Biology subjects

Ghosh, A. S.

Publications and source records attributed to Ghosh, A. S..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Substitution of a valine to glutamic acid in the omega-like loop of MSMEG_6194 of Mycobacterium smegmatis interchanges its activity from DD-carboxypeptidase to beta-lactamase

The genome of Mycobacterium smegmatis encodes numerous penicillin-interacting enzymes, and analysing their functions provides insights into the evolutionary mechanisms behind beta-lactam resistance in mycobacteria. In this study, we characterised one such enzyme, MSMEG_6194, annotated as a putative beta-lactamase. Although MSMEG_6194 shares structural similarity with class A beta-lactamases, it showed no detectable beta-lactamase activity under the tested conditions. Heterologous expression of MSMEG_6194 in Escherichia coli and{Delta} msmeg_6194 deleted strains of M. smegmatis did not confer significant resistance to beta-lactams, and the purified protein failed to hydrolyse nitrocefin either. However, ectopic expression of MSMEG_6194 partly restores the morphological defects in seven PBP-deleted E. coli strains, and the purified enzyme successfully cleaves the terminal D-alanine from a pentapeptide substrate, confirming its DD-carboxypeptidase activity. Structural analysis revealed the absence of a conserved glutamic acid residue in the omega-loop, which is critical for beta-lactamase catalysis in class A beta-lactamase. Substituting this residue (V139E mutant) imparts beta-lactamase activity though significantly reduces DD-carboxypeptidase function. Overall, these findings establish MSMEG_6194 as a DD-carboxypeptidase and demonstrate how a single amino acid change can alter catalytic preference, shedding light on the evolutionary transition from DD-Carboxypeptidases to beta-lactamases in mycobacteria.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Deletion of major shell protein of ethanolamine utilization microcompartment reduces intrinsic antibiotic resistance, biofilm and intracellular survival of Salmonella Typhimurium

With the high rise in Salmonella infection and emergence of antibiotic-resistant variants, developing a novel strategy to control the pathogen is imperative. Earlier studies revealed that Salmonella deploys ethanolamine (EA) metabolic machinery to disseminate in the intestine. Salmonella with a defect in EA metabolism manifests with lower intestinal colonization efficiency. Remarkably, the potential of EA metabolism as a therapeutic target is yet to explore. Our study revealed that supplementation of EA and vitamin B12 in both rich and minimal media enhanced biofilm formation, increased motility, and increased tolerance of Salmonella to some antibiotics. Conversely, mutants deficient in EA metabolic enzymes exhibited no physiological fitness. In Salmonella, EA metabolic enzymes are localized within a proteinaceous microcompartment (MCP) shell composed of thousands of copies of shell proteins encoded by five genes from the eut operon. Fascinatingly, bacterial cells with defective MCP shell due to mutation in the major shell proteins showed enhanced susceptibility towards a number of antibiotics in minimal media. The mutants were unable to form biofilm, produced lower curli expression and were defective in flagellar motility. Also, mutation in one of the major shell proteins reduced intramacrophagic viability of Salmonella. Notably, phenotypes were restored upon ectopic expression of corresponding genes. It was evident that mutation in the MCP shell proteins downregulated the expression of genes related to pathogenicity. Overall, this study sheds new light on understanding the relationship between EA metabolism and bacterial physiology that would pave the way for developing novel therapeutic interventions against Salmonella.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2024

Conserved ancillary residues situated proximally to the VIM-2 active site affect its metallo β-lactamase activity

Verona-integron-metallo-{beta}-lactamase (VIM-2) is one of the most widespread class B {beta}-lactamase, responsible for {beta}-lactam resistance. Although active-site residues help in metal binding, the residues nearing the active-site possess functional importance. Here, to decipher the role of such residues in the activity and stability of VIM-2, the residues E146, D182, N210, S207, and D213 were selected through in-silico analyses and substituted with alanine using site-directed mutagenesis. The effects of substitution mutations were assessed by comparing the changes in the {beta}-lactam susceptibility pattern of E. coli host cells expressing VIM-2 and its mutated proteins. VIM-2_N210A enhanced the susceptibility of the host by [~]4-8 folds against penicillins and cephalosporins while the expression of VIM-2_D182A radically increased the susceptibility of the host. However, expression of VIM-2_E146A reduced the susceptibility of the host by 2-fold. Further, proteins were purified to homogeneity, and VIM_N210A and VIM_D182A displayed reduced thermal stability than VIM-2. Moreover, in vitro catalytic efficiencies of VIM-2_D182A were drastically reduced against all the {beta}-lactams tested whereas the same were moderately reduced for VIM-2_N210A. Conversely, the catalytic efficiency was marginally altered for VIM_E146A. Overall, we infer that both N210A and D182A substitutions negatively affect the performance of VIM-2 by influencing substrate specificity and stability, respectively.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2024

Acinetobacter baumannii DacC influences cell shape, biofilm formation, and physiological fitness by manifesting DD-carboxypeptidase and β-lactamase dual-enzyme activities

With the growing threat of drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, there is an urgent need to comprehensively understand the physiology of this nosocomial pathogen. As penicillin-binding proteins are attractive targets for antibacterial therapy, herein we have tried to explore the physiological roles of two putative DD-carboxypeptidases, viz., dacC and dacD in A. baumannii. Surprisingly, the deletion of dacC resulted in a reduced growth rate, loss of rod-shaped morphology, reduction in biofilm-forming ability, and enhanced susceptibility towards {beta}-lactams, whereas, the deletion of dacD had no such effect. Interestingly, ectopic expression of dacC restored the lost phenotypes. The double deletion mutant in which both dacC and dacD were absent showed properties similar to the dacC single knockout. On the other hand, cell-shape reverting efficiency in septuple PBP deleted E. coli and in vitro enzyme kinetics assessments reveal that dacD is a stronger DD-CPase as compared to dacC. The expression of dacC was in the log phase whereas dacD expression takes place in the stationary phase. In summary, we conclude that dacC encodes a dual enzyme, possessing activities of DD-CPase and {beta}-lactamase, which significantly affects the physiology of A. baumannii in various ways whereas dacD encodes a strong DD-CPase and plays a role in cell morphology, though it exerts negligible impact on other physiological aspects like intrinsic antibiotic resistance or biofilm formation. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=150 SRC="FIGDIR/small/603720v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (36K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@18820c9org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@208baeorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b2673eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@983aae_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2024

A magnesium transporter CorA of Mycobacterium smegmatis enhances the tolerance of structurally unrelated antibiotics in the host cells

Ion transporters or channels are involved in maintaining metal homeostasis in bacterial cells by aiding the movement of metal ions across the cell, which might also facilitate the export of antimicrobials. Ubiquitous magnesium transporter, CorA of Mycobacterium smegmatis is well known for its role in maintaining magnesium homeostasis. However, little is known about its involvement in exerting antimicrobial resistance. Here, with the help of molecular genetics, in vivo and in silico studies we tried to envisage the role of CorA of M. smegmatis in antimicrobial resistance of M. smegmatis and E. coli. Expression of corA in M. smegmatis and E. coli increased the tolerance of the host cells towards various structurally unrelated antibiotics and anti-tubercular drugs. In addition, a significantly lower accumulation of norfloxacin and ofloxacin by the host cells expressing corA further indicated its role in enhancing the efflux pump activity. Moreover, the presence of a sub-inhibitory concentration of Mg2+ resulted in increased low-level tolerance towards the tested drugs. Furthermore, CorA enhanced the biofilm-forming ability of cells expressing it. Overall, we speculate that magnesium transporter CorA facilitates multi-drug efflux activity of the host cells where Mg2+ might act as a facilitator in the process. IMPORTANCEMagnesium acts as a co-factor for various biochemical and physiological reactions, such as protein synthesis, cell membrane integrity, nucleic acid synthesis, etc. Metal transporters maintain metal homeostasis by regulating the uptake, efflux, or transportation of metals in certain necessary cellular compartments. In bacteria, magnesium ion (Mg2+) is mainly supplied by the CorA protein which is a ubiquitous family of transport proteins and extensively studied in E. coli and Salmonella sp. However, little is known about the functional relationship of metal transporters of Mycobacterium sp with extrusion of antibiotics, and their involvement in stress tolerance. Here, we report CorA (MSMEG_5056), a magnesium transporter of Mycobacterium smegmatis in influencing the extrusion of multiple structurally unrelated classes of drugs and enhancing the biofilm formation of E. coli and Mycobacterium smegmatis. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=74 SRC="FIGDIR/small/602764v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (26K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@11a5f5corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6ac8f9org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b083dcorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@a0fb8a_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG O_FLOATNOGraphical Abstract:C_FLOATNO Hypothetical model of Antibiotic export by CorA. Antibiotics bind to the closed state of the protein (left). During the transition to the open state (right), the to-and-fro motion between multiple open states drives the efflux of the antibiotic while facilitating the import of Mg2+. The colors of the models correspond to the chain ID. The bottom views of both the closed and open states are shown in the rectangular box, with the color indicated by their respective chain IDs. C_FIG

microbiology↗