scholarly journals Identification of fevR, a Novel Regulator of Virulence Gene Expression in Francisella novicida

2008 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 3473-3480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Brotcke ◽  
Denise M. Monack
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Regulatory Gene ◽  
Constitutive Expression ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Francisella Novicida ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Bacterial Replication ◽  
Virulence Gene Regulation

ABSTRACT Francisella tularensis infects wild animals and humans to cause tularemia. This pathogen targets the cytosol of macrophages, where it replicates using the genes in the Francisella pathogenicity island (FPI). Virulence gene regulation in Francisella is complex, but transcriptional regulators MglA and SspA have been shown to regulate the expression of approximately 100 genes, including the entire FPI. We utilized a Francisella novicida transposon mutant library to identify additional regulatory factors and identified five additional genes that are essential for virulence gene expression. One regulatory gene, FTN_0480 (fevR, Francisella effector of virulence regulation), present in all Francisella species, is required for expression of the FPI genes and other genes in the MglA/SspA regulon. The expression of fevR is positively regulated by MglA. However, constitutive expression of fevR in an mglA mutant strain did not restore expression of the MglA/SspA regulon, demonstrating that mglA and fevR act in parallel to positively regulate virulence gene expression. Virulence studies revealed that fevR is essential for bacterial replication in macrophages and in mice, where we additionally show that fevR is required for the expression of genes in the MglA/SspA regulon in vivo. Thus, fevR is a crucial virulence gene in Francisella, required for the expression of virulence factors known to be essential for this pathogen's subversion of host defenses and pathogenesis in vivo.

Vibrio harveyi virulence gene expression in vitro and in vivo during infection in black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon

2020 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 153-160
Author(s):  
S Peeralil ◽  
TC Joseph ◽  
V Murugadas ◽  
PG Akhilnath ◽  
VN Sreejith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Virulence Genes ◽  
Vibrio Harveyi ◽  
Penaeus Monodon ◽  
Challenge Test ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression

Luminescent Vibrio harveyi is common in sea and estuarine waters. It produces several virulence factors and negatively affects larval penaeid shrimp in hatcheries, resulting in severe economic losses to shrimp aquaculture. Although V. harveyi is an important pathogen of shrimp, its pathogenicity mechanisms have yet to be completely elucidated. In the present study, isolates of V. harveyi were isolated and characterized from diseased Penaeus monodon postlarvae from hatcheries in Kerala, India, from September to December 2016. All 23 tested isolates were positive for lipase, phospholipase, caseinase, gelatinase and chitinase activity, and 3 of the isolates (MFB32, MFB71 and MFB68) showed potential for significant biofilm formation. Based on the presence of virulence genes, the isolates of V. harveyi were grouped into 6 genotypes, predominated by vhpA+ flaB+ ser+ vhh1- luxR+ vopD- vcrD+ vscN-. One isolate from each genotype was randomly selected for in vivo virulence experiments, and the LD50 ranged from 1.7 ± 0.5 × 103 to 4.1 ± 0.1 × 105 CFU ml-1. The expression of genes during the infection in postlarvae was high in 2 of the isolates (MFB12 and MFB32), consistent with the result of the challenge test. However, in MFB19, even though all genes tested were present, their expression level was very low and likely contributed to its lack of virulence. Because of the significant variation in gene expression, the presence of virulence genes alone cannot be used as a marker for pathogenicity of V. harveyi.

Virulence gene expression in vivo

2004 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
S SHELBURNE ◽  
J MUSSER
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression

scholarly journals EnterotoxigenicE. colivirulence gene regulation in human infections

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (38) ◽  
pp. E8968-E8976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander A. Crofts ◽  
Simone M. Giovanetti ◽  
Erica J. Rubin ◽  
Frédéric M. Poly ◽  
Ramiro L. Gutiérrez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Virulence Factor ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Human Infection ◽  
Anaerobic Growth ◽  
Infection Model ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Factor Expression

EnterotoxigenicEscherichia coli(ETEC) is a global diarrheal pathogen that utilizes adhesins and secreted enterotoxins to cause disease in mammalian hosts. Decades of research on virulence factor regulation in ETEC has revealed a variety of environmental factors that influence gene expression, including bile, pH, bicarbonate, osmolarity, and glucose. However, other hallmarks of the intestinal tract, such as low oxygen availability, have not been examined. Further, determining how ETEC integrates these signals in the complex host environment is challenging. To address this, we characterized ETEC’s response to the human host using samples from a controlled human infection model. We found ETEC senses environmental oxygen to globally influence virulence factor expression via the oxygen-sensitive transcriptional regulator fumarate and nitrate reduction (FNR) regulator. In vitro anaerobic growth replicates the in vivo virulence factor expression profile, and deletion offnrin ETEC strain H10407 results in a significant increase in expression of all classical virulence factors, including the colonization factor antigen I (CFA/I) adhesin operon and both heat-stable and heat-labile enterotoxins. These data depict a model of ETEC infection where FNR activity can globally influence virulence gene expression, and therefore proximity to the oxygenated zone bordering intestinal epithelial cells likely influences ETEC virulence gene expression in vivo. Outside of the host, ETEC biofilms are associated with seasonal ETEC epidemics, and we find FNR is a regulator of biofilm production. Together these data suggest FNR-dependent oxygen sensing in ETEC has implications for human infection inside and outside of the host.

scholarly journals 18β-Glycyrrhetinic Acid Inhibits Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Survival and Attenuates Virulence Gene Expression

2012 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 241-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danyelle R. Long ◽  
Julia Mead ◽  
Jay M. Hendricks ◽  
Michele E. Hardy ◽  
Jovanka M. Voyich
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Glycyrrhetinic Acid ◽  
Licorice Root ◽  
Methicillin Resistant ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression

ABSTRACTMethicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) has become a major source of infection in hospitals and in the community. Increasing antibiotic resistance inS. aureusstrains has created a need for alternative therapies to treat disease. A component of the licorice rootGlycyrrhizaspp., 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (GRA), has been shown to have antiviral, antitumor, and antibacterial activity. This investigation explores thein vitroandin vivoeffects of GRA on MRSA pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) type USA300. GRA exhibited bactericidal activity at concentrations exceeding 0.223 μM. Upon exposure ofS. aureusto sublytic concentrations of GRA, we observed a reduction in expression of key virulence genes, includingsaeRandhla. In murine models of skin and soft tissue infection, topical GRA treatment significantly reduced skin lesion size and decreased the expression ofsaeRandhlagenes. Our investigation demonstrates that at high concentrations GRA is bactericidal to MRSA and at sublethal doses it reduces virulence gene expression inS. aureusbothin vitroandin vivo.

scholarly journals Role of the Histone-Like Nucleoid Structuring Protein in Colonization, Motility, and Bile-Dependent Repression of Virulence Gene Expression in Vibrio cholerae

2006 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 3060-3064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amalendu Ghosh ◽  
Kalidas Paul ◽  
Rukhsana Chowdhury
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression

ABSTRACT Bile-mediated repression of virulence gene expression is relieved in a Vibrio cholerae hns mutant. The mutant also exhibited reduced motility due to lower flrA expression, higher in vivo production of the virulence factors, and lower colonization efficiency. The colonization defect of the mutant was due to low FlrA production.

scholarly journals Activation of theListeria monocytogenesVirulence Program by a Reducing Environment

mBio ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan L. Portman ◽  
Samuel B. Dubensky ◽  
Bret N. Peterson ◽  
Aaron T. Whiteley ◽  
Daniel A. Portnoy
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Synthetic Medium ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Intracellular Pathogen ◽  
Intracellular Pathogens ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Cell Cytosol ◽  
Host Cell Cytosol

ABSTRACTUpon entry into the host cell cytosol, the facultative intracellular pathogenListeria monocytogenescoordinates the expression of numerous essential virulence factors by allosteric binding of glutathione (GSH) to the Crp-Fnr family transcriptional regulator PrfA. Here, we report that robust virulence gene expression can be recapitulated by growing bacteria in a synthetic medium containing GSH or other chemical reducing agents. Bacteria grown under these conditions were 45-fold more virulent in an acute murine infection model and conferred greater immunity to a subsequent lethal challenge than bacteria grown in conventional media. During cultivationin vitro, PrfA activation was completely dependent on the intracellular levels of GSH, as a glutathione synthase mutant (ΔgshF) was activated by exogenous GSH but not reducing agents. PrfA activation was repressed in a synthetic medium supplemented with oligopeptides, but the repression was relieved by stimulation of the stringent response. These data suggest that cytosolicL. monocytogenesinterprets a combination of metabolic and redox cues as a signal to initiate robust virulence gene expressionin vivo.IMPORTANCEIntracellular pathogens are responsible for much of the worldwide morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases. These pathogens have evolved various strategies to proliferate within individual cells of the host and avoid the host immune response. Through cellular invasion or the use of specialized secretion machinery, all intracellular pathogens must access the host cell cytosol to establish their replicative niches. Determining how these pathogens sense and respond to the intracellular compartment to establish a successful infection is critical to our basic understanding of the pathogenesis of each organism and for the rational design of therapeutic interventions.Listeria monocytogenesis a model intracellular pathogen with robustin vitroandin vivoinfection models. Studies of the host-sensing and downstream signaling mechanisms evolved byL. monocytogenesoften describe themes of pathogenesis that are broadly applicable to less tractable pathogens. Here, we describe how bacteria use external redox states as a cue to activate virulence.

scholarly journals The Fatty Acid Regulator FadR Influences the Expression of the Virulence Cascade in the El Tor Biotype of Vibrio cholerae by Modulating the Levels of ToxT via Two Different Mechanisms

2017 ◽  
Vol 199 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Kovacikova ◽  
Wei Lin ◽  
Ronald K. Taylor ◽  
Karen Skorupski
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Enteric Bacteria ◽  
Posttranslational Regulation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
El Tor ◽  
Virulence Regulator

ABSTRACT FadR is a master regulator of fatty acid (FA) metabolism that coordinates the pathways of FA degradation and biosynthesis in enteric bacteria. We show here that a ΔfadR mutation in the El Tor biotype of Vibrio cholerae prevents the expression of the virulence cascade by influencing both the transcription and the posttranslational regulation of the master virulence regulator ToxT. FadR is a transcriptional regulator that represses the expression of genes involved in FA degradation, activates the expression of genes involved in unsaturated FA (UFA) biosynthesis, and also activates the expression of two operons involved in saturated FA (SFA) biosynthesis. Since FadR does not bind directly to the toxT promoter, we determined whether the regulation of any of its target genes indirectly influenced ToxT. This was accomplished by individually inserting a double point mutation into the FadR-binding site in the promoter of each target gene, thereby preventing their activation or repression. Although preventing FadR-mediated activation of fabA, which encodes the enzyme that carries out the first step in UFA biosynthesis, did not significantly influence either the transcription or the translation of ToxT, it reduced its levels and prevented virulence gene expression. In the mutant strain unable to carry out FadR-mediated activation of fabA, expressing fabA ectopically restored the levels of ToxT and virulence gene expression. Taken together, the results presented here indicate that V. cholerae FadR influences the virulence cascade in the El Tor biotype by modulating the levels of ToxT via two different mechanisms. IMPORTANCE Fatty acids (FAs) play important roles in membrane lipid homeostasis and energy metabolism in all organisms. In Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the acute intestinal disease cholera, they also influence virulence by binding into an N-terminal pocket of the master virulence regulator, ToxT, and modulating its activity. FadR is a transcription factor that coordinately controls the pathways of FA degradation and biosynthesis in enteric bacteria. This study identifies a new link between FA metabolism and virulence in the El Tor biotype by showing that FadR influences both the transcription and posttranslational regulation of the master virulence regulator ToxT by two distinct mechanisms.

scholarly journals Hfq, a Novel Pleiotropic Regulator of Virulence-Associated Genes in Francisella tularensis

2009 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 1866-1880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin L. Meibom ◽  
Anna-Lena Forslund ◽  
Kerstin Kuoppa ◽  
Khaled Alkhuder ◽  
Iharilalao Dubail ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Francisella Tularensis ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
The Other ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Cellular Stresses ◽  
Pleiotropic Regulator

ABSTRACT Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious pathogen that infects animals and humans, causing tularemia. The ability to replicate within macrophages is central for virulence and relies on expression of genes located in the Francisella pathogenicity island (FPI), as well as expression of other genes. Regulation of FPI-encoded virulence gene expression in F. tularensis involves at least four regulatory proteins and is not fully understood. Here we studied the RNA-binding protein Hfq in F. tularensis and particularly the role that it plays as a global regulator of gene expression in stress tolerance and pathogenesis. We demonstrate that Hfq promotes resistance to several cellular stresses (including osmotic and membrane stresses). Furthermore, we show that Hfq is important for the ability of the F. tularensis vaccine strain LVS to induce disease and persist in organs of infected mice. We also demonstrate that Hfq is important for stress tolerance and full virulence in a virulent clinical isolate of F. tularensis, FSC200. Finally, microarray analyses revealed that Hfq regulates expression of numerous genes, including genes located in the FPI. Strikingly, Hfq negatively regulates only one of two divergently expressed putative operons in the FPI, in contrast to the other known regulators, which regulate the entire FPI. Hfq thus appears to be a new pleiotropic regulator of virulence in F. tularensis, acting mostly as a repressor, in contrast to the other regulators identified so far. Moreover, the results obtained suggest a novel regulatory mechanism for a subset of FPI genes.

scholarly journals ChvD, a Chromosomally Encoded ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter-Homologous Protein Involved in Regulation of Virulence Gene Expression in Agrobacterium tumefaciens

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (11) ◽  
pp. 3310-3317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenying Liu ◽  
Mark Jacobs ◽  
Dennis A. Schaff ◽  
Colleen A. McCullen ◽  
Andrew N. Binns
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Agrobacterium Tumefaciens ◽  
Mutant Strain ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Constitutive Expression ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Molecular Genetic Analysis ◽  
Atp Binding ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Atp Binding Cassette

ABSTRACT A yeast two-hybrid screen searching for chromosomally encoded proteins that interact with the Agrobacterium tumefaciensVirB8 protein was carried out. This screen identified an interaction candidate homologous to the partial sequence of a gene that had previously been identified in a transposon screen as a potential regulator of virG expression, chvD. In this report, the cloning of the entire chvD gene is described and the gene is sequenced and characterized. Insertion of a promoterless lacZ gene into the chvD locus greatly attenuated virulence and vir gene expression. Compared to that of the wild-type strain, growth of thechvD mutant was reduced in rich, but not minimal, medium. Expression of chvD, as monitored by expression of β-galactosidase activity from the chvD-lacZ fusion, occurred in both rich and minimal media as well as under conditions that induce virulence gene expression. The ChvD protein is highly homologous to a family of ATP-binding cassette transporters involved in antibiotic export from bacteria and has two complete Walker box motifs. Molecular genetic analysis demonstrated that disruption of either Walker A box, singly, does not inactivate this protein's effect on virulence but that mutations in both Walker A boxes renders it incapable of complementing a chvD mutant strain. Constitutive expression of virG in the chvDmutant strain restored virulence, supporting the hypothesis that ChvD controls virulence through effects on virG expression.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document