The Rcs System Contributes to the Motility Defects of the Twin-Arginine Translocation System Mutant of Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli

Flagellum-mediated bacterial motility is important for bacteria to take up nutrients, adapt to environmental changes, and establish infection. The twin-arginine translocation system (Tat) is an important protein export system, playing a critical role in bacterial physiology and pathogenesis. It has been observed for a long time that the Tat system is critical for bacterial motility. However, the underlying mechanism remains unrevealed. In this study, a comparative transcriptomics analysis was performed with extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC), which identified a considerable number of genes differentially expressed when the Tat system was disrupted. Among them, a large proportion of flagellar biosynthesis genes showed downregulation, indicating that transcription regulation plays an important role in mediating the motility defects. We further identified three Tat substrate proteins, MdoD, AmiA, and AmiC, that were responsible for the nonmotile phenotype. The Rcs system was deleted in the Delta tat, the Delta mdoD, and the Delta amiA Delta amiC strains, which restored the motility of Delta mdoD and partially restored the motility of Delta tat and Delta amiA Delta amiC. The flagella were also observed in all of the Delta tat Delta rcsDB, Delta mdoD Delta rcsDB, and Delta amiA Delta amiC Delta rcsDB strains, but not in the Delta tat, Delta mdoD, and Delta amiA Delta amiC strains, by using transmission electron microscopy. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR data revealed that the regulons of the Rcs system displayed differential expression in the tat mutant, indicating that the Rcs signaling was activated. Our results suggest that the Rcs system plays an important role in mediating the motility defects of the tat mutant of ExPEC. IMPORTANCE The Tat system is an important protein export system critical for bacterial physiology and pathogenesis. It has been observed for a long time that the Tat system is critical for bacterial motility. However, the underlying mechanism remains unrevealed. In this study, we combine transcriptomics analysis and bacterial genetics, which reveal that transcription regulation plays an important role in mediating the motility defects of the tat mutant of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli. The Tat substrate proteins responsible for the motility defects are identified. We further show that the Rcs system contributes to the motility suppression. We for the first time reveal the link between the Tat system and bacterial motility, which is important for understanding the physiological functions of the Tat system.