Deciphering the role of VapBC13 and VapBC26 toxin antitoxin systems in the pathophysiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The expansion of VapBC TA systems in M. tuberculosis has been linked with its fitness and survival upon exposure to stress conditions. Here, we have functionally characterized VapBC13 and VapBC26 TA modules of M. tuberculosis. We report that overexpression of VapC13 and VapC26 toxins in M. tuberculosis results in growth inhibition and transcriptional reprogramming. We have also identified various regulatory proteins as hub nodes in the top response network of VapC13 and VapC26 overexpression strains. Further, analysis of RNA protection ratios revealed potential tRNA targets for VapC13 and VapC26. Using in vitro ribonuclease assays, we demonstrate that VapC13 and VapC26 degrade serT and leuW tRNA, respectively. However, no significant changes in rRNA cleavage profiles were observed upon overexpression of VapC13 and VapC26 in M. tuberculosis. In order to delineate the role of these TA systems in M. tuberculosis physiology, various mutant strains were constructed. We show that in comparison to the parental strain, ΔvapBC13 and ΔvapBC26 strains were mildly susceptible to oxidative stress. Surprisingly, the growth patterns of parental and mutant strains were comparable in aerosol-infected guinea pigs. These observations imply that significant functional redundancy exists for some TA systems from M. tuberculosis.