SummaryBacterial conjugation is important for the acquisition of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes. We investigated the mechanism of conjugation in Grampositive pathogens using a model plasmid pCW3 from Clostridium perfringens. pCW3 encodes tetracycline resistance and contains the tcp locus, which is essential for conjugation. We showed that the unique TcpC protein (359 amino acids, 41 kDa) was required for efficient conjugative transfer, localized to the cell membrane independently of other conjugation proteins, and that membrane localization was important for its function, oligomerization and interaction with the conjugation proteins TcpA, TcpH and TcpG. The crystal structure of the C-terminal component of TcpC (TcpC 99-359) was determined to 1.8-Å resolution. TcpC99-359 contained two NTF2-like domains separated by a short linker. Unexpectedly, comparative structural analysis showed that each of these domains was structurally homologous to the periplasmic region of VirB8, a component of the type IV secretion system from Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Bacterial two-hybrid studies revealed that the C-terminal domain was critical for interactions with other conjugation proteins. The N-terminal region of TcpC was required for efficient conjugation, oligomerization and protein-protein interactions. We conclude that by forming oligomeric complexes, TcpC contributes to the stability and integrity of the conjugation apparatus, facilitating efficient pCW3 transfer.
bTnpX is a site-specific recombinase responsible for the excision and insertion of the transposons Tn4451 and Tn4453 in Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium difficile, respectively. Here, we exploit phenotypic features of TnpX to facilitate genetic mutagenesis and complementation studies. Genetic manipulation of bacteria often relies on the use of antibiotic resistance genes; however, a limited number are available for use in the clostridia. The ability of TnpX to recognize and excise specific DNA fragments was exploited here as the basis of an antibiotic resistance marker recycling system, specifically to remove antibiotic resistance genes from plasmids in Escherichia coli and from marked chromosomal C. perfringens mutants. This methodology enabled the construction of a C. perfringens plc virR double mutant by allowing the removal and subsequent reuse of the same resistance gene to construct a second mutation. Genetic complementation can be challenging when the gene of interest encodes a product toxic to E. coli. We show that TnpX represses expression from its own promoter, P attCI , which can be exploited to facilitate the cloning of recalcitrant genes in E. coli for subsequent expression in the heterologous host C. perfringens. Importantly, this technology expands the repertoire of tools available for the genetic manipulation of the clostridia.T he clostridia are a diverse group of bacteria, incorporating both pathogenic and industrially important species. Genetic manipulation of clostridia can be challenging. The recent introduction of TargeTron technology, using mobile group II introns to disrupt the gene of interest (1-3), has improved researchers' abilities to generate targeted gene disruptions; however, the tools available for use in the clostridia are still limited. Antibiotic resistance cassettes are commonly used to select for relatively rare recombination events in attempts to introduce DNA onto another DNA molecule in vivo. The number of antibiotic resistance markers available for use within a particular species or strain can sometimes be limited, restricting a researcher's ability to manipulate these strains. When using the TargeTron system, there are few antibiotic resistance retrotransposition-activated markers (RAMs) available, and only one is currently widely used in the clostridia (ermB RAM) (1, 4, 5). Without multiple resistance markers at one's disposal, the ability to remove an integrated marker for subsequent reuse becomes essential. The FLP recombinase system to remove antibiotic resistance markers (6) has been used in the nonpathogenic clostridial species Clostridium acetobutylicum (7, 8); however, to date, there have been no reports of this system being used on clinically important clostridial species. Here, we describe the use of an alternative system for marker recycling in the human and animal pathogen Clostridium perfringens based on the clostridial recombinase TnpX.TnpX is a site-specific serine recombinase encoded by the Tn4451/53 family of clostridial mobilizable transposons (...
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