scholarly journals Interference of Components of the Phosphoenolpyruvate Phosphotransferase System with the Central Virulence Gene Regulator PrfA of Listeria monocytogenes

2006 ◽  
Vol 189 (2) ◽  
pp. 473-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Mertins ◽  
Biju Joseph ◽  
Monika Goetz ◽  
Regina Ecke ◽  
Gerald Seidel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Virulence Genes ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Phosphotransferase System ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
The Common ◽  
Transcript Profiles

ABSTRACT Analysis of Listeria monocytogenes ptsH, hprK, and ccpA mutants defective in carbon catabolite repression (CCR) control revealed significant alterations in the expression of PrfA-dependent genes. The hprK mutant showed high up-regulation of PrfA-dependent virulence genes upon growth in glucose-containing medium whereas expression of these genes was even slightly down-regulated in the ccpA mutant compared to the wild-type strain. The ptsH mutant could only grow in a rich culture medium, and here the PrfA-dependent genes were up-regulated as in the hprK mutant. As expected, HPr-Ser-P was not produced in the hprK and ptsH mutants and synthesized at a similar level in the ccpA mutant as in the wild-type strain. However, no direct correlation was found between the level of HPr-Ser-P or HPr-His-P and PrfA activity when L. monocytogenes was grown in minimal medium with different phosphotransferase system (PTS) carbohydrates. Comparison of the transcript profiles of the hprK and ccpA mutants with that of the wild-type strain indicates that the up-regulation of the PrfA-dependent virulence genes in the hprK mutant correlates with the down-regulation of genes known to be controlled by the efficiency of PTS-mediated glucose transport. Furthermore, growth in the presence of the non-PTS substrate glycerol results in high PrfA activity. These data suggest that it is not the component(s) of the CCR or the common PTS pathway but, rather, the component(s) of subsequent steps that seem to be involved in the modulation of PrfA activity.

scholarly journals The bvr Locus of Listeria monocytogenes Mediates Virulence Gene Repression by β-Glucosides

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (16) ◽  
pp. 5024-5032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Brehm ◽  
María-Teresa Ripio ◽  
Jürgen Kreft ◽  
José-Antonio Vázquez-Boland
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Virulence Genes ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Gene Repression ◽  
Signal Molecules ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Phosphotransferase System ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression

ABSTRACT The β-glucoside cellobiose has been reported to specifically repress the PrfA-dependent virulence genes hly andplcA in Listeria monocytogenes NCTC 7973. This led to the hypothesis that β-glucosides, sugars of plant origin, may act as signal molecules, preventing the expression of virulence genes if L. monocytogenes is living in its natural habitat (soil). In three other laboratory strains (EGD, L028, and 10403S), however, the effect of cellobiose was not unique, and all fermentable carbohydrates repressed hly. This suggested that the downregulation of virulence genes by β-glucosides is not a specific phenomenon but, rather, an aspect of a global regulatory mechanism of catabolite repression (CR). We assessed the effect of carbohydrates on virulence gene expression in a panel of wild-type isolates of L. monocytogenes by using the PrfA-dependent phospholipase C geneplcB as a reporter. Utilization of any fermentable sugar caused plcB repression in wild-type L. monocytogenes. However, an EGD variant was identified in which, as in NCTC 7973, plcB was only repressed by β-glucosides. Thus, the regulation of L. monocytogenes virulence genes by sugars appears to be mediated by two separate mechanisms, one presumably involving a CR pathway and another specifically responding to β-glucosides. We have identified in L. monocytogenes a 4-kb operon, bvrABC, encoding an antiterminator of the BglG family (bvrA), a β-glucoside-specific enzyme II permease component of the phosphoenolpyruvate-sugar phosphotransferase system (bvrB), and a putative ADP-ribosylglycohydrolase (bvrC). Low-stringency Southern blots showed that this locus is absent from other Listeria spp. Transcription ofbvrB was induced by cellobiose and salicin but not by arbutin. Disruption of the bvr operon by replacing part ofbvrAB with an interposon abolished the repression by cellobiose and salicin but not that by arbutin. Our data indicate that the bvr locus encodes a β-glucoside-specific sensor that mediates virulence gene repression upon detection of cellobiose and salicin. Bvr is the first sensory system found in L. monocytogenes that is involved in environmental regulation of virulence genes.

scholarly journals Screen for Leukotoxin Mutants in Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans: Genes of the Phosphotransferase System Are Required for Leukotoxin Biosynthesis

2008 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 3561-3568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria P. Isaza ◽  
Matthew S. Duncan ◽  
Jeffrey B. Kaplan ◽  
Scott C. Kachlany
Keyword(s):  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Aggressive Periodontitis ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Growth Media ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Camp Production ◽  
Phosphotransferase System ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Transposon Insertions

ABSTRACT Aggregatibacter (formerly Actinobacillus) actinomycetemcomitans is a pathogen that causes localized aggressive periodontitis and extraoral infections including infective endocarditis. Recently, we reported that A. actinomycetemcomitans is beta-hemolytic on certain growth media due to the production of leukotoxin (LtxA). Based on this observation and our ability to generate random transposon insertions in A. actinomycetemcomitans, we developed and carried out a rapid screen for LtxA mutants. Using PCR, we mapped several of the mutations to genes that are known or predicted to be required for LtxA production, including ltxA, ltxB, ltxD, and tdeA. In addition, we identified an insertion in a gene previously not recognized to be involved in LtxA biosynthesis, ptsH. ptsH encodes the protein HPr, a phosphocarrier protein that is part of the sugar phosphotransferase system. HPr results in the phosphorylation of other proteins and ultimately in the activation of adenylate cyclase and cyclic AMP (cAMP) production. The ptsH mutant showed only partial hemolysis on blood agar and did not produce LtxA. The phenotype was complemented by supplying wild-type ptsH in trans, and real-time PCR analysis showed that the ptsH mutant produced approximately 10-fold less ltxA mRNA than the wild-type strain. The levels of cAMP in the ptsH mutant were significantly lower than in the wild-type strain, and LtxA production could be restored by adding exogenous cAMP to the culture.

scholarly journals Phosphorylation of HPr by the Bifunctional HPr Kinase/P-Ser-HPr Phosphatase from Lactobacillus casei Controls Catabolite Repression and Inducer Exclusion but Not Inducer Expulsion

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (9) ◽  
pp. 2582-2590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérie Dossonnet ◽  
Vicente Monedero ◽  
Monique Zagorec ◽  
Anne Galinier ◽  
Gaspar Pérez-Martínez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Catabolite Repression ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Lactobacillus Casei ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Lag Phase ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Phosphotransferase System ◽  
Inducer Exclusion ◽  
In The Wild

ABSTRACT We have cloned and sequenced the Lactobacillus casei hprK gene encoding the bifunctional enzyme HPr kinase/P-Ser-HPr phosphatase (HprK/P). Purified recombinant L. casei HprK/P catalyzes the ATP-dependent phosphorylation of HPr, a phosphocarrier protein of the phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system at the regulatory Ser-46 as well as the dephosphorylation of seryl-phosphorylated HPr (P-Ser-HPr). The two opposing activities of HprK/P were regulated by fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, which stimulated HPr phosphorylation, and by inorganic phosphate, which stimulated the P-Ser-HPr phosphatase activity. A mutant producing truncated HprK/P was found to be devoid of both HPr kinase and P-Ser-HPr phosphatase activities. When hprK was inactivated, carbon catabolite repression of N-acetylglucosaminidase disappeared, and the lag phase observed during diauxic growth of the wild-type strain on media containing glucose plus either lactose or maltose was strongly diminished. In addition, inducer exclusion exerted by the presence of glucose on maltose transport in the wild-type strain was abolished in the hprK mutant. However, inducer expulsion ofmethyl β-d-thiogalactoside triggered by rapidly metabolizable carbon sources was still operative inptsH mutants altered at Ser-46 of HPr and thehprK mutant, suggesting that, in contrast to the model proposed for inducer expulsion in gram-positive bacteria, P-Ser-HPr might not be involved in this regulatory process.

scholarly journals Effects of Mutations of RAD50, RAD51, RAD52, and Related Genes on Illegitimate Recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (2) ◽  
pp. 383-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasumasa Tsukamoto ◽  
Jun-ichi Kato ◽  
Hideo Ikeda
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Recombination Rate ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Negative Selection ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Illegitimate Recombination ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
In The Wild

Abstract To examine the mechanism of illegitimate recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we have developed a plasmid system for quantitative analysis of deletion formation. A can1 cyh2 cell carrying two negative selection markers, the CAN1 and CYH2 genes, on a YCp plasmid is sensitive to canavanine and cycloheximide, but the cell becomes resistant to both drugs when the plasmid has a deletion over the CAN1 and CYH2 genes. Structural analysis of the recombinant plasmids obtained from the resistant cells showed that the plasmids had deletions at various sites of the CAN1-CYH2 region and there were only short regions of homology (1-5 bp) at the recombination junctions. The results indicated that the deletion detected in this system were formed by illegitimate recombination. Study on the effect of several rad mutations showed that the recombination rate was reduced by 30-, 10-, 10-, and 10-fold in the rad52, rad50, mre11, and xrs2 mutants, respectively, while in the rud51, 54, 55, and 57 mutants, the rate was comparable to that in the wild-type strain. The rad52 mutation did not affect length of homology at junction sites of illegitimate recombination.

scholarly journals Expression and function of the cdgD gene, encoding a CHASE–PAS-DGC-EAL domain protein, in Azospirillum brasilense

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Francisco Cruz-Pérez ◽  
Roxana Lara-Oueilhe ◽  
Cynthia Marcos-Jiménez ◽  
Ricardo Cuatlayotl-Olarte ◽  
María Luisa Xiqui-Vázquez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Azospirillum Brasilense ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Wheat Roots ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Plant Growth Promoting

AbstractThe plant growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense contains several genes encoding proteins involved in the biosynthesis and degradation of the second messenger cyclic-di-GMP, which may control key bacterial functions, such as biofilm formation and motility. Here, we analysed the function and expression of the cdgD gene, encoding a multidomain protein that includes GGDEF-EAL domains and CHASE and PAS domains. An insertional cdgD gene mutant was constructed, and analysis of biofilm and extracellular polymeric substance production, as well as the motility phenotype indicated that cdgD encoded a functional diguanylate protein. These results were correlated with a reduced overall cellular concentration of cyclic-di-GMP in the mutant over 48 h compared with that observed in the wild-type strain, which was recovered in the complemented strain. In addition, cdgD gene expression was measured in cells growing under planktonic or biofilm conditions, and differential expression was observed when KNO3 or NH4Cl was added to the minimal medium as a nitrogen source. The transcriptional fusion of the cdgD promoter with the gene encoding the autofluorescent mCherry protein indicated that the cdgD gene was expressed both under abiotic conditions and in association with wheat roots. Reduced colonization of wheat roots was observed for the mutant compared with the wild-type strain grown in the same soil conditions. The Azospirillum-plant association begins with the motility of the bacterium towards the plant rhizosphere followed by the adsorption and adherence of these bacteria to plant roots. Therefore, it is important to study the genes that contribute to this initial interaction of the bacterium with its host plant.

The phosphoenolpyruvate: sugar phosphotransferase system of Streptococcus salivarius. Identification of a IIIman protein

1987 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Vadeboncoeur ◽  
Lucie Gauthier
Keyword(s):  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Deae Cellulose ◽  
Reaction Medium ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Spontaneous Mutant ◽  
Streptococcus Salivarius ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Phosphotransferase System ◽  
Growth Inhibitory

A double-spontaneous mutant resistant to the growth inhibitory effect of α-methylglucoside and 2-deoxyglucose was isolated from Streptococcus salivarius. This mutant strain, called αS3L11, did not grow on mannose and grew poorly on 5 mM fructose and 5 mM glucose. Isolated membranes of strain αS3L11 were unable to catalyse the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation of mannose in the presence of purified enzyme I and HPr. Addition of dialysed membrane-free cellular extract of the wild-type strain to the reaction medium restored the activity. The factor that restored the phosphoenolpyruvate–mannose phosphotransferase activity to membranes of strain αS3L11 was called IIIman. This factor was partially purified from the wild-type strain by DEAE-cellulose chromatography, DEAE-TSK chromatography, and molecular seiving on a column of Ultrogel AcA 34. This partially purified preparation also enhanced the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphorylation of glucose, fructose, and 2-deoxyglucose in strain αS3L11.

scholarly journals Activation of 2,4-Diaminoquinazoline in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Rv3161c, a Putative Dioxygenase

2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Melief ◽  
Shilah A. Bonnett ◽  
Edison S. Zuniga ◽  
Tanya Parish
Keyword(s):  
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽  
Mutant Strain ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Type A ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Metabolite Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Data Support ◽  
In The Wild

ABSTRACT The diaminoquinazoline series has good potency against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Resistant isolates have mutations in Rv3161c, a putative dioxygenase. We carried out metabolite analysis on a wild-type strain and an Rv3161c mutant strain after exposure to a diaminoquinazoline. The parental compound was found in intracellular extracts from the mutant but not the wild type. A metabolite consistent with a monohydroxylated form was identified in the wild type. These data support the hypothesis that Rv3161c metabolizes diaminoquinazolines in M. tuberculosis.

scholarly journals Disruption of the RAD52 gene alters the spectrum of spontaneous SUP4-o mutations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Genetics ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
B A Kunz ◽  
M G Peters ◽  
S E Kohalmi ◽  
J D Armstrong ◽  
M Glattke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Base Pair ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Mutator Phenotype ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Single Base Pair ◽  
Almost All

Abstract Defects in the RAD52 gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae confer a mutator phenotype. To characterize this effect in detail, a collection of 238 spontaneous SUP4-o mutations arising in a strain having a disrupted RAD52 gene was analyzed by DNA sequencing. The resulting mutational spectrum was compared to that derived from an examination of 222 spontaneous mutations selected in a nearisogenic wild-type (RAD52) strain. This comparison revealed that the mutator phenotype was associated with an increase in the frequency of base-pair substitutions. All possible types of substitution were detected but there was a reduction in the relative fraction of A.T----G.C transitions and an increase in the proportion of G.C----C.G transversions. These changes were sufficient to cause a twofold greater preference for substitutions at G.C sites in the rad52 strain despite a decrease in the fraction of G.C----T.A transversions. There were also considerable differences between the distributions of substitutions within the SUP4-o gene. Base-pair changes occurred at fewer sites in the rad52 strain but the mutated sites included several that were not detected in the RAD52 background. Only two of the four sites that were mutated most frequently in the rad52 strain were also prominent in the wild-type strain and mutation frequencies at almost all sites common to both strains were greater for the rad52 derivative. Although single base-pair deletions occurred in the two strains with similar frequencies, several classes of mutation that were recovered in the wild-type background including multiple base-pair deletions, insertions of the yeast transposable element Ty, and more complex changes, were not detected in the rad52 strain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

scholarly journals Transport and Catabolism of Pentitols by Listeria monocytogenes

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 369-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takfarinas Kentache ◽  
Eliane Milohanic ◽  
Thanh Nguyen Cao ◽  
Abdelhamid Mokhtari ◽  
Francine Moussan Aké ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Virulence Genes ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Pentose Phosphate ◽  
Phosphotransferase System ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression ◽  
Transposon Insertion ◽  
Encoding Gene ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Transcription Activators

Transposon insertion into <i>Listeria monocytogenes lmo2665</i>, which encodes an EIIC of the phosphoenolpyruvate:carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS), was found to prevent <smlcap>D</smlcap>-arabitol utilization. We confirm this result with a deletion mutant and show that Lmo2665 is also required for <smlcap>D</smlcap>-xylitol utilization. We therefore called this protein EIIC<sup>Axl</sup>. Both pentitols are probably catabolized via the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) because <i>lmo2665</i> belongs to an operon, which encodes the three PTS<sup>Axl</sup> components, two sugar-P dehydrogenases, and most PPP enzymes. The two dehydrogenases oxidize the pentitol-phosphates produced during PTS-catalyzed transport to the PPP intermediate xylulose-5-P. <i>L. monocytogenes</i> contains another PTS, which exhibits significant sequence identity to PTS<sup>Axl</sup>. Its genes are also part of an operon encoding PPP enzymes. Deletion of the EIIC-encoding gene <i>(lmo0508)</i> affected neither <smlcap>D</smlcap>-arabitol nor <smlcap>D</smlcap>-xylitol utilization, although <smlcap>D</smlcap>-arabitol induces the expression of this operon. Both operons are controlled by MtlR/LicR-type transcription activators (Lmo2668 and Lmo0501, respectively). Phosphorylation of Lmo0501 by the soluble PTS<sup>Axl</sup> components probably explains why <smlcap>D</smlcap>-arabitol also induces the second pentitol operon. Listerial virulence genes are submitted to strong repression by PTS sugars, such as glucose. However, <smlcap>D</smlcap>-arabitol inhibited virulence gene expression only at high concentrations, probably owing to its less efficient utilization compared to glucose.

Inactivation of the Crp/Fnr Family of Regulatory Genes in Listeria monocytogenes Strain F2365 Does Not Alter Its Heat Resistance at 60°C†

2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (11) ◽  
pp. 2758-2760 ◽  
Author(s):  
DARRELL O. BAYLES ◽  
GAYLEN A. UHLICH
Keyword(s):  
Listeria Monocytogenes ◽  
Heat Resistance ◽  
Thermal Tolerance ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Transcriptional Control ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Gene Cassette ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Virulence Regulator

A surprising facet of the Listeria monocytogenes genome is the presence of 15 genes that code for regulators in the Crp/Fnr family and include the virulence regulator PrfA. The genes under the transcriptional control of these regulators are currently undetermined, with the exception of some genes controlled by the major virulence regulator PrfA. Using 12 strains of L. monocytogenes, each with an inserted gene cassette that interrupts and renders nonfunctional a different L. monocytogenes strain F2365 Crp/Fnr regulator, we heat challenged each strain at 60°C with an immersed-coil heating apparatus, modeled the survivor data to calculate the underlying mean and mode of the heat resistance distribution for each strain, and compared the thermal tolerance of each mutant to the wild-type strain to determine if any of the Crp/Fnr mutants demonstrated altered heat tolerance. All 12 of the Crp/Fnr mutant strains tested had heat resistance characteristics similar to the wild-type strain (P &gt; 0.05), indicating that mutations in these Crp/Fnr genes neither increased nor decreased the sensitivity of L. monocytogenes strain F2365 to mild heat.

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