title: Regulatory role of the MisR/S two-component system in hemoglobin utilization in Neisseria meningitidis.
abstract: Outer membrane iron receptors are some of the major surface entities that are critical for meningococcal pathogenesis. The gene encoding the meningococcal hemoglobin receptor, HmbR, is both independently transcribed and transcriptionally linked to the upstream gene hemO, which encodes a heme oxygenase. The MisR/S two-component system was previously determined to regulate hmbR transcription, and its hemO and hmbR regulatory mechanisms were characterized further here. The expression of hemO and hmbR was downregulated in misR/S mutants under both iron-replete and iron-restricted conditions, and the downregulation could be reversed by complementation. No significant changes in expression of other iron receptors were detected, suggesting that the MisR/S system specifically regulates hmbR. When hemoglobin was the sole iron source, growth defects were detected in the mutants. Primer extension analysis identified a promoter upstream of the hemO-associated Correia element (CE) and another promoter at the proximal end of CE, and processed transcripts previously identified for other cotranscribed CEs were also detected, suggesting that there may be posttranscriptional regulation. MisR directly interacts with sequences upstream of the CE and upstream of the hmbR Fur binding site and thus independently regulates hemO and hmbR. Analysis of transcriptional reporters of hemO and hmbR further demonstrated the positive role of the MisR/S system and showed that the transcription of hmbR initiated from hemO was significantly reduced. A comparison of the effects of the misS mutation under iron-replete and iron-depleted conditions suggested that activation by the MisR/S system and iron-mediated repression by Fur act independently. Thus, the expression of hemO and hmbR is coordinately controlled by multiple independent regulatory mechanisms, including the MisR/S two-component system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
authors.forename: Shuming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Grisselle E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Montanez
authors.forename: Pradeep
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Soma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sannigrahi
authors.forename: Yih-Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Tzeng
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D015536:Down-Regulation; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000502:physiology*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D024363:Transcription Initiation Site
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D006454:Hemoglobins; C094109:HmbR protein, Neisseria meningitidis; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D015534:Trans-Activators; D007501:Iron; C423452:HemO protein, Neisseria meningitidis; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing)