BACKGROUND: Little is known about how bacteria sense or respond to reactive chlorine species, such as bleach. RESULTS: NemR is a redox-regulated transcription factor which senses bleach. CONCLUSION: NemR controls expression of genes encoding electrophile detoxification enzymes, which increase bleach resistance. SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrate a bleach-sensing bacterial response system and a new mechanism contributing to bacterial bleach survival. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl), the active component of household bleach, also functions as a powerful antimicrobial during the innate immune response. Despite its widespread use, surprisingly little is known about how cells sense or respond to HOCl. We now demonstrate that Escherichia coli NemR is a redox-regulated transcriptional repressor, which uses the oxidation status of HOCl-sensitive cysteine residues to respond to bleach and related reactive chlorine species. NemR controls bleach-mediated expression of two enzymes required for detoxification of reactive electrophiles: glyoxalase I and N-ethylmaleimide reductase. Both enzymes contribute to bacterial bleach survival. These results provide evidence that bleach resistance relies on the capacity of organisms to specifically sense reactive chlorine species and respond with the up-regulation of enzymes dedicated to detoxification of methylglyoxal and other reactive electrophiles.
BACKGROUND: Little is known about how bacteria sense or respond to reactive chlorine species, such as bleach. RESULTS: NemR is a redox-regulated transcription factor which senses bleach. CONCLUSION: NemR controls expression of genes encoding electrophile detoxification enzymes, which increase bleach resistance. SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrate a bleach-sensing bacterial response system and a new mechanism contributing to bacterial bleach survival. Hypochlorous acid (HOCl), the active component of household bleach, also functions as a powerful antimicrobial during the innate immune response. Despite its widespread use, surprisingly little is known about how cells sense or respond to HOCl. We now demonstrate that Escherichia coli NemR is a redox-regulated transcriptional repressor, which uses the oxidation status of HOCl-sensitive cysteine residues to respond to bleach and related reactive chlorine species. NemR controls bleach-mediated expression of two enzymes required for detoxification of reactive electrophiles: glyoxalase I and N-ethylmaleimide reductase. Both enzymes contribute to bacterial bleach survival. These results provide evidence that bleach resistance relies on the capacity of organisms to specifically sense reactive chlorine species and respond with the up-regulation of enzymes dedicated to detoxification of methylglyoxal and other reactive electrophiles.
Authors: A I Saeed; V Sharov; J White; J Li; W Liang; N Bhagabati; J Braisted; M Klapa; T Currier; M Thiagarajan; A Sturn; M Snuffin; A Rezantsev; D Popov; A Ryltsov; E Kostukovich; I Borisovsky; Z Liu; A Vinsavich; V Trush; J Quackenbush Journal: Biotechniques Date: 2003-02 Impact factor: 1.993
Authors: Katharina M Gebendorfer; Adrian Drazic; Yan Le; Jasmin Gundlach; Alexander Bepperling; Andreas Kastenmüller; Kristina A Ganzinger; Nathalie Braun; Titus M Franzmann; Jeannette Winter Journal: J Biol Chem Date: 2012-01-04 Impact factor: 5.157
Authors: Robert C Gentleman; Vincent J Carey; Douglas M Bates; Ben Bolstad; Marcel Dettling; Sandrine Dudoit; Byron Ellis; Laurent Gautier; Yongchao Ge; Jeff Gentry; Kurt Hornik; Torsten Hothorn; Wolfgang Huber; Stefano Iacus; Rafael Irizarry; Friedrich Leisch; Cheng Li; Martin Maechler; Anthony J Rossini; Gunther Sawitzki; Colin Smith; Gordon Smyth; Luke Tierney; Jean Y H Yang; Jianhua Zhang Journal: Genome Biol Date: 2004-09-15 Impact factor: 13.583
Authors: Michael J Gray; Wei-Yun Wholey; Nico O Wagner; Claudia M Cremers; Antje Mueller-Schickert; Nathaniel T Hock; Adam G Krieger; Erica M Smith; Robert A Bender; James C A Bardwell; Ursula Jakob Journal: Mol Cell Date: 2014-02-20 Impact factor: 17.970
Authors: Michael Jeffrey Gray; Yan Li; Lars Ingo-Ole Leichert; Zhaohui Xu; Ursula Jakob Journal: Antioxid Redox Signal Date: 2015-06-22 Impact factor: 8.401