The RNA-binding protein Hfq assembles into foci-like structures in nitrogen starved Escherichia coli.

The Journal of Biological Chemistry
Josh McQuailSivaramesh Wigneshweraraj

Abstract

The initial adaptive responses to nutrient depletion in bacteria often occur at the level of gene expression. Hfq is an RNA-binding protein present in diverse bacterial lineages that contributes to many different aspects of RNA metabolism during gene expression. Using photoactivated localization microscopy and single-molecule tracking, we demonstrate that Hfq forms a distinct and reversible focus-like structure in Escherichia coli specifically experiencing long-term nitrogen starvation. Using the ability of T7 phage to replicate in nitrogen-starved bacteria as a biological probe of E. coli cell function during nitrogen starvation, we demonstrate that Hfq foci have a role in the adaptive response of E. coli to long-term nitrogen starvation. We further show that Hfq foci formation does not depend on gene expression once nitrogen starvation has set in and occurs indepen-dently of the transcription factor N-regulatory protein C, which activates the initial adaptive response to N starvation in E. coli These results serve as a paradigm to demonstrate that bacterial adaptation to long-term nutrient starvation can be spatiotemporally coordinated and can occur independently of de novo gene expression during starvation.

References

Mar 1, 1993·Journal of Bacteriology·J Yin
Oct 15, 1998·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·N MajdalaniS Gottesman
Jun 1, 2000·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·K A Datsenko, B L Wanner
Dec 20, 2000·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·D P ZimmerS Kustu
Mar 17, 2001·Molecular Microbiology·N MajdalaniS Gottesman
Mar 14, 2003·EMBO Reports·Isabella MollUdo Bläsi
Sep 24, 2004·Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications·Elisabeth SonnleitnerUdo Bläsi
Nov 4, 2004·Molecular Microbiology·Bijoy K MohantySidney R Kushner
Jan 22, 2005·Journal of Bacteriology·Prasad GyaneshwarSydney Kustu
Nov 15, 2007·Nucleic Acids Research·Branislav VecerekUdo Bläsi
Jan 31, 2008·RNA·Taewoo Lee, Andrew L Feig
Apr 14, 2009·Nature Methods·Daniel G GibsonHamilton O Smith
May 12, 2010·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Toby SoperSarah A Woodson
Jun 7, 2011·Annual Review of Microbiology·Aurelia BattestiSusan Gottesman
Jul 16, 2011·Nature Reviews. Microbiology·Jörg Vogel, Ben F Luisi
Apr 10, 2012·Nature Methods·Dirk LandgrafJohan Paulsson
Nov 13, 2012·Trends in Genetics : TIG·Guillaume DesnoyersEric Massé
Feb 9, 2013·RNA Biology·Divya Balasubramanian, Carin K Vanderpool
Jul 5, 2013·Biophysical Journal·Ulrike EndesfelderMike Heilemann
Jun 21, 2014·Nature Communications·Daniel R BrownSivaramesh Wigneshweraraj
Mar 17, 2015·Bioscience Reports·Emilie FortasVéronique Arluison
Jul 22, 2015·Journal of Molecular Biology·Subrata PanjaSarah A Woodson
Aug 1, 2015·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Mathew StracyAchillefs N Kapanidis
Sep 28, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Alexandre SmirnovJörg Vogel
Sep 1, 2014·Microbial Cell·Daniel R BrownSivaramesh Wigneshweraraj
Nov 5, 2017·Biochemical Society Transactions·Erik Holmqvist, E Gerhart H Wagner
Dec 8, 2017·Scientific Reports·Hirzahida Mohd-PadilMohd Firdaus-Raih
Jan 31, 2018·Biochemistry·Yang LuoSarah A Slavoff
Apr 20, 2018·The EMBO Journal·José M AndradeCecília M Arraiano
May 24, 2018·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Aline Tabib-SalazarSivaramesh Wigneshweraraj
Jun 7, 2018·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Elias R GerrickSarah M Fortune
Jun 18, 2018·Trends in Genetics : TIG·Nancy Standart, Dominique Weil
Sep 11, 2018·Molecular Cell·Nadra Al-HusiniJared M Schrader
Dec 6, 2018·Biochemical Society Transactions·Amy SwitzerSivaramesh Wigneshweraraj

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Apr 21, 2021·Current Opinion in Microbiology·Vidhyadhar Nandana, Jared M Schrader
Jul 6, 2021·Molecular Microbiology·Josh McQuailSivaramesh Wigneshweraraj
Dec 23, 2021·Science Advances·Francois BeaufayUrsula Jakob

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Software Mentioned

Nanoimager
Image laboratory

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

ASBMB Publications

The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) includes the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, and the Journal of Lipid Research. Discover the latest research from ASBMB here.