The Phage-Encoded N-Acetyltransferase Rac Mediates Inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Transcription by Cleavage of the RNA Polymerase Alpha Subunit.
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| Abstract |
In this study, we describe the biological function of the phage-encoded protein RNA polymerase alpha subunit cleavage protein (Rac), a predicted Gcn5-related acetyltransferase encoded by phiKMV-like viruses. These phages encode a single-subunit RNA polymerase for transcription of their late (structure- and lysis-associated) genes, whereas the bacterial RNA polymerase is used at the earlier stages of infection. Rac mediates the inactivation of bacterial transcription by introducing a specific cleavage in the α subunit of the bacterial RNA polymerase. This cleavage occurs within the flexible linker sequence and disconnects the C-terminal domain, required for transcription initiation from most highly active cellular promoters. To achieve this, Rac likely taps into a novel post-translational modification (PTM) mechanism within the host Pseudomonas aeruginosa. From an evolutionary perspective, this novel phage-encoded regulation mechanism confirms the importance of PTMs in the prokaryotic metabolism and represents a new way by which phages can hijack the bacterial host metabolism.
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| Authors | Pieter-Jan Ceyssens, Jeroen De Smet, Jeroen Wagemans, Natalia Akulenko, Evgeny Klimuk, Subray Hedge, Marleen Voet, Hanne Hendrix, Jan Paeshuyse, Bart Landuyt, Hua Xu, John Blanchard, Konstantin Severinov, Rob Lavigne |
| Journal | Viruses (Viruses) Vol. 12 Issue 9 (09 02 2020) ISSN: 1999-4915 [Electronic] Switzerland |
| PMID | 32887488 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't) |
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