Biofilm Formation by Mutant Strains of Bacilli under Different Stress Conditions.

Bacillus subtilis is traditionally classified as a PGPR that colonizes plant roots through biofilm formation. The current study focused on investigating the influence of various factors on bacilli biofilm formation. In the course of the study, the levels of biofilm formation by the model strain B. subtilis WT 168 and on its basis created regulatory mutants, as well as strains of bacilli with deleted extracellular proteases under conditions of changes in temperature, pH, salt and oxidative stress and presence of divalent metals ions. B. subtilis 168 forms halotolerant and oxidative stress-resistant biofilms at a temperature range of 22 °C-45 °C and a pH range of 6-8.5. The presence of Ca2+, Mn2+ and Mg2+ upsurges the biofilm development while an inhibition with Zn2+. Biofilm formation level was higher in protease-deficient strains. Relative to the wild-type strain, degU mutants showed a decrease in biofilm formation, abrB mutants formed biofilms more efficiently. spo0A mutants showed a plummeted film formation for the first 36 h, followed by a surge after. The effect of metal ions and NaCl on the mutant biofilms formation is described. Confocal microscopy indicated that B. subtilis mutants and protease-deficient strains differ in matrix structure. The highest content of amyloid-like proteins in mutant biofilms was registered for degU-mutants and protease-deficient strains.

Characterization of Bacillus pumilus Strains with Targeted Gene Editing for Antimicrobial Peptides and Sporulation Factor.

Due to their capacity to produce antimicrobial peptides that can prevent the growth of diseases, many Bacillus spp. are beneficial to plants. In this study, we looked into the antagonistic activity of the B. pumilus 3-19 strain and its derivatives following targeted genome editing. Two peptide genes with antibacterial action, bacilysin (bac) and bacteriocin (bact), and the sigF gene, which encodes the sigma factor of sporulation, were specifically inactivated using the CRISPR-Cas9 system in the genome of B. pumilus 3-19. Antibacterial activity against B. cereus and Pantoea brenneri decreased as a result of the inactivation of target genes in the B. pumilus 3-19 genome, with a noticeable effect against bacilysin. The growth dynamics of the culture changed when the bac, bact, and sigF genes were inactivated, and the altered strains had less proteolytic activity. An asporogenic mutant of B. pumilus 3-19 was obtained by inactivating the sigF gene. It has been proven that bacilysin plays a unique part in the development of B. pumilus 3-19's antagonistic action against soil microorganisms.

Regulating Pathways of Bacillus pumilus Adamalysin-like Metalloendopeptidase Expression.

The minor secreted proteinase of B. pumilus 3-19 MprBp classified as the unique bacillary adamalysin-like enzyme of the metzincin clan. The functional role of this metalloproteinase in the bacilli cells is not clear. Analysis of the regulatory region of the mprBp gene showed the presence of potential binding sites to the transcription regulatory factors Spo0A (sporulation) and DegU (biodegradation). The study of mprBp activity in mutant strains of B. subtilis defective in regulatory proteins of the Spo- and Deg-systems showed that the mprBp gene is partially controlled by the Deg-system of signal transduction and independent from the Spo-system.

Identification, functional and structural characterization of novel aminoglycoside phosphotransferase APH(3″)-Id from Streptomyces rimosus subsp. rimosus ATCC 10970.

In this study, we identified a new gene (aph(3″)-Id) coding for a streptomycin phosphotransferase by using phylogenetic comparative analysis of the genome of the oxytetracycline-producing strain Streptomyces rimosus ATCC 10970. Cloning the aph(3″)-Id gene in E.coli and inducing its expression led to an increase in the minimum inhibitory concentration of the recombinant E.coli strain to streptomycin reaching 350 µg/ml. To evaluate the phosphotransferase activity of the recombinant protein APH(3″)-Id we carried out thin-layer chromatography of the putative 32P-labeled streptomycin phosphate. We also performed a spectrophotometric analysis to determine the production of ADP coupled to NADH oxidation. Here are the kinetic parameters of the streptomycin phosphotransferase APH(3″)-Id: Km 80.4 µM, Vmax 6.45 µmol/min/mg and kcat 1.73 s-1. We demonstrated for the first time the ability of the aminoglycoside phototransferase (APH(3″)-Id) to undergo autophosphorylation in vitro. The 3D structures of APH(3″)-Id in its unliganded state and in ternary complex with streptomycin and ADP were obtained. The structure of the ternary complex is the first example of this class of enzymes with bound streptomycin. Comparison of the obtained structures with those of other aminoglycoside phosphotransferases revealed peculiar structure of the substrate-binding pocket reflecting its specificity to a particular antibiotic.

Structural characterization of the novel aminoglycoside phosphotransferase AphVIII from Streptomyces rimosus with enzymatic activity modulated by phosphorylation.

Aminoglycoside phosphotransferases represent a broad class of enzymes that promote bacterial resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics via the phosphorylation of hydroxyl groups in the latter. Here we report the spatial structure of the 3'-aminoglycoside phosphotransferase of novel VIII class (AphVIII) solved by X-ray diffraction method with a resolution of 2.15 Å. Deep analysis of APHVIII structure and its comparison with known structures of aminoglycoside phosphotransferases of various types reveals that AphVIII has a typical two-domain fold and, however, possesses some unique characteristics that distinguish the enzyme from its known homologues. The most important difference is the presence of the activation loop with unique Ser146 residue. We demonstrate that in the apo-state of the enzyme the activation loop does not interact with other parts of the enzyme and seems to adopt catalytically competent state only after substrate binding.