Work

Positive and Negative Regulation of Glycerol Utilization by the c-di-GMP Binding Protein PlzA in Borrelia burgdorferi

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: The Lyme disease pathogen, Borrelia burgdorferi , has a simple cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) signaling system essential for adaptation of the pathogen to the complicated tick environment. The c-di-GMP effector of B. burgdorferi , PlzA, has been shown to regulate multiple cellular processes, including motility, osmolality sensing, and nutrient utilization. The findings of this study demonstrate that PlzA not only controls multiple targets but also has different functional modalities, allowing it to act as both positive and negative regulator of the glp operon expression. This work highlights how bacteria with a small genome can compensate for the limited regulatory repertoire by increasing the complexity of targets and modes of action in their regulatory proteins.

Source: Journal of Bacteriology

DOI: 10.1128/jb.00243-18