Heme-Based Gas Sensing and Signal Transduction in Microbial Systems
Summary
Microbial survival and adaptation often rely on the precise detection of small diatomic gases such as oxygen, carbon monoxide and nitric oxide. Central to this capacity are heme prosthetic groups, in which an iron ion coordinated by a porphyrin ring undergoes reversible binding of gaseous ligands. This binding event induces conformational changes in sensor proteins, which can be organised around diverse structural folds, including PAS, GAF, globin and MHYT domains. Signal transduction is achieved through a variety of output modules such as histidine kinases, diguanylate cyclases and transcriptional regulators. In two-component systems, gas binding to a sensor histidine kinase modulates its autophosphorylation rate, thereby controlling a downstream response regulator. Alternatively, globin-coupled sensors can regulate second-messenger production, notably cyclic di-GMP, to alter gene expression, motility, biofilm formation or metal acquisition. Collectively, these mechanisms underpin microbial pathogenesis, environmental nutrient cycling and synthetic biology applications, providing routes to engineer bespoke gas-responsive devices.
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Heme-Based Gas Sensing and Signal Transduction in Microbial Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in heme-based gas sensing and signal transduction in microbial systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Heme: An iron-containing porphyrin cofactor that reversibly binds diatomic gases and transduces conformational signals.
PAS domain: A protein fold that senses environmental stimuli, often via a heme or flavin cofactor, and undergoes structural rearrangement.
Globin-coupled sensor: A fusion of a globin fold that binds gas to an enzymatic or regulatory output domain, linking ligand detection to function.
MHYT domain: A membrane-associated sensory fold that recognises diatomic gases and transmits signals across the lipid bilayer.
LytTR domain: A DNA-binding module that recognises specific promoter sequences to regulate transcription in response to upstream signals.
Two-component system: A signal transduction pathway in bacteria comprising a sensor histidine kinase and a response regulator.
Diguanylate cyclase: An enzyme that synthesises cyclic di-GMP, a bacterial second messenger controlling motility and biofilm formation.
Cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP): A ubiquitous bacterial signalling nucleotide that regulates diverse processes from adhesion to virulence.
References
- Characterization of a MHYT domain-coupled transcriptional regulator that responds to carbon monoxide. Nucleic Acids Research (2024).
- An O2-sensing diguanylate cyclase broadly affects the aerobic transcriptome in the phytopathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum. Frontiers in Microbiology (2023).
- Heme-Based Gas Sensors in Nature and Their Chemical and Biotechnological Applications. BioChem (2022).
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