Study on the estradiol degradation gene expression and resistance mechanism of Rhodococcus R-001 under low-temperature stress

Qing Qiu; Han Li; Xuejian Sun; Lili Zhang; Kejian Tian; Menghan Chang; Shuaiguo Li; Dandan Zhou; Hongliang Huo

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142146

Study on the estradiol degradation gene expression and resistance mechanism of Rhodococcus R-001 under low-temperature stress

Chemosphere. 2024 Apr 25:358:142146. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142146. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Qing Qiu¹, Han Li², Xuejian Sun³, Lili Zhang⁴, Kejian Tian⁵, Menghan Chang⁶, Shuaiguo Li⁷, Dandan Zhou⁸, Hongliang Huo⁹

Affiliations

¹ School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555 Jingyue Avenue, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China. Electronic address: qiuq241@nenu.edu.cn.
² School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555 Jingyue Avenue, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China. Electronic address: lih836@nenu.edu.cn.
³ School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555 Jingyue Avenue, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China. Electronic address: xuejiansun@nenu.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555 Jingyue Avenue, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China. Electronic address: zhangll940@nenu.edu.cn.
⁵ School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555 Jingyue Avenue, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China. Electronic address: tiankj617@nenu.edu.cn.
⁶ School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555 Jingyue Avenue, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China. Electronic address: changmh451@nenu.edu.cn.
⁷ School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555 Jingyue Avenue, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China. Electronic address: lisg115@nenu.edu.cn.
⁸ School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555 Jingyue Avenue, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China; Engineering Research Center of Low-Carbon Treatment and Green Development of Polluted Water in Northeast China, Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China. Electronic address: zhoudandan415@163.com.
⁹ School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, No. 2555 Jingyue Avenue, Changchun City, Jilin Province, China; Engineering Research Center of Low-Carbon Treatment and Green Development of Polluted Water in Northeast China, Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China. Electronic address: huohl@nenu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38677604
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142146

Abstract

Estradiol (E2), an endocrine disruptor, acts by mimicking or interfering with the normal physiological functions of natural hormones within organisms, leading to issues such as endocrine system disruption. Notably, seasonal fluctuations in environmental temperature may influence the degradation speed of estradiol (E2) in the natural environment, intensifying its potential health and ecological risks. Therefore, this study aims to explore how bacteria can degrade E2 under low-temperature conditions, unveiling their resistance mechanisms, with the goal of developing new strategies to mitigate the threat of E2 to health and ecological safety. In this paper, we found that Rhodococcus equi DSSKP-R-001 (R-001) can efficiently degrade E2 at 30 °C and 10 °C. Six genes in R-001 were shown to be involved in E2 degradation by heterologous expression at 30 °C. Among them, 17β-HSD, KstD2, and KstD3, were also involved in E2 degradation at 10 °C; KstD was not previously known to degrade E2. RNA-seq was used to characterize differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to explore the stress response of R-001 to low-temperature environments to elucidate the strain's adaptation mechanism. At the low temperature, R-001 cells changed from a round spherical shape to a long rod or irregular shape with elevated unsaturated fatty acids and were consistent with the corresponding genetic changes. Many differentially expressed genes linked to the cold stress response were observed. R-001 was found to upregulate genes encoding cold shock proteins, fatty acid metabolism proteins, the ABC transport system, DNA damage repair, energy metabolism and transcriptional regulators. In this study, we demonstrated six E2 degradation genes in R-001 and found for the first time that E2 degradation genes have different expression characteristics at 30 °C and 10 °C. Linking R-001 to cold acclimation provides new insights and a mechanistic basis for the simultaneous degradation of E2 under cold stress in Rhodococcus adaptation.

Keywords: Degradation; Gene expression; Low temperature; Recombinant bacteria.