scholarly journals A Francisella tularensis Pathogenicity Island Required for Intramacrophage Growth

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (19) ◽  
pp. 6430-6436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis E. Nano ◽  
Na Zhang ◽  
Siobhán C. Cowley ◽  
Karl E. Klose ◽  
Karen K. M. Cheung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Francisella Tularensis ◽  
Pathogenicity Island ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Intracellular Pathogen ◽  
Type B ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Virulent Type ◽  
Highly Virulent ◽  
Reading Frames

ABSTRACT Francisella tularensis is a gram-negative, facultative intracellular pathogen that causes the highly infectious zoonotic disease tularemia. We have discovered a ca. 30-kb pathogenicity island of F. tularensis (FPI) that includes four large open reading frames (ORFs) of 2.5 to 3.9 kb and 13 ORFs of 1.5 kb or smaller. Previously, two small genes located near the center of the FPI were shown to be needed for intramacrophage growth. In this work we show that two of the large ORFs, located toward the ends of the FPI, are needed for virulence. Although most genes in the FPI encode proteins with amino acid sequences that are highly conserved between high- and low-virulence strains, one of the FPI genes is present in highly virulent type A F. tularensis, absent in moderately virulent type B F. tularensis, and altered in F. tularensis subsp. novicida, which is highly virulent for mice but avirulent for humans. The G+C content of a 17.7-kb stretch of the FPI is 26.6%, which is 6.6% below the average G+C content of the F. tularensis genome. This extremely low G+C content suggests that the DNA was imported from a microbe with a very low G+C-containing chromosome.

scholarly journals Acid Phosphatases Do Not Contribute to the Pathogenesis of Type A Francisella tularensis

2009 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Child ◽  
Tara D. Wehrly ◽  
Dedeke Rockx-Brouwer ◽  
David W. Dorward ◽  
Jean Celli
Keyword(s):  
Acid Phosphatase ◽  
Francisella Tularensis ◽  
Type A ◽  
Intracellular Pathogen ◽  
Acid Phosphatases ◽  
Intranasal Inoculation ◽  
Human Macrophages ◽  
Virulent Type ◽  
Schu S4 ◽  
Highly Virulent

ABSTRACT The intracellular pathogen Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of tularemia, a zoonosis that can affect humans with potentially lethal consequences. Essential to Francisella virulence is its ability to survive and proliferate within phagocytes through phagosomal escape and cytosolic replication. Francisella spp. encode a variety of acid phosphatases, whose roles in phagosomal escape and virulence have been documented yet remain controversial. Here we have examined in the highly virulent (type A) F. tularensis strain Schu S4 the pathogenic roles of three distinct acid phosphatases, AcpA, AcpB, and AcpC, that are most conserved between Francisella subspecies. Neither the deletion of acpA nor the combination of acpA, acpB, and acpC deletions affected the phagosomal escape or cytosolic growth of Schu S4 in murine and human macrophages, despite decreases in acid phosphatase activities by as much as 95%. Furthermore, none of these mutants were affected in their ability to cause lethality in mice upon intranasal inoculation. Hence, the acid phosphatases AcpA, AcpB, and AcpC do not contribute to intracellular pathogenesis and do not play a major role in the virulence of type A Francisella strains.

scholarly journals Genetic and Transcriptional Analysis of the Siderophore Malleobactin Biosynthesis and Transport Genes in the Human Pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei K96243

2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (4) ◽  
pp. 1551-1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro F. Alice ◽  
Claudia S. López ◽  
Carolyn A. Lowe ◽  
Maria A. Ledesma ◽  
Jorge H. Crosa
Keyword(s):  
Burkholderia Pseudomallei ◽  
Invasive Disease ◽  
Sigma Factors ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Transcriptional Analysis ◽  
Intracellular Pathogen ◽  
Human Pathogen ◽  
Gram Negative ◽  
Molecular Weights ◽  
Reading Frames

ABSTRACT Burkholderia pseudomallei is a gram-negative facultative intracellular pathogen that causes melioidosis, an invasive disease of humans and animals. To address the response of this bacterium to iron-limiting conditions, we first performed a global transcriptional analysis of RNA extracted from bacteria grown under iron-limiting and iron-rich conditions by microarrays. We focused our study on those open reading frames (ORFs) induced under iron limitation, which encoded predicted proteins that could be involved in the biosynthesis and uptake of the siderophore malleobactin. We purified this siderophore and determined that it consisted of at least three compounds with different molecular weights. We demonstrated that ORFs BPSL1776 and BPSL1774, designated mbaA and mbaF, respectively, are involved in the biosynthesis of malleobactin, while BPSL1775, named fmtA, is involved in its transport. These genes are in an operon with two other ORFs (mbaJ and mbaI) whose transcription is under the control of MbaS, a protein that belongs to the extracytoplasmic function sigma factors. Interestingly, the transcription of the mbaA, fmtA, and mbaS genes is not controlled by the availability of the siderophore malleobactin.

scholarly journals Adding toYersinia enterocoliticaGene Pool Diversity: Two Cryptic Plasmids from a Biotype 1A Isolate

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Lepka ◽  
Tobias Kerrinnes ◽  
Evelyn Skiebe ◽  
Birgitt Hahn ◽  
Angelika Fruth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hypothetical Protein ◽  
Replication Initiation ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Eukaryotic Cells ◽  
Base Pairs ◽  
Significant Similarity ◽  
Replication Initiation Protein ◽  
Cryptic Plasmids ◽  
Reading Frames

We report the nucleotide sequence of two novel cryptic plasmids (4357 and 14 662 base pairs) carried by aYersinia enterocoliticabiotype 1A strain isolated from pork. As distinguished from most biotype 1A strains, this isolate, designated 07-04449, exhibited adherence to eukaryotic cells. The smaller plasmid pYe4449-1 carries five attributable open reading frames (ORFs) encoding the first CcdA/CcdB-like antitoxin/toxin system described for aYersiniaplasmid, a RepA-like replication initiation protein, and mobilizing factors MobA and MobC. The deduced amino acid sequences showed highest similarity to proteins described inSalmonella(CcdA/B),Klebsiella(RepA), andPlesiomonas(MobA/C) indicating genomic fluidity among members of theEnterobacteriaceae. One additional ORF with unknown function, termed ORF5, was identified with an ancestry distinct from the rest of the plasmid. While the C+G content of ORF5 is 38.3%, the rest of pYe4449-1 shows a C+G content of 55.7%. The C+G content of the larger plasmid pYe4449-2 (54.9%) was similar to that of pYe4449-1 (53.7%) and differed from that of theY. enterocoliticagenome (47.3%). Of the 14 ORFs identified on pYe4449-2, only six ORFs showed significant similarity to database entries. For three of these ORFs likely functions could be ascribed: a TnpR-like resolvase and a phage replication protein, localized each on a low C+G island, and DNA primase TraC. Two ORFs of pYe4449-2, ORF3 and ORF7, seem to encode secretable proteins. Epitope-tagging of ORF3 revealed protein expression at4°Cbut not at or above27°Csuggesting adaptation to a habitat outside swine. The hypothetical protein encoded by ORF7 is the member of a novel repeat protein family sharing theDxxGN(x)nDxxGNmotif. Our findings illustrate the exceptional gene pool diversity within the speciesY. enterocoliticadriven by horizontal gene transfer events.

scholarly journals Precise Excision of the Large Pathogenicity Island, SPI7, in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (10) ◽  
pp. 3202-3213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Bueno ◽  
Carlos A. Santiviago ◽  
Alejandro A. Murillo ◽  
Juan A. Fuentes ◽  
A. Nicole Trombert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salmonella Enterica ◽  
Pathogenicity Island ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Epithelial Cell Line ◽  
Direct Repeats ◽  
Salmonella Enterica Serovar Typhi ◽  
Precise Excision ◽  
Join Point ◽  
Reading Frames ◽  
Vi Antigen

ABSTRACT The large pathogenicity island (SPI7) of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi is a 133,477-bp segment of DNA flanked by two 52-bp direct repeats overlapping the pheU (phenylalanyl-tRNA) gene, contains 151 potential open reading frames, and includes the viaB operon involved in the synthesis of Vi antigen. Some clinical isolates of S. enterica serovar Typhi are missing the entire SPI7, due to its precise excision; these strains have lost the ability to produce Vi antigen, are resistant to phage Vi-II, and invade a human epithelial cell line more rapidly. Excision of SPI7 occurs spontaneously in a clinical isolate of S. enterica serovar Typhi when it is grown in the laboratory, leaves an intact copy of the pheU gene at its novel join point, and results in the same three phenotypic consequences. SPI7 is an unstable genetic element, probably an intermediate in the pathway of lateral transfer of such pathogenicity islands among enteric gram-negative bacteria.

scholarly journals Nucleotide Sequence and Genetic Structure of a Novel Carbaryl Hydrolase Gene (cehA) from Rhizobium sp. Strain AC100

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 1220-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayuki Hashimoto ◽  
Mitsuru Fukui ◽  
Kouichi Hayano ◽  
Masahito Hayatsu
Keyword(s):  
Nucleotide Sequence ◽  
Insertion Sequence ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Homology Search ◽  
Sequencing Analysis ◽  
Terminal Sequence ◽  
Homologous Sequences ◽  
Naphthyl Acetate ◽  
Reading Frames

ABSTRACT Rhizobium sp. strain AC100, which is capable of degrading carbaryl (1-naphthyl-N-methylcarbamate), was isolated from soil treated with carbaryl. This bacterium hydrolyzed carbaryl to 1-naphthol and methylamine. Carbaryl hydrolase from the strain was purified to homogeneity, and its N-terminal sequence, molecular mass (82 kDa), and enzymatic properties were determined. The purified enzyme hydrolyzed 1-naphthyl acetate and 4-nitrophenyl acetate indicating that the enzyme is an esterase. We then cloned the carbaryl hydrolase gene (cehA) from the plasmid DNA of the strain and determined the nucleotide sequence of the 10-kb region containing cehA. No homologous sequences were found by a database homology search using the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the cehA gene. Six open reading frames including the cehA gene were found in the 10-kb region, and sequencing analysis shows that the cehA gene is flanked by two copies of insertion sequence-like sequence, suggesting that it makes part of a composite transposon.

scholarly journals Cloning of two Bombyx homologues of the Drosophila rosy gene and their relationship to larval translucent skin colour mutants

1998 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUJI YASUKOCHI ◽  
TOSHIO KANDA ◽  
TOSHIKI TAMURA
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Specificity ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Striking Similarity ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Phage Dna ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Reading Frames

To clone the Bombyx xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) gene as a dominant marker for silkworm transgenesis, we performed nested reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using embryonic mRNA and primers designed from the conserved region of Drosophila and rat XDH genes. Sequencing of amplified 180 bp fragments showed that two different sequences were present in the fragments. Since both possessed striking similarity to XDH genes of other organisms, we considered these to be portions of silkworm XDH genes and designated them BmXDH1 and BmXDH2. Subsequently we cloned separately the entire region of the two cDNAs by PCR using phage DNA of an embryonic cDNA library and sequenced them. The two cDNAs were around 4 kb in size and possessed complete open reading frames. The deduced amino acid sequences of the two BmXDHs were very similar to each other and to those of other organisms. The expression pattern of wild-type larvae basically followed the tissue specificity of the enzyme and no significant difference was observed between the two XDH genes. The expression of both genes was detected in the XDH-deficient mutants, oq and og, but non-synonymous substitutions were specifically detected in the BmXDH1 of the oq mutant. In addition, a length polymorphism of the second intron of the BmXDH1 co-segregated with the oq translucent phenotype, suggesting that deficiency in BmXDH1 is the cause of the oq translucent phenotype.

scholarly journals Two C—P Lyase Operons in Pseudomonas stutzeri and Their Roles in the Oxidation of Phosphonates, Phosphite, and Hypophosphite

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (14) ◽  
pp. 4730-4739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea K. White ◽  
William W. Metcalf
Keyword(s):  
Insertion Site ◽  
Pseudomonas Stutzeri ◽  
Gene Organization ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Reverse Transcription Pcr ◽  
Transposon Insertion ◽  
Intergenic Sequences ◽  
Reading Frames

ABSTRACT DNA sequencing and analysis of two distinct C—P lyase operons in Pseudomonas stutzeri WM88 were completed. The htxABCDEFGHIJKLMN operon encodes a hypophosphite-2-oxoglutarate dioxygenase (HtxA), whereas the predicted amino acid sequences of HtxB to HtxN are each homologous to the components of the Escherichia coli phn operon, which encodes C—P lyase, although homologs of E. coli phnF and phnO are absent. The genes in the htx operon are cotranscribed based on gene organization, and the presence of the intergenic sequences is verified by reverse transcription-PCR with total RNA. Deletion of the htx locus does not affect the ability of P. stutzeri to grow on phosphonates, indicating the presence of an additional C—P lyase pathway in this organism. To identify the genes comprising this pathway, a Δhtx strain was mutagenized and one mutant lacking the ability to grow on methylphosphonate as the sole P source was isolated. A ca.-10.6-kbp region surrounding the transposon insertion site of this mutant was sequenced, revealing 13 open reading frames, designated phnCDEFGHIJKLMNP, which were homologous to the E. coli phn genes. Deletion of both the htx and phn operons of P. stutzeri abolishes all growth on methylphosphonate and aminoethylphosphonate. Both operons individually support growth on methylphosphonate; however, the phn operon supports growth on aminoethylphosphonate and phosphite, as well. The substrate ranges of both C—P lyases are limited, as growth on other phosphonate compounds, including glyphosate and phenylphosphonate, was not observed.

scholarly journals Characterization of the Genes for Two Protocatechuate 3,4-Dioxygenases from the 4-Sulfocatechol-Degrading Bacterium Agrobacterium radiobacter Strain S2

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (21) ◽  
pp. 6123-6129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Contzen ◽  
Andreas Stolz
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Agrobacterium Radiobacter ◽  
Sequence Alignments ◽  
Degrading Bacterium ◽  
Regulator Protein ◽  
Putative Operon ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Reading Frames

ABSTRACT The genes for two different protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenases (P34Os) were cloned from the 4-sulfocatechol-degrading bacteriumAgrobacterium radiobacter strain S2 (DSMZ 5681). ThepcaH1G1 genes encoded a P34O (P34O-I) which oxidized protocatechuate but not 4-sulfocatechol. These genes were part of a protocatechuate-degradative operon which strongly resembled the isofunctional operon from the protocatechuate-degrading strainAgrobacterium tumefaciens A348 described previously by D. Parke (FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 146:3–12, 1997). The second P34O (P34O-II), encoded by the pcaH2G2 genes, was functionally expressed and shown to convert protocatechuate and 4-sulfocatechol. A comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of PcaH-I and PcaH-II, and of PcaG-I and PcaG-II, with each other and with the corresponding sequences from the P34Os, from other bacterial genera suggested that the genes for the P34O-II were obtained by strain S2 by lateral gene transfer. The genes encoding the P34O-II were found in a putative operon together with two genes which, according to sequence alignments, encoded transport proteins. Further downstream from this putative operon, two open reading frames which code for a putative regulator protein of the IclR family and a putative 3-carboxymuconate cycloisomerase were identified.

scholarly journals Flagellin Glycosylation Island in Pseudomonas syringae pv. glycinea and Its Role in Host Specificity

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (22) ◽  
pp. 6658-6665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kasumi Takeuchi ◽  
Fumiko Taguchi ◽  
Yoshishige Inagaki ◽  
Kazuhiro Toyoda ◽  
Tomonori Shiraishi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Syringae ◽  
Posttranslational Modification ◽  
Hypersensitive Reaction ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Tobacco Leaves ◽  
Flagellin Glycosylation ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Soybean Leaves ◽  
Reading Frames

ABSTRACT The deduced amino acid sequences of the flagellins of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci and P. syringae pv. glycinea are identical; however, their abilities to induce a hypersensitive reaction are clearly different. The reason for the difference seems to depend on the posttranslational modification of the flagellins. To investigate the role of this posttranslational modification in the interactions between plants and bacterial pathogens, we isolated genes that are potentially involved in the posttranslational modification of flagellin in P. syringae pv. glycinea (glycosylation island); then defective mutants with mutations in these genes were generated. There are three open reading frames in the glycosylation island, designated orf1, orf2, and orf3. orf1 and orf2 encode putative glycosyltransferases, and mutants with defects in these open reading frames, Δorf1 and Δorf2, secreted nonglycosylated and slightly glycosylated flagellins, respectively. Inoculation tests performed with these mutants and original nonhost tobacco leaves revealed that Δorf1 and Δorf2 could grow on tobacco leaves and caused symptom-like changes. In contrast, these mutants failed to cause symptoms on original host soybean leaves. These data indicate that putative glycosyltransferases encoded in the flagellin glycosylation island are strongly involved in recognition by plants and could be the specific determinants of compatibility between phytopathogenic bacteria and plant species.

scholarly journals Genome of Staphylococcal Phage K: a New Lineage of Myoviridae Infecting Gram-Positive Bacteria with a Low G+C Content

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (9) ◽  
pp. 2862-2871 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. O'Flaherty ◽  
A. Coffey ◽  
R. Edwards ◽  
W. Meaney ◽  
G. F. Fitzgerald ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Restriction Enzymes ◽  
Rnase H ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
The Other ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Acid Protein ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Highly Virulent ◽  
Reading Frames ◽  
Amino Acid Protein

ABSTRACT Phage K is a polyvalent phage of the Myoviridae family which is active against a wide range of staphylococci. Phage genome sequencing revealed a linear DNA genome of 127,395 bp, which carries 118 putative open reading frames. The genome is organized in a modular form, encoding modules for lysis, structural proteins, DNA replication, and transcription. Interestingly, the structural module shows high homology to the structural module from Listeria phage A511, suggesting intergenus horizontal transfer. In addition, phage K exhibits the potential to encode proteins necessary for its own replisome, including DNA ligase, primase, helicase, polymerase, RNase H, and DNA binding proteins. Phage K has a complete absence of GATC sites, making it insensitive to restriction enzymes which cleave this sequence. Three introns (lys-I1, pol-I2, and pol-I3) encoding putative endonucleases were located in the genome. Two of these (pol-I2 and pol-I3) were found to interrupt the DNA polymerase gene, while the other (lys-I1) interrupts the lysin gene. Two of the introns encode putative proteins with homology to HNH endonucleases, whereas the other encodes a 270-amino-acid protein which contains two zinc fingers (CX2CX22CX2C and CX2CX23CX2C). The availability of the genome of this highly virulent phage, which is active against infective staphylococci, should provide new insights into the biology and evolution of large broad-spectrum polyvalent phages.

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