Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America.
PLoS Pathog. 2024 Aug 30;20(8):e1012507. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012507. eCollection 2024 Aug.
Clostridioides difficile is a pathogen whose transmission relies on the formation of dormant endospores. Spores are highly resilient forms of bacteria that resist environmental and chemical insults. In recent work, we found that C. difficile SspA and SspB, two small acid-soluble proteins (SASPs), protect spores from UV damage and, interestingly, are necessary for the formation of mature spores. Here, we build upon this finding and show that C. difficile sspA and sspB are required for the formation of the spore cortex layer. Moreover, using an EMS mutagenesis selection strategy, we identified mutations that suppressed the defect in sporulation of C. difficile SASP mutants. Many of these strains contained mutations in CDR20291_0714 (spoIVB2) revealing a connection between the SpoIVB2 protease and the SASPs in the sporulation pathway. This work builds upon the hypothesis that the small acid-soluble proteins can regulate gene expression.
艰难梭菌是一种病原体，其传播依赖于休眠芽孢的形成。芽孢是细菌的一种高度抗逆形式，可以抵抗环境和化学物质的侵害。在最近的研究中，我们发现艰难梭菌 SspA 和 SspB 这两种小分子酸可溶性蛋白（SASPs）可以保护芽孢免受 UV 损伤，而且有趣的是，它们对于芽孢的成熟形成是必需的。在这里，我们在此基础上进一步发现，艰难梭菌的 sspA 和 sspB 对于芽孢皮层层的形成是必需的。此外，我们利用 EMS 诱变选择策略，鉴定到了可以抑制艰难梭菌 SASPs 突变体在芽孢形成缺陷的突变。许多这些菌株含有 CDR20291_0714（spoIVB2）的突变，揭示了 SpoIVB2 蛋白酶和在芽孢形成途径中的 SASPs 之间的联系。这项工作建立在这样一个假设之上，即小分子酸可溶性蛋白可以调节基因表达。
