PUBLICATION

A dTDP-L-Rhamnose 4-epimerase required for glycopeptidolipid biosynthesis in Mycobacterium abscessus

Authors
Aguilera-Correa, J.J., Wei, F., Leclercq, L.D., Tasrini, Y., Mullapudi, E., Daher, W., Nakajima, K., Canaan, S., Herrmann, J.L., Wilmanns, M., Guérardel, Y., Wen, L., Kremer, L.
ID
ZDB-PUB-241004-11
Date
2024
Source
The Journal of biological chemistry   300(11): 107852 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Tasrini, Yara
Keywords
6-deoxy-Talose, Mycobacterium abscessus, cell wall, Rhamnose, epimerase, glycopeptidolipid, morphotype, virulence, zebrafish.
MeSH Terms
  • Mycobacterium abscessus*/enzymology
  • Mycobacterium abscessus*/genetics
  • Mycobacterium abscessus*/metabolism
  • Rhamnose/biosynthesis
  • Rhamnose/metabolism
  • Racemases and Epimerases/genetics
  • Racemases and Epimerases/metabolism
  • Carbohydrate Epimerases/genetics
  • Carbohydrate Epimerases/metabolism
  • Virulence
  • Animals
  • Glycolipids*/biosynthesis
  • Glycolipids*/metabolism
  • Hexoses
  • Deoxy Sugars/biosynthesis
  • Deoxy Sugars/metabolism
  • Thymine Nucleotides/metabolism
  • Zebrafish*
  • Nucleoside Diphosphate Sugars/biosynthesis
  • Nucleoside Diphosphate Sugars/metabolism
  • Bacterial Proteins*/genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins*/metabolism
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous/microbiology
  • Biofilms/growth & development
  • Glycopeptides/biosynthesis
  • Glycopeptides/metabolism
  • Humans
PubMed
39362472 Full text @ J. Biol. Chem.
Abstract
Mycobacterium abscessus causes severe lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients and exhibits smooth (S) or rough (R) morphotypes. Disruption of glycopeptidolipid (GPL) production results in the S-to-R transition but the underlying molecular mechanisms of this transition remain incompletely understood. Herein, we characterized MAB_4111c in relation to GPL synthesis and investigated the effects of MAB_4111c deletion in M. abscessus pathogenicity. An enzymatic assay indicated that MAB_4111c, also designated Tle for Talose epimerase, is converting dTDP-L-Rhamnose into dTDP-6-deoxy-L-Talose. A tle deletion mutant was constructed in the S variant of M. abscessus and relative areas of Rhamnose and 6-deoxy-Talose and their methylated forms expressed as ratios of total monosaccharides, showed an altered GPL profile lacking 6-deoxy-Talose. Thus, Tle provides dTDP-6-deoxy-L-Talose, subsequently used by the glycosyltransferase Gtf1 to transfer 6-deoxy-Talose to the GPL backbone. Strikingly, the tle mutant exhibited a R morphotype, showed impaired sliding motility and biofilm formation, and these phenotypes were rescued upon functional complementation. Moreover, deletion of tle in M. abscessus results in increased pathogenicity and killing in zebrafish embryos. Together, our results underscore the importance of the dTDP-L-Rhamnose 4-epimerase activity in GPL biosynthesis and in influencing M. abscessus virulence.
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