The ClpXP protease is dispensable for degradation of unfolded proteins in Staphylococcus aureus

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

  • Steen G. Stahlhut
  • Abdulelah A. Alqarzaee
  • Camilla Jensen
  • Niclas S. Fisker
  • Ana R. Pereira
  • Mariana G. Pinho
  • Vinai Chittezham Thomas
  • Frees, Dorte
In living cells intracellular proteolysis is crucial for protein homeostasis, and ClpP proteases are conserved between eubacteria and the organelles of eukaryotic cells. In Staphylococcus aureus, ClpP associates to the substrate specificity factors, ClpX and ClpC forming two ClpP proteases, ClpXP and ClpCP. To address how individual ClpP proteases impact cell physiology, we constructed a S. aureus mutant expressing ClpX with an I265E substitution in the ClpP recognition tripeptide of ClpX. This mutant cannot degrade established ClpXP substrates confirming that the introduced amino acid substitution abolishes ClpXP activity. Phenotypic characterization of this mutant showed that ClpXP activity controls cell size and is required for growth at low temperature. Cells expressing the ClpXI265E variant, in contrast to cells lacking ClpP, are not sensitive to heat-stress and do not accumulate protein aggregates showing that ClpXP is dispensable for degradation of unfolded proteins in S. aureus. Consistent with this finding, transcriptomic profiling revealed strong induction of genes responding to protein folding stress in cells devoid of ClpP, but not in cells lacking only ClpXP. In the latter cells, highly upregulated loci include the urease operon, the pyrimidine biosynthesis operon, the betA-betB operon, and the pathogenicity island, SaPI5, while virulence genes were dramatically down-regulated.
Original languageEnglish
Article number11739
JournalScientific Reports
Volume7
Number of pages14
ISSN2045-2322
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017

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