Proteolytic control of FixT by the Lon protease impacts FixLJ signaling in Caulobacter crescentus

• Published in: Journal of bacteriology 2024-07, Vol.206 (7), p.e0023724
• Main Authors: Yigit, Kubra, Chien, Peter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerobic conditions; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; Bacteriology; Biosynthesis; Caulobacter crescentus; Caulobacter crescentus - enzymology; Caulobacter crescentus - genetics; Caulobacter crescentus - growth & development; Caulobacter crescentus - metabolism; Cell morphology; Cell signaling; Defects; FixL protein; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Gene regulation; Genes; Genotype & phenotype; Heme; Heme - metabolism; Histidine Kinase; Lon protein; Negative feedback; Oxygen; Protease; Protease La - genetics; Protease La - metabolism; Proteinase; Proteinase inhibitors; Proteolysis; Research Article; Signal Transduction; Stress; Stress response; Transcription factors; Transcriptomics
• ISSN: 0021-9193; 1098-5530; 1098-5530
• DOI: 10.1128/jb.00237-24

Responding to changes in oxygen levels is critical for aerobic microbes. In , low oxygen is sensed by the FixL-FixJ two-component system which induces multiple genes, including those involved in heme biosynthesis, to accommodate microaerobic conditions. The FixLJ inhibitor FixT is also induced under low oxygen conditions and is degraded by the Lon protease when the oxygen levels are sufficient, which together provides negative feedback proposed to adjust FixLJ signaling thresholds during changing conditions. Here, we address whether degradation of FixT by the Lon protease contributes to phenotypic defects associated with loss of Lon. We find that ∆ strains are deficient in FixLJ-dependent heme biosynthesis, consistent with elevated FixT levels as deletion of suppresses this defect. Transcriptomics validate this result as, along with heme biosynthesis, there is diminished expression of many FixL-activated genes in ∆ . However, stabilization of FixT in ∆ n strains does not contribute to restoring any known Lon-related fitness defect, such as cell morphology defects or stress sensitivity. In fact, cells lacking both FixT and Lon are compromised in viability during growth in standard aerobic conditions. Our work highlights the complexity of protease-dependent regulation of transcription factors and explains the molecular basis of defective heme accumulation in Lon-deficient . The Lon protease shapes protein quality control, signaling pathways, and stress responses in many bacteria species. Loss of Lon often results in multiple phenotypic consequences. In this work, we found a connection between the Lon protease and deficiencies in heme accumulation that then led to our finding of a global change in gene expression due in part to degradation of a regulator of the hypoxic response. However, loss of degradation of this regulator did not explain other phenotypes associated with Lon deficiencies demonstrating the complex and multiple pathways that this highly conserved protease can impact.