Novel insights into E. coli's hexuronate metabolism: KduI facilitates the conversion of galacturonate and glucuronate under osmotic stress conditions.

Using a gnotobiotic mouse model, we previously observed the upregulation of 2-deoxy-D-gluconate 3-dehydrogenase (KduD) in intestinal E. coli of mice fed a lactose-rich diet and the downregulation of this enzyme and of 5-keto 4-deoxyuronate isomerase (KduI) on a casein-rich diet. The present study aimed to define the role of the so far poorly characterized E. coli proteins KduD and KduI in vitro. Galacturonate and glucuronate induced kduD and kduI gene expression 3-fold and 7 to 11-fold, respectively, under aerobic conditions as well as 9 to 20-fold and 19 to 54-fold, respectively, under anaerobic conditions. KduI facilitated the breakdown of these hexuronates. In E. coli, galacturonate and glucuronate are normally degraded by UxaABC and UxuAB. However, osmotic stress represses the expression of the corresponding genes in an OxyR-dependent manner. When grown in the presence of galacturonate or glucuronate, kduID-deficient E. coli had a 30% to 80% lower maximal cell density and 1.5 to 2-fold longer doubling times under osmotic stress conditions than wild type E. coli. Growth on lactose promoted the intracellular formation of hexuronates, which possibly explain the induction of KduD on a lactose-rich diet. These results indicate a novel function of KduI and KduD in E. coli and demonstrate the crucial influence of osmotic stress on the gene expression of hexuronate degrading enzymes.

Impact of nutritional factors on the proteome of intestinal Escherichia coli: induction of OxyR-dependent proteins AhpF and Dps by a lactose-rich diet.

To study the impact of nutritional factors on protein expression of intestinal bacteria, gnotobiotic mice monoassociated with Escherichia coli K-12 were fed three different diets: a diet rich in starch, a diet rich in nondigestible lactose, and a diet rich in casein. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry were used to identify differentially expressed proteins of bacteria recovered from small intestine and cecum. Oxidative stress response proteins such as AhpF, Dps, and Fur, all of which belong to the oxyR regulon, were upregulated in E. coli isolates from mice fed the lactose-rich diet. Luciferase reporter gene assays demonstrated that osmotic stress caused by carbohydrates led to the expression of ahpCF and dps, which was not observed in an E. coli ΔoxyR mutant. Growth of ahpCF and oxyR deletion mutants was strongly impaired when nondigestible sucrose was present in the medium. The wild-type phenotype could be restored by complementation of the deletions with plasmids containing the corresponding genes and promoters. The results indicate that some OxyR-dependent proteins play a major role in the adaptation of E. coli to osmotic stress. We conclude that there is an overlap of osmotic and oxidative stress responses. Mice fed the lactose-rich diet possibly had a higher intestinal osmolality, leading to the upregulation of OxyR-dependent proteins, which enable intestinal E. coli to better cope with diet-induced osmotic stress.