Interaction of the sensor module of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv KdpD with members of the Lpr family

Mol Microbiol. 2003 Feb;47(4):1075-89. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.2003.03356.x.

Abstract

The genetic and biochemical mechanisms by which Mycobacterium tuberculosis senses and responds to the complex environment that it encounters during infection and persistence within the host remain unknown. In a number of bacterial species, the Kdp signal transduction pathway appears to be the primary response to environmental osmotic stress, which is primarily mediated by K+ concentration in bacteria. We show that kdp encodes for components of a mycobacterial signalling pathway by demonstrating the K+ dependence of kdpFABC expression in both M. tuberculosis H37Rv and Mycobacterium smegmatis. To identify proteins of M. tuberculosis that participate in this signalling pathway, we used the N-terminal sensing module of the histidine kinase KdpD as bait in a yeast two-hybrid screen. We show that the sensing domain of KdpD interacts specifically with two membrane lipoproteins, LprJ (Rv1690) and LprF (Rv1368). Overexpression of lprF and lprJ alleles in mycobacterial kdpF-lacZ reporter strains enabled us to identify alleles that modulate kdpFABC expression. By exploiting the yeast three-hybrid system, we have found that the histidine kinase domain of KdpD forms ternary complexes with LprF and LprJ and the sensing module of KdpD. Our results establish a role for membrane proteins in the Kdp signalling pathway and suggest that LprF and LprJ function as accessory or ligand-binding proteins that communicate directly with the sensing domain of KdpD to modulate kdp expression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Alleles
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Base Sequence
  • Gene Expression
  • Genes, Bacterial
  • Models, Biological
  • Models, Molecular
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / genetics*
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / metabolism*
  • Plasmids / genetics
  • Potassium / metabolism
  • Protein Kinases / chemistry
  • Protein Kinases / genetics*
  • Protein Kinases / metabolism*
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Signal Transduction
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Protein Kinases
  • kdpD protein, Bacteria
  • Potassium