The proteolytic activation of the relNEs (ssr1114/slr0664) toxin-antitoxin system by both proteases Lons and ClpP2s/Xs of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

The proteolytic regulation of toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems has been well studied in Escherichia coli but remains unclear in other bacteria. A chromosomal gene pair ssr1114/slr0664, named relNEs, of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 forms a TA system belonging to rel family. Here, we used E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) as a host to characterize the proteolytic regulation of relNEs. The proteases of this strain could not degrade the antitoxin RelN, and the ectopic production of the ATP-dependant protease Lons or ClpP2s/Xs of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 did not affect E. coli growth. Either Lons or ClpP2s/Xs was able to degrade RelN resulting in growth arrest of E. coli due to the activation of RelEs's toxicity, and the presence of RelEs could protect RelN to a certain extent against Lons and ClpP2s/Xs. Our observations suggest that both Lons and ClpP2s/Xs are responsible for RelN proteolysis in the native host under certain conditions. RelN is the first protein substrate identified for cyanobacterial ATP-dependent proteases.