Precise timing of transcription by c-di-GMP coordinates cell cycle and morphogenesis in Caulobacter.

Bacteria adapt their growth rate to their metabolic status and environmental conditions by modulating the length of their G1 period. Here we demonstrate that a gradual increase in the concentration of the second messenger c-di-GMP determines precise gene expression during G1/S transition in Caulobacter crescentus. We show that c-di-GMP stimulates the kinase ShkA by binding to its central pseudo-receiver domain, activates the TacA transcription factor, and initiates a G1/S-specific transcription program leading to cell morphogenesis and S-phase entry. Activation of the ShkA-dependent genetic program causes c-di-GMP to reach peak levels, which triggers S-phase entry and promotes proteolysis of ShkA and TacA. Thus, a gradual increase of c-di-GMP results in precise control of ShkA-TacA activity, enabling G1/S-specific gene expression that coordinates cell cycle and morphogenesis.

Determination of phosphorylation sites in the DivIVA cytoskeletal protein of Streptomyces coelicolor by targeted LC-MS/MS.

The filamentous bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor modulates polar growth and branching by phosphorylating the cytoskeletal protein DivIVA. Previous MALDI-TOF analysis of DivIVA showed that a large 7.2 kDa tryptic peptide was multiply phosphorylated. To aid localization of the phosphorylation sites, we introduced additional tryptic cleavage sites into DivIVA, and the resulting phosphopeptides were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Phosphopeptide isomers could be separated chromatographically, but because of overlapping elution and spectrum quality, site assignment by standard software tools was ambiguous. Because fragment ions carrying the phosphate group are essential for confident localization, large numbers of spectra were collected using targeted LC-MS/MS, and a special script was developed for plotting the elution of site-determining fragments from those spectra under the XIC of the parent ions. Where multiple phosphopeptide isomers were present, the elution of the site-determining y-ions perfectly coincided with the elution of the corresponding phosphopeptide isomer. This method represents a useful tool for user inspection of spectra derived from phosphopeptide isomers and significantly increases confidence when defining phosphorylation sites. In this way, we show that DivIVA is phosphorylated in vivo on five sites in the C-terminal part of the protein (T304, S309, S338, S344, and S355). The data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium with identifier PXD000095.

Regulation of apical growth and hyphal branching in Streptomyces.

The filamentous bacteria Streptomyces grow by tip extension and through the initiation of new branches, and this apical growth is directed by a polarisome-like complex involving the essential polarity protein DivIVA. New branch sites must be marked de novo and, until recently, there was no understanding of how these new sites are selected. Equally, hyphal branching patterns are affected by environmental conditions, but there was no insight into how polar growth and hyphal branching might be regulated in response to external or internal cues. This review focuses on recent discoveries that reveal the principal mechanism of branch site selection in Streptomyces, and the first mechanism to be identified that regulates polarisome behaviour to modulate polar growth and hyphal branching.

The Ser/Thr protein kinase AfsK regulates polar growth and hyphal branching in the filamentous bacteria Streptomyces.

In cells that exhibit apical growth, mechanisms that regulate cell polarity are crucial for determination of cellular shape and for the adaptation of growth to intrinsic and extrinsic cues. Broadly conserved pathways control cell polarity in eukaryotes, but less is known about polarly growing prokaryotes. An evolutionarily ancient form of apical growth is found in the filamentous bacteria Streptomyces, and is directed by a polarisome-like complex involving the essential protein DivIVA. We report here that this bacterial polarization machinery is regulated by a eukaryotic-type Ser/Thr protein kinase, AfsK, which localizes to hyphal tips and phosphorylates DivIVA. During normal growth, AfsK regulates hyphal branching by modulating branch-site selection and some aspect of the underlying polarisome-splitting mechanism that controls branching of Streptomyces hyphae. Further, AfsK is activated by signals generated by the arrest of cell wall synthesis and directly communicates this to the polarisome by hyperphosphorylating DivIVA. Induction of high levels of DivIVA phosphorylation by using a constitutively active mutant AfsK causes disassembly of apical polarisomes, followed by establishment of multiple hyphal branches elsewhere in the cell, revealing a profound impact of this kinase on growth polarity. The function of AfsK is reminiscent of the phoshorylation of polarity proteins and polarisome components by Ser/Thr protein kinases in eukaryotes.

Mechanistic basis of branch-site selection in filamentous bacteria.

Many filamentous organisms, such as fungi, grow by tip-extension and by forming new branches behind the tips. A similar growth mode occurs in filamentous bacteria, including the genus Streptomyces, although here our mechanistic understanding has been very limited. The Streptomyces protein DivIVA is a critical determinant of hyphal growth and localizes in foci at hyphal tips and sites of future branch development. However, how such foci form was previously unknown. Here, we show experimentally that DivIVA focus-formation involves a novel mechanism in which new DivIVA foci break off from existing tip-foci, bypassing the need for initial nucleation or de novo branch-site selection. We develop a mathematical model for DivIVA-dependent growth and branching, involving DivIVA focus-formation by tip-focus splitting, focus growth, and the initiation of new branches at a critical focus size. We quantitatively fit our model to the experimentally-measured tip-to-branch and branch-to-branch length distributions. The model predicts a particular bimodal tip-to-branch distribution results from tip-focus splitting, a prediction we confirm experimentally. Our work provides mechanistic understanding of a novel mode of hyphal growth regulation that may be widely employed.