A 55 kDa hypothetical membrane protein is an iron-regulated virulence factor of Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida U112

J Med Microbiol. 2007 Oct;56(Pt 10):1268-1276. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.47190-0.

Abstract

Iron is an important nutritional requirement for bacteria due to its conserved role in many essential metabolic processes. As a consequence of the lack of freely available iron in the mammalian host, bacteria upregulate a range of virulence factors during infection. Transcriptional analysis of Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida U112 grown in iron-deficient medium identified 21 genes upregulated in response to this condition, four of which were attributed to a siderophore operon. In addition, a novel iron-regulated gene, FTT0025, was identified which is part of this operon and encodes a 55 kDa hypothetical membrane protein. When grown on chrome azurol S agar, the F. tularensis subsp. novicida U112deltaFTT0025 mutant produced an increased reaction zone compared with the wild-type, suggesting that siderophore production was unaffected but that the bacteria may have a deficiency in their ability to re-sequester this iron-binding molecule. Furthermore, the deltaFTT0025 mutant was attenuated in a BALB/c mouse model of infection relative to wild-type F. tularensis subsp. novicida U112.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / physiology*
  • Francisella tularensis / genetics
  • Francisella tularensis / pathogenicity*
  • Gene Deletion
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial*
  • Iron / metabolism*
  • Membrane Proteins / chemistry
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Membrane Proteins / physiology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Molecular Weight
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Survival Analysis
  • Tularemia / microbiology
  • Virulence Factors / chemistry
  • Virulence Factors / genetics
  • Virulence Factors / physiology*

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Virulence Factors
  • Iron