Staff member publications
Crespo, A., Gavaldà, J., Julián, E., Torrents, E., (2017). A single point mutation in class III ribonucleotide reductase promoter renders Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 inefficient for anaerobic growth and infection Scientific Reports 7, (1), 13350 
Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO1 has become the reference strain in many laboratories. One enzyme that is essential for its cell division is the ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) enzyme that supplies the deoxynucleotides required for DNA synthesis and repair. P. aeruginosa is one of the few microorganisms that encodes three different RNR classes (Ia, II and III) in its genome, enabling it to grow and adapt to diverse environmental conditions, including during infection. In this work, we demonstrate that a lack of RNR activity induces cell elongation in P. aeruginosa PAO1. Moreover, RNR gene expression during anaerobiosis differs among P. aeruginosa strains, with class III highly expressed in P. aeruginosa clinical isolates relative to the laboratory P. aeruginosa PAO1 strain. A single point mutation was identified in the P. aeruginosa PAO1 strain class III RNR promoter region that disrupts its anaerobic transcription by the Dnr regulator. An engineered strain that induces the class III RNR expression allows P. aeruginosa PAO1 anaerobic growth and increases its virulence to resemble that of clinical strains. Our results demonstrate that P. aeruginosa PAO1 is adapted to laboratory conditions and is not the best reference strain for anaerobic or infection studies.
JTD Keywords: Bacterial genes, Cellular microbiology, Pathogens
Crespo, A., Pedraz, L., Torrents, E., (2015). Function of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa NrdR transcription factor: Global transcriptomic analysis and its role on ribonucleotide reductase gene expression PLoS ONE 10, (4), e0123571
Ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) are a family of sophisticated enzymes responsible for the synthesis of the deoxyribonucleotides (dNTPs), the building blocks for DNA synthesis and repair. Although any living cell must contain one RNR activity to continue living, bacteria have the capacity to encode different RNR classes in the same genome, allowing them to adapt to different environments and growing conditions. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is well known for its adaptability and surprisingly encodes all three known RNR classes (Ia, II and III). There must be a complex transcriptional regulation network behind this RNR activity, dictating which RNR class will be expressed according to specific growing conditions. In this work, we aim to uncover the role of the transcriptional regulator NrdR in P. aeruginosa. We demonstrate that NrdR regulates all three RNR classes, being involved in differential control depending on whether the growth conditions are aerobic or anaerobic. Moreover, we also identify for the first time that NrdR is not only involved in controlling RNR expression but also regulates topoisomerase I (topA) transcription. Finally, to obtain the entire picture of NrdR regulon, we performed a global transcriptomic analysis comparing the transcription profile of wild-type and nrdR mutant strains. The results provide many new data about the regulatory network that controls P. aeruginosa RNR transcription, bringing us a step closer to the understanding of this complex system.
JTD
