An atlas of bacterial two-component systems reveals function and plasticity in signal transduction

Two-component systems (TCSs) consist of the biggest group of signal transduction pathways in biology. Although TCSs play key roles in sensing signals to sustain survival and virulence, the genome-wide regulatory variability and conservation and synergistic actions of global TCSs in response to external stimulus are still uncharacterized. Here, we integrate 120 transcriptome sequencing datasets and 38 chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing datasets of the model phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae to illustrate how bacterial TCSs dynamically govern their regulatory roles under changing environments. We reveal themes of conservation and variability in bacterial gene regulations in response to changing environments by developing a network-based PSTCSome (Pseudomonas syringae TCS regulome) containing 232 and 297 functional genes under King’s B medium and minimal medium conditions, respectively. We identify 7 TCSs regulating the type III secretion system, motility, or exopolysaccharide production. Overall, this study represents an important source to study the plasticity of TCSs among other TCS-containing organisms. [Display omitted] •PSTCSome includes 232 and 297 functional genes in KB and MM conditions, respectively•FimS/AlgR and PSPPH_1906/1907 plastically govern metabolism in KB and MM•PhoBR, CzcSR, ErcS, and Dcsbis contribute to the full activation of T3SS•PhoBR, AlgB/KinB, MerS, and CopRS regulate motility and exopolysaccharide production Xie et al. demonstrate the regulatory plasticity of global P. syringae TCSs in two growth environments by computationally combining the differentially expressed genes of 60 histidine kinases and binding loci of 38 response regulators. The constructed network includes 232 and 297 functional genes in virulence-suppressing and -activating conditions.