Work

Insights into the evolutionary history of the virulent factor HBHA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: In Mycobacterium tuberculosis, heparin-binding hemagglutinin (HBHAMT) has a relevant role in infection. It is also present in non-virulent mycobacteria and ancient actinobacteria, such as Rhodococcus opacus. To have a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that shaped the evolutionary divergence of these proteins, we performed a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the regulatory sequences that drive the expression of hbha in saprophytic and pathogenic mycobacterial species. The alignment of the hbha loci showed the appearance of intergenic sequences containing regulatory elements upstream the hbha gene; this sequence arrangement is present only in slow-growing pathogenic mycobacteria. The heterologous expression of HBHAMT in oleaginous R. opacus PD630 results in protein binding to lipid droplets, as it happens with HBHA proteins from saprophytic mycobacteria. We hypothesize that mycobacterial hbha gene cluster underwent functional divergence during the evolutionary differentiation of slow-growing pathogenic mycobacteria. We propose here an evolutionary scenario to explain the structural and functional divergence of HBHA in fast and slow-growing mycobacteria.

Source: Archives of Microbiology

DOI: 10.1007/s00203-021-02192-y

Authors: Mariana P. Lanfranconi, Ana Arabolaza, Hugo Gramajo, Héctor M. Alvarez

Institutions: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco, National University of Rosario, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario

Language: English

Topic: Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,280

Funder: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas