Mycobacterial resistance to zinc poisoning requires assembly of P-ATPase-containing membrane metal efflux platforms

Yves-Marie Boudehen (1, 2) , Marion Faucher (1) , Xavier Maréchal (3, 4) , Roger Miras (3) , Jérôme Rech (5) , Yoann Rombouts (1) , Olivier Sénèque (6) , Maximilian Wallat (1, 7) , Pascal Demange (1) , Jean-Yves Bouet (5) , Olivier Saurel (1) , Patrice Catty (3) , Claude Gutierrez (1) , Olivier Neyrolles (1)

1 Tuberculose et biologie des infections [IPBS, Toulouse]
2 IRIM - Institut de Recherche en Infectiologie de Montpellier
3 BEE - BioEnergie et Environnement
4 Evotec [Toulouse]
5 LMGM - Laboratoire de microbiologie et génétique moléculaires - UMR5100
6 PMB - Physiochimie des Métaux
7 LSHTM - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

The human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis requires a P-1B-ATPase metal exporter, CtpC (Rv3270), for resistance to zinc poisoning. Here, we show that zinc resistance also depends on a chaperone-like protein, PacL1 (Rv3269). PacL1 contains a transmembrane domain, a cytoplasmic region with glutamine/alanine repeats and a C-terminal metal-binding motif (MBM). PacL1 binds Zn2+, but the MBM is required only at high zinc concentrations. PacL1 co-localizes with CtpC in dynamic foci in the mycobacterial plasma membrane, and the two proteins form high molecular weight complexes. Foci formation does not require flotillin nor the PacL1 MBM. However, deletion of the PacL1 Glu/Ala repeats leads to loss of CtpC and sensitivity to zinc. Genes pacL1 and ctpC appear to be in the same operon, and homologous gene pairs are found in the genomes of other bacteria. Furthermore, PacL1 colocalizes and functions redundantly with other PacL orthologs in M. tuberculosis. Overall, our results indicate that PacL proteins may act as scaffolds that assemble P-ATPase-containing metal efflux platforms mediating bacterial resistance to metal poisoning. The human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis requires a metal exporter, CtpC, for resistance to zinc poisoning. Here, the authors show that zinc resistance also depends on a chaperone-like protein that binds zinc ions, forms high-molecular-weight complexes with CtpC in the cytoplasmic membrane, and is required for CtpC function.

Mots clés: Bacterial pathogenesis; Pathogens; Bacterial pathogenesis

Domaines: Biologie cellulaire; Bactériologie; Maladies infectieuses

Yves-Marie Boudehen, Marion Faucher, Xavier Maréchal, Roger Miras, Jérôme Rech, et al.. Mycobacterial resistance to zinc poisoning requires assembly of P-ATPase-containing membrane metal efflux platforms. Nature Communications, 2022, 13 (1), pp.4731. ⟨10.1038/s41467-022-32085-7⟩. ⟨hal-03759856v2⟩