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dc.contributor.authorRamsay, Josh
dc.contributor.authorBastholm, T.R.
dc.contributor.authorVerdonk, Callum J.
dc.contributor.authorTambalo, D.D.
dc.contributor.authorSullivan, J.T.
dc.contributor.authorHarold, L.K.
dc.contributor.authorPanganiban, Beatrice A.
dc.contributor.authorColombi, Elena
dc.contributor.authorPerry, B.J.
dc.contributor.authorJowsey, W.
dc.contributor.authorMorris, C.
dc.contributor.authorHynes, M.F.
dc.contributor.authorBond, C.S.
dc.contributor.authorCameron, A.D.S.
dc.contributor.authorYost, C.K.
dc.contributor.authorRonson, C.W.
dc.date.accessioned2022-07-26T01:55:55Z
dc.date.available2022-07-26T01:55:55Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.identifier.citationRamsay, J.P. and Bastholm, T.R. and Verdonk, C.J. and Tambalo, D.D. and Sullivan, J.T. and Harold, L.K. and Panganiban, B.A. et al. 2022. An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element. Nucleic Acids Research. 50 (2): pp. 975-988.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89033
dc.identifier.doi10.1093/nar/gkab1217
dc.description.abstract

Horizontal transfer of the integrative and conjugative element ICEMlSymR7A converts non-symbiotic Mesorhizobium spp. into nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts. Here, we discover subpopulations of Mesorhizobium japonicum R7A become epigenetically primed for quorum-sensing (QS) and QS-activated horizontal transfer. Isolated populations in this state termed R7A* maintained these phenotypes in laboratory culture but did not transfer the R7A* state to recipients of ICEMlSymR7A following conjugation. We previously demonstrated ICEMlSymR7A transfer and QS are repressed by the antiactivator QseM in R7A populations and that the adjacently-coded DNA-binding protein QseC represses qseM transcription. Here RNA-sequencing revealed qseM expression was repressed in R7A* cells and that RNA antisense to qseC was abundant in R7A but not R7A*. Deletion of the antisense-qseC promoter converted cells into an R7A*-like state. An adjacently coded QseC2 protein bound two operator sites and repressed antisense-qseC transcription. Plasmid overexpression of QseC2 stimulated the R7A* state, which persisted following curing of this plasmid. The epigenetic maintenance of the R7A* state required ICEMlSymR7A-encoded copies of both qseC and qseC2. Therefore, QseC and QseC2, together with their DNA-binding sites and overlapping promoters, form a stable epigenetic switch that establishes binary control over qseM transcription and primes a subpopulation of R7A cells for QS and horizontal transfer.

dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherOXFORD UNIV PRESS
dc.relation.sponsoredbyhttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT170100235
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.subjectScience & Technology
dc.subjectLife Sciences & Biomedicine
dc.subjectBiochemistry & Molecular Biology
dc.subjectSYMBIOSIS ISLAND
dc.subjectMESORHIZOBIUM-LOTI
dc.subjectTRANSCRIPTION REGULATION
dc.subjectBACILLUS-SUBTILIS
dc.subjectGENE
dc.subjectPLASMID
dc.subjectBISTABILITY
dc.subjectEXPRESSION
dc.subjectEVOLUTION
dc.subjectPROTEIN
dc.titleAn epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element
dc.typeJournal Article
dcterms.source.volume50
dcterms.source.number2
dcterms.source.startPage975
dcterms.source.endPage988
dcterms.source.issn0305-1048
dcterms.source.titleNucleic Acids Research
dc.date.updated2022-07-26T01:55:53Z
curtin.departmentCurtin Medical School
curtin.accessStatusOpen access
curtin.facultyFaculty of Health Sciences
curtin.contributor.orcidRamsay, Josh [0000-0002-1301-7077]
dcterms.source.eissn1362-4962
curtin.contributor.scopusauthoridRamsay, Josh [8529700000]


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