Frontiers in Microbiology (Oct 2018)

Expression Patterns, Genomic Conservation and Input Into Developmental Regulation of the GGDEF/EAL/HD-GYP Domain Proteins in Streptomyces

  • Mahmoud M. Al-Bassam,
  • Julian Haist,
  • Sara Alina Neumann,
  • Sandra Lindenberg,
  • Natalia Tschowri

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02524
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

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To proliferate, antibiotic-producing Streptomyces undergo a complex developmental transition from vegetative growth to the production of aerial hyphae and spores. This morphological switch is controlled by the signaling molecule cyclic bis-(3′,5′) di-guanosine-mono-phosphate (c-di-GMP) that binds to the master developmental regulator, BldD, leading to repression of key sporulation genes during vegetative growth. However, a systematical analysis of all the GGDEF/EAL/HD-GYP proteins that control c-di-GMP levels in Streptomyces is still lacking. Here, we have FLAG-tagged all 10 c-di-GMP turnover proteins in Streptomyces venezuelae and characterized their expression patterns throughout the life cycle, revealing that the diguanylate cyclase (DGC) CdgB and the phosphodiesterase (PDE) RmdB are the most abundant GGDEF/EAL proteins. Moreover, we have deleted all the genes coding for c-di-GMP turnover enzymes individually and analyzed morphogenesis of the mutants in macrocolonies. We show that the composite GGDEF-EAL protein CdgC is an active DGC and that deletion of the DGCs cdgB and cdgC enhance sporulation whereas deletion of the PDEs rmdA and rmdB delay development in S. venezuelae. By comparing the pan genome of 93 fully sequenced Streptomyces species we show that the DGCs CdgA, CdgB, and CdgC, and the PDE RmdB represent the most conserved c-di-GMP-signaling proteins in the genus Streptomyces.

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