The Azospirillum brasilense Core Chemotaxis Proteins CheA1 and CheA4 Link Chemotaxis Signaling with Nitrogen Metabolism

Ganusova, Elena E.; Vo, Lam T.; Abraham, Paul E.; O’Neal Yoder, Lindsey; Hettich, Robert L.; Alexandre, Gladys

doi:10.1128/msystems.01354-20

Title: The Azospirillum brasilense Core Chemotaxis Proteins CheA1 and CheA4 Link Chemotaxis Signaling with Nitrogen Metabolism

Journal Article · Tue Feb 16 00:00:00 EST 2021 · mSystems

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.01354-20· OSTI ID:1767841

Ganusova, Elena E. ^[1]; Vo, Lam T. ^[1]; Abraham, Paul E. ^[2]; O’Neal Yoder, Lindsey ^[3]; Hettich, Robert L. ^[2];

^[1]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)

Bacterial chemotaxis affords motile bacteria the ability to navigate the environment to locate niches for growth and survival. At the molecular level, chemotaxis depends on chemoreceptor signaling arrays that interact with cytoplasmic proteins to control the direction of movement. In Azospirillum brasilense, chemotaxis is mediated by two distinct chemotaxis pathways: Che1 and Che4. Both Che1 and Che4 are critical in the A. brasilense free-living and plant-associated lifestyles. Here, we use whole-cell proteomics and metabolomics to characterize the role of chemotaxis in A. brasilense physiology. We found that mutants lacking CheA1 or CheA4 or both are affected in nonchemotaxis functions, including major changes in transcription, signaling transport, and cell metabolism. We identify specific effects of CheA1 and CheA4 on nitrogen metabolism, including nitrate assimilation and nitrogen fixation, that may depend, at least, on the transcriptional control of rpoN, which encodes RpoN, a global regulator of metabolism, including nitrogen. Consistent with proteomics, the abundance of several nitrogenous compounds (purines, pyrimidines, and amino acids) changed in the metabolomes of the chemotaxis mutants relative to the parental strain. Further, we uncover novel, and yet uncharacterized, layers of transcriptional and posttranscriptional control of nitrogen metabolism regulators. Together, our data reveal roles for CheA1 and CheA4 in linking chemotaxis and nitrogen metabolism, likely through control of global regulatory networks.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; MCB 1715185; MCB 1855066

OSTI ID:: 1767841

Journal Information:: mSystems, Vol. 6, Issue 1; ISSN 2379-5077

Publisher:: American Society for MicrobiologyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: The Azospirillum brasilense Core Chemotaxis Proteins CheA1 and CheA4 Link Chemotaxis Signaling with Nitrogen Metabolism

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