Open AccessCdrS Is a Global Transcriptional Regulator Influencing Cell Division in Haloferax volcanii
Author(s) -
Yan Liao,
Verena Vogel,
Sabine Hauber,
Jürgen Bartel,
Omer S. Alkhnbashi,
Sandra Maaß,
Thandi S. Schwarz,
Rolf Backofen,
Dörte Becher,
Iain G. Duggin,
Anita Marchfelder
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
mbio
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.562
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 2161-2129
pISSN - 2150-7511
DOI - 10.1128/mbio.01416-21
Subject(s) - haloferax volcanii , cell division , biology , cell cycle , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , operon , ftsz , asymmetric cell division , genetics , chromatin immunoprecipitation , transcription factor , cell , archaea , gene expression , promoter , mutant
Transcriptional regulators that integrate cellular and environmental signals to control cell division are well known in bacteria and eukaryotes, but their existence is poorly understood in archaea. We identified a conserved gene ( cdrS ) that encodes a small protein and is highly transcribed in the model archaeon Haloferax volcanii . The cdrS gene could not be deleted, but CRISPR interference (CRISPRi)-mediated repression of the cdrS gene caused slow growth and cell division defects and changed the expression of multiple genes and their products associated with cell division, protein degradation, and metabolism. Consistent with this complex regulatory network, overexpression of cdrS inhibited cell division, whereas overexpression of the operon encoding both CdrS and a tubulin-like cell division protein (FtsZ2) stimulated division. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-DNA sequencing (ChIP-Seq) identified 18 DNA-binding sites of the CdrS protein, including one upstream of the promoter for a cell division gene, ftsZ1 , and another upstream of the essential gene dacZ , encoding diadenylate cyclase involved in c-di-AMP signaling, which is implicated in the regulation of cell division. These findings suggest that CdrS is a transcription factor that plays a central role in a regulatory network coordinating metabolism and cell division.