A single residue within the MCR-1 protein confers anticipatory resilience

The envelope stress response (ESR) of Gram-negative enteric bacteria senses fluctuations in nutrient availability and environmental changes to avert damage and promote survival. It has a protective role towards antimicrobials but direct interactions between ESR components and antibiotic resistance genes have not been demonstrated. Here we report specific interactions between the two-component conjugative pilus expression (Cpx)RA signal transduction system and the recently described mobile colistin resistance (MCR-1) protein. Purified MCR-1 is specifically cleaved by the serine endoprotease DegP within a structurally conserved periplasmic bridging domain. Cleavage-site mutations in MCR-1 render derivatives either protease-resistant or degradation-susceptible with widely differing consequences for colistin resistance. Transfer of the degradation-susceptible mutant to strains that lack either DegP or its regulator CpxRA restores expression and colistin resistance. MCR-1 production in Escherichia coli induces a Cpx-dependent ESR and imposes growth restriction in strains lacking either DegP or CpxRA, effects that are reversed by transactive expression of DegP. MCR-1 production impairs bacterial motility indicating dissipation of cytoplasmic transmembrane potential. Indeed, growth in media with low pH dramatically increases both MCR-1-dependent phosphoethanolamine (PEA) modification of lipid A as well as colistin-resistance activity. In vitro transferase- and lipid A reconstitution-assays demonstrate that MCR-1 is highly active at acidic pH. Acquiring MCR-1 also renders strains more resistant to antimicrobial peptides. Thus, a conserved motif within MCR-1 induces components of the ESR to confer resilience to stimuili commonly encountered in the environment such as to changes in pH and towards antimicrobial peptides. Excipient allosteric activation of the DegP protease specifically inhibits growth of isolates carrying mcr-1 plasmids indicating that a targeted strategy can lead to the elimination of transferable colistin resistance in Gram-negative bacteria.