A novel plant E3 ligase stabilizes Escherichia coli heat shock factor σ(32)

The heat shock response is crucial for organisms against heat-damaged proteins and maintaining homeostasis at a high temperature. Heterologous expression of eukaryotic molecular chaperones protects Escherichia coli from heat stress. Here we report that expression of the plant E3 ligase BnTR1 significantly increases the thermotolerance of E. coli. Different from eukaryotic chaperones, BnTR1 expression induces the accumulation of heat shock factor σ(32) and heat shock proteins. The active site of BnTR1 in E. coli is the zinc fingers of the RING domain, which interacts with DnaK resulting in stabilizing σ(32). Our findings indicate the expression of BnTR1 confers thermoprotective effects on E. coli cells, and it may provide useful clues to engineer thermophilic bacterial strains.