologous to E. coli TatA but is synthesized as an inactive pre-protein with an N-terminal extension of eight amino acids. Removal of this extension by the rhomboid protease AarA is required to activate P. stuartii TatA. Here we show that P. stuartii TatA can functionally substitute for E. coli TatA provided that the E. coli homologue of AarA, GlpG, is present. The oligomerization state of the P. stuartii TatA pro-protein was compared with that of the proteolytically activated protein and with E. coli TatA. The pro-protein still formed small homo-oligomers but cannot form large TatBC-dependent assemblies. In the absence of TatB, E. coli TatA or the processed form of P. stuartii TatA form a complex with TatC. However, this complex is not observed with the pro-form of P. stuartii TatA. Taken together our results suggest that the P. stuartii TatA pro-protein is inactive because it is unable to interact with TatC and cannot form the large TatA complexes required for transport.

Implication of porins in beta-lactam resistance of Providencia stuartii.

An integrative approach combining biophysical and microbiological methods was used to characterize the antibiotic translocation through the outer membrane of Providencia stuartii. Two novel members of the General Bacterial Porin family of Enterobacteriaceae, named OmpPst1 and OmpPst2, were identified in P. stuartii. In the presence of ertapenem (ERT), cefepime (FEP), and cefoxitin (FOX) in growth media, several resistant derivatives of P. stuartii ATCC 29914 showed OmpPst1-deficiency. These porin-deficient strains showed significant decrease of susceptibility to ß-lactam antibiotics. OmpPst1 and OmpPst2 were purified to homogeneity and reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers to study their biophysical characteristics and their interactions with ß-lactam molecules. Determination of ß-lactam translocation through OmpPst1 and OmpPst2 indicated that the strength of interaction decreased in the order of ertapenem ≫ cefepime > cefoxitin. Moreover, the translocation of these antibiotics through OmpPst1 was more efficient than through OmpPst2. Heterologous expression of OmpPst1 in the porin-deficient E. coli strain BL21(DE3)omp8 was associated with a higher antibiotic susceptibility of the E. coli cells to ß-lactams compared with expression of OmpPst2. All our data enlighten the involvement of porins in the resistance of P. stuartii to ß-lactam antibiotics.

A novel glutamate-dependent acid resistance among strains belonging to the Proteeae tribe of Enterobacteriaceae.

Morganella, Providencia and Proteus strains were capable of surviving pH 2.0 for 1 h if glutamate was present. These strains did not have glutamic acid decarboxylase activity and the gadAB genes were not detected in any of these bacteria. When exposed to pH 2.0 acid shocks, the survival rate of these bacteria was significantly increased with glutamate concentrations as low as 0.3 mM in the acid media. Escherichia coli cells incubated at pH 3.4 consumed four times more glutamate and produced at least 7-fold more gamma-amino butyric acid than Morganella, Providencia and Proteus strains. These results indicate that strains belonging to the Proteeae tribe might have novel glutamate dependent acid-resistance mechanisms.

aarD, a Providencia stuartii homologue of cydD: role in 2'-N-acetyltransferase expression, cell morphology and growth in the presence of an extracellular factor.

In a search for genes involved in regulation of the 2'-N-acetyltransferase in Providencia stuartii, a mini-Tn5Cm insertion has been isolated in a locus designated aarD. The aarD1::mini-Tn5Cm mutation resulted in a 4.7-fold increase in the levels of beta-galactosidase accumulation from an aac(2')-lacZ transcriptional fusion and a 32-fold increase in the levels of gentamicin resistance in P. stuartii. The wild-type aarD locus was cloned on a 5.0 kb Cla I fragment and complemented the aarD1 mutation. Nucleotide sequence analysis of this fragment identified two large open reading frames whose deduced products displayed significant amino acid identity, 64% and 64%, respectively, to the CydD and CydC proteins of Escherichia coli, which are involved in formation of the cytochrome d oxidase complex. Physical mapping indicated the aarD1::mini-Tn5Cm insertion was within the open reading homologous to CydD. The strain containing the aarD1 mutation was unable to grow in the presence of toluidine blue or on glycerol minimal media in the presence of zinc, suggesting that aarD is functionally equivalent to cydD. Additional phenotypes resulting from the aarD1 mutation included: altered cell morphology, a reduced growth rate and the inability of cells to grow beyond early log phase. Further examination of this phenomenon revealed that the aarD1 mutant was unable to grow in the presence of a self-produced extracellular factor(s). This novel phenotype was limited to P. stuartii as E. coli cydD and delta cydAB::kan mutants were also sensitive to a self-produced extracellular factor.

Contribution of gentamicin 2'-N-acetyltransferase to the O acetylation of peptidoglycan in Providencia stuartii.

A collection of Providencia stuartii mutants which either underexpress or overexpress aac(2')-Ia, the chromosomal gene coding for gentamicin 2'-N-acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.59), have been characterized phenotypically as possessing either lower or higher levels of peptidoglycan O acetylation, respectively, than the wild type. These mutants were subjected to both negative-staining and thin-section electron microscopy. P. stuartii PR100, with 42% O acetylation of peptidoglycan compared with 52% O acetylation in the wild type, appeared as irregular rods. In direct contrast, P. stuartii strains PR50.LM3 and PR51, with increased levels of peptidoglycan O acetylation (65 and 63%, respectively), appeared as coccobacilli and chain formers, respectively. Membrane blebbing was also observed with the chain-forming strain PR51. Thin sectioning of this mutant indicated that it was capable of proper constriction and separation. P. stuartii PM1, when grown to mid-exponential phase, did not have altered peptidoglycan O-acetylation levels, and cellular morphology remained similar to that of wild-type strains. However, continued growth into stationary phase resulted in a 15% increase in peptidoglycan O acetylation concomitant with a change of some cells from a rod-shaped to a coccobacillus-shaped morphology. The fact that these apparent morphological changes were directly related to levels of O acetylation support the view that this modification plays a role in the maintenance of peptidoglycan structure, presumably through the control of autolytic activity.