YjcC, a c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase protein, regulates the oxidative stress response and virulence of Klebsiella pneumoniae CG43

PLoS One. 2013 Jul 23;8(7):e66740. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066740. Print 2013.

Abstract

This study shows that the expression of yjcC, an in vivo expression (IVE) gene, and the stress response regulatory genes soxR, soxS, and rpoS are paraquat inducible in Klebsiella pneumoniae CG43. The deletion of rpoS or soxRS decreased yjcC expression, implying an RpoS- or SoxRS-dependent control. After paraquat or H2O2 treatment, the deletion of yjcC reduced bacterial survival. These effects could be complemented by introducing the ΔyjcC mutant with the YjcC-expression plasmid pJR1. The recombinant protein containing only the YjcC-EAL domain exhibited phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity; overexpression of yjcC has lower levels of cyclic di-GMP. The yjcC deletion mutant also exhibited increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, oxidation damage, and oxidative stress scavenging activity. In addition, the yjcC deletion reduced capsular polysaccharide production in the bacteria, but increased the LD50 in mice, biofilm formation, and type 3 fimbriae major pilin MrkA production. Finally, a comparative transcriptome analysis showed 34 upregulated and 29 downregulated genes with the increased production of YjcC. The activated gene products include glutaredoxin I, thioredoxin, heat shock proteins, chaperone, and MrkHI, and proteins for energy metabolism (transporters, cell surface structure, and transcriptional regulation). In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that YjcC positively regulates the oxidative stress response and mouse virulence but negatively affects the biofilm formation and type 3 fimbriae expression by altering the c-di-GMP levels after receiving oxidative stress signaling inputs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Capsules / drug effects
  • Bacterial Capsules / metabolism
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Base Sequence
  • Biofilms / drug effects
  • Cyclic GMP / analogs & derivatives*
  • Cyclic GMP / metabolism
  • Down-Regulation / drug effects
  • Down-Regulation / genetics
  • Female
  • Fimbriae, Bacterial / drug effects
  • Fimbriae, Bacterial / metabolism
  • Gene Deletion
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / drug effects
  • Klebsiella Infections / microbiology
  • Klebsiella Infections / pathology
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / enzymology*
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / genetics
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / pathogenicity*
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae / physiology
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oxidative Stress*
  • Paraquat / toxicity
  • Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / metabolism*
  • Polysaccharides, Bacterial / metabolism
  • Transcriptome / genetics
  • Up-Regulation / drug effects
  • Up-Regulation / genetics
  • Virulence / drug effects

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Polysaccharides, Bacterial
  • bis(3',5')-cyclic diguanylic acid
  • Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases
  • Cyclic GMP
  • Paraquat

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Science Council (NSC 350 99-2320-B-009-003-MY3, and NSC 100-2320-B-009-003-MY3) and “Aim for the Top University Plan” of the National Chiao Tung University and Ministry of Education (100W962), Taiwan, R.O.C. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.