ABC Transporter DerAB of Lactobacillus casei Mediates Resistance against Insect-Derived Defensins

• DOI: 10.1128/aem.00818-20
• Publication Date: 2020-05-13T13:57:48Z
• Authors: Ainhoa Revilla-Gu...; Qian Zhang; Christoph Loderer; Cristina Alcántara; Ariane Müller; Mohammad Rahnamaeian; Andreas Vilcinskas; Susanne Gebhard; Manuel Zúñiga; Thorsten Mascher
• Keywords: 0303 health sciences; Cell envelope; Stress response; Antimicrobial peptide resistance; 3. Good health; Defensins; Two-component system; Lacticaseibacillus casei; 03 medical and health sciences; ABC transporters; Bacterial Proteins; two-component system; Antibiosis; Insect Proteins; nisin; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; Amino Acid Sequence; cell envelope stress response; Nisin; antimicrobial peptide resistance; defensins

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play an important role in suppressing the growth of microorganisms. They can be produced by bacteria themselves—to inhibit competitors—but are also widely distributed in higher eukaryotes, including insects and mammals, where they form an important component of innate immunity. In low-GC-content Gram-positive bacteria, BceAB-like transporters play a crucial role in AMP resistance but have so far been primarily associated with interbacterial competition. Here, we show that the orphan transporter DerAB from the lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus casei is crucial for high-level resistance against insect-derived AMPs. It therefore represents an important mechanism for interkingdom defense. Furthermore, our results support a signaling interference from DerAB on the PsdRSAB module that might prevent the activation of a full nisin response. The Bce modules from L. casei BL23 illustrate a biological paradox in which the intrinsic nisin detoxification potential only arises in the absence of a defensin-specific ABC transporter.