AUTHOR=Ge Zhen-huang , Long Qin-sha , Yuan Pei-bo , Pan Xin , Shen Dong , Lu Yong-jun 

TITLE=The Temporal Expression of Global Regulator Protein CsrA Is Dually Regulated by ClpP During the Biphasic Life Cycle of Legionella pneumophila

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.02495

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2019.02495

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Legionella pneumophila</italic>, an environmental bacterium that parasitizes protozoa, is the causative pathogen of Legionnaires' disease. <italic>L. pneumophila</italic> adopts a distinct biphasic life cycle that allows it to adapt to environmental conditions for survival, replication, and transmission. This cycle consists of a non-virulent replicative phase (RP) and a virulent transmissive phase (TP). Timely and fine-tuned expression of growth and virulence factors in a life cycle-dependent manner is crucial. Herein, we report evidence that CsrA, a key regulator of the switch between the RP and the TP, is dually regulated in a ClpP-dependent manner during the biphasic life cycle of <italic>L. pneumophila</italic>. First, we show that the protein level of CsrA is temporal during the life cycle and is degraded by ClpP during the TP. The ectopic expression of CsrA in a Δ<italic>clpP</italic> mutant, but not in the wild type, inhibits both the initiation of the RP <italic>in vitro</italic> and the invasiveness to <italic>Acanthamoeba castellanii</italic>, indicating that the ClpP-mediated proteolytic pathway regulates the CsrA protein level. We further show that the temporally expressed IHFB is the transcriptional inhibitor of <italic>csrA</italic> and is degraded <italic>via</italic> a ClpP-dependent manner during the RP. During the RP, the level of CsrA is increased by promoting the degradation of IHFB and reducing the degradation of the accumulated CsrA <italic>via</italic> a ClpP-dependent manner. During the TP, the level of CsrA is decreased by inhibiting the degradation of IHFB and promoting the degradation of the accumulated CsrA <italic>via</italic> a ClpP-dependent manner as well. In conclusion, our results show that the growth-stage-specific expression level of CsrA is dually regulated by ClpP-dependent proteolysis at both the transcription and protein levels during the biphasic life cycle of <italic>L. pneumophila</italic>.</p>