Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: Bacterial pathogens utilize gene expression versatility to adapt to environmental changes. Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, encounters redox-potential changes when it transitions from oxygen-rich aquatic reservoirs to the oxygen-limiting human gastrointestinal tract. We previously showed that the virulence regulator AphB uses thiol-based switches to sense the anoxic host environment and transcriptionally activate the key virulence activator tcpP. Here, by performing a high-throughput transposon sequencing screen in vivo, we identified OhrR as another regulator that enables V. cholerae rapid anoxic adaptation. Like AphB, reduced OhrR binds to and regulates the tcpP promoter. OhrR and AphB displayed differential dynamics in response to redox-potential changes: OhrR is reduced more rapidly than AphB. Furthermore, OhrR thiol modification is required for rapid activation of virulence and successful colonization. This reveals a mechanism whereby bacterial pathogens employ posttranslational modifications of multiple transcription factors to sense and adapt to dynamic environmental changes.
Source: Cell Reports
Institutions: Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Feed Research Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Nanjing Agricultural University, Huanggang Normal University, Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $5,620
OpenAlex ID: W2199833203