Novel persistence genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa identified by high-throughput screening |
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| Authors: | Valerie N De Groote Natalie Verstraeten Maarten Fauvart Cyrielle I Kint Aline M Verbeeck Serge Beullens Pierre Cornelis & Jan Michiels |
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| Institution: | Departamento de Microbiología, Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina |
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| Abstract: | Salmonella enterica polymyxin B (PM) resistance is modulated mainly by substitutions of the acyl chains and the phosphate groups on the lipid A moiety of lipopolysaccharide. These modifications are mediated by genes under the control of the PmrA/PmrB and PhoP/PhoQ two-component regulatory systems. In this study, a deletion in the gene encoding the alternative σ54 factor, rpoN , was shown to increase PM resistance without affecting protamine sensitivity. The results presented here showed that the increased polymyxin resistance observed in the Δ rpoN mutant occurs through a PmrA/PhoP-independent pathway. Downregulation of one or more genes belonging to the RpoN regulon may provide an additional mechanism of defence against membrane-permeabilizing antimicrobial peptides that helps the pathogen to survive in different environments. |
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| Keywords: | Salmonella rpoN polymyxin B resistance |
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