RESUMO
Gyrase-mediated hypernegative supercoiling is one manifestation of R-loop formation, a phenomenon that is normally suppressed by topoisomerase I (topA) in Escherichia coli. Overproduction of RNase HI (rnhA), an enzyme that removes the RNA moiety of R-loops, prevents hypernegative supercoiling and allows growth of topA null mutants. We previously showed that topA and rnhA null mutations are incompatible. We now report that such mutants were viable when RNase HI or topoisomerase III was expressed from a plasmid-borne gene. Surprisingly, DNA of topA null mutants became relaxed rather than hypernegatively supercoiled following depletion of RNase HI activity. This result failed to correlate with the cellular concentration of gyrase or topoisomerase IV (the other relaxing enzyme in the cell) or with transcription-induced supercoiling. Rather, intracellular DNA relaxation in the absence of RNase HI was related to inhibition of gyrase activity both in vivo and in extracts. Cells lacking topA and rnhA also exhibited properties consistent with segregation defects. Overproduction of topoisomerase III, an enzyme that can carry out DNA decatenation, corrected the segregation defects without restoring supercoiling activity. Collectively these data reveal (i) the existence of a cellular response to loss of RNase HI that counters the supercoiling activity of gyrase, and (ii) supercoiling-independent segregation defects due to loss of RNase HI from topA null mutants. Thus RNase HI plays a more central role in DNA topology than previously thought.
Assuntos
Segregação de Cromossomos/genética , DNA Super-Helicoidal/metabolismo , DNA Super-Helicoidal/ultraestrutura , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/fisiologia , Escherichia coli/enzimologia , Ribonuclease H/fisiologia , DNA Topoisomerases Tipo I/genética , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/ultraestrutura , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Proteínas Repressoras/genética , Proteínas Repressoras/metabolismo , Ribonuclease H/genéticaRESUMO
Transcription-induced hypernegative supercoiling is a hallmark of Escherichia coli topoisomerase I (topA) mutants. However, its physiological significance has remained unclear. Temperature downshift of a mutant yielded transient growth arrest and a parallel increase in hypernegative supercoiling that was more severe with lower temperature. Both properties were alleviated by overexpression of RNase HI. While ribosomes in extracts showed normal activity when obtained during growth arrest, mRNA on ribosomes was reduced for fis and shorter for crp, polysomes were much less abundant relative to monosomes, and protein synthesis rate dropped, as did the ratio of large to small proteins. Altered processing and degradation of lacA and fis mRNA was also observed. These data are consistent with truncation of mRNA during growth arrest. These effects were not affected by a mutation in the gene encoding RNase E, indicating that this endonuclease is not involved in the abnormal mRNA processing. They were also unaffected by spectinomycin, an inhibitor of protein synthesis, which argued against induction of RNase activity. In vitro transcription revealed that R-loop formation is more extensive on hypernegatively supercoiled templates. These results allow us, for the first time, to present a model by which hypernegative supercoiling inhibits growth. In this model, the introduction of hypernegative supercoiling by gyrase facilitates degradation of nascent RNA; overproduction of RNase HI limits the accumulation of hypernegative supercoiling, thereby preventing extensive RNA degradation.
Assuntos
DNA Bacteriano/metabolismo , DNA Super-Helicoidal/metabolismo , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Escherichia coli/metabolismo , Proteína Receptora de AMP Cíclico/genética , Proteína Receptora de AMP Cíclico/metabolismo , DNA Girase/genética , DNA Girase/metabolismo , DNA Topoisomerases Tipo I/genética , DNA Topoisomerases Tipo I/metabolismo , DNA Bacteriano/química , DNA Bacteriano/genética , DNA Super-Helicoidal/química , DNA Super-Helicoidal/genética , Escherichia coli/genética , Escherichia coli/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Fator Proteico para Inversão de Estimulação/genética , Fator Proteico para Inversão de Estimulação/metabolismo , Conformação de Ácido Nucleico , Oxirredutases/genética , Oxirredutases/metabolismo , Biossíntese de Proteínas , Estabilidade de RNA , Ribonuclease H/genética , Ribonuclease H/metabolismo , Ribossomos/metabolismo , TemperaturaRESUMO
Transcription in the absence of topoisomerase I, but in the presence of DNA gyrase, can result in the formation of hypernegatively supercoiled DNA and associated R-loops. In this paper, we have used several strategies to study the effects of elongation/termination properties of RNA polymerase on such transcription-induced supercoiling. Effects on R-loop formation were exacerbated when cells were exposed to translation inhibitors, a condition that stimulated the accumulation of R-loop-dependent hypernegative supercoiling. Translation inhibitors were not acting by decreasing (p)ppGpp levels as the absence of (p)ppGpp in spoT relA mutant strains had little effect on hypernegative supercoiling. However, an rpoB mutation leading to the accumulation of truncated RNAs considerably reduced R-loop-dependent hypernegative supercoiling. Transcription of an rrnB fragment preceded by a mutated and inactive boxA sequence to abolish the rrnB antitermination system also considerably reduced R-loop-dependent supercoiling. Taken together, our results indicate that RNA polymerase elongation/termination properties can have a major impact on R-loop-dependent supercoiling. We discuss different possibilities by which RNA polymerase directly or indirectly participates in R-loop formation in Escherichia coli. Finally, our results also indicate that what determines the steady-state level of hypernegatively supercoiled DNA in topA null mutants is likely to be complex and involves a multitude of factors, including the status of RNA polymerase, transcription-translation coupling, the cellular level of RNase HI, the status of DNA gyrase and the rate of relaxation of supercoiled DNA.