Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) has complex and dynamic interactions with the human host, and subpopulations of Mtb that emerge during infection can influence disease outcomes. This study implicates zinc ion (Zn2+) availability as a likely driver of bacterial phenotypic heterogeneity in vivo. Zn2+ sequestration is part of “nutritional immunity”, where the immune system limits micronutrients to control pathogen growth, but this defense mechanism seems to be ineffective in controlling Mtb infection. Nonetheless, Zn2+-limitation is an environmental cue sensed by Mtb, as calprotectin triggers the zinc uptake regulator (Zur) regulon response in vitro and co-localizes with Zn2+-limited Mtb in vivo. Prolonged Zn2+ limitation leads to numerous physiological changes in vitro, including differential expression of certain antigens, alterations in lipid metabolism and distinct cell surface morphology. Furthermore, Mtb enduring limited Zn2+ employ defensive measures to fight oxidative stress, by increasing expression of proteins involved in DNA repair and antioxidant activity, including well described virulence factors KatG and AhpC, along with altered utilization of redox cofactors. Here, we propose a model in which prolonged Zn2+ limitation defines a population of Mtb with anticipatory adaptations against impending immune attack, based on the evidence that Zn2+-limited Mtb are more resistant to oxidative stress and exhibit increased survival and induce more severe pulmonary granulomas in mice. Considering that extracellular Mtb may transit through the Zn2+-limited caseum before infecting naïve immune cells or upon host-to-host transmission, the resulting phenotypic heterogeneity driven by varied Zn2+ availability likely plays a key role during early interactions with host cells.

SUMMARY The Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome encodes five putative “alternative” ribosomal proteins whose expression is repressed at high Zn2+ concentration. Each alternative protein has a primary homolog that is predicted to bind Zn2+. We hypothesized that zinc triggers a switch between these paired homologous proteins and therefore chose one of these pairs, S18-1/S18-2, to study mechanisms of the predicted competition for their incorporation into ribosomes. As predicted, our data show that Zn2+-depletion causes accumulation of both S18-2 mRNA and protein. In contrast, S18-1 mRNA levels are unchanged to slightly elevated under Zn2+-limited conditions. However the amount of S18-1 protein is markedly decreased. We further demonstrate that both S18 proteins interact with ribosomal protein S6, a committed step in ribosome biogenesis. Zn2+ is absolutely required for the S18-1/S6 interaction, while it is dispensable for S18-2/S6 dimer formation. These data suggest a model in which the S18-1 is the dominant ribosome constituent in high zinc conditions, e.g. inside of phagosomes, but that it can be replaced by S18-2 when zinc is deficient, e.g. in the extracellular milieu. Consequently, Zn2+-depletion may serve as a signal for building alternative ribosomes when M. tuberculosis is released from macrophages, to allow survival in the extracellular environment.

Zinc is an essential micronutrient required for proper structure and function of many proteins. Bacteria regularly encounter zinc depletion and have evolved diverse mechanisms to continue growth when zinc is limited, including the expression of zinc-independent paralogs of zinc-binding proteins. Mycobacteria have a conserved operon encoding four zinc-independent alternative ribosomal proteins (AltRPs) that are expressed when zinc is depleted. It is unknown if mycobacterial AltRPs replace their primary paralogs in the ribosome and maintain protein synthesis under zinc-limited conditions, and if such replacements contribute to their physiology. This study shows that AltRPs from Mycobacterium smegmatis are essential for growth when zinc ion is scarce. Specifically, the deletion mutant of this operon (ΔaltRP) is unable to grow in media containing a high-affinity zinc chelator, while growth of the wild type strain is unaffected under the same conditions. However, when zinc is gradually depleted during growth in zinc-limited medium, the ΔaltRP mutant maintains the same growth rate as seen for the wild type strain. In contrast to M. smegmatis grown with sufficient zinc supplementation that forms shorter cells when transitioning from logarithmic to stationary phase, M. smegmatis deficient for zinc elongates after the expression of AltRPs in late logarithmic phase. These zinc-depleted bacteria also exhibit a remarkable morphology characterized by a condensed chromosome, increased number of polyphosphate granules, and distinct appearance of lipid bodies and the cell wall compared to the zinc-replete cells. However, the ΔaltRP cells fail to elongate and transition into the zinc-limited morphotype, resembling the wild type zinc-replete bacteria instead. Therefore, the altRP operon in M. smegmatis has a vital role in continuation of growth when zinc is scarce and in triggering specific morphogenesis during the adaptation to zinc limitation, suggesting that AltRPs can functionally replace their zinc-dependent paralogs, but also contribute to mycobacterial physiology in a unique way.

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Length-weight and length-length relationships are presented for three species of butterflyfish endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Atoll. From specimens collected within the Papah anaumoku akea Marine National Monument (PMNM), the weight-length relationships were determined for Chaetodon fremblii as W = 0.029SL 3.17 , Chaetodon miliaris as W = 0.042 SL 3.00 , and Chaetodon multicinctus as W = 0.029SL 3.19 where weight, W, is reported in grams and standard length, SL, in centimeters. Length-frequency data and equations to calculate total length from standard length are also presented.