Journal
VIRULENCE
Volume 3, Issue 3, Pages 286-298Publisher
LANDES BIOSCIENCE
DOI: 10.4161/viru.19355
Keywords
Burkholderia; Burkholderia cepacia; hemolysin; bacterial pathogenesis; mutagenesis; non-ribosomal peptide synthesis; bacterial toxin
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Funding
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Cystic Fibrosis Canada
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
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Members of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) have recently gained notoriety as significant bacterial pathogens due to their extreme levels of antibiotic resistance, their transmissibility in clinics, their persistence in bacteriostatic solutions, and their intracellular survival capabilities. As pathogens, the Bcc are known to elaborate a number of virulence factors including proteases, lipases and other exoproducts, as well as a number of secretion system associated effectors. Through random and directed mutagenesis studies, we have identified a Bcc gene cluster capable of expressing a toxin that is both hemolytic and required for full Bcc virulence. The Bcc toxin is synthesized via a non-ribosomal peptide synthetase mechanism, and appears to be related to the previously identified antifungal compound burkholdine or occidiofungin. Further testing shows mutations to this gene cluster cause a significant reduction in both hemolysis and Galleria mellonella mortality. Mutation to a glycosyltransferase gene putatively responsible for a structural-functional toxin variant causes only partial reduction in hemolysis. Molecular screening identifies the Bcc species containing this gene cluster, of which several strains produce hemolytic activity.
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