The expression of virulence determinants is tightly regulated so that they are produced at the right place and for the correct time during infection of an animal or plant host. The master regulator of Salmonella pathogenicity is the PhoP/PhoQ system, which consists of the sensor for extracytoplasmic Mg2+ PhoQ and the DNA binding transcriptional regulator PhoP. We have determined that PhoP-dependent genes can be differentially expressed in response to additional signals, which are often detected by the leader regions of PhoP-dependent mRNAs. This proposal describes experiments that explore: first, the identity of the signals detected by the leader sequence of the mgtCBR operon, which encodes proteins involved in Mg2+ homeostasis and virulence;second, the mechanisms by which the leader sequences of the mgtA and mgtCBR genes control expression of the corresponding coding regions;and third, novel PhoP-dependent genes that are regulated after the initiation of gene transcription step. An accomplishment of these goals will take us closer to understanding the mechanisms by which a microbe can modify its gene expression program in response to environmental cues as well as intracellular signals. Our project addresses the defining character that distinguishes bacteria and archeae from organisms that possess a nucleus: the coupling of transcription and translation. Therefore, it is anticipated that our findings will provide valuable insight into gene regulation in other bacterial species and by other regulatory systems.
Bacterial pathogens exert tight control over their virulence determinants. This proposal examines how this control is mediated by the leader region of certain mRNAs, which can respond to a variety of chemical and physical signals by modifying whether the corresponding coding regions are expressed.
| Yeom, Jinki; Gao, Xiaohui; Groisman, Eduardo A (2018) Reduction in adaptor amounts establishes degradation hierarchy among protease substrates. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115:E4483-E4492 |
| Pontes, Mauricio H; Groisman, Eduardo A (2018) Protein synthesis controls phosphate homeostasis. Genes Dev 32:79-92 |
| Kriner, Michelle A; Groisman, Eduardo A (2017) RNA secondary structures regulate three steps of Rho-dependent transcription termination within a bacterial mRNA leader. Nucleic Acids Res 45:631-642 |
| Yeom, Jinki; Wayne, Kyle J; Groisman, Eduardo A (2017) Sequestration from Protease Adaptor Confers Differential Stability to Protease Substrate. Mol Cell 66:234-246.e5 |
| Pontes, Mauricio H; Yeom, Jinki; Groisman, Eduardo A (2016) Reducing Ribosome Biosynthesis Promotes Translation during Low Mg2+ Stress. Mol Cell 64:480-492 |
| Kriner, Michelle A; Sevostyanova, Anastasia; Groisman, Eduardo A (2016) Learning from the Leaders: Gene Regulation by the Transcription Termination Factor Rho. Trends Biochem Sci 41:690-699 |
| Park, Sun-Yang; Pontes, Mauricio H; Groisman, Eduardo A (2015) Flagella-independent surface motility in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:1850-5 |
| Kriner, Michelle A; Groisman, Eduardo A (2015) The Bacterial Transcription Termination Factor Rho Coordinates Mg(2+) Homeostasis with Translational Signals. J Mol Biol 427:3834-49 |
| Pontes, Mauricio H; Lee, Eun-Jin; Choi, Jeongjoon et al. (2015) Salmonella promotes virulence by repressing cellulose production. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:5183-8 |
| Sevostyanova, Anastasia; Groisman, Eduardo A (2015) An RNA motif advances transcription by preventing Rho-dependent termination. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:E6835-43 |
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