Abstract
Biotin (Vitamin B7) is a critical enzyme co-factor in metabolic pathways important for bacterial survival. Biotin is obtained either from the environment or by de novo synthesis, with some bacteria capable of both. In certain species, the bifunctional protein BirA plays a key role in biotin homeostasis as it regulates expression of biotin biosynthetic enzymes in response to biotin demand and supply. Here, we compare the effect of biotin on the growth of two bacteria that possess a bifunctional BirA, namely Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Unlike E. coli that could fulfill its biotin requirements through de novo synthesis, S. aureus showed improved growth rates in media supplemented with 10 nM biotin. S. aureus also accumulated more radiolabeled biotin from the media highlighting its ability to efficiently scavenge exogenous material. These data are consistent with S. aureus colonizing low biotin microhabitats. We also demonstrate that the S. aureus BirA protein is a transcriptional repressor of BioY, a subunit of the biotin transporter, and an operon containing yhfT and yhfS, the products of which have a putative role in fatty acid homeostasis. Increased expression of bioY is proposed to help cue S. aureus for efficient scavenging in low biotin environments.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the National BioResource Project (NIG, Japan) for the provision of bacterial strains.
Funding
This study was funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Project Grant 1068885 awarded to SWP and GWB and Project Grants 1080784 and 1122582 awarded to CAM, and the Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP160101450 awarded to KES and DP150101856 and DP170102102 awarded to CAM. JS is a recipient of The University of Adelaide faculty divisional scholarship.
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J.S performed the experiments and data analysis and prepared the manuscript. B.A.E performed the data analysis. S.W.P. prepared the manuscript and data analysis. All authors contributed to the manuscript preparation and review.
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Satiaputra, J., Eijkelkamp, B.A., McDevitt, C.A. et al. Biotin-mediated growth and gene expression in Staphylococcus aureus is highly responsive to environmental biotin. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 102, 3793–3803 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-8866-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-8866-z