In silico analysis of AhyI protein and AI-1 inhibition using N-cis-octadec-9z-enoyl-l-homoserine lactone inhibitor in Aeromonas hydrophila.

AhyI is homologous to the protein LuxI and is conserved throughout bacterial species including Aeromonas hydrophila. A. hydrophila causes opportunistic infections in fish and other aquatic organisms. Furthermore, this pathogennot only poses a great risk for the aquaculture industry, but also for human public health. AhyI (expressing acylhomoserine lactone) is responsible for the biosynthesis of autoinducer-1 (AI-1), commonly referred to as a quorum sensing (QS) signaling molecule, which plays an essential role in bacterial communication. Studying protein structure is essential for understanding molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity in microbes. Here, we have deduced a predicted structure of AhyI protein and characterized its function using in silico methods to aid the development of new treatments for controlling A.hydrophila infections. In addition to modeling AhyI, an appropriate inhibitor molecule was identified via high throughput virtual screening (HTVS) using mcule drug-like databases.The AhyI-inhibitor N-cis-octadec-9Z-enoyl-l-Homoserine lactone was selected withthe best drug score. In order to understand the pocket sites (ligand binding sites) and their interaction with the selected inhibitor, docking (predicted protein binding complex) servers were used and the selected ligand was docked with the predicted AhyI protein model. Remarkably, N-cis-octadec-9Z-enoyl-l-Homoserine lactone established interfaces with the protein via16 residues (V24, R27, F28, R31, W34, V36, D45, M77, F82, T101, R102, L103, 104, V143, S145, and V168), which are involved with regulating mechanisms of inhibition. These proposed predictions suggest that this inhibitor molecule may be used as a novel drug candidate for the inhibition of auto-inducer-1 (AI-1) activity.The N-cis-octadec-9Z-enoyl-l-Homoserine lactone inhibitor molecule was studied on cultured bacteria to validate its potency against AI-1 production. At a concentration of 40 µM, optimal inhibition efficiency of AI-1 was observedin bacterial culture media.These results suggest that the inhibitor molecule N-cis-octadec-9Z-enoyl-l-Homoserine lactone is a competitive inhibitor of AI-1 biosynthesis.

Four LysR-type transcriptional regulator family proteins (LTTRs) involved in antibiotic resistance in Aeromonas hydrophila.

Aeromonas hydrophila is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes serious infections in aquaculture and exhibits significant multidrug resistance. The LysR-type transcriptional regulator (LTTR) family proteins are a well-known group of transcriptional regulators involved in diverse physiological functions. However, the role of LTTRs in the regulation of bacterial resistance to antibiotics is still largely unknown. In this study, to further investigate the role of four putative LTTR family proteins (A0KIU1, A0KJ82, A0KPK0, and A0KQ63) in antibiotic resistance in A. hydrophila, their genes were cloned and overexpressed in engineered Escherichia coli. After the optimization of experimental conditions including incubation time, temperature, and IPTG concentration, these proteins were successfully purified, and their specific antibodies against mice were obtained. Using western blot analysis, we found that these LTTR family proteins were downregulated in A. hydrophila following antibiotic treatment, indicating that they may be involved in the regulation of antibiotic resistance. Additionally, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assays of chloramphenicol (CM), chlortetracycline (CTC), ciprofloxacin (CF), furazolidone (FZ), and balofloxacin (BF) in E. coli showed that overexpression of these LTTRs led to increased sensitivity to several antibiotics. To further validate their functional role in antibiotic resistance, we demonstrated that bacteria with loss of A0KQ63 (ΔAHA_3980) exhibited multi-drug resistance properties. Our results indicate that these LTTR family proteins may play an important role in the antibiotic resistance of A. hydrophila, and the that underlying mechanisms controlling antibiotic resistance should be further investigated.

Proteomics analysis reveals the effect of Aeromonas hydrophila sirtuin CobB on biological functions.

Our previous studies have profiled lysine acetylation and succinylation modifications in Aeromonas hydrophila protein and have found that CobB may be involved in lysine deacylation; however, its effects on bacterial biological function are still unknown. In this study, a data-independent acquisition (DIA)-based proteomics method was used to compare the protein abundance between cob-deleted mutants and wild-type strains. Of the total 2385 identified proteins, 385 were found to have increased abundance, while only 46 showed decreased abundance. Data analysis revealed that many proteins in six metabolic pathways, ribosome, the bacterial secretion system, protein export, RNA degradation, beta-Lactam resistance and oxidative phosphorylation, were affected by the deletion of cobB. Some proteins, such as outer membrane proteins, the two-component regulatory systems and transcriptional factor, were also regulated by cobB. The following phenotype assays confirmed that the ΔcobB mutant produced more biofilm, migrated farther in soft agar, and was more sensitive to oxidative stress than its WT parent. Taken together, the results presented herein provide insights into the behaviors of sirtuin protein CobB in bacteria and demonstrate its important biological functions in A. hydrophila. BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The sirtuin protein CobB play crucial roles on lysine deacylation, such as desuccinylation and deacetylation in many bacterial species, while the intrinsic behavior of CobB on bacteria remains elusive. The current DIA-based quantitative proteomics analysis showed that the deletion of A. hydrophila cobB significantly affect the intracellular biological processes. Further phenotype assays validated proteomics results. Overall, our data further confirmed the important roles of CobB on the complex protein-protein interaction network regulation in A. hydrophila.

SWATH based quantitative proteomics analysis reveals Hfq2 play an important role on pleiotropic physiological functions in Aeromonas hydrophila.

The RNA-binding protein Hfq protein is a well-characterized post-transcriptional regulator and plays an important role in the regulation of various physiological functions. Most bacterial genomes have only one copy of hfq, but a few bacterial species carry another distinct copy of hfq (hfq2) on the chromosome. However, the physiological properties of Hfq2 remain elusive. Here, we successfully constructed an hfq2 knock-out strain of Aeromonas hydrophila ATCC 7966. Phenotype assays showed that hfq2 deletion significantly increased extracellular protease activity, chemotaxis and swarming motility; increased low temperature, acidic pH, and basic pH resistance; and increased sensitivity to H2O2 stress and high temperatures. A SWATH-based quantitative proteomics method was used to compare the differential expression of proteins between the ∆hfq2 mutant and the wild-type strain. Bioinformatic analysis showed that proteins associated with metabolic pathways were mostly upregulated, while those associated with ribosome subunits were mostly downregulated. Moreover, the deletion of hfq2 leads to the increased expression of several DNA- or RNA-binding regulators, including Hfq and the catabolite gene activator (Crp), and the decreased expression of OmpR. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the effects of Hfq2 on physiological function at the protein level. BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Most of bacterial genome has only one hfq copy, while only few bacterial species have two distinct copies in chromosome, and there are few documents about the biological functions of Hfq2. The current phenotype assays showed that Hfq2 plays important roles on bacterial physiological functions such as chemotaxis, swarming motility, ECPase activity and response to various environmental stresses. To better understanding the biological behavior of this protein, a SWATH based quantitative proteomics method was used to compare the altered proteins between ∆hfq2 and wide type strain. Bioinformatics analysis showed that ∆hfq2 significantly affects central metabolic pathway and translation related proteins. Moreover, the deletion of hfq2 lead to the increased expression of post-transcriptional regulator Hfq and catabolite gene activator Crp, and the down regulation of two-component regulatory system regulator OmpR. Our results indicate that Hfq2 is not a pseudogene but plays important roles on the essential physiological functions in A. hydrophila. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the molecular function of Hfq2 at proteomics level.

Quantitative proteomic analysis reveals that chemotaxis is involved in chlortetracycline resistance of Aeromonas hydrophila.

In recent years, Aeromonas hydrophila, which has been classified as a food borne pathogen, has presented with increased levels of antibiotic resistance, with the mechanisms of this resistance being poorly understood. In this study, iTRAQ coupled mass spectrometry was employed to compare differentially expressed proteins in chlortetracycline (CTC) resistant A. hydrophila relative to a control strain. Result showed that a total of 234 differential proteins including 151 down-regulated and 83 up-regulated were identified in chlortetracycline resistance strain. Bioinformatics analysis showed that chemotaxis related proteins, such as CheA-2, CheR-3, CheW-2, EnvZ, PolA, FliS and FliG were down-regulated in addition to previously reported tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) related proteins also being down-regulated. A subset of identified differentially expressed proteins was then further validated via Western blotting. Exogenous metabolite combined with CTC further enhanced the bacterial susceptibilities to CTC in A. hydrophila. Furthermore, a bacterial survival capability assay showed that several chemotaxis related mutants, such as ΔcheR-3 and ΔAHA_0305, may affect the antimicrobial susceptibility of A. hydrophila. Overall, these findings contribute to a further understanding of the mechanism of CTC resistance in A. hydrophila and may contribute to the development of more effective future treatments. BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: A. hydrophila is a well-known fish pathogenic bacterium and has presented with increasing levels of antibiotic resistance, with the mechanisms of this resistance being poorly understood. Our current study compared the differentially expression proteins between chlortetracycline (CTC) resistant and control stains via an iTARQ-based quantitative proteomics method. Chemotaxis related proteins were down-regulated in CTC resistant strain but exogenous metabolite addition increased bacterial susceptibility in A.hydrophila. Significantly, chemotaxis related genes depletion affected antimicrobial susceptibilities of A.hydrophila indicating the role of chemotaxis process in antibiotics resistance.

Reprint of: Quantitative proteomic analysis reveals that chemotaxis is involved in chlortetracycline resistance of Aeromonas hydrophila.

In recent years, Aeromonas hydrophila, which has been classified as a food borne pathogen, has presented with increased levels of antibiotic resistance, with the mechanisms of this resistance being poorly understood. In this study, iTRAQ coupled mass spectrometry was employed to compare differentially expressed proteins in chlortetracycline (CTC) resistant A. hydrophila relative to a control strain. Result showed that a total of 234 differential proteins including 151 down-regulated and 83 up-regulated were identified in chlortetracycline resistance strain. Bioinformatics analysis showed that chemotaxis related proteins, such as CheA-2, CheR-3, CheW-2, EnvZ, PolA, FliS and FliG were down-regulated in addition to previously reported tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) related proteins also being down-regulated. A subset of identified differentially expressed proteins was then further validated via Western blotting. Exogenous metabolite combined with CTC further enhanced the bacterial susceptibilities to CTC in A. hydrophila. Furthermore, a bacterial survival capability assay showed that several chemotaxis related mutants, such as ΔcheR-3 and ΔAHA_0305, may affect the antimicrobial susceptibility of A. hydrophila. Overall, these findings contribute to a further understanding of the mechanism of CTC resistance in A. hydrophila and may contribute to the development of more effective future treatments. BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE: A. hydrophila is a well-known fish pathogenic bacterium and has presented with increasing levels of antibiotic resistance, with the mechanisms of this resistance being poorly understood. Our current study compared the differentially expression proteins between chlortetracycline (CTC) resistant and control stains via an iTARQ-based quantitative proteomics method. Chemotaxis related proteins were down-regulated in CTC resistant strain but exogenous metabolite addition increased bacterial susceptibility in A.hydrophila. Significantly, chemotaxis related genes depletion affected antimicrobial susceptibilities of A.hydrophila indicating the role of chemotaxis process in antibiotics resistance.