DnaJ and ClpX Are Required for HitRS and HssRS Two-Component System Signaling in Bacillus anthracis.

Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax. This Gram-positive bacterium poses a substantial risk to human health due to high mortality rates and the potential for malicious use as a bioterror weapon. To survive within the vertebrate host, B. anthracis relies on two-component system (TCS) signaling to sense host-induced stresses and respond to alterations in the environment through changes in target gene expression. HitRS and HssRS are cross-regulating TCSs in B. anthracis that respond to cell envelope disruptions and high heme levels, respectively. In this study, an unbiased and targeted genetic selection was designed to identify gene products that are involved in HitRS and HssRS signaling. This selection led to the identification of inactivating mutations within dnaJ and clpX that disrupt HitRS- and HssRS-dependent gene expression. DnaJ and ClpX are the substrate-binding subunits of the DnaJK protein chaperone and ClpXP protease, respectively. DnaJ regulates the levels of HitR and HitS to facilitate signal transduction, while ClpX specifically regulates HitS levels. Together, these results reveal that the protein homeostasis regulators, DnaJ and ClpX, function to maintain B. anthracis signal transduction activities through TCS regulation.

Directed evolution reveals the mechanism of HitRS signaling transduction in Bacillus anthracis.

Two component systems (TCSs) are a primary mechanism of signal sensing and response in bacteria. Systematic characterization of an entire TCS could provide a mechanistic understanding of these important signal transduction systems. Here, genetic selections were employed to dissect the molecular basis of signal transduction by the HitRS system that detects cell envelope stress in the pathogen Bacillus anthracis. Numerous point mutations were isolated within HitRS, 17 of which were in a 50-residue HAMP domain. Mutational analysis revealed the importance of hydrophobic interactions within the HAMP domain and highlighted its essentiality in TCS signaling. In addition, these data defined residues critical for activities intrinsic to HitRS, uncovered specific interactions among individual domains and between the two signaling proteins, and revealed that phosphotransfer is the rate-limiting step for signal transduction. Furthermore, this study establishes the use of unbiased genetic selections to study TCS signaling and provides a comprehensive mechanistic understanding of an entire TCS.

Calcitonin receptors are ancient modulators for rhythms of preferential temperature in insects and body temperature in mammals.

Daily body temperature rhythm (BTR) is essential for maintaining homeostasis. BTR is regulated separately from locomotor activity rhythms, but its molecular basis is largely unknown. While mammals internally regulate BTR, ectotherms, including Drosophila, exhibit temperature preference rhythm (TPR) behavior to regulate BTR. Here, we demonstrate that the diuretic hormone 31 receptor (DH31R) mediates TPR during the active phase in Drosophila DH31R is expressed in clock cells, and its ligand, DH31, acts on clock cells to regulate TPR during the active phase. Surprisingly, the mouse homolog of DH31R, calcitonin receptor (Calcr), is expressed in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and mediates body temperature fluctuations during the active phase in mice. Importantly, DH31R and Calcr are not required for coordinating locomotor activity rhythms. Our results represent the first molecular evidence that BTR is regulated distinctly from locomotor activity rhythms and show that DH31R/Calcr is an ancient specific mediator of BTR during the active phase in organisms ranging from ectotherms to endotherms.

Feeding-State-Dependent Modulation of Temperature Preference Requires Insulin Signaling in Drosophila Warm-Sensing Neurons.

Starvation is life-threatening and therefore strongly modulates many aspects of animal behavior and physiology [1]. In mammals, hunger causes a reduction in body temperature and metabolism [2], resulting in conservation of energy for survival. However, the molecular basis of the modulation of thermoregulation by starvation remains largely unclear. Whereas mammals control their body temperature internally, small ectotherms, such as Drosophila, set their body temperature by selecting an ideal environmental temperature through temperature preference behaviors [3, 4]. Here, we demonstrate in Drosophila that starvation results in a lower preferred temperature, which parallels the reduction in body temperature in mammals. The insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling (IIS) pathway is involved in starvation-induced behaviors and physiology and is well conserved in vertebrates and invertebrates [5-7]. We show that insulin-like peptide 6 (Ilp6) in the fat body (fly liver and adipose tissues) is responsible for the starvation-induced reduction in preferred temperature (Tp). Temperature preference behavior is controlled by the anterior cells (ACs), which respond to warm temperatures via transient receptor potential A1 (TrpA1) [4]. We demonstrate that starvation decreases the responding temperature of ACs via insulin signaling, resulting in a lower Tp than in nutrient-rich conditions. Thus, we show that hunger information is conveyed from fat tissues via Ilp6 and influences the sensitivity of warm-sensing neurons in the brain, resulting in a lower temperature set point. Because starvation commonly results in a lower body temperature in both flies and mammals, we propose that insulin signaling is an ancient mediator of starvation-induced thermoregulation.

The role of PDF neurons in setting the preferred temperature before dawn in Drosophila.

Animals have sophisticated homeostatic controls. While mammalian body temperature fluctuates throughout the day, small ectotherms, such as Drosophila achieve a body temperature rhythm (BTR) through their preference of environmental temperature. Here, we demonstrate that pigment dispersing factor (PDF) neurons play an important role in setting preferred temperature before dawn. We show that small lateral ventral neurons (sLNvs), a subset of PDF neurons, activate the dorsal neurons 2 (DN2s), the main circadian clock cells that regulate temperature preference rhythm (TPR). The number of temporal contacts between sLNvs and DN2s peak before dawn. Our data suggest that the thermosensory anterior cells (ACs) likely contact sLNvs via serotonin signaling. Together, the ACs-sLNs-DN2s neural circuit regulates the proper setting of temperature preference before dawn. Given that sLNvs are important for sleep and that BTR and sleep have a close temporal relationship, our data highlight a possible neuronal interaction between body temperature and sleep regulation.

Drosophila DH31 Neuropeptide and PDF Receptor Regulate Night-Onset Temperature Preference.

Body temperature exhibits rhythmic fluctuations over a 24 h period (Refinetti and Menaker, 1992) and decreases during the night, which is associated with sleep initiation (Gilbert et al., 2004; Kräuchi, 2007a,b). However, the underlying mechanism of this temperature decrease is largely unknown. We have previously shown that Drosophila exhibit a daily temperature preference rhythm (TPR), in which their preferred temperatures increase during the daytime and then decrease at the transition from day to night (night-onset) (Kaneko et al., 2012). Because Drosophila are small ectotherms, their body temperature is very close to that of the ambient temperature (Stevenson, 1985), suggesting that their TPR generates their body temperature rhythm. Here, we demonstrate that the neuropeptide diuretic hormone 31 (DH31) and pigment-dispersing factor receptor (PDFR) contribute to regulate the preferred temperature decrease at night-onset. We show that PDFR and tethered-DH31 expression in dorsal neurons 2 (DN2s) restore the preferred temperature decrease at night-onset, suggesting that DH31 acts on PDFR in DN2s. Notably, we previously showed that the molecular clock in DN2s is important for TPR. Although PDF (another ligand of PDFR) is a critical factor for locomotor activity rhythms, Pdf mutants exhibit normal preferred temperature decreases at night-onset. This suggests that DH31-PDFR signaling specifically regulates a preferred temperature decrease at night-onset. Thus, we propose that night-onset TPR and locomotor activity rhythms are differentially controlled not only by clock neurons but also by neuropeptide signaling in the brain. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Body temperature rhythm (BTR) is fundamental for the maintenance of functions essential for homeostasis, such as generating metabolic energy and sleep. One major unsolved question is how body temperature decreases dramatically during the night. Previously, we demonstrated that a BTR-like mechanism, referred to as temperature preference rhythm (TPR), exists in Drosophila Here, we demonstrate that the diuretic hormone 31 (DH31) neuropeptide and pigment-dispersing factor receptor (PDFR) regulate preferred temperature decreases at night-onset via dorsal neurons 2. This is the first in vivo evidence that DH31 could function as a ligand of PDFR. Although both DH31 and PDF are ligands of PDFR, we show that DH31 regulates night-onset TPR, but PDF does not, suggesting that night-onset TPR and locomotor activity rhythms are controlled by different neuropeptides via different clock cells.

Heme sensing in Bacillus thuringiensis: a supplementary HssRS-regulated heme resistance system.

Several Gram-positive pathogens scavenge host-derived heme to satisfy their nutritional iron requirement. However, heme is a toxic molecule capable of damaging the bacterial cell. Gram-positive pathogens within the phylum Firmicutes overcome heme toxicity by sensing heme through HssRS, a two-component system that regulates the heme detoxification transporter HrtAB. Here we show that heme sensing by HssRS and heme detoxification by HrtAB occur in the insect pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis We find that in B. thuringiensis, HssRS directly regulates an operon, hrmXY, encoding hypothetical membrane proteins that are not found in other Firmicutes with characterized HssRS and HrtAB systems. This novel HssRS-regulated operon or its orthologs BMB171_c3178 and BMB171_c3330 are required for maximal heme resistance. Furthermore, the activity of HrmXY is not dependent on expression of HrtAB. These results suggest that B. thuringiensis senses heme through HssRS and induces expression of separate membrane-localized systems capable of overcoming different aspects of heme toxicity.