Multigenerational Proteolytic Inactivation of Restriction Upon Subtle Genomic Hypomethylation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Restriction-modification (R-M) systems protect against phage infection by detecting and degrading invading foreign DNA. However, like many prokaryotic anti-phage defenses, R-M systems pose a significant risk of auto-immunity, exacerbated by the presence of hundreds to thousands of potential cleavage sites in the bacterial genome. Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains experience the temporary inactivation of restriction endonucleases (tiREN) upon growth at high temperatures, but the mechanisms and implications of this are unknown. Here, we report that P. aeruginosa Type I restriction endonuclease (HsdR) is degraded, and the methyltransferase (HsdMS) is partially degraded, by two Lon-like proteases when replicating above 41 °C. This post-translational regulation prevents self-DNA targeting and leads to partial genomic hypomethylation, as demonstrated by SMRT sequencing and eTAM-seq. Interestingly, upon return to 37 ºC, restriction activity and full genomic methylation do not fully recover for up to 60 bacterial generations. Our findings demonstrate that Type I R-M is tightly regulated post-translationally with a long memory effect that ensures genomic stability and mitigates auto-toxicity. Samples were collected from cultures grown overnight at either 43°C or 37°C, as well as after recovery at 37°C for 18 and 54 hours following incubation at 43 °C