Novel roles for pirin proteins and a 2-ketoglutarate:ferredoxin
oxidoreductase ortholog in Bacteroides fragilis central metabolism and
comparison of metabolic mutant susceptibility to metronidazole and
amixicile
Abstract
The regulation of the central metabolism and fermentation pathways and
its effect on antimicrobial susceptibility in the anaerobic pathogen
Bacteroides fragilis is not completely understood. In this study, we
show that B. fragilis encodes for two iron-dependent redox-sensitive
regulatory pirin protein genes, pir1 and pir2, whose mRNA expression is
upregulated following oxygen exposure and growth in iron-limiting
conditions. Pir1 and Pir2 modulate short-chain fatty acids production
and alter susceptibility to metronidazole (MTZ), and to amixicile
(AMIX), a novel inhibitor of pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR)
in anaerobes. Consistent with this, we showed that Pir1 forms direct
protein-protein interactions with PFOR as determined by two-hybrid
system assays. In addition, AlphaFold2-based structural analysis
predicts that Pir1 and Pir2 form stable interactions with several
enzymes of the central metabolism including the
2-ketoglutarate:ferredoxin oxidoreductases Kor1AB and Kor2CDAEBG. A
series of metabolic mutants and electron transport chain inhibitors were
used to show a wide-ranging effect of bacterial metabolism on MTZ and
AMIX susceptibility. Furthermore, we show that AMIX is an effective
antimicrobial against B. fragilis in an experimental model of
intra-abdominal infection. This investigation led to the discovery that
the kor2AEBG genes are essential for growth, and we present evidence
that kor2AEBG genes have dual functions including the reductive
synthesis of 2-ketoglutarate via reverse TCA cycle. However, the
metabolic activity that bypasses KorAEBG function remains to be defined.
Collectively our investigation reveals new information on B. fragilis
central metabolism and its modulatory control by pirin proteins which
may be leveraged for the future development of new narrow-spectrum
antimicrobials