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  • 1
    ISSN: 1749-6632
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Natural Sciences in General
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 2
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Oxford, UK : Blackwell Science Ltd
    Molecular microbiology 45 (2002), S. 0 
    ISSN: 1365-2958
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Recently it has been observed that multicopper oxidases are present in a number of microbial genomes, raising the question of their function in prokaryotes. Here we describe the analysis of an mco mutant from the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Unlike wild-type Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the mco mutant was unable to grow aerobically on minimal media with Fe(II) as sole iron source. In contrast, both the wild-type and mutant strain were able to grow either anaerobically via denitrification with Fe(II) or aerobically with Fe(III). Analysis of iron uptake showed that the mco mutant was impaired in Fe(II) uptake but unaffected in Fe(III) uptake. Purification and analysis of the MCO protein confirmed ferroxidase activity. Taken together, these data show that the mco gene encodes a multicopper oxidase that is involved in the oxidation of Fe(II) to Fe(III) subsequent to its acquisition by the cell. In view of the widespread distribution of the mco gene in bacteria, it is suggested that an iron acquisition mechanism involving multicopper oxidases may be an important and hitherto unrecognized feature of bacterial pathogenicity.
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  • 3
    ISSN: 1365-2958
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: As a facultative aerobe with a high iron requirement and a highly active aerobic respiratory chain, Neisseria gonorrhoeae requires defence systems to respond to toxic oxygen species such as superoxide. It has been shown that supplementation of media with 100 µM Mn(II) considerably enhanced the resistance of this bacterium to oxidative killing by superoxide. This protection was not associated with the superoxide dismutase enzymes of N. gonorrhoeae. In contrast to previous studies, which suggested that some strains of N. gonorrhoeae might not contain a superoxide dismutase, we identified a sodB gene by genome analysis and confirmed its presence in all strains examined by Southern blotting, but found no evidence for sodA or sodC. A sodB mutant showed very similar susceptibility to superoxide killing to that of wild-type cells, indicating that the Fe-dependent SOD B did not have a major role in resistance to oxidative killing under the conditions tested. The absence of a sodA gene indicated that the Mn-dependent protection against oxidative killing was independent of Mn-dependent SOD A. As a sodB mutant also showed Mn-dependent resistance to oxidative killing, then it is concluded that this resistance is independent of superoxide dismutase enzymes. Resistance to oxidative killing was correlated with accumulation of Mn(II) by the bacterium. We hypothesize that this bacterium uses Mn(II) as a chemical quenching agent in a similar way to the already established process in Lactobacillus plantarum. A search for putative Mn(II) uptake systems identified an ABC cassette-type system (MntABC) with a periplasmic-binding protein (MntC). An mntC mutant was shown to have lowered accumulation of Mn(II) and was also highly susceptible to oxidative killing, even in the presence of added Mn(II). Taken together, these data show that N. gonorrhoeae possesses a Mn(II) uptake system that is critical for resistance to oxidative stress.
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  • 4
    ISSN: 1365-2958
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: A novel method for insertion/deletion mutagenesis in meningococci was devised. This consisted of ligating a digest of total chromosomal DNA to a 1.1 kb restriction fragment containing an erythromycin-resistance marker (ermC), and subsequent transformation of the ligation mixture into the homologous meningococcal strain H44/76. Southern blotting of a number of the resulting erythromycin-resistant transformants demonstrated that all carried the ermC gene inserted at different positions in the chromosome. Mutants with a specific phenotype were identified by screening with the anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) monoclonal antibody MN4A8B2, which is specific for immunotype L3. In this way, two independent L3-negative mutant strains were isolated. In transformation experiments with chromosomal DNA from these mutants, erythromycin-resistance and lack of MN4A8B2 reactivity were always linked, showing that the insertion/deletion was in a locus involved in LPS biosynthesis. On SDS–PAGE, the mutant LPS displayed an electrophoretic mobility intermediate between that produced by the previously isolated galE and rfaF mutant strains. Chemical analysis of the mutant LPS revealed that the structure was probably lipid A–(KDO)2–(Hep)2. Chromosomal DNA flanking the ermC insertion in these two mutant strains was cloned, and used as probe for the isolation of the corresponding region of the wild-type strain. From hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, it could be concluded that both mutations map to the same locus. The affected gene probably encodes the glycosyltransferase necessary for adding N-acetylglucosamine to heptose.
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  • 5
    ISSN: 1365-2958
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: The interplay between four surface-expressed virulence factors of Neisseria meningitidis (pili, Opc, capsule and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)) in host cell adhesion and invasion was examined using derivatives of a serogroup B strain, MC58, created by mutation (capsule, Opc) and selection of variants. To examine the role of Opc and of additional expression of pili, bacteria lacking the expression of Opa proteins were used. The effects of different LPS structures were examined in variants expressing either sialylated (L3 immunotype) or truncated non-sialylated (L8 immuno-type) LPS. Studies showed that (i) pili were essential for meningococcal interactions with host cells in both capsulate and acapsulate bacteria with the sialylated L3 LPS immunotype, (ii) the Opc-mediated invasion of host cells by piliated and non-piliated bacteria was observed only in acapsulate organisms with L8 LPS immunotype, and (iii) expression of pili in Opc-expressing bacteria resulted in increased invasion. Investigations on the mechanisms of cellular invasion indicated that the Opc-mediated invasion was dependent on the presence of serum in the incubation medium and was mediated by serum proteins with arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) sequence. Cellular invasion in piliated Opc+ phenotype also required bridging molecules containing the RGD recognition sequence and appeared to involve the integrin αvβ3 as a target receptor on endothelial cells. These studies extend the previous observations on variants of a serogroup A strain (C751) and show that Opc mediates cellular invasion in distinct meningococcal strains and provide confirmation of its mechanism of action. This is the first investigation that evaluates, using derivatives of a single strain, the interplay between four meningococcal surface virulence factors in host cell invasion.
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  • 6
    ISSN: 1365-2958
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: The galE gene from Haemophilus influenzae was used as a hybridization probe for the galE gene of Neisseria meningitidis Group B, identifying two different homologous loci. Each of the loci was cloned and nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that both loci contained sequences similar to galE. One contained a functional galE gene and mapped to the capsule biosynthetic locus. The second contained only a partial galE-coding sequence, which did not express a functional gene product. A galE mutant meningococcal strain was constructed by transformation with an inactivated galE gene. Analysis of the LPS from the galE mutant strain revealed an apparent reduction in molecular weight and a loss of reactivity with monoclonal antibodies specific for structures known to contain galactose. These results are consistent with an essential role for galE in the incorporation of galactose into meningococcal lipopolysaccharide.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 7
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd
    Molecular microbiology 9 (1993), S. 0 
    ISSN: 1365-2958
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Transcription of the ansB gene, encoding l-asparaginase II, is positively regulated by cAMP receptor protein (CRP) and by the product of the fnr gene, the FNR protein. These global regulatory proteins mediate the expression of ansB in Escherichia coli in response to carbon source and to anaerobiosis, respectively, and are required concurrently for optimal ansB expression. The mechanism whereby CRP and FNR interact co-operatively with the ansB promoter to achieve transcription has not previously been established. We have utilized an ansB‘-’1lacZ fusion, in conjunction with deletion analysis and site-directed mutagenesis, to identify two sites which interact with these regulatory proteins In the ansB promoter. The first is an FNR site, centred 41.5 bp upstream of the major transcriptional start site. The second site, located 28 bp upstream of the FNR site, is the site of CRP regulation. This site is homologous to both the CRP and FNR binding-site consensus sequences and may respond to both CRP and FNR. The concurrent requirement for CRP and FNR for optimal expression of ansB may be explained if, first, essentially no transcription occurs unless the FNR is bound at the downstream site, and, second, the level of transcription when FNR alone is present is enhanced when CRP binds at the upstream site.
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  • 8
    Electronic Resource
    Electronic Resource
    Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd
    Molecular microbiology 9 (1993), S. 0 
    ISSN: 1365-2958
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: The expression of l-asparaginase II (encoded by ansB) in Salmonella enterica was found to be positively regulated by the cAMP receptor protein (CRP) and anaerobiosis. The anaerobic regulation of the S. enterica ansB gene is not mediated by the anaerobic transcriptional activator FNR. This is unlike the situation of the ansB gene of Escherichia coli, which is dependent on both CRP and FNR. To investigate this fundamental difference in the regulation of l-asparaginase II expression in S. enterica, the ansB gene was cloned and the nucleotide sequence of the promoter region determined. Sequence analysis and transcript mapping of the 5′ promoter region revealed a single transcriptional start point (tsp) and two regulatory sites with substantial homology with those found in E. coli. One site, centred –90.5 bp from the tsp, is homologous to a hybrid CRP/FNR (‘CF’) site which is the site of CRP regulation in the E. coli promoter. The other site, centred 40.5 bp upstream of the tsp, is homologous to the FNR binding site of the E. coli promoter. Significantly, however, a single base-pair difference exists in this site, at a position of the related CRP and FNR DNA-binding site consensus sequences known to be involved in CRP versus FNR specificity. Site-directed mutagenesis indicates that this single difference, relative to the homologous E. coli site, results in a CRP binding site and the observed FNR-independent ansB expression in S. enterica. Thus, not only may CRP and FNR sites be interconverted experimentally, with few nucleotide changes, but this has apparently contributed to the evolutionary divergence of ansB regulation in E. coli and S. enterica.
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  • 9
    ISSN: 1365-2958
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a major determinant of Neisseria meningitidis virulence. A key feature of meningococcal LPS is the phase-variable expression of terminal structures which are proposed to have disparate roles in pathogenesis. In order to identify the biosynthetic genes for terminal LPS structures and the control mechanisms for their phase-variable expression, the lic2A gene, which is involved in LPS biosynthesis in Haemophilus influenzae, was used as a hybridization probe to identify a homologous gene in N. meningitidis strain MC58. The homologous region of DNA was cloned and nucleotide sequence analysis revealed three open reading frames (ORFs), two of which were homologous to the H. influenzae lic2A gene. All three ORFs were mutagenized by the insertion of antibiotic-resistance cassettes and the LPS from these mutant strains was analysed to determine if the genes had a role in LPS biosynthesis. Immunological and tricine—SDS—PAGE analysis of LPS from the mutant strains indicated that all three genes were probably transferases in the biosynthesis of the terminal lacto-N-neotetraose structure of meningococcal LPS. The first ORF of the locus contains a homopolymeric tract of 14 guanosine residues within the 5′-end of the coding sequence. As the lacto-N-neotetraose structure in meningococcal LPS is subject to phase-variable expression, colonies that no longer expressed the terminal structure, as determined by monoclonal antibody binding, were isolated. Analysis of an ‘off’ phase variant revealed a change in the number of guanosine residues resulting in a frameshift mutation, indicating that a slipped-strand mispairing mechanism, operating in the first ORF, controls the phase-variable expression of lacto-N-neotetraose.
    Type of Medium: Electronic Resource
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  • 10
    ISSN: 1365-2958
    Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
    Topics: Biology , Medicine
    Notes: The pili of Neisseria meningitidis are a key virulence factor, being major adhesins of this capsulate organism that contribute to specificity for the human host. Recently it has been reported that meningococcal pili are post-translationally modified by the addition of an O-linked trisaccharide, Gal (β1–4) Gal (α1–3) 2,4-diacetimido-2,4,6-trideoxyhexose. Using a set of random genomic sequences from N. meningitidis strain MC58, we have identified a novel gene homologous to a family of glycosyltransferases. A plasmid clone containing the gene was isolated from a genomic library of N. meningitidis strain MC58 and its nucleotide sequence determined. The clone contained a complete copy of the gene, here designated pglA (pilin glycosylation). Insertional mutations were constructed in pglA in a range of meningococcal strains with well-defined lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or pilin-linked glycan structures to determine whether pglA had a role in the biosynthesis of these molecules. There was no alteration in the phenotype of LPS from pglA mutant strains as judged by gel migration and the binding of monoclonal antibodies. In contrast, decreased gel migration of the pilin subunit molecules of pglA mutants was observed, which was similar to the migration of pilins of galE mutants of same strains, supporting the notion that pglA is a glycosyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of the pilin-linked trisaccharide structure. The pglA mutation, like the galE mutation reported previously, had no effect on pilus-mediated adhesion to human epithelial or endothelial cells. Pilin from pglA mutants were unable to bind to monospecific antisera recognizing the Gal (β1–4) Gal structure, suggesting that PglA is a glycosyltransferase involved in the addition of galactose of the trisaccharide substituent of pilin.
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