Role of the inner-membrane histidine kinase RcsC and outer-membrane lipoprotein RcsF in the activation of the Rcs phosphorelay signal transduction system in Escherichia coli

Abstract

The Rcs phosphorelay signal transduction system of Escherichia coli controls genes for capsule production and many other envelope-related functions and is implicated in biofilm formation. The outer-membrane lipoprotein RcsF is an essential component of the Rcs system. Mislocalization of RcsF to the periplasm or the cytoplasmic membrane leads to high activation of the Rcs system, suggesting that RcsF functions by interacting with the cytoplasmic membrane component(s) of the system in activating the system. This is consistent with the result reported by Cho et al. (Cell159, 1652-1664, 2014) showing that RcsF interacts with the periplasmic domain (YrfFperi) of the inner-membrane protein YrfF (IgaA in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium), which is a negative regulator of the Rcs system. In this study we show that RcsF also interacts with the periplasmic domain of the innermembrane-localized histidine kinase RcsC (RcsCperi). RcsCperi, which was secreted to the periplasm by fusion to maltose-binding protein, titrated RcsF's activating effect. A bimolecular fluorescence complementation experiment showed interaction of RcsF with RcsCperi, as well as with YrfFperi. We conclude that RcsF interacts with the periplasmically exposed region of RcsC, as well as with that of YrfF.

Discovery of New Genes Involved in Curli Production by a Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Strain from the Highly Virulent O45:K1:H7 Lineage

“…TraDIS analysis identified seven independent insertions within the yrfF gene and two insertions immediately upstream of the yrfF coding region, strongly suggesting the involvement of YrfF in curli production. YrfF, also known as IgaA in Salmonella enterica , is a negative regulator of the Rcs phosphorelay system, which controls genes involved in colanic acid production ( 51 , 52 ). Mutation of yrfF causes overexpression of the Rcs system, leading to increased colanic acid synthesis ( 53 ).…”

Distinct domains of Escherichia coli IgaA connect envelope stress sensing and down-regulation of the Rcs phosphorelay across subcellular compartments

“…We and other previously reported the ability of RcsF to interact with the periplasmic domain of IgaA when this latter was expressed as a soluble protein [ 11 , 22 ]. However, the physiological importance of this interaction remained unclear.…”

“…A recent report suggests that the periplasmic domain of RcsC interacts with RcsF, but the functional role of this potential interaction remains to be shown [ 22 ]. It is possible that, by interacting with the periplasmic domain of RcsC (and perhaps also RcsD), RcsF influences how these proteins are inhibited by IgaA.…”

“…We previously reported that, when the periplasmic domain of IgaA is expressed as a soluble protein, it forms complexes with RcsF which can be pulled-down after cross-linking [ 11 ]. The interaction between these two proteins was also confirmed in vitro [ 11 ] and by using bimolecular fluorescence complementation [ 22 ]. These and other results led us to propose a model in which OM or PG-related stress prevents newly synthesized RcsF from interacting with the β-barrel assembly machinery, which results into new RcsF molecules being exposed to the periplasm, where they bind to IgaA.…”

Cyclic AMP-CRP Modulates the Cell Morphology of Klebsiella pneumoniae in High-Glucose Environment

“…The functions and fold changes of the identified genes involved in cell division and cell wall biosynthesis are listed in Table 1. RcsF functions in the signal transduction from the cell surface to Rcs signaling system (Castanie-Cornet et al, 2006;Sato et al, 2017), while OmpA, which acts as an outer membrane (OM) porin, can form channels through the cellular membranes (Hong et al, 2006). TolB plays a role in OM invagination during cell constriction in the trans-envelope Tol-pal system (Zhuang et al, 2002;Gerding et al, 2007;Ridley and Lakey, 2015).…”