The Roles of the Two-Component System, MtrAB, in Response to Diverse Cell Envelope Stresses in Dietzia sp. DQ12-45-1b

Two-component systems (TCSs) act as common regulatory systems allowing bacteria to detect and respond to multiple environmental stimuli, including cell envelope stress. The MtrAB TCS of Actinobacteria is critical for cell wall homeostasis, cell proliferation, osmoprotection, and antibiotic resistance, and thus is found to be highly conserved across this phylum. However, how precisely the MtrAB TCS regulates cellular homeostasis in response to environmental stress remains unclear. Here, we show that the MtrAB TCS plays an important role in the tolerance to different types of cell envelope stresses, including environmental stresses (i.e., oxidative stress, lysozyme, SDS, osmotic pressure, and alkaline pH stresses) and envelope-targeting antibiotics (i.e., isoniazid, ethambutol, glycopeptide, and β-lactam antibiotics) in Dietzia sp. DQ12-45-1b. An mtrAB mutant strain exhibited slower growth compared to the wild-type strain and was characterized by abnormal cell shapes when exposed to various environmental stresses. Moreover, deletion of mtrAB resulted in decreased resistance to isoniazid, ethambutol, and β-lactam antibiotics. Further, Cleavage under targets and tagmentation sequencing (CUT&Tag-seq) and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) revealed that MtrA binds the promoters of genes involved in peptidoglycan biosynthesis (ldtB, ldtA, murJ), hydrolysis (GJR88_03483, GJR88_4713), and cell division (ftsE). Together, our findings demonstrated that the MtrAB TCS is essential for the survival of Dietzia sp. DQ12-45-1b under various cell envelope stresses, primarily by controlling multiple downstream cellular pathways. Our work suggests that TCSs act as global sensors and regulators in maintaining cellular homeostasis, such as during episodes of various environmental stresses. The present study should shed light on the understanding of mechanisms for bacterial adaptivity to extreme environments. IMPORTANCE The multilayered cell envelope is the first line of bacterial defense against various extreme environments. Bacteria utilize a large number of sensing and regulatory systems to maintain cell envelope homeostasis under multiple stress conditions. The two-component system (TCS) is the main sensing and responding apparatus for environmental adaptation. The MtrAB TCS highly conserved in Actinobacteria is critical for cell wall homeostasis, cell proliferation, osmoprotection, and antibiotic resistance. However, how MtrAB works with regard to signals impacting changes to the cell envelope is not fully understood. Here, we found that in the Actinobacterium Dietzia sp. DQ12-45-1b, a TCS named MtrAB is pivotal for ensuring normal cell growth as well as maintaining proper cell morphology in response to various cell envelope stresses, namely, by regulating the expression of cell envelope-related genes. Our findings should greatly advance our understanding of the adaptive mechanisms responsible for maintaining cell integrity in times of sustained environmental shocks.