SummaryBacterial alarmone (p)ppGpp, is a global regulator responsible for the stringent control. Two homologous (p)ppGpp synthetases, RelA and SpoT, have been identified and characterized in Escherichia coli, whereas Gram-positive bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis have been thought to possess only a single RelASpoT enzyme. We have now identified two genes, yjbM and ywaC, in B. subtilis that encode a novel type of alarmone synthetase. The predicted products of these genes are relatively small proteins (~25 kDa) that correspond to the (p)ppGpp synthetase domain of RelA-SpoT family members. A database survey revealed that genes homologous to yjbM and ywaC are conserved in certain bacteria belonging to Firmicutes or Actinobacteria phyla but not in other phyla such as Proteobacteria. We designated the proteins as small alarmone synthetases (SASs) to distinguish them from RelA-SpoT proteins. The (p)ppGpp synthetase function of YjbM and YwaC was confirmed by genetic complementation analysis and by in vitro assay of enzyme activity. Molecular genetic analysis also revealed that ywaC is induced by alkaline shock, resulting in the transient accumulation of ppGpp. The SAS proteins thus likely function in the biosynthesis of alarmone with a mode of action distinct from that of RelA-SpoT homologues.

Tenuazonic acid (TeA) is a well-known mycotoxin produced by various plant pathogenic fungi. However, its biosynthetic gene has been unknown to date. Here we identify the TeA biosynthetic gene from Magnaporthe oryzae by finding two TeA-inducing conditions of a low-producing strain. We demonstrate that TeA is synthesized from isoleucine and acetoacetyl-coenzyme A by TeA synthetase 1 (TAS1). TAS1 is a unique non-ribosomal peptide synthetase and polyketide synthase (NRPS–PKS) hybrid enzyme that begins with an NRPS module. In contrast to other NRPS/PKS hybrid enzymes, the PKS portion of TAS1 has only a ketosynthase (KS) domain and this domain is indispensable for TAS1 activity. Phylogenetic analysis classifies this KS domain as an independent clade close to type I PKS KS domain. We demonstrate that the TAS1 KS domain conducts the final cyclization step for TeA release. These results indicate that TAS1 is a unique type of NRPS–PKS hybrid enzyme.

Histone-like protein H1 (H-NS) family proteins are nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) conserved among many bacterial species. The IncP-7 plasmid pCAR1 is transmissible among various Pseudomonas strains and carries a gene encoding the H-NS family protein, Pmr. Pseudomonas putida KT2440 is a host of pCAR1, which harbors five genes encoding the H-NS family proteins PP_1366 (TurA), PP_3765 (TurB), PP_0017 (TurC), PP_3693 (TurD), and PP_2947 (TurE). Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) demonstrated that the presence of pCAR1 does not affect the transcription of these five genes and that only pmr, turA, and turB were primarily transcribed in KT2440(pCAR1). In vitro pull-down assays revealed that Pmr strongly interacted with itself and with TurA, TurB, and TurE. Transcriptome comparisons of the pmr disruptant, KT2440, and KT2440(pCAR1) strains indicated that pmr disruption had greater effects on the host transcriptome than did pCAR1 carriage. The transcriptional levels of some genes that increased with pCAR1 carriage, such as the mexEF-oprN efflux pump genes and parI, reverted with pmr disruption to levels in pCAR1-free KT2440. Transcriptional levels of putative horizontally acquired host genes were not altered by pCAR1 carriage but were altered by pmr disruption. Identification of genome-wide Pmr binding sites by ChAP-chip (chromatin affinity purification coupled with high-density tiling chip) analysis demonstrated that Pmr preferentially binds to horizontally acquired DNA regions. The Pmr binding sites overlapped well with the location of the genes differentially transcribed following pmr disruption on both the plasmid and the chromosome. Our findings indicate that Pmr is a key factor in optimizing gene transcription on pCAR1 and the host chromosome.

Bacterial nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) form nucleoprotein complexes and influence the expression of genes. Recent studies have shown that some plasmids carry genes encoding NAP homologs, which play important roles in transcriptional regulation networks between plasmids and host chromosomes. In this study, we determined the distributions of the well-known NAPs Fis, H-NS, HU, IHF, and Lrp and the newly found NAPs MvaT and NdpA among the whole-sequenced 1382 plasmids found in Gram-negative bacteria. Comparisons between NAP distributions and plasmid features (size, G+C content, and putative transferability) were also performed. We found that larger plasmids frequently have NAP gene homologs. Plasmids with H-NS gene homologs had less G+C content. It should be noted that plasmids with the NAP gene homolog also carried the relaxase gene involved in the conjugative transfer of plasmids more frequently than did those without the NAP gene homolog, implying that plasmid-encoded NAP homologs positively contribute to transmissible plasmids.

Some flavonoids are considered as beneficial compounds because they exhibit anticancer or antioxidant activity. In higher plants, flavonoids are secondary metabolites that are derived from phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway. A large number of phenylpropanoids are generated from p-coumaric acid, which is a derivative of the primary metabolite, phenylalanine. The first two steps in the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway are catalyzed by phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and cinnamate 4-hydroxylase, and the coupling of these two enzymes forms a rate-limiting step in the pathway. For the generation of p-coumaric acid, the conversion from phenylalanine to p-coumaric acid that is catalyzed by two enzymes can be theoretically performed by a single enzyme, tyrosine ammonia-lyase (TAL) that catalyzes the conversion of tyrosine to p-coumaric acid in certain bacteria. To modify the p-coumaric acid pathway in plants, we isolated a gene encoding TAL from a photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, and introduced the gene (RsTAL) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Analysis of metabolites revealed that the ectopic over-expression of RsTAL leads to higher accumulation of anthocyanins in transgenic 5-day-old seedlings. On the other hand, 21-day-old seedlings of plants expressing RsTAL showed accumulation of higher amount of quercetin glycosides, sinapoyl and p-coumaroyl derivatives than control. These results indicate that ectopic expression of the RsTAL gene in Arabidopsis enhanced the metabolic flux into the phenylpropanoid pathway and resulted in increased accumulation of flavonoids and phenylpropanoids.

dMvaT proteins are members of the H-NS family of proteins in pseudomonads. The IncP-7 conjugative plasmid pCAR1 carries an mvaT-homologous gene, pmr. In Pseudomonas putida KT2440 bearing pCAR1, pmr and the chromosomally carried homologous genes, turA and turB, are transcribed at high levels, and Pmr interacts with TurA and TurB in vitro. In the present study, we clarified how the three MvaT proteins regulate the transcriptome of P. putida KT2440(pCAR1). Analyses performed by a modified chromatin immunoprecipitation assay with microarray technology (ChIP-chip) suggested that the binding regions of Pmr, TurA, and TurB in the P. putida KT2440(pCAR1) genome are almost identical; nevertheless, transcriptomic analyses using mutants with deletions of the genes encoding the MvaT proteins during the log and early stationary growth phases clearly suggested that their regulons were different. Indeed, significant regulon dissimilarity was found between Pmr and the other two proteins. Transcription of a larger number of genes was affected by Pmr deletion during early stationary phase than during log phase, suggesting that Pmr ameliorates the effects of pCAR1 on host fitness more effectively during the early stationary phase. Alternatively, the similarity of the TurA and TurB regulons implied that they might play complementary roles as global transcriptional regulators in response to plasmid carriage.

Mitsuaria chitosanitabida gen. nov., sp. nov., an aerobic, chitosanase-producing member of the 'Betaproteobacteria' T , 12 and 13 were found to occupy a separate position in the 'Betaproteobacteria'. Roseateles depolymerans, Rubrivivax gelatinosus and Ideonella dechloratans were their closest neighbours (93-95 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). The 16S rRNA gene sequence and other characteristics suggested that strain 2 belonged to the genus Flavobacterium. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments supported the conclusion that strains 3001 T , 12 and 13 were of the same species (72-78 % DNA hybridization) and only distantly related to I. dechloratans and R. gelatinosus. It is proposed that strains 3001 T

The betaproteobacterium Mitsuaria chitosanitabida (formerly Matsuebacter chitosanotabidus) 3001 produces a chitosanase (ChoA) that is classified in glycosyl hydrolase family 80. While many chitosanase genes have been isolated from various bacteria to date, they show limited homology to the M. chitosanitabida 3001 chitosanase gene (choA). To investigate the phylogenetic distribution of chitosanases analogous to ChoA in nature, we identified 67 chitosan-degrading strains by screening and investigated their physiological and biological characteristics. We then searched for similarities to ChoA by Western blotting and Southern hybridization and selected 11 strains whose chitosanases showed the most similarity to ChoA. PCR amplification and sequencing of the chitosanase genes from these strains revealed high deduced amino acid sequence similarities to ChoA ranging from 77% to 99%. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences of the 11 selected strains indicated that they are widely distributed in the ␤ and ␥ subclasses of Proteobacteria and the Flavobacterium group. These observations suggest that the ChoA-like chitosanases that belong to family 80 occur widely in a broad variety of bacteria.Chitosan, a linear polymer composed of ␤-1,4-linked glucosamine (GlcN) residues with various numbers of N-acetylated residues, is a deacetylated derivative of chitin. The chitooligosaccharides produced by the enzymatic hydrolysis of chitosan are widely used in the food, agricultural, and pharmaceutical fields because of their various physiological activities.Chitosanases (EC 3.2.1.132) are glycosyl hydrolases that catalyze the hydrolysis of the ␤-1,4-glycosidic linkage of chitosan and thereby produce glucosamine oligosaccharides. To date, many chitosanases have been found in a variety of microorganisms, including bacteria (11, 18, 26, 29, 30, 42, 43, 44, 48), fungi (6, 8, 9, 10, 16, 38, 50), plants (27), and viruses (40). The chitosanases that have been sequenced so far have been classified into four different families in the classification system of glycosyl hydrolases: families 8, 46, 75, and 80 (12, 13, 14). This classification of the chitosanases is based on the amino acid sequence similarity of their catalytic domains. Family 8 includes five chitosanases from bacterial organisms along with cellulase, licheninase, and endo-1,4-␤-xylanase (17,24,45). Family 46 includes 18 chitosanases, 16 from bacterial organisms and 2 from Chlorella viruses (2,3,21,22,33,36,40,46,47). The 3-dimensional structures of the family-46 chitosanases from Streptomyces sp. strain N174 (20) and Bacillus circulans MH-K1 (31) and of the family-8 chitosanase from Bacillus sp. strain K17 (1) have been determined. The catalytic residues of the family-8 and -46 chitosanases are reported to be glutamic acid (Glu) and aspartic acid (Asp) (4). Family 75 includes 17 chitosanases, 14 and 3 of which are from fungi and bacteria, respectively (37, 49).Prior to this study, only two bacterial chitosanases have been classified into family 80 (http://afmb.cnrs-mrs.fr/CAZY/)...