ABSTRACTTheiprAgene (formerly known asyaiVor STM0374) is located in a two-gene operon in theSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium genome and is associated with altered expression during spaceflight and rotating-wall-vessel culture conditions that increase virulence. However,iprAis uncharacterized in the literature. In this report, we present the first targeted characterization of this gene, which revealed thatiprAis highly conserved acrossEnterobacteriaceae. We found thatS. Typhimurium,Escherichia coli, andEnterobacter cloacaeΔiprAmutant strains display a multi-log-fold increase in oxidative stress resistance that is complemented using a plasmid-borne wild-type (WT) copy of theS. TyphimuriumiprAgene. This observation was also associated with increased catalase activity, increasedS. Typhimurium survival in macrophages, and partial dependence on thekatEgene and full dependence on therpoSgene. Our results indicate that IprA protein activity is sensitive to deletion of the N- and C-terminal 10 amino acids, while a region that includes amino acids 56 to 80 is dispensable for activity. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis revealed several genes altered in expression in theS. Typhimurium ΔiprAmutant strain compared to the WT, including those involved in fimbria formation,spvABCD-mediated virulence, ethanolamine utilization, the phosphotransferase system (PTS) transport, and flagellin phase switching from FlgB to FliC (likely a stochastic event) and several genes of hypothetical or putative function.IMPORTANCEOverall, this work reveals that the conservediprAgene measurably influences bacterial biology and highlights the pool of currently uncharacterized genes that are conserved across bacterial genomes. These genes represent potentially useful targets for bacterial engineering, vaccine design, and other possible applications.
The BacterialiprAGene Is Conserved across Enterobacteriaceae, Is Involved in Oxidative Stress Resistance, and Influences Gene Expression in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium
