CzcR-dependent reduction of catalase gene expression and induction of catalase activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa during zinc excess

• Published in: BMC microbiology 2024-11, Vol.24 (1), p.509-11
• Main Authors: Li, Ting, Mo, Zhifeng, Zhao, Yuying, Cao, Huiluo, Sheng, Shuo, Xu, Zeling
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anopheles; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial infections; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Biosynthesis; Catalase; Catalase - genetics; Catalase - metabolism; Causes of; Cell culture; Comparative analysis; CzcS/CzcR; Development and progression; Enzymes; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Gene regulation; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic research; Genomes; Health aspects; Homeostasis; Human performance; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrogen Peroxide - metabolism; Kinases; Microbiological research; Oxidative stress; Oxidative tolerance; P. aeruginosa; Pathogens; Pattern analysis; Peroxidase; Physiological aspects; Physiology; Plasmids; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - enzymology; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - genetics; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - metabolism; Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections; Regulatory mechanisms (biology); Signalling systems; Streptococcus infections; Tetracycline; Tetracyclines; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transcriptomes; Two-component system; Zinc; Zinc - metabolism; Zinc in the body
• ISSN: 1471-2180; 1471-2180
• DOI: 10.1186/s12866-024-03671-0

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is able to survive, grow, and cause severe infections at different sites throughout the human body owing to its ability to sense diverse signals and precisely modulate target gene expression using its abundant signaling systems. Release of zinc (Zn) and hydrogen peroxide (H O ) within the phagocyte are two major host strategies to defend against bacterial infections. It was previously shown that the response regulator CzcR controls global gene expression including catalase genes during Zn excess, but regulatory mechanisms of catalase gene expression and the role of CzcR in H O tolerance remain unclear. In the study, comparative transcriptome analysis comprehensively described the CzcR-dependent and -independent gene regulatory pattern in P. aeruginosa during Zn excess, which revealed the counteractive co-regulation of two key H O -detoxifying catalase genes katA and katB through CzcR-dependent and -independent pathways in response to Zn excess. Protein-DNA interaction assay demonstrated that CzcR negatively regulates the expression of catalase genes katA and katB by directly binding to their promoters. While interestingly, we further showed that CzcR positively regulates H O tolerance by inducing the catalase activity during Zn excess. This study reported the opposite functions of CzcR in negatively regulating the expression of catalase genes katA and katB but in positively regulating the activity of catalase and H O tolerance during Zn excess in P. aeruginosa.