Bacterial cyclic diguanylate signaling networks sense temperature
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| Authors: | Almblad, H; Randall, TE; Liu, F; Leblanc, K; Groves, RA; Kittichotirat, W; Winsor, GL; Fournier, N; Au, E; Groizeleau, J; Rich, JD; Lou, YF; Granton, E; Jennings, LK; Singletary, LA; Winstone, TML; Good, NM; Bumgarner, RE; Hynes, MF; Singh, M; Stietz, MS; Brinkman, FSL; Kumar, A; Brassinga, AKC; Parsek, MR; Tseng, BS; Lewis, IA; Yipp, BG; MacCallum, JL; Harrison, JJ |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Journal: | Nat. Commun. 12 Article Link (DOI) PubMed |
| Title: | Bacterial cyclic diguanylate signaling networks sense temperature |
| Abstract: | Many bacteria use the second messenger cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) to control motility, biofilm production and virulence. Here, we identify a thermosensory diguanylate cyclase (TdcA) that modulates temperature-dependent motility, biofilm development and virulence in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. TdcA synthesizes c-di-GMP with catalytic rates that increase more than a hundred-fold over a ten-degree Celsius change. Analyses using protein chimeras indicate that heat-sensing is mediated by a thermosensitive Per-Arnt-SIM (PAS) domain. TdcA homologs are widespread in sequence databases, and a distantly related, heterologously expressed homolog from the Betaproteobacteria order Gallionellales also displayed thermosensitive diguanylate cyclase activity. We propose, therefore, that thermotransduction is a conserved function of c-di-GMP signaling networks, and that thermosensitive catalysis of a second messenger constitutes a mechanism for thermal sensing in bacteria. Many bacteria use the second messenger cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) to control motility, biofilm production and virulence. Here, the authors identify a thermosensitive enzyme that synthesizes c-di-GMP and modulates temperature-dependent motility, biofilm development and virulence in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. |
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