Glutamate catabolism during sporulation determines the success of the future spore germination

Lei Rao; Bing Zhou; Raphael Serruya; Arieh Moussaieff; Lior Sinai; Sigal Ben-Yehuda

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105242

Glutamate catabolism during sporulation determines the success of the future spore germination

iScience. 2022 Oct 2;25(10):105242. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105242. eCollection 2022 Oct 21.

Authors

Lei Rao¹, Bing Zhou¹, Raphael Serruya², Arieh Moussaieff², Lior Sinai¹, Sigal Ben-Yehuda¹

Affiliations

¹ The Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC), The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12272, 91120 Jerusalem, Israel.
² The Institute for Drug Research, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12272, 91120 Jerusalem, Israel.

Abstract

Bacterial spores can preserve cellular dormancy for years, but still hold the remarkable ability to revive and recommence life. This cellular awakening begins with a rapid and irreversible event termed germination; however, the metabolic determinants required for its success have been hardly explored. Here, we show that at the onset of the process of sporulation, the metabolic enzyme RocG catabolizes glutamate, facilitating ATP production in the spore progenitor cell, and subsequently influencing the eventual spore ATP reservoir. Mutants displaying low RocG levels generate low ATP-containing spores that exhibit severe germination deficiency. Importantly, this phenotype could be complemented by expressing RocG at a specific window of time during the initiation of sporulation. Thus, we propose that despite its low abundance in dormant spores, ATP energizes spore germination, and its production, fueled by RocG, is coupled with the initial developmental phase of spore formation.

Keywords: Bacteriology; Biological sciences; Microbiology; Natural sciences.