Journal
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 301, Issue 1, Pages 115-123Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2009.01803.x
Keywords
gene regulation; fimbria; Rcs two-component system; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; pathogenicity island; cupD promoter
Categories
Funding
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 possesses four fimbrial cup clusters, which may confer the ability to adapt to different environments. cupD lies in the pathogenicity island PAPI-1 next to genes coding for a putative phosphorelay system composed of the hybrid histidine kinase RcsC and the response regulator RcsB. The main focus of this work was the regulation of cupD at the mRNA level. It was found that the HN-S-like protein MvaT does not exert a strong influence on cupD transcript levels, as it does for cupA. cupD transcription is higher in cultures grown at 28 degrees C, which agrees with a cupD mutant presenting attenuated virulence only in a plant model, but not in a mouse model of infection. Whereas an rcsC in-frame deletion mutant presented higher levels of cupD mRNA, rcsB deletion had the opposite effect. Accordingly, overexpression of RcsB increased the levels of cupD transcription, and promoted biofilm formation and the appearance of fimbriae. A single transcription start site was determined for cupD and transcription from this site was induced by RcsB. A motif similar to the enterobacterial RcsB/RcsA-binding site was detected adjacent to the -35 region, suggesting that this could be the RcsB-binding site. Comparison of P. aeruginosa and Escherichia coli Rcs may provide insights into how similar systems can be used by different bacteria to control gene expression and to adapt to various environmental conditions.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available