@article{KellerLeidingerVogeletal.2014, author = {Keller, Andreas and Leidinger, Petra and Vogel, Britta and Backes, Christina and ElSharawy, Abdou and Galata, Valentina and Mueller, Sabine C. and Marquart, Sabine and Schrauder, Michael G. and Strick, Reiner and Bauer, Andrea and Wischhusen, J{\"o}rg and Beier, Markus and Kohlhaas, Jochen and Katus, Hugo A. and Hoheisel, J{\"o}rg and Franke, Andre and Meder, Benjamin and Meese, Eckart}, title = {miRNAs can be generally associated with human pathologies as exemplified for miR-144*}, series = {BMC MEDICINE}, volume = {12}, journal = {BMC MEDICINE}, issn = {1741-7015}, doi = {10.1186/s12916-014-0224-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-114349}, pages = {224}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Background: miRNA profiles are promising biomarker candidates for a manifold of human pathologies, opening new avenues for diagnosis and prognosis. Beyond studies that describe miRNAs frequently as markers for specific traits, we asked whether a general pattern for miRNAs across many diseases exists. Methods: We evaluated genome-wide circulating profiles of 1,049 patients suffering from 19 different cancer and non-cancer diseases as well as unaffected controls. The results were validated on 319 individuals using qRT-PCR. Results: We discovered 34 miRNAs with strong disease association. Among those, we found substantially decreased levels of hsa-miR-144* and hsa-miR-20b with AUC of 0.751 ( 95\% CI: 0.703-0.799), respectively. We also discovered a set of miRNAs, including hsa-miR-155*, as rather stable markers, offering reasonable control miRNAs for future studies. The strong downregulation of hsa-miR-144* and the less variable pattern of hsa-miR-155* has been validated in a cohort of 319 samples in three different centers. Here, breast cancer as an additional disease phenotype not included in the screening phase has been included as the 20th trait. Conclusions: Our study on 1,368 patients including 1,049 genome-wide miRNA profiles and 319 qRT-PCR validations further underscores the high potential of specific blood-borne miRNA patterns as molecular biomarkers. Importantly, we highlight 34 miRNAs that are generally dysregulated in human pathologies. Although these markers are not specific to certain diseases they may add to the diagnosis in combination with other markers, building a specific signature. Besides these dysregulated miRNAs, we propose a set of constant miRNAs that may be used as control markers.}, language = {en} } @article{PapenfortVogel2014, author = {Papenfort, Kai and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Small RNA functions in carbon metabolism and virulence of enteric pathogens}, series = {Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology}, volume = {4}, journal = {Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology}, number = {91}, issn = {2235-2988}, doi = {10.3389/fcimb.2014.00091}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-197520}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Enteric pathogens often cycle between virulent and saprophytic lifestyles. To endure these frequent changes in nutrient availability and composition bacteria possess an arsenal of regulatory and metabolic genes allowing rapid adaptation and high flexibility. While numerous proteins have been characterized with regard to metabolic control in pathogenic bacteria, small non-coding RNAs have emerged as additional regulators of metabolism. Recent advances in sequencing technology have vastly increased the number of candidate regulatory RNAs and several of them have been found to act at the interface of bacterial metabolism and virulence factor expression. Importantly, studying these riboregulators has not only provided insight into their metabolic control functions but also revealed new mechanisms of post-transcriptional gene control. This review will focus on the recent advances in this area of host-microbe interaction and discuss how regulatory small RNAs may help coordinate metabolism and virulence of enteric pathogens.}, language = {en} } @article{FroehlichHanekePapenfortetal.2016, author = {Fr{\"o}hlich, Kathrin S. and Haneke, Katharina and Papenfort, Kai and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {The target spectrum of SdsR small RNA in Salmonella}, series = {Nucleic Acids Research}, volume = {44}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Research}, number = {21}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkw632}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175365}, pages = {10406-10422}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Model enteric bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica express hundreds of small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs), targets for most of which are yet unknown. Some sRNAs are remarkably well conserved, indicating that they serve cellular functions that go beyond the necessities of a single species. One of these 'core sRNAs' of largely unknown function is the abundant ∼100-nucleotide SdsR sRNA which is transcribed by the general stress σ-factor, σ\(^{S}\) and accumulates in stationary phase. In Salmonella, SdsR was known to inhibit the synthesis of the species-specific porin, OmpD. However, sdsR genes are present in almost all enterobacterial genomes, suggesting that additional, conserved targets of this sRNA must exist. Here, we have combined SdsR pulse-expression with whole genome transcriptomics to discover 20 previously unknown candidate targets of SdsR which include mRNAs coding for physiologically important regulators such as the carbon utilization regulator, CRP, the nucleoid-associated chaperone, StpA and the antibiotic resistance transporter, TolC. Processing of SdsR by RNase E results in two cellular SdsR variants with distinct target spectra. While the overall physiological role of this orphan core sRNA remains to be fully understood, the new SdsR targets present valuable leads to determine sRNA functions in resting bacteria.}, language = {en} } @article{BelairBaudChabasetal.2011, author = {Belair, C{\´e}dric and Baud, Jessica and Chabas, Sandrine and Sharma, Cynthia M and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Staedel, Cathy and Darfeuille, Fabien}, title = {Helicobacter pylori interferes with an embryonic stem cell micro RNA cluster to block cell cycle progression}, series = {Silence : a Journal of RNA regulation}, volume = {2}, journal = {Silence : a Journal of RNA regulation}, number = {7}, doi = {10.1186/1758-907X-2-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-140438}, pages = {1-16}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Background MicroRNAs, post-transcriptional regulators of eukaryotic gene expression, are implicated in host defense against pathogens. Viruses and bacteria have evolved strategies that suppress microRNA functions, resulting in a sustainable infection. In this work we report that Helicobacter pylori, a human stomach-colonizing bacterium responsible for severe gastric inflammatory diseases and gastric cancers, downregulates an embryonic stem cell microRNA cluster in proliferating gastric epithelial cells to achieve cell cycle arrest. Results Using a deep sequencing approach in the AGS cell line, a widely used cell culture model to recapitulate early events of H. pylori infection of gastric mucosa, we reveal that hsa-miR-372 is the most abundant microRNA expressed in this cell line, where, together with hsa-miR-373, it promotes cell proliferation by silencing large tumor suppressor homolog 2 (LATS2) gene expression. Shortly after H. pylori infection, miR-372 and miR-373 synthesis is highly inhibited, leading to the post-transcriptional release of LATS2 expression and thus, to a cell cycle arrest at the G1/S transition. This downregulation of a specific cell-cycle-regulating microRNA is dependent on the translocation of the bacterial effector CagA into the host cells, a mechanism highly associated with the development of severe atrophic gastritis and intestinal-type gastric carcinoma. Conclusions These data constitute a novel example of host-pathogen interplay involving microRNAs, and unveil the couple LATS2/miR-372 and miR-373 as an unexpected mechanism in infection-induced cell cycle arrest in proliferating gastric cells, which may be relevant in inhibition of gastric epithelium renewal, a major host defense mechanism against bacterial infections.}, language = {en} } @article{EulalioFroehlichManoetal.2011, author = {Eulalio, Ana and Fr{\"o}hlich, Kathrin S. and Mano, Miguel and Giacca, Mauro and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {A Candidate Approach Implicates the Secreted Salmonella Effector Protein SpvB in P-Body Disassembly}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-68928}, year = {2011}, abstract = {P-bodies are dynamic aggregates of RNA and proteins involved in several post-transcriptional regulation processes. Pbodies have been shown to play important roles in regulating viral infection, whereas their interplay with bacterial pathogens, specifically intracellular bacteria that extensively manipulate host cell pathways, remains unknown. Here, we report that Salmonella infection induces P-body disassembly in a cell type-specific manner, and independently of previously characterized pathways such as inhibition of host cell RNA synthesis or microRNA-mediated gene silencing. We show that the Salmonella-induced P-body disassembly depends on the activation of the SPI-2 encoded type 3 secretion system, and that the secreted effector protein SpvB plays a major role in this process. P-body disruption is also induced by the related pathogen, Shigella flexneri, arguing that this might be a new mechanism by which intracellular bacterial pathogens subvert host cell function.}, subject = {Salmonella}, language = {en} } @article{AlbrechtSharmaDittrichetal.2011, author = {Albrecht, Marco and Sharma, Cynthia M. and Dittrich, Marcus T. and M{\"u}ller, Tobias and Reinhardt, Richard and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Rudel, Thomas}, title = {The Transcriptional Landscape of Chlamydia pneumoniae}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-69116}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Background: Gene function analysis of the obligate intracellular bacterium Chlamydia pneumoniae is hampered by the facts that this organism is inaccessible to genetic manipulations and not cultivable outside the host. The genomes of several strains have been sequenced; however, very little information is available on the gene structure and transcriptome of C. pneumoniae. Results: Using a differential RNA-sequencing approach with specific enrichment of primary transcripts, we defined the transcriptome of purified elementary bodies and reticulate bodies of C. pneumoniae strain CWL-029; 565 transcriptional start sites of annotated genes and novel transcripts were mapped. Analysis of adjacent genes for cotranscription revealed 246 polycistronic transcripts. In total, a distinct transcription start site or an affiliation to an operon could be assigned to 862 out of 1,074 annotated protein coding genes. Semi-quantitative analysis of mapped cDNA reads revealed significant differences for 288 genes in the RNA levels of genes isolated from elementary bodies and reticulate bodies. We have identified and in part confirmed 75 novel putative non-coding RNAs. The detailed map of transcription start sites at single nucleotide resolution allowed for the first time a comprehensive and saturating analysis of promoter consensus sequences in Chlamydia. Conclusions: The precise transcriptional landscape as a complement to the genome sequence will provide new insights into the organization, control and function of genes. Novel non-coding RNAs and identified common promoter motifs will help to understand gene regulation of this important human pathogen.}, subject = {Chlamydia pneumoniae}, language = {en} } @article{LioliouSharmaCaldelarietal.2012, author = {Lioliou, Efthimia and Sharma, Cynthia M. and Caldelari, Isabelle and Helfer, Anne-Catherine and Fechter, Pierre and Vandenesch, Fran{\c{c}}ois and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Romby, Pascale}, title = {Global Regulatory Functions of the Staphylococcus aureus Endoribonuclease III in Gene Expression}, series = {PLoS Genetics}, volume = {8}, journal = {PLoS Genetics}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pgen.1002782}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-127219}, pages = {e1002782}, year = {2012}, abstract = {RNA turnover plays an important role in both virulence and adaptation to stress in the Gram-positive human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. However, the molecular players and mechanisms involved in these processes are poorly understood. Here, we explored the functions of S. aureus endoribonuclease III (RNase III), a member of the ubiquitous family of double-strand-specific endoribonucleases. To define genomic transcripts that are bound and processed by RNase III, we performed deep sequencing on cDNA libraries generated from RNAs that were co-immunoprecipitated with wild-type RNase III or two different cleavage-defective mutant variants in vivo. Several newly identified RNase III targets were validated by independent experimental methods. We identified various classes of structured RNAs as RNase III substrates and demonstrated that this enzyme is involved in the maturation of rRNAs and tRNAs, regulates the turnover of mRNAs and non-coding RNAs, and autoregulates its synthesis by cleaving within the coding region of its own mRNA. Moreover, we identified a positive effect of RNase III on protein synthesis based on novel mechanisms. RNase III-mediated cleavage in the 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR) enhanced the stability and translation of cspA mRNA, which encodes the major cold-shock protein. Furthermore, RNase III cleaved overlapping 5′UTRs of divergently transcribed genes to generate leaderless mRNAs, which constitutes a novel way to co-regulate neighboring genes. In agreement with recent findings, low abundance antisense RNAs covering 44\% of the annotated genes were captured by co-immunoprecipitation with RNase III mutant proteins. Thus, in addition to gene regulation, RNase III is associated with RNA quality control of pervasive transcription. Overall, this study illustrates the complexity of post-transcriptional regulation mediated by RNase III.}, language = {en} } @article{BandyraSaidPfeifferetal.2012, author = {Bandyra, Katarzyna J. and Said, Nelly and Pfeiffer, Verena and G{\´o}rna, Maria W. and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Luisi, Ben F.}, title = {The Seed Region of a Small RNA Drives the Controlled Destruction of the Target mRNA by the Endoribonuclease RNase E}, series = {Molecular Cell}, volume = {47}, journal = {Molecular Cell}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1016/j.molcel.2012.07.015}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-126202}, pages = {943-953}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Numerous small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) in bacteria modulate rates of translation initiation and degradation of target mRNAs, which they recognize through base-pairing facilitated by the RNA chaperone Hfq. Recent evidence indicates that the ternary complex of Hfq, sRNA and mRNA guides endoribonuclease RNase E to initiate turnover of both the RNAs. We show that a sRNA not only guides RNase E to a defined site in a target RNA, but also allosterically activates the enzyme by presenting a monophosphate group at the 5′-end of the cognate-pairing "seed." Moreover, in the absence of the target the 5′-monophosphate makes the sRNA seed region vulnerable to an attack by RNase E against which Hfq confers no protection. These results suggest that the chemical signature and pairing status of the sRNA seed region may help to both 'proofread' recognition and activate mRNA cleavage, as part of a dynamic process involving cooperation of RNA, Hfq and RNase E.}, language = {en} } @article{SassVanAckerFoerstneretal.2015, author = {Sass, Andrea M. and Van Acker, Heleen and F{\"o}rstner, Konrad U. and Van Nieuwerburgh, Filip and Deforce, Dieter and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Coenye, Tom}, title = {Genome-wide transcription start site profiling in biofilm-grown Burkholderia cenocepacia J2315}, series = {BMC Genomics}, volume = {16}, journal = {BMC Genomics}, number = {775}, doi = {10.1186/s12864-015-1993-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-139748}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background: Burkholderia cenocepacia is a soil-dwelling Gram-negative Betaproteobacterium with an important role as opportunistic pathogen in humans. Infections with B. cenocepacia are very difficult to treat due to their high intrinsic resistance to most antibiotics. Biofilm formation further adds to their antibiotic resistance. B. cenocepacia harbours a large, multi-replicon genome with a high GC-content, the reference genome of strain J2315 includes 7374 annotated genes. This study aims to annotate transcription start sites and identify novel transcripts on a whole genome scale. Methods: RNA extracted from B. cenocepacia J2315 biofilms was analysed by differential RNA-sequencing and the resulting dataset compared to data derived from conventional, global RNA-sequencing. Transcription start sites were annotated and further analysed according to their position relative to annotated genes. Results: Four thousand ten transcription start sites were mapped over the whole B. cenocepacia genome and the primary transcription start site of 2089 genes expressed in B. cenocepacia biofilms were defined. For 64 genes a start codon alternative to the annotated one was proposed. Substantial antisense transcription for 105 genes and two novel protein coding sequences were identified. The distribution of internal transcription start sites can be used to identify genomic islands in B. cenocepacia. A potassium pump strongly induced only under biofilm conditions was found and 15 non-coding small RNAs highly expressed in biofilms were discovered. Conclusions: Mapping transcription start sites across the B. cenocepacia genome added relevant information to the J2315 annotation. Genes and novel regulatory RNAs putatively involved in B. cenocepacia biofilm formation were identified. These findings will help in understanding regulation of B. cenocepacia biofilm formation.}, language = {en} } @article{FanLiChaoetal.2015, author = {Fan, Ben and Li, Lei and Chao, Yanjie and F{\"o}rstner, Konrad and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Borriss, Rainer and Wu, Xiao-Qin}, title = {dRNA-Seq Reveals Genomewide TSSs and Noncoding RNAs of Plant Beneficial Rhizobacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42}, series = {PLoS One}, volume = {10}, journal = {PLoS One}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0142002}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-138369}, pages = {e0142002}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum FZB42 is a representative of Gram-positive plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) that inhabit plant root environments. In order to better understand the molecular mechanisms of bacteria-plant symbiosis, we have systematically analyzed the primary transcriptome of strain FZB42 grown under rhizospheremimicking conditions using differential RNA sequencing (dRNA-seq). Our analysis revealed 4,877 transcription start sites for protein-coding genes, identified genes differentially expressed under different growth conditions, and corrected many previously mis-annotated genes. We also identified a large number of riboswitches and cis-encoded antisense RNAs, as well as trans-encoded small noncoding RNAs that may play important roles in the gene regulation of Bacillus. Overall, our analyses provided a landscape of Bacillus primary transcriptome and improved the knowledge of rhizobacteria-host interactions.}, language = {en} } @article{FroehlichPapenfortBergeretal.2012, author = {Fr{\"o}hlich, Kathrin S. and Papenfort, Kai and Berger, Allison A. and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {A conserved RpoS-dependent small RNA controls the synthesis of major porin OmpD}, series = {Nucleic Acids Research}, volume = {40}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Research}, number = {8}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkr1156}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-134230}, pages = {3623-3640}, year = {2012}, abstract = {A remarkable feature of many small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) of Escherichia coli and Salmonella is their accumulation in the stationary phase of bacterial growth. Several stress response regulators and sigma factors have been reported to direct the transcription of stationary phase-specific sRNAs, but a widely conserved sRNA gene that is controlled by the major stationary phase and stress sigma factor, Sigma(S) (RpoS), has remained elusive. We have studied in Salmonella the conserved SdsR sRNA, previously known as RyeB, one of the most abundant stationary phase-specific sRNAs in E. coli. Alignments of the sdsR promoter region and genetic analysis strongly suggest that this sRNA gene is selectively transcribed by Sigma(S). We show that SdsR down-regulates the synthesis of the major Salmonella porin OmpD by Hfq-dependent base pairing; SdsR thus represents the fourth sRNA to regulate this major outer membrane porin. Similar to the InvR, MicC and RybB sRNAs, SdsR recognizes the ompD mRNA in the coding sequence, suggesting that this mRNA may be primarily targeted downstream of the start codon. The SdsR-binding site in ompD was localized by 3'-RACE, an experimental approach that promises to be of use in predicting other sRNA-target interactions in bacteria.}, language = {en} } @article{SchmidtkeFindeissSharmaetal.2011, author = {Schmidtke, Cornelius and Findeiß, Sven and Sharma, Cynthia M. and Kuhfuss, Juliane and Hoffmann, Steve and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Stadler, Peter F. and Bonas, Ulla}, title = {Genome-wide transcriptome analysis of the plant pathogen Xanthomonas identifies sRNAs with putative virulence functions}, series = {Nucleic Acids Research}, volume = {40}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Research}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkr904}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131781}, pages = {2020 -- 2031}, year = {2011}, abstract = {The Gram-negative plant-pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv) is an important model to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the interaction with the host. To gain insight into the transcriptome of the Xcv strain 85-10, we took a differential RNA sequencing (dRNA-seq) approach. Using a novel method to automatically generate comprehensive transcription start site (TSS) maps we report 1421 putative TSSs in the Xcv genome. Genes in Xcv exhibit a poorly conserved -10 promoter element and no consensus Shine-Dalgarno sequence. Moreover, 14\% of all mRNAs are leaderless and 13\% of them have unusually long 5'-UTRs. Northern blot analyses confirmed 16 intergenic small RNAs and seven cis-encoded antisense RNAs in Xcv. Expression of eight intergenic transcripts was controlled by HrpG and HrpX, key regulators of the Xcv type III secretion system. More detailed characterization identified sX12 as a small RNA that controls virulence of Xcv by affecting the interaction of the pathogen and its host plants. The transcriptional landscape of Xcv is unexpectedly complex, featuring abundant antisense transcripts, alternative TSSs and clade-specific small RNAs.}, language = {en} } @article{SchulteWestermannVogel2013, author = {Schulte, Leon N. and Westermann, Alexander J. and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Differential activation and functional specialization of miR-146 and miR-155 in innate immune sensing}, series = {Nucleic Acids Research}, volume = {41}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Research}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gks1030}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-129765}, pages = {542-553}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Many microRNAs (miRNAs) are co-regulated during the same physiological process but the underlying cellular logic is often little understood. The conserved, immunomodulatory miRNAs miR-146 and miR-155, for instance, are co-induced in many cell types in response to microbial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to feedback-repress LPS signalling through Toll-like receptor TLR4. Here, we report that these seemingly co-induced regulatory RNAs dramatically differ in their induction behaviour under various stimuli strengths and act non-redundantly through functional specialization; although miR-146 expression saturates at sub-inflammatory doses of LPS that do not trigger the messengers of inflammation markers, miR-155 remains tightly associated with the pro-inflammatory transcriptional programmes. Consequently, we found that both miRNAs control distinct mRNA target profiles; although miR-146 targets the messengers of LPS signal transduction components and thus downregulates cellular LPS sensitivity, miR-155 targets the mRNAs of genes pervasively involved in pro-inflammatory transcriptional programmes. Thus, miR-155 acts as a broad limiter of pro-inflammatory gene expression once the miR-146 dependent barrier to LPS triggered inflammation has been breached. Importantly, we also report alternative miR-155 activation by the sensing of bacterial peptidoglycan through cytoplasmic NOD-like receptor, NOD2. We predict that dosedependent responses to environmental stimuli may involve functional specialization of seemingly coinduced miRNAs in other cellular circuitries as well.}, language = {en} } @article{DimastrogiovanniFroehlichBandyraetal.2014, author = {Dimastrogiovanni, Daniela and Fr{\"o}hlich, Kathrin S. and Bandyra, Katarzyna J. and Bruce, Heather A. and Hohensee, Susann and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Luisi, Ben F.}, title = {Recognition of the small regulatory RNA RydC by the bacterial Hfq protein}, series = {eLife}, volume = {3}, journal = {eLife}, number = {e05375}, issn = {2050-084X}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.05375}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-114191}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Bacterial small RNAs (sRNAs) are key elements of regulatory networks that modulate gene expression. The sRNA RydC of Salmonella sp. and Escherichia coli is an example of this class of riboregulators. Like many other sRNAs, RydC bears a 'seed' region that recognises specific transcripts through base-pairing, and its activities are facilitated by the RNA chaperone Hfq. The crystal structure of RydC in complex with E. coli Hfq at 3.48 angstrom resolution illuminates how the protein interacts with and presents the sRNA for target recognition. Consolidating the protein-RNA complex is a host of distributed interactions mediated by the natively unstructured termini of Hfq. Based on the structure and other data, we propose a model for a dynamic effector complex comprising Hfq, small RNA, and the cognate mRNA target.}, language = {en} } @article{GorskiVogelSalibaetal.2014, author = {Gorski, Stanislaw A. and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Saliba, Antoine-Emmanuel and Westermann, Alexander J.}, title = {Single-cell RNA-seq: advances and future challenges}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gku555}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-110993}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Phenotypically identical cells can dramatically vary with respect to behavior during their lifespan and this variation is reflected in their molecular composition such as the transcriptomic landscape. Singlecell transcriptomics using next-generation transcript sequencing (RNA-seq) is now emerging as a powerful tool to profile cell-to-cell variability on a genomic scale. Its application has already greatly impacted our conceptual understanding of diverse biological processes with broad implications for both basic and clinical research. Different single-cell RNAseq protocols have been introduced and are reviewed here - each one with its own strengths and current limitations. We further provide an overview of the biological questions single-cell RNA-seq has been used to address, the major findings obtained from such studies, and current challenges and expected future developments in this booming field.}, subject = {RNS}, language = {en} } @article{SchulteWestermannVogel2012, author = {Schulte, Leon N. and Westermann, Alexander J. and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Differential activation and functional specialization of miR-146 and miR-155 in innate immune sensing}, edition = {Advance Access}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-76365}, year = {2012}, abstract = {Many microRNAs (miRNAs) are co-regulated during the same physiological process but the underlying cellular logic is often little understood. The conserved, immunomodulatory miRNAs miR-146 and miR-155, for instance, are co-induced in many cell types in response to microbial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to feedback-repress LPS signalling through Toll-like receptor TLR4. Here, we report that these seemingly co-induced regulatory RNAs dramatically differ in their induction behaviour under various stimuli strengths and act non-redundantly through functional specialization; although miR-146 expression saturates at sub-inflammatory doses of LPS that do not trigger the messengers of inflammation markers, miR-155 remains tightly associated with the pro-inflammatory transcriptional programmes. Consequently, we found that both miRNAs control distinct mRNA target profiles; although miR-146 targets the messengers of LPS signal transduction components and thus downregulates cellular LPS sensitivity, miR-155 targets the mRNAs of genes pervasively involved in pro-inflammatory transcriptional programmes. Thus, miR-155 acts as a broad limiter of pro-inflammatory gene expression once the miR-146 dependent barrier to LPS triggered inflammation has been breached. Importantly, we also report alternative miR-155 activation by the sensing of bacterial peptidoglycan through cytoplasmic NOD-like receptor, NOD2. We predict that dosedependent responses to environmental stimuli may involve functional specialization of seemingly coinduced miRNAs in other cellular circuitries as well.}, subject = {Medizin}, language = {en} } @article{ElMoualiGerovacMineikaitėetal.2021, author = {El Mouali, Youssef and Gerovac, Milan and Mineikaitė, Raminta and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {In vivo targets of Salmonella FinO include a FinP-like small RNA controlling copy number of a cohabitating plasmid}, series = {Nucleic Acids Research}, volume = {49}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Research}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkab281}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261072}, pages = {5319-5335}, year = {2021}, abstract = {FinO-domain proteins represent an emerging family of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) with diverse roles in bacterial post-transcriptional control and physiology. They exhibit an intriguing targeting spectrum, ranging from an assumed single RNA pair (FinP/traJ) for the plasmid-encoded FinO protein, to transcriptome-wide activity as documented for chromosomally encoded ProQ proteins. Thus, the shared FinO domain might bear an unusual plasticity enabling it to act either selectively or promiscuously on the same cellular RNA pool. One caveat to this model is that the full suite of in vivo targets of the assumedly highly selective FinO protein is unknown. Here, we have extensively profiled cellular transcripts associated with the virulence plasmid-encoded FinO in Salmonella enterica. While our analysis confirms the FinP sRNA of plasmid pSLT as the primary FinO target, we identify a second major ligand: the RepX sRNA of the unrelated antibiotic resistance plasmid pRSF1010. FinP and RepX are strikingly similar in length and structure, but not in primary sequence, and so may provide clues to understanding the high selectivity of FinO-RNA interactions. Moreover, we observe that the FinO RBP encoded on the Salmonella virulence plasmid controls the replication of a cohabitating antibiotic resistance plasmid, suggesting cross-regulation of plasmids on the RNA level.}, language = {en} } @article{JiangOronClarketal.2016, author = {Jiang, Yuxiang and Oron, Tal Ronnen and Clark, Wyatt T. and Bankapur, Asma R. and D'Andrea, Daniel and Lepore, Rosalba and Funk, Christopher S. and Kahanda, Indika and Verspoor, Karin M. and Ben-Hur, Asa and Koo, Da Chen Emily and Penfold-Brown, Duncan and Shasha, Dennis and Youngs, Noah and Bonneau, Richard and Lin, Alexandra and Sahraeian, Sayed M. E. and Martelli, Pier Luigi and Profiti, Giuseppe and Casadio, Rita and Cao, Renzhi and Zhong, Zhaolong and Cheng, Jianlin and Altenhoff, Adrian and Skunca, Nives and Dessimoz, Christophe and Dogan, Tunca and Hakala, Kai and Kaewphan, Suwisa and Mehryary, Farrokh and Salakoski, Tapio and Ginter, Filip and Fang, Hai and Smithers, Ben and Oates, Matt and Gough, Julian and T{\"o}r{\"o}nen, Petri and Koskinen, Patrik and Holm, Liisa and Chen, Ching-Tai and Hsu, Wen-Lian and Bryson, Kevin and Cozzetto, Domenico and Minneci, Federico and Jones, David T. and Chapman, Samuel and BKC, Dukka and Khan, Ishita K. and Kihara, Daisuke and Ofer, Dan and Rappoport, Nadav and Stern, Amos and Cibrian-Uhalte, Elena and Denny, Paul and Foulger, Rebecca E. and Hieta, Reija and Legge, Duncan and Lovering, Ruth C. and Magrane, Michele and Melidoni, Anna N. and Mutowo-Meullenet, Prudence and Pichler, Klemens and Shypitsyna, Aleksandra and Li, Biao and Zakeri, Pooya and ElShal, Sarah and Tranchevent, L{\´e}on-Charles and Das, Sayoni and Dawson, Natalie L. and Lee, David and Lees, Jonathan G. and Sillitoe, Ian and Bhat, Prajwal and Nepusz, Tam{\´a}s and Romero, Alfonso E. and Sasidharan, Rajkumar and Yang, Haixuan and Paccanaro, Alberto and Gillis, Jesse and Sede{\~n}o-Cort{\´e}s, Adriana E. and Pavlidis, Paul and Feng, Shou and Cejuela, Juan M. and Goldberg, Tatyana and Hamp, Tobias and Richter, Lothar and Salamov, Asaf and Gabaldon, Toni and Marcet-Houben, Marina and Supek, Fran and Gong, Qingtian and Ning, Wei and Zhou, Yuanpeng and Tian, Weidong and Falda, Marco and Fontana, Paolo and Lavezzo, Enrico and Toppo, Stefano and Ferrari, Carlo and Giollo, Manuel and Piovesan, Damiano and Tosatto, Silvio C. E. and del Pozo, Angela and Fern{\´a}ndez, Jos{\´e} M. and Maietta, Paolo and Valencia, Alfonso and Tress, Michael L. and Benso, Alfredo and Di Carlo, Stefano and Politano, Gianfranco and Savino, Alessandro and Rehman, Hafeez Ur and Re, Matteo and Mesiti, Marco and Valentini, Giorgio and Bargsten, Joachim W. and van Dijk, Aalt D. J. and Gemovic, Branislava and Glisic, Sanja and Perovic, Vladmir and Veljkovic, Veljko and Almeida-e-Silva, Danillo C. and Vencio, Ricardo Z. N. and Sharan, Malvika and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Kansakar, Lakesh and Zhang, Shanshan and Vucetic, Slobodan and Wang, Zheng and Sternberg, Michael J. E. and Wass, Mark N. and Huntley, Rachael P. and Martin, Maria J. and O'Donovan, Claire and Robinson, Peter N. and Moreau, Yves and Tramontano, Anna and Babbitt, Patricia C. and Brenner, Steven E. and Linial, Michal and Orengo, Christine A. and Rost, Burkhard and Greene, Casey S. and Mooney, Sean D. and Friedberg, Iddo and Radivojac, Predrag and Veljkovic, Nevena}, title = {An expanded evaluation of protein function prediction methods shows an improvement in accuracy}, series = {Genome Biology}, volume = {17}, journal = {Genome Biology}, number = {184}, doi = {10.1186/s13059-016-1037-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-166293}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Background A major bottleneck in our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of life is the assignment of function to proteins. While molecular experiments provide the most reliable annotation of proteins, their relatively low throughput and restricted purview have led to an increasing role for computational function prediction. However, assessing methods for protein function prediction and tracking progress in the field remain challenging. Results We conducted the second critical assessment of functional annotation (CAFA), a timed challenge to assess computational methods that automatically assign protein function. We evaluated 126 methods from 56 research groups for their ability to predict biological functions using Gene Ontology and gene-disease associations using Human Phenotype Ontology on a set of 3681 proteins from 18 species. CAFA2 featured expanded analysis compared with CAFA1, with regards to data set size, variety, and assessment metrics. To review progress in the field, the analysis compared the best methods from CAFA1 to those of CAFA2. Conclusions The top-performing methods in CAFA2 outperformed those from CAFA1. This increased accuracy can be attributed to a combination of the growing number of experimental annotations and improved methods for function prediction. The assessment also revealed that the definition of top-performing algorithms is ontology specific, that different performance metrics can be used to probe the nature of accurate predictions, and the relative diversity of predictions in the biological process and human phenotype ontologies. While there was methodological improvement between CAFA1 and CAFA2, the interpretation of results and usefulness of individual methods remain context-dependent.}, language = {en} } @article{AfonsoGrunzHoffmeierMuelleretal.2015, author = {Afonso-Grunz, Fabian and Hoffmeier, Klaus and M{\"u}ller, S{\"o}ren and Westermann, Alexander J. and Rotter, Bj{\"o}rn and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Winter, Peter and Kahl, G{\"u}nter}, title = {Dual 3'Seq using deepSuperSAGE uncovers transcriptomes of interacting Salmonella enterica Typhimurium and human host cells}, series = {BMC Genomics}, volume = {16}, journal = {BMC Genomics}, number = {323}, doi = {10.1186/s12864-015-1489-1}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-143230}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Background: The interaction of eukaryotic host and prokaryotic pathogen cells is linked to specific changes in the cellular proteome, and consequently to infection-related gene expression patterns of the involved cells. To simultaneously assess the transcriptomes of both organisms during their interaction we developed dual 3'Seq, a tag-based sequencing protocol that allows for exact quantification of differentially expressed transcripts in interacting pro-and eukaryotic cells without prior fixation or physical disruption of the interaction. Results: Human epithelial cells were infected with Salmonella enterica Typhimurium as a model system for invasion of the intestinal epithelium, and the transcriptional response of the infected host cells together with the differential expression of invading and intracellular pathogen cells was determined by dual 3'Seq coupled with the next-generation sequencing-based transcriptome profiling technique deepSuperSAGE (deep Serial Analysis of Gene Expression). Annotation to reference transcriptomes comprising the operon structure of the employed S. enterica Typhimurium strain allowed for in silico separation of the interacting cells including quantification of polycistronic RNAs. Eighty-nine percent of the known loci are found to be transcribed in prokaryotic cells prior or subsequent to infection of the host, while 75\% of all protein-coding loci are represented in the polyadenylated transcriptomes of human host cells. Conclusions: Dual 3'Seq was alternatively coupled to MACE (Massive Analysis of cDNA ends) to assess the advantages and drawbacks of a library preparation procedure that allows for sequencing of longer fragments. Additionally, the identified expression patterns of both organisms were validated by qRT-PCR using three independent biological replicates, which confirmed that RELB along with NFKB1 and NFKB2 are involved in the initial immune response of epithelial cells after infection with S. enterica Typhimurium.}, language = {en} } @article{CorreiaSantosBischlerWestermannetal.2021, author = {Correia Santos, Sara and Bischler, Thorsten and Westermann, Alexander J. and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {MAPS integrates regulation of actin-targeting effector SteC into the virulence control network of Salmonella small RNA PinT}, series = {Cell Reports}, volume = {34}, journal = {Cell Reports}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108722}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259134}, pages = {108722}, year = {2021}, abstract = {A full understanding of the contribution of small RNAs (sRNAs) to bacterial virulence demands knowledge of their target suites under infection-relevant conditions. Here, we take an integrative approach to capturing targets of the Hfq-associated sRNA PinT, a known post-transcriptional timer of the two major virulence programs of Salmonella enterica. Using MS2 affinity purification and RNA sequencing (MAPS), we identify PinT ligands in bacteria under in vitro conditions mimicking specific stages of the infection cycle and in bacteria growing inside macrophages. This reveals PinT-mediated translational inhibition of the secreted effector kinase SteC, which had gone unnoticed in previous target searches. Using genetic, biochemical, and microscopic assays, we provide evidence for PinT-mediated repression of steC mRNA, eventually delaying actin rearrangements in infected host cells. Our findings support the role of PinT as a central post-transcriptional regulator in Salmonella virulence and illustrate the need for complementary methods to reveal the full target suites of sRNAs.}, language = {en} } @article{WestermannBarquistVogel2017, author = {Westermann, Alexander J. and Barquist, Lars and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Resolving host-pathogen interactions by dual RNA-seq}, series = {PLoS Pathogens}, volume = {13}, journal = {PLoS Pathogens}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1006033}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-171921}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The transcriptome is a powerful proxy for the physiological state of a cell, healthy or diseased. As a result, transcriptome analysis has become a key tool in understanding the molecular changes that accompany bacterial infections of eukaryotic cells. Until recently, such transcriptomic studies have been technically limited to analyzing mRNA expression changes in either the bacterial pathogen or the infected eukaryotic host cell. However, the increasing sensitivity of high-throughput RNA sequencing now enables "dual RNA-seq" studies, simultaneously capturing all classes of coding and noncoding transcripts in both the pathogen and the host. In the five years since the concept of dual RNA-seq was introduced, the technique has been applied to a range of infection models. This has not only led to a better understanding of the physiological changes in pathogen and host during the course of an infection but has also revealed hidden molecular phenotypes of virulence-associated small noncoding RNAs that were not visible in standard infection assays. Here, we use the knowledge gained from these recent studies to suggest experimental and computational guidelines for the design of future dual RNA-seq studies. We conclude this review by discussing prospective applications of the technique.}, language = {en} } @article{VogelPrinzingBussleretal.2021, author = {Vogel, Sebastian and Prinzing, Andreas and Bußler, Heinz and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Schmidt, Stefan and Thorn, Simon}, title = {Abundance, not diversity, of host beetle communities determines abundance and diversity of parasitoids in deadwood}, series = {Ecology and Evolution}, volume = {11}, journal = {Ecology and Evolution}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1002/ece3.7535}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-238892}, pages = {6881 -- 6888}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Most parasites and parasitoids are adapted to overcome defense mechanisms of their specific hosts and hence colonize a narrow range of host species. Accordingly, an increase in host functional or phylogenetic dissimilarity is expected to increase the species diversity of parasitoids. However, the local diversity of parasitoids may be driven by the accessibility and detectability of hosts, both increasing with increasing host abundance. Yet, the relative importance of these two mechanisms remains unclear. We parallelly reared communities of saproxylic beetle as potential hosts and associated parasitoid Hymenoptera from experimentally felled trees. The dissimilarity of beetle communities was inferred from distances in seven functional traits and from their evolutionary ancestry. We tested the effect of host abundance, species richness, functional, and phylogenetic dissimilarities on the abundance, species richness, and Shannon diversity of parasitoids. Our results showed an increase of abundance, species richness, and Shannon diversity of parasitoids with increasing beetle abundance. Additionally, abundance of parasitoids increased with increasing species richness of beetles. However, functional and phylogenetic dissimilarity showed no effect on the diversity of parasitoids. Our results suggest that the local diversity of parasitoids, of ephemeral and hidden resources like saproxylic beetles, is highest when resources are abundant and thereby detectable and accessible. Hence, in some cases, resources do not need to be diverse to promote parasitoid diversity.}, language = {en} } @article{HollenhorstJurastowNandigamaetal.2020, author = {Hollenhorst, Monika I. and Jurastow, Innokentij and Nandigama, Rajender and Appenzeller, Silke and Li, Lei and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Wiederhold, Stephanie and Althaus, Mike and Empting, Martin and Altm{\"u}ller, Janine and Hirsch, Anna K. H. and Flockerzi, Veit and Canning, Brendan J. and Saliba, Antoine-Emmanuel and Krasteva-Christ, Gabriela}, title = {Tracheal brush cells release acetylcholine in response to bitter tastants for paracrine and autocrine signaling}, series = {The FASEB Journal}, volume = {34}, journal = {The FASEB Journal}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1096/fj.201901314RR}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-213516}, pages = {316 -- 332}, year = {2020}, abstract = {For protection from inhaled pathogens many strategies have evolved in the airways such as mucociliary clearance and cough. We have previously shown that protective respiratory reflexes to locally released bacterial bitter "taste" substances are most probably initiated by tracheal brush cells (BC). Our single-cell RNA-seq analysis of murine BC revealed high expression levels of cholinergic and bitter taste signaling transcripts (Tas2r108, Gnat3, Trpm5). We directly demonstrate the secretion of acetylcholine (ACh) from BC upon stimulation with the Tas2R agonist denatonium. Inhibition of the taste transduction cascade abolished the increase in [Ca\(^{2+}\)]\(_{i}\) in BC and subsequent ACh-release. ACh-release is regulated in an autocrine manner. While the muscarinic ACh-receptors M3R and M1R are activating, M2R is inhibitory. Paracrine effects of ACh released in response to denatonium included increased [Ca\(^{2+}\)]\(_{i}\) in ciliated cells. Stimulation by denatonium or with Pseudomonas quinolone signaling molecules led to an increase in mucociliary clearance in explanted tracheae that was Trpm5- and M3R-mediated. We show that ACh-release from BC via the bitter taste cascade leads to immediate paracrine protective responses that can be boosted in an autocrine manner. This mechanism represents the initial step for the activation of innate immune responses against pathogens in the airways.}, language = {en} } @article{HennessenMiethkeZaburannyietal.2020, author = {Hennessen, Fabienne and Miethke, Marcus and Zaburannyi, Nestor and Loose, Maria and Lukežič, Tadeja and Bernecker, Steffen and H{\"u}ttel, Stephan and Jansen, Rolf and Schmiedel, Judith and Fritzenwanker, Moritz and Imirzalioglu, Can and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Westermann, Alexander J. and Hesterkamp, Thomas and Stadler, Marc and Wagenlehner, Florian and Petković, Hrvoje and Herrmann, Jennifer and M{\"u}ller, Rolf}, title = {Amidochelocardin overcomes resistance mechanisms exerted on tetracyclines and natural chelocardin}, series = {Antibiotics}, volume = {9}, journal = {Antibiotics}, number = {9}, issn = {2079-6382}, doi = {10.3390/antibiotics9090619}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-213149}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The reassessment of known but neglected natural compounds is a vital strategy for providing novel lead structures urgently needed to overcome antimicrobial resistance. Scaffolds with resistance-breaking properties represent the most promising candidates for a successful translation into future therapeutics. Our study focuses on chelocardin, a member of the atypical tetracyclines, and its bioengineered derivative amidochelocardin, both showing broad-spectrum antibacterial activity within the ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) panel. Further lead development of chelocardins requires extensive biological and chemical profiling to achieve favorable pharmaceutical properties and efficacy. This study shows that both molecules possess resistance-breaking properties enabling the escape from most common tetracycline resistance mechanisms. Further, we show that these compounds are potent candidates for treatment of urinary tract infections due to their in vitro activity against a large panel of multidrug-resistant uropathogenic clinical isolates. In addition, the mechanism of resistance to natural chelocardin was identified as relying on efflux processes, both in the chelocardin producer Amycolatopsis sulphurea and in the pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae. Resistance development in Klebsiella led primarily to mutations in ramR, causing increased expression of the acrAB-tolC efflux pump. Most importantly, amidochelocardin overcomes this resistance mechanism, revealing not only the improved activity profile but also superior resistance-breaking properties of this novel antibacterial compound.}, language = {en} } @article{SchulteSchweinlinWestermannetal.2020, author = {Schulte, Leon N. and Schweinlin, Matthias and Westermann, Alexander J. and Janga, Harshavardhan and Santos, Sara C. and Appenzeller, Silke and Walles, Heike and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Metzger, Marco}, title = {An Advanced Human Intestinal Coculture Model Reveals Compartmentalized Host and Pathogen Strategies during Salmonella Infection}, series = {mBio}, volume = {11, 2020}, journal = {mBio}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1128/mBio.03348-19}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-229428}, year = {2020}, abstract = {A major obstacle in infection biology is the limited ability to recapitulate human disease trajectories in traditional cell culture and animal models, which impedes the translation of basic research into clinics. Here, we introduce a three-dimensional (3D) intestinal tissue model to study human enteric infections at a level of detail that is not achieved by conventional two-dimensional monocultures. Our model comprises epithelial and endothelial layers, a primary intestinal collagen scaffold, and immune cells. Upon Salmonella infection, the model mimics human gastroenteritis, in that it restricts the pathogen to the epithelial compartment, an advantage over existing mouse models. Application of dual transcriptome sequencing to the Salmonella-infected model revealed the communication of epithelial, endothelial, monocytic, and natural killer cells among each other and with the pathogen. Our results suggest that Salmonella uses its type III secretion systems to manipulate STAT3-dependent inflammatory responses locally in the epithelium without accompanying alterations in the endothelial compartment. Our approach promises to reveal further human-specific infection strategies employed by Salmonella and other pathogens. IMPORTANCE Infection research routinely employs in vitro cell cultures or in vivo mouse models as surrogates of human hosts. Differences between murine and human immunity and the low level of complexity of traditional cell cultures, however, highlight the demand for alternative models that combine the in vivo-like properties of the human system with straightforward experimental perturbation. Here, we introduce a 3D tissue model comprising multiple cell types of the human intestinal barrier, a primary site of pathogen attack. During infection with the foodborne pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, our model recapitulates human disease aspects, including pathogen restriction to the epithelial compartment, thereby deviating from the systemic infection in mice. Combination of our model with state-of-the-art genetics revealed Salmonella-mediated local manipulations of human immune responses, likely contributing to the establishment of the pathogen's infection niche. We propose the adoption of similar 3D tissue models to infection biology, to advance our understanding of molecular infection strategies employed by bacterial pathogens in their human host.}, language = {en} } @article{BauriedlGerovacHeidrichetal.2020, author = {Bauriedl, Saskia and Gerovac, Milan and Heidrich, Nadja and Bischler, Thorsten and Barquist, Lars and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Schoen, Christoph}, title = {The minimal meningococcal ProQ protein has an intrinsic capacity for structure-based global RNA recognition}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {11}, journal = {Nature Communications}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-020-16650-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230040}, year = {2020}, abstract = {FinO-domain proteins are a widespread family of bacterial RNA-binding proteins with regulatory functions. Their target spectrum ranges from a single RNA pair, in the case of plasmid-encoded FinO, to global RNA regulons, as with enterobacterial ProQ. To assess whether the FinO domain itself is intrinsically selective or promiscuous, we determine in vivo targets of Neisseria meningitidis, which consists of solely a FinO domain. UV-CLIP-seq identifies associations with 16 small non-coding sRNAs and 166 mRNAs. Meningococcal ProQ predominantly binds to highly structured regions and generally acts to stabilize its RNA targets. Loss of ProQ alters transcript levels of >250 genes, demonstrating that this minimal ProQ protein impacts gene expression globally. Phenotypic analyses indicate that ProQ promotes oxidative stress resistance and DNA damage repair. We conclude that FinO domain proteins recognize some abundant type of RNA shape and evolve RNA binding selectivity through acquisition of additional regions that constrain target recognition. FinO-domain proteins are bacterial RNA-binding proteins with a wide range of target specificities. Here, the authors employ UV CLIP-seq and show that minimal ProQ protein of Neisseria meningitidis binds to various small non-coding RNAs and mRNAs involved in virulence.}, language = {en} } @article{MuellerDolowschiakSellinetal.2016, author = {M{\"u}ller, Anna A. and Dolowschiak, Tamas and Sellin, Mikael E. and Felmy, Boas and Verbree, Carolin and Gadient, Sandra and Westermann, Alexander J. and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and LeibundGut-Landmann, Salome and Hardt, Wolf-Dietrich}, title = {An NK Cell Perforin Response Elicited via IL-18 Controls Mucosal Inflammation Kinetics during Salmonella Gut Infection}, series = {PLoS Pathogens}, volume = {12}, journal = {PLoS Pathogens}, number = {6}, doi = {10.1371/journal.ppat.1005723}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-167429}, pages = {e1005723}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Salmonella Typhimurium (S.Tm) is a common cause of self-limiting diarrhea. The mucosal inflammation is thought to arise from a standoff between the pathogen's virulence factors and the host's mucosal innate immune defenses, particularly the mucosal NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome. However, it had remained unclear how this switches the gut from homeostasis to inflammation. This was studied using the streptomycin mouse model. S.Tm infections in knockout mice, cytokine inhibition and -injection experiments revealed that caspase-1 (not -11) dependent IL-18 is pivotal for inducing acute inflammation. IL-18 boosted NK cell chemoattractants and enhanced the NK cells' migratory capacity, thus promoting mucosal accumulation of mature, activated NK cells. NK cell depletion and Prf\(^{-/-}\) ablation (but not granulocyte-depletion or T-cell deficiency) delayed tissue inflammation. Our data suggest an NK cell perforin response as one limiting factor in mounting gut mucosal inflammation. Thus, IL-18-elicited NK cell perforin responses seem to be critical for coordinating mucosal inflammation during early infection, when S.Tm strongly relies on virulence factors detectable by the inflammasome. This may have broad relevance for mucosal defense against microbial pathogens.}, language = {en} } @article{MichauxGerovacHansenetal.2023, author = {Michaux, Charlotte and Gerovac, Milan and Hansen, Elisabeth E. and Barquist, Lars and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Grad-seq analysis of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium provides a global view of RNA and protein complexes in these two opportunistic pathogens}, series = {microLife}, volume = {4}, journal = {microLife}, doi = {10.1093/femsml/uqac027}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-313311}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are major nosocomial pathogens. Despite their relevance to public health and their role in the development of bacterial antibiotic resistance, relatively little is known about gene regulation in these species. RNA-protein complexes serve crucial functions in all cellular processes associated with gene expression, including post-transcriptional control mediated by small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs). Here, we present a new resource for the study of enterococcal RNA biology, employing the Grad-seq technique to comprehensively predict complexes formed by RNA and proteins in E. faecalis V583 and E. faecium AUS0004. Analysis of the generated global RNA and protein sedimentation profiles led to the identification of RNA-protein complexes and putative novel sRNAs. Validating our data sets, we observe well-established cellular RNA-protein complexes such as the 6S RNA-RNA polymerase complex, suggesting that 6S RNA-mediated global control of transcription is conserved in enterococci. Focusing on the largely uncharacterized RNA-binding protein KhpB, we use the RIP-seq technique to predict that KhpB interacts with sRNAs, tRNAs, and untranslated regions of mRNAs, and might be involved in the processing of specific tRNAs. Collectively, these datasets provide departure points for in-depth studies of the cellular interactome of enterococci that should facilitate functional discovery in these and related Gram-positive species. Our data are available to the community through a user-friendly Grad-seq browser that allows interactive searches of the sedimentation profiles (https://resources.helmholtz-hiri.de/gradseqef/).}, language = {en} } @article{HombergerBarquistVogel2022, author = {Homberger, Christina and Barquist, Lars and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Ushering in a new era of single-cell transcriptomics in bacteria}, series = {microLife}, volume = {3}, journal = {microLife}, doi = {10.1093/femsml/uqac020}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-313292}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Transcriptome analysis of individual cells by single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) has become routine for eukaryotic tissues, even being applied to whole multicellular organisms. In contrast, developing methods to read the transcriptome of single bacterial cells has proven more challenging, despite a general perception of bacteria as much simpler than eukaryotes. Bacterial cells are harder to lyse, their RNA content is about two orders of magnitude lower than that of eukaryotic cells, and bacterial mRNAs are less stable than their eukaryotic counterparts. Most importantly, bacterial transcripts lack functional poly(A) tails, precluding simple adaptation of popular standard eukaryotic scRNA-seq protocols that come with the double advantage of specific mRNA amplification and concomitant depletion of rRNA. However, thanks to very recent breakthroughs in methodology, bacterial scRNA-seq is now feasible. This short review will discuss recently published bacterial scRNA-seq approaches (MATQ-seq, microSPLiT, and PETRI-seq) and a spatial transcriptomics approach based on multiplexed in situ hybridization (par-seqFISH). Together, these novel approaches will not only enable a new understanding of cell-to-cell variation in bacterial gene expression, they also promise a new microbiology by enabling high-resolution profiling of gene activity in complex microbial consortia such as the microbiome or pathogens as they invade, replicate, and persist in host tissue.}, language = {en} } @article{YuVogelFoerstner2018, author = {Yu, Sung-Huan and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and F{\"o}rstner, Konrad U.}, title = {ANNOgesic: a Swiss army knife for the RNA-seq based annotation of bacterial/archaeal genomes}, series = {GigaScience}, volume = {7}, journal = {GigaScience}, doi = {10.1093/gigascience/giy096}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-178942}, year = {2018}, abstract = {To understand the gene regulation of an organism of interest, a comprehensive genome annotation is essential. While some features, such as coding sequences, can be computationally predicted with high accuracy based purely on the genomic sequence, others, such as promoter elements or noncoding RNAs, are harder to detect. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has proven to be an efficient method to identify these genomic features and to improve genome annotations. However, processing and integrating RNA-seq data in order to generate high-resolution annotations is challenging, time consuming, and requires numerous steps. We have constructed a powerful and modular tool called ANNOgesic that provides the required analyses and simplifies RNA-seq-based bacterial and archaeal genome annotation. It can integrate data from conventional RNA-seq and differential RNA-seq and predicts and annotates numerous features, including small noncoding RNAs, with high precision. The software is available under an open source license (ISCL) at https://pypi.org/project/ANNOgesic/.}, language = {en} } @article{VogelGossnerMergneretal.2020, author = {Vogel, Sebastian and Gossner, Martin M. and Mergner, Ulrich and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Thorn, Simon}, title = {Optimizing enrichment of deadwood for biodiversity by varying sun exposure and tree species: An experimental approach}, series = {Journal of Applied Ecology}, volume = {57}, journal = {Journal of Applied Ecology}, number = {10}, doi = {10.1111/1365-2664.13648}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-214614}, pages = {2075 -- 2085}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The enrichment of deadwood is essential for the conservation of saproxylic biodiversity in managed forests. However, existing strategies focus on a cost-intensive increase of deadwood amount, while largely neglecting increasing deadwood diversity. Deadwood objects, that is logs and branches, from six tree species were experimentally sun exposed, canopy shaded and artificially shaded for 4 years, after which the alpha-, beta- and gamma-diversity of saproxylic beetles, wood-inhabiting fungi and spiders were analysed. Analyses of beta-diversity included the spatial distance between exposed deadwood objects. A random-drawing procedure was used to identify the combination of tree species and sun exposure that yielded the highest gamma-diversity at a minimum of exposed deadwood amount. In sun-exposed plots, species numbers in logs were higher than in shaded plots for all taxa, while in branches we observed the opposite for saproxylic beetles. Tree species affected the species numbers only of saproxylic beetles and wood-inhabiting fungi. The beta-diversity of saproxylic beetles and wood-inhabiting fungi among logs was influenced by sun exposure and tree species, but beta-diversity of spiders by sun exposure only. For all saproxylic taxa recorded in logs, differences between communities increased with increasing spatial distance. A combination of canopy-shaded Carpinus logs and sun-exposed Populus logs resulted in the highest species numbers of all investigated saproxylic taxa among all possible combinations of tree species and sun-exposure treatments. Synthesis and applications. We recommend incorporating the enrichment of different tree species and particularly the variation in sun exposure into existing strategies of deadwood enrichment. Based on the results of our study, we suggest to combine the logs of softwood broadleaf tree species (e.g. Carpinus, Populus), hardwood broadleaf tree species (e.g. Quercus) and coniferous tree species (e.g. Pinus) under different conditions of sun exposure and distribute them spatially in a landscape to maximize the beneficial effects on overall diversity.}, language = {en} } @article{MuellerUlyshenSeiboldetal.2020, author = {M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Ulyshen, Mike and Seibold, Sebastian and Cadotte, Marc and Chao, Anne and B{\"a}ssler, Claus and Vogel, Sebastian and Hagge, Jonas and Weiß, Ingmar and Baldrian, Petr and Tl{\´a}skal, Vojtěch and Thorn, Simon}, title = {Primary determinants of communities in deadwood vary among taxa but are regionally consistent}, series = {Oikos}, volume = {129}, journal = {Oikos}, number = {10}, doi = {10.1111/oik.07335}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-228201}, pages = {1579 -- 1588}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The evolutionary split between gymnosperms and angiosperms has far-reaching implications for the current communities colonizing trees. The inherent characteristics of dead wood include its role as a spatially scattered habitat of plant tissue, transient in time. Thus, local assemblages in deadwood forming a food web in a necrobiome should be affected not only by dispersal ability but also by host tree identity, the decay stage and local abiotic conditions. However, experiments simultaneously manipulating these potential community drivers in deadwood are lacking. To disentangle the importance of spatial distance and microclimate, as well as host identity and decay stage as drivers of local assemblages, we conducted two consecutive experiments, a 2-tree species and 6-tree species experiment with 80 and 72 tree logs, respectively, located in canopy openings and under closed canopies of a montane and a lowland forest. We sampled saproxylic beetles, spiders, fungi and bacterial assemblages from logs. Variation partitioning for community metrics based on a unified framework of Hill numbers showed consistent results for both studies: host identity was most important for sporocarp-detected fungal assemblages, decay stage and host tree for DNA-detected fungal assemblages, microclimate and decay stage for beetles and spiders and decay stage for bacteria. Spatial distance was of minor importance for most taxa but showed the strongest effects for arthropods. The contrasting patterns among the taxa highlight the need for multi-taxon analyses in identifying the importance of abiotic and biotic drivers of community composition. Moreover, the consistent finding of microclimate as the primary driver for saproxylic beetles compared to host identity shows, for the first time that existing evolutionary host adaptions can be outcompeted by local climate conditions in deadwood.}, language = {en} } @article{GerovaWickeChiharaetal.2021, author = {Gerova, Milan and Wicke, Laura and Chihara, Kotaro and Schneider, Cornelius and Lavigne, Rob and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {A grad-seq view of RNA and protein complexes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa under standard and bacteriophage predation conditions}, series = {mbio}, volume = {12}, journal = {mbio}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1128/mBio.03454-20}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259054}, pages = {e03454-20}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is not only a major cause of nosocomial infections but also serves as a model species of bacterial RNA biology. While its transcriptome architecture and posttranscriptional regulation through the RNA-binding proteins Hfq, RsmA, and RsmN have been studied in detail, global information about stable RNA-protein complexes in this human pathogen is currently lacking. Here, we implement gradient profiling by sequencing (Grad-seq) in exponentially growing P. aeruginosa cells to comprehensively predict RNA and protein complexes, based on glycerol gradient sedimentation profiles of >73\% of all transcripts and ∼40\% of all proteins. As to benchmarking, our global profiles readily reported complexes of stable RNAs of P. aeruginosa, including 6S RNA with RNA polymerase and associated product RNAs (pRNAs). We observe specific clusters of noncoding RNAs, which correlate with Hfq and RsmA/N, and provide a first hint that P. aeruginosa expresses a ProQ-like FinO domain-containing RNA-binding protein. To understand how biological stress may perturb cellular RNA/protein complexes, we performed Grad-seq after infection by the bacteriophage ΦKZ. This model phage, which has a well-defined transcription profile during host takeover, displayed efficient translational utilization of phage mRNAs and tRNAs, as evident from their increased cosedimentation with ribosomal subunits. Additionally, Grad-seq experimentally determines previously overlooked phage-encoded noncoding RNAs. Taken together, the Pseudomonas protein and RNA complex data provided here will pave the way to a better understanding of RNA-protein interactions during viral predation of the bacterial cell. IMPORTANCE Stable complexes by cellular proteins and RNA molecules lie at the heart of gene regulation and physiology in any bacterium of interest. It is therefore crucial to globally determine these complexes in order to identify and characterize new molecular players and regulation mechanisms. Pseudomonads harbor some of the largest genomes known in bacteria, encoding ∼5,500 different proteins. Here, we provide a first glimpse on which proteins and cellular transcripts form stable complexes in the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We additionally performed this analysis with bacteria subjected to the important and frequently encountered biological stress of a bacteriophage infection. We identified several molecules with established roles in a variety of cellular pathways, which were affected by the phage and can now be explored for their role during phage infection. Most importantly, we observed strong colocalization of phage transcripts and host ribosomes, indicating the existence of specialized translation mechanisms during phage infection. All data are publicly available in an interactive and easy to use browser.}, language = {en} } @article{Vogel2020, author = {Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {An RNA biology perspective on species-specific programmable RNA antibiotics}, series = {Molecular Microbiology}, volume = {113}, journal = {Molecular Microbiology}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1111/mmi.14476}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-214869}, pages = {550 -- 559}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Our body is colonized by a vast array of bacteria the sum of which forms our microbiota. The gut alone harbors >1,000 bacterial species. An understanding of their individual or synergistic contributions to human health and disease demands means to interfere with their functions on the species level. Most of the currently available antibiotics are broad-spectrum, thus too unspecific for a selective depletion of a single species of interest from the microbiota. Programmable RNA antibiotics in the form of short antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) promise to achieve precision manipulation of bacterial communities. These ASOs are coupled to small peptides that carry them inside the bacteria to silence mRNAs of essential genes, for example, to target antibiotic-resistant pathogens as an alternative to standard antibiotics. There is already proof-of-principle with diverse bacteria, but many open questions remain with respect to true species specificity, potential off-targeting, choice of peptides for delivery, bacterial resistance mechanisms and the host response. While there is unlikely a one-fits-all solution for all microbiome species, I will discuss how recent progress in bacterial RNA biology may help to accelerate the development of programmable RNA antibiotics for microbiome editing and other applications.}, language = {en} } @article{HershkoShalevOdenheimerBergmanElgrablyWeissetal.2016, author = {Hershko-Shalev, Tal and Odenheimer-Bergman, Ahuva and Elgrably-Weiss, Maya and Ben-Zvi, Tamar and Govindarajan, Sutharsan and Seri, Hemda and Papenfort, Kai and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Altuvia, Shoshy}, title = {Gifsy-1 Prophage IsrK with Dual Function as Small and Messenger RNA Modulates Vital Bacterial Machineries}, series = {PLoS Genetics}, volume = {12}, journal = {PLoS Genetics}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pgen.1005975}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-166717}, pages = {e1005975}, year = {2016}, abstract = {While an increasing number of conserved small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) are known to function in general bacterial physiology, the roles and modes of action of sRNAs from horizontally acquired genomic regions remain little understood. The IsrK sRNA of Gifsy-1 prophage of Salmonella belongs to the latter class. This regulatory RNA exists in two isoforms. The first forms, when a portion of transcripts originating from isrK promoter reads-through the IsrK transcription-terminator producing a translationally inactive mRNA target. Acting in trans, the second isoform, short IsrK RNA, binds the inactive transcript rendering it translationally active. By switching on translation of the first isoform, short IsrK indirectly activates the production of AntQ, an antiterminator protein located upstream of isrK. Expression of antQ globally interferes with transcription termination resulting in bacterial growth arrest and ultimately cell death. Escherichia coli and Salmonella cells expressing AntQ display condensed chromatin morphology and localization of UvrD to the nucleoid. The toxic phenotype of AntQ can be rescued by co-expression of the transcription termination factor, Rho, or RNase H, which protects genomic DNA from breaks by resolving R-loops. We propose that AntQ causes conflicts between transcription and replication machineries and thus promotes DNA damage. The isrK locus represents a unique example of an island-encoded sRNA that exerts a highly complex regulatory mechanism to tune the expression of a toxic protein.}, language = {en} } @article{StrahlGerlichAlpersetal.2018, author = {Strahl, Andr{\´e} and Gerlich, Christian and Alpers, Georg W. and Ehrmann, Katja and Gehrke, J{\"o}rg and M{\"u}ller-Garnn, Annette and Vogel, Heiner}, title = {Development and evaluation of a standardized peer-training in the context of peer review for quality assurance in work capacity evaluation}, series = {BMC Medical Education}, volume = {18}, journal = {BMC Medical Education}, number = {135}, doi = {10.1186/s12909-018-1233-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-175738}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Background: The German quality assurance programme for evaluating work capacity is based on peer review that evaluates the quality of medical experts' reports. Low reliability is thought to be due to systematic differences among peers. For this purpose, we developed a curriculum for a standardized peer-training (SPT). This study investigates, whether the SPT increases the inter-rater reliability of social medical physicians participating in a cross-institutional peer review. Methods: Forty physicians from 16 regional German Pension Insurances were subjected to SPT. The three-day training course consist of nine educational objectives recorded in a training manual. The SPT is split into a basic module providing basic information about the peer review and an advanced module for small groups of up to 12 peers training peer review using medical reports. Feasibility was tested by assessing selection, comprehensibility and subjective use of contents delivered, the trainers' delivery and design of training materials. The effectiveness of SPT was determined by evaluating peer concordance using three anonymised medical reports assessed by each peer. Percentage agreement and Fleiss' kappa (κ\(_m\)) were calculated. Concordance was compared with review results from a previous unstructured, non-standardized peer-training programme (control condition) performed by 19 peers from 12 German Pension Insurances departments. The control condition focused exclusively on the application of peer review in small groups. No specifically training materials, methods and trainer instructions were used. Results: Peer-training was shown to be feasible. The level of subjective confidence in handling the peer review instrument varied between 70 and 90\%. Average percentage agreement for the main outcome criterion was 60.2\%, resulting in a κ\(_m\) of 0.39. By comparison, the average percentage concordance was 40.2\% and the κ\(_m\) was 0.12 for the control condition. Conclusion: Concordance with the main criterion was relevant but not significant (p = 0.2) higher for SPT than for the control condition. Fleiss' kappa coefficient showed that peer concordance was higher for SPT than randomly expected. Nevertheless, a score of 0.39 for the main criterion indicated only fair inter-rater reliability, considerably lower than the conventional standard of 0.7 for adequate reliability.}, language = {en} } @article{TawkSharanEulalioetal.2017, author = {Tawk, Caroline and Sharan, Malvika and Eulalio, Ana and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {A systematic analysis of the RNA-targeting potential of secreted bacterial effector proteins}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {7}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-017-09527-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-158815}, pages = {9328}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Many pathogenic bacteria utilize specialized secretion systems to deliver proteins called effectors into eukaryotic cells for manipulation of host pathways. The vast majority of known effector targets are host proteins, whereas a potential targeting of host nucleic acids remains little explored. There is only one family of effectors known to target DNA directly, and effectors binding host RNA are unknown. Here, we take a two-pronged approach to search for RNA-binding effectors, combining biocomputational prediction of RNA-binding domains (RBDs) in a newly assembled comprehensive dataset of bacterial secreted proteins, and experimental screening for RNA binding in mammalian cells. Only a small subset of effectors were predicted to carry an RBD, indicating that if RNA targeting was common, it would likely involve new types of RBDs. Our experimental evaluation of effectors with predicted RBDs further argues for a general paucity of RNA binding activities amongst bacterial effectors. We obtained evidence that PipB2 and Lpg2844, effector proteins of Salmonella and Legionella species, respectively, may harbor novel biochemical activities. Our study presenting the first systematic evaluation of the RNA-targeting potential of bacterial effectors offers a basis for discussion of whether or not host RNA is a prominent target of secreted bacterial proteins.}, language = {en} } @article{WestermannVenturiniSellinetal.2019, author = {Westermann, Alexander J. and Venturini, Elisa and Sellin, Mikael E. and F{\"o}rstner, Konrad U. and Hardt, Wolf-Dietrich and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {The major RNA-binding protein ProQ impacts virulence gene expression in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium}, series = {mBio}, volume = {10}, journal = {mBio}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1128/mBio.02504-18}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-177722}, pages = {e02504-18}, year = {2019}, abstract = {FinO domain proteins such as ProQ of the model pathogen Salmonella enterica have emerged as a new class of major RNA-binding proteins in bacteria. ProQ has been shown to target hundreds of transcripts, including mRNAs from many virulence regions, but its role, if any, in bacterial pathogenesis has not been studied. Here, using a Dual RNA-seq approach to profile ProQ-dependent gene expression changes as Salmonella infects human cells, we reveal dysregulation of bacterial motility, chemotaxis, and virulence genes which is accompanied by altered MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling in the host. Comparison with the other major RNA chaperone in Salmonella, Hfq, reinforces the notion that these two global RNA-binding proteins work in parallel to ensure full virulence. Of newly discovered infection-associated ProQ-bound small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs), we show that the 3′UTR-derived sRNA STnc540 is capable of repressing an infection-induced magnesium transporter mRNA in a ProQ-dependent manner. Together, this comprehensive study uncovers the relevance of ProQ for Salmonella pathogenesis and highlights the importance of RNA-binding proteins in regulating bacterial virulence programs. IMPORTANCE The protein ProQ has recently been discovered as the centerpiece of a previously overlooked "third domain" of small RNA-mediated control of gene expression in bacteria. As in vitro work continues to reveal molecular mechanisms, it is also important to understand how ProQ affects the life cycle of bacterial pathogens as these pathogens infect eukaryotic cells. Here, we have determined how ProQ shapes Salmonella virulence and how the activities of this RNA-binding protein compare with those of Hfq, another central protein in RNA-based gene regulation in this and other bacteria. To this end, we apply global transcriptomics of pathogen and host cells during infection. In doing so, we reveal ProQ-dependent transcript changes in key virulence and host immune pathways. Moreover, we differentiate the roles of ProQ from those of Hfq during infection, for both coding and noncoding transcripts, and provide an important resource for those interested in ProQ-dependent small RNAs in enteric bacteria.}, language = {en} } @article{VogelBusslerFinnbergetal.2021, author = {Vogel, Sebastian and Bussler, Heinz and Finnberg, Sven and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Stengel, Elisa and Thorn, Simon}, title = {Diversity and conservation of saproxylic beetles in 42 European tree species: an experimental approach using early successional stages of branches}, series = {Insect Conservation and Diversity}, volume = {14}, journal = {Insect Conservation and Diversity}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1111/icad.12442}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218401}, pages = {132 -- 143}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Tree species diversity is important to maintain saproxylic beetle diversity in managed forests. Yet, knowledge about the conservational importance of single tree species and implications for forest management and conservation practices are lacking. We exposed freshly cut branch-bundles of 42 tree species, representing tree species native and non-native to Europe, under sun-exposed and shaded conditions for 1 year. Afterwards, communities of saproxylic beetles were reared ex situ for 2 years. We tested for the impact of tree species and sun exposure on alpha-, beta-, and gamma-diversity as well as composition of saproxylic beetle communities. Furthermore, the number of colonised tree species by each saproxylic beetle species was determined. Tree species had a lower impact on saproxylic beetle communities compared to sun exposure. The diversity of saproxylic beetles varied strongly among tree species, with highest alpha- and gamma-diversity found in Quercus petraea. Red-listed saproxylic beetle species occurred ubiquitously among tree species. We found distinct differences in the community composition of broadleaved and coniferous tree species, native and non-native tree species as well as sun-exposed and shaded deadwood. Our study enhances the understanding of the importance of previously understudied and non-native tree species for the diversity of saproxylic beetles. To improve conservation practices for saproxylic beetles and especially red-listed species, we suggest a stronger incorporation of tree species diversity and sun exposure of into forest management strategies, including the enrichment of deadwood from native and with a specific focus on locally rare or silviculturally less important tree species.}, language = {en} } @article{SharanFoerstnerEulalioetal.2017, author = {Sharan, Malvika and F{\"o}rstner, Konrad U. and Eulalio, Ana and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {APRICOT: an integrated computational pipeline for the sequence-based identification and characterization of RNA-binding proteins}, series = {Nucleic Acids Research}, volume = {45}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Research}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkx137}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-157963}, pages = {e96}, year = {2017}, abstract = {RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) have been established as core components of several post-transcriptional gene regulation mechanisms. Experimental techniques such as cross-linking and co-immunoprecipitation have enabled the identification of RBPs, RNA-binding domains (RBDs) and their regulatory roles in the eukaryotic species such as human and yeast in large-scale. In contrast, our knowledge of the number and potential diversity of RBPs in bacteria is poorer due to the technical challenges associated with the existing global screening approaches. We introduce APRICOT, a computational pipeline for the sequence-based identification and characterization of proteins using RBDs known from experimental studies. The pipeline identifies functional motifs in protein sequences using position-specific scoring matrices and Hidden Markov Models of the functional domains and statistically scores them based on a series of sequence-based features. Subsequently, APRICOT identifies putative RBPs and characterizes them by several biological properties. Here we demonstrate the application and adaptability of the pipeline on large-scale protein sets, including the bacterial proteome of Escherichia coli. APRICOT showed better performance on various datasets compared to other existing tools for the sequence-based prediction of RBPs by achieving an average sensitivity and specificity of 0.90 and 0.91 respectively. The command-line tool and its documentation are available at https://pypi.python.org/pypi/bio-apricot.}, language = {en} } @article{StrahlGerlichAlpersetal.2019, author = {Strahl, Andr{\´e} and Gerlich, Christian and Alpers, Georg W. and Gehrke, J{\"o}rg and M{\"u}ller-Garnn, Annette and Vogel, Heiner}, title = {An instrument for quality assurance in work capacity evaluation: development, evaluation, and inter-rater reliability}, series = {BMC Health Services Research}, volume = {19}, journal = {BMC Health Services Research}, doi = {10.1186/s12913-019-4387-4}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200289}, pages = {556}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Background: Employees insured in pension insurance, who are incapable of working due to ill health, are entitled to a disability pension. To assess whether an individual meets the medical requirements to be considered as disabled, a work capacity evaluation is conducted. However, there are no official guidelines on how to perform an external quality assurance for this evaluation process. Furthermore, the quality of medical reports in the field of insurance medicine can vary substantially, and systematic evaluations are scarce. Reliability studies using peer review have repeatedly shown insufficient ability to distinguish between high, moderate and low quality. Considering literature recommendations, we developed an instrument to examine the quality of medical experts'reports. Methods: The peer review manual developed contains six quality domains (formal structure, clarity, transparency, completeness, medical-scientific principles, and efficiency) comprising 22 items. In addition, a superordinate criterion (survey confirmability) rank the overall quality and usefulness of a report. This criterion evaluates problems of innerlogic and reasoning. Development of the manual was assisted by experienced physicians in a pre-test. We examined the observable variance in peer judgements and reliability as the most important outcome criteria. To evaluate inter-rater reliability, 20 anonymous experts' reports detailing the work capacity evaluation were reviewed by 19 trained raters (peers). Percentage agreement and Kendall's W, a reliability measure of concordance between two or more peers, were calculated. A total of 325 reviews were conducted. Results: Agreement of peer judgements with respect to the superordinate criterion ranged from 29.2 to 87.5\%. Kendall's W for the quality domain items varied greatly, ranging from 0.09 to 0.88. With respect to the superordinate criterion, Kendall's W was 0.39, which indicates fair agreement. The results of the percentage agreement revealed systemic peer preferences for certain deficit scale categories. Conclusion: The superordinate criterion was not sufficiently reliable. However, in comparison to other reliability studies, this criterion showed an equivalent reliability value. This report aims to encourage further efforts to improve evaluation instruments. To reduce disagreement between peer judgments, we propose the revision of the peer review instrumentand the development and implementation of a standardized rater training to improve reliability.}, language = {en} } @article{ThornSeiboldLeverkusetal.2020, author = {Thorn, Simon and Seibold, Sebastian and Leverkus, Alexandro B and Michler, Thomas and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Noss, Reed F and Stork, Nigel and Vogel, Sebastian and Lindenmayer, David B}, title = {The living dead: acknowledging life after tree death to stop forest degradation}, series = {Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment}, volume = {18}, journal = {Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment}, number = {9}, doi = {10.1002/fee.2252}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218575}, pages = {505 -- 512}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Global sustainability agendas focus primarily on halting deforestation, yet the biodiversity crisis resulting from the degradation of remaining forests is going largely unnoticed. Forest degradation occurs through the loss of key ecological structures, such as dying trees and deadwood, even in the absence of deforestation. One of the main drivers of forest degradation is limited awareness by policy makers and the public on the importance of these structures for supporting forest biodiversity and ecosystem function. Here, we outline management strategies to protect forest health and biodiversity by maintaining and promoting deadwood, and propose environmental education initiatives to improve the general awareness of the importance of deadwood. Finally, we call for major reforms to forest management to maintain and restore deadwood; large, old trees; and other key ecological structures.}, language = {en} } @article{HeidrichBauriedlBarquistetal.2017, author = {Heidrich, Nadja and Bauriedl, Saskia and Barquist, Lars and Li, Lei and Schoen, Christoph and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {The primary transcriptome of Neisseria meningitidis and its interaction with the RNA chaperone Hfq}, series = {Nucleic Acids Research}, volume = {45}, journal = {Nucleic Acids Research}, number = {10}, doi = {10.1093/nar/gkx168}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-170828}, pages = {6147-6167}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Neisseria meningitidis is a human commensal that can also cause life-threatening meningitis and septicemia. Despite growing evidence for RNA-based regulation in meningococci, their transcriptome structure and output of regulatory small RNAs (sRNAs) are incompletely understood. Using dRNA-seq, we have mapped at single-nucleotide resolution the primary transcriptome of N. meningitidis strain 8013. Annotation of 1625 transcriptional start sites defines transcription units for most protein-coding genes but also reveals a paucity of classical σ70-type promoters, suggesting the existence of activators that compensate for the lack of -35 consensus sequences in N. meningitidis. The transcriptome maps also reveal 65 candidate sRNAs, a third of which were validated by northern blot analysis. Immunoprecipitation with the RNA chaperone Hfq drafts an unexpectedly large post-transcriptional regulatory network in this organism, comprising 23 sRNAs and hundreds of potential mRNA targets. Based on this data, using a newly developed gfp reporter system we validate an Hfq-dependent mRNA repression of the putative colonization factor PrpB by the two trans-acting sRNAs RcoF1/2. Our genome-wide RNA compendium will allow for a better understanding of meningococcal transcriptome organization and riboregulation with implications for colonization of the human nasopharynx.}, language = {en} } @article{MichauxHansenJennichesetal.2020, author = {Michaux, Charlotte and Hansen, Elisabeth E. and Jenniches, Laura and Gerovac, Milan and Barquist, Lars and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Single-Nucleotide RNA Maps for the Two Major Nosocomial Pathogens Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium}, series = {Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology}, issn = {2235-2988}, doi = {10.3389/fcimb.2020.600325}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-217947}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Enterococcus faecalis and faecium are two major representative clinical strains of the Enterococcus genus and are sadly notorious to be part of the top agents responsible for nosocomial infections. Despite their critical implication in worldwide public healthcare, essential and available resources such as deep transcriptome annotations remain poor, which also limits our understanding of post-transcriptional control small regulatory RNA (sRNA) functions in these bacteria. Here, using the dRNA-seq technique in combination with ANNOgesic analysis, we successfully mapped and annotated transcription start sites (TSS) of both E. faecalis V583 and E. faecium AUS0004 at single nucleotide resolution. Analyzing bacteria in late exponential phase, we capture ~40\% (E. faecalis) and 43\% (E. faecium) of the annotated protein-coding genes, determine 5′ and 3′ UTR (untranslated region) length, and detect instances of leaderless mRNAs. The transcriptome maps revealed sRNA candidates in both bacteria, some found in previous studies and new ones. Expression of candidate sRNAs is being confirmed under biologically relevant environmental conditions. This comprehensive global TSS mapping atlas provides a valuable resource for RNA biology and gene expression analysis in the Enterococci. It can be accessed online at www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/datasets/enterococcus through an instance of the genomic viewer JBrowse.}, language = {en} } @article{OkudaLenzSeitzetal.2023, author = {Okuda, Takumi and Lenz, Ann-Kathrin and Seitz, Florian and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and H{\"o}bartner, Claudia}, title = {A SAM analogue-utilizing ribozyme for site-specific RNA alkylation in living cells}, series = {Nature Chemistry}, journal = {Nature Chemistry}, doi = {10.1038/s41557-023-01320-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-328762}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Post-transcriptional RNA modification methods are in high demand for site-specific RNA labelling and analysis of RNA functions. In vitro-selected ribozymes are attractive tools for RNA research and have the potential to overcome some of the limitations of chemoenzymatic approaches with repurposed methyltransferases. Here we report an alkyltransferase ribozyme that uses a synthetic, stabilized S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) analogue and catalyses the transfer of a propargyl group to a specific adenosine in the target RNA. Almost quantitative conversion was achieved within 1 h under a wide range of reaction conditions in vitro, including physiological magnesium ion concentrations. A genetically encoded version of the SAM analogue-utilizing ribozyme (SAMURI) was expressed in HEK293T cells, and intracellular propargylation of the target adenosine was confirmed by specific fluorescent labelling. SAMURI is a general tool for the site-specific installation of the smallest tag for azide-alkyne click chemistry, which can be further functionalized with fluorophores, affinity tags or other functional probes.}, language = {en} } @article{McFlederMakhotkinaGrohetal.2023, author = {McFleder, Rhonda L. and Makhotkina, Anastasiia and Groh, Janos and Keber, Ursula and Imdahl, Fabian and Pe{\~n}a Mosca, Josefina and Peteranderl, Alina and Wu, Jingjing and Tabuchi, Sawako and Hoffmann, Jan and Karl, Ann-Kathrin and Pagenstecher, Axel and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Beilhack, Andreas and Koprich, James B. and Brotchie, Jonathan M. and Saliba, Antoine-Emmanuel and Volkmann, Jens and Ip, Chi Wang}, title = {Brain-to-gut trafficking of alpha-synuclein by CD11c\(^+\) cells in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease}, series = {Nature Communications}, volume = {14}, journal = {Nature Communications}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-023-43224-z}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357696}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Inflammation in the brain and gut is a critical component of several neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). One trigger of the immune system in PD is aggregation of the pre-synaptic protein, α-synuclein (αSyn). Understanding the mechanism of propagation of αSyn aggregates is essential to developing disease-modifying therapeutics. Using a brain-first mouse model of PD, we demonstrate αSyn trafficking from the brain to the ileum of male mice. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the ileal αSyn aggregations are contained within CD11c+ cells. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we demonstrate that ileal CD11c\(^+\) cells are microglia-like and the same subtype of cells is activated in the brain and ileum of PD mice. Moreover, by utilizing mice expressing the photo-convertible protein, Dendra2, we show that CD11c\(^+\) cells traffic from the brain to the ileum. Together these data provide a mechanism of αSyn trafficking between the brain and gut.}, language = {en} } @article{DaeullaryImdahlDietrichetal.2023, author = {D{\"a}ullary, Thomas and Imdahl, Fabian and Dietrich, Oliver and Hepp, Laura and Krammer, Tobias and Fey, Christina and Neuhaus, Winfried and Metzger, Marco and Vogel, J{\"o}rg and Westermann, Alexander J. and Saliba, Antoine-Emmanuel and Zdzieblo, Daniela}, title = {A primary cell-based in vitro model of the human small intestine reveals host olfactomedin 4 induction in response to Salmonella Typhimurium infection}, series = {Gut Microbes}, volume = {15}, journal = {Gut Microbes}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1080/19490976.2023.2186109}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-350451}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Infection research largely relies on classical cell culture or mouse models. Despite having delivered invaluable insights into host-pathogen interactions, both have limitations in translating mechanistic principles to human pathologies. Alternatives can be derived from modern Tissue Engineering approaches, allowing the reconstruction of functional tissue models in vitro. Here, we combined a biological extracellular matrix with primary tissue-derived enteroids to establish an in vitro model of the human small intestinal epithelium exhibiting in vivo-like characteristics. Using the foodborne pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, we demonstrated the applicability of our model to enteric infection research in the human context. Infection assays coupled to spatio-temporal readouts recapitulated the established key steps of epithelial infection by this pathogen in our model. Besides, we detected the upregulation of olfactomedin 4 in infected cells, a hitherto unrecognized aspect of the host response to Salmonella infection. Together, this primary human small intestinal tissue model fills the gap between simplistic cell culture and animal models of infection, and shall prove valuable in uncovering human-specific features of host-pathogen interplay.}, language = {en} } @article{HombergerHaywardBarquistetal.2023, author = {Homberger, Christina and Hayward, Regan J. and Barquist, Lars and Vogel, J{\"o}rg}, title = {Improved bacterial single-cell RNA-seq through automated MATQ-seq and Cas9-based removal of rRNA reads}, series = {mBio}, volume = {14}, journal = {mBio}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1128/mbio.03557-22}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-350059}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Bulk RNA sequencing technologies have provided invaluable insights into host and bacterial gene expression and associated regulatory networks. Nevertheless, the majority of these approaches report average expression across cell populations, hiding the true underlying expression patterns that are often heterogeneous in nature. Due to technical advances, single-cell transcriptomics in bacteria has recently become reality, allowing exploration of these heterogeneous populations, which are often the result of environmental changes and stressors. In this work, we have improved our previously published bacterial single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) protocol that is based on multiple annealing and deoxycytidine (dC) tailing-based quantitative scRNA-seq (MATQ-seq), achieving a higher throughput through the integration of automation. We also selected a more efficient reverse transcriptase, which led to reduced cell loss and higher workflow robustness. Moreover, we successfully implemented a Cas9-based rRNA depletion protocol into the MATQ-seq workflow. Applying our improved protocol on a large set of single Salmonella cells sampled over different growth conditions revealed improved gene coverage and a higher gene detection limit compared to our original protocol and allowed us to detect the expression of small regulatory RNAs, such as GcvB or CsrB at a single-cell level. In addition, we confirmed previously described phenotypic heterogeneity in Salmonella in regard to expression of pathogenicity-associated genes. Overall, the low percentage of cell loss and high gene detection limit makes the improved MATQ-seq protocol particularly well suited for studies with limited input material, such as analysis of small bacterial populations in host niches or intracellular bacteria. IMPORTANCE: Gene expression heterogeneity among isogenic bacteria is linked to clinically relevant scenarios, like biofilm formation and antibiotic tolerance. The recent development of bacterial single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) enables the study of cell-to-cell variability in bacterial populations and the mechanisms underlying these phenomena. Here, we report a scRNA-seq workflow based on MATQ-seq with increased robustness, reduced cell loss, and improved transcript capture rate and gene coverage. Use of a more efficient reverse transcriptase and the integration of an rRNA depletion step, which can be adapted to other bacterial single-cell workflows, was instrumental for these improvements. Applying the protocol to the foodborne pathogen Salmonella, we confirmed transcriptional heterogeneity across and within different growth phases and demonstrated that our workflow captures small regulatory RNAs at a single-cell level. Due to low cell loss and high transcript capture rates, this protocol is uniquely suited for experimental settings in which the starting material is limited, such as infected tissues.}, language = {en} }