The transcription factors ActR and SoxR differentially affect the phenazine tolerance of Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Abstract
Bacteria in soils encounter redox‐active compounds, such as phenazines, that can generate oxidative stress, but the mechanisms by which different species tolerate these compounds are not fully understood. Here, we identify two transcription factors, ActR and SoxR, that play contrasting yet complementary roles in the tolerance of the soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens to phenazines. We show that ActR promotes phenazine tolerance by proactively driving expression of a more energy‐efficient terminal oxidase at the expense of a less efficient alternative, which may affect the rate at which phenazines abstract electrons from the electron transport chain (ETC) and thereby generate reactive oxygen species. SoxR, on the other hand, responds to phenazines by inducing expression of several efflux pumps and redox‐related genes, including one of three copies of superoxide dismutase and five novel members of its regulon that could not be computationally predicted. Notably, loss of ActR is far more detrimental than loss of SoxR at low concentrations of phenazines, and also increases dependence on the otherwise functionally redundant SoxR‐regulated superoxide dismutase. Our results thus raise the intriguing possibility that the composition of an organism's ETC may be the driving factor in determining sensitivity or tolerance to redox‐active compounds.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- May 03, 2019
- Source ID
- 10.1111/mmi.14263
Entities
People
- Dianne Newman
- Elena K Perry
Organizations
- Army Research Office
- California Institute of Technology
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- National Science Foundation