Cross-family small GTPase ubiquitination by the intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila

• Published in: Molecular biology of the cell 2024-03, Vol.35 (3), p.ar27-ar27
• Main Authors: Steinbach, Adriana, Bhadkamkar, Varun, Jimenez-Morales, David, Stevenson, Erica, Jang, Gwendolyn M, Krogan, Nevan J, Swaney, Danielle L, Mukherjee, Shaeri
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Genetic aspects; Guanosine triphosphatase; Legionella pneumophila; Legionella pneumophila - metabolism; Ligases - metabolism; Mammals - metabolism; Methods; Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Ubiquitin - metabolism; Ubiquitin-proteasome system; Ubiquitination; Vacuoles - metabolism
• ISSN: 1059-1524; 1939-4586
• DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E23-06-0260

The intracellular bacterial pathogen ( ) manipulates eukaryotic host ubiquitination machinery to form its replicative vacuole. While nearly 10% of 's ∼330 secreted effector proteins are ubiquitin ligases or deubiquitinases, a comprehensive measure of temporally resolved changes in the endogenous host ubiquitinome during infection has not been undertaken. To elucidate how hijacks host cell ubiquitin signaling, we generated a proteome-wide analysis of changes in protein ubiquitination during infection. We discover that infection increases ubiquitination of host regulators of subcellular trafficking and membrane dynamics, most notably ∼40% of mammalian Ras superfamily small GTPases. We determine that these small GTPases undergo nondegradative ubiquitination at the -containing vacuole (LCV) membrane. Finally, we find that the bacterial effectors SidC/SdcA play a central role in cross-family small GTPase ubiquitination, and that these effectors function upstream of SidE family ligases in the polyubiquitination and retention of GTPases in the LCV membrane. This work highlights the extensive reconfiguration of host ubiquitin signaling by bacterial effectors during infection and establishes simultaneous ubiquitination of small GTPases across the Ras superfamily as a novel consequence of infection. Our findings position as a tool to better understand how small GTPases can be regulated by ubiquitination in uninfected contexts.