This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Goldberg, J B Articles by Ohman, D E Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Goldberg, J B Articles by Ohman, D E

research-article

A mutation in algN permits trans activation of alginate production by algT in Pseudomonas species.

Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115-5899.

ABSTRACT

Conversion of the mucoid phenotype, which results from the production of the exopolysaccharide alginate, is a feature typical of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains causing chronic pulmonary infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. In this study, we further characterized a recombinant plasmid, called pJF15, that contains DNA from the 65- to 70-min region of the chromosome of mucoid P. aeruginosa FRD1 and has loci involved in alginate conversion. Plasmid pJF15 complements algT mutations in trans and confers the mucoid phenotype in cis following gene replacement. However, the phenotype of nonmucoid P. aeruginosa carrying pJF15 is unchanged. Here we report the identification of a locus immediately downstream of algT, called algN, that may be a negative regulator that blocks algT from activating alginate production. Inactivation of algN by transposon Tn501 insertion allowed algT to stimulate alginate production in trans. The DNA sequence of this region identified an open reading frame that predicts an algN gene product of 33 kDa, but no homology was found to other proteins in a sequence data base. Clones of algT in which algN was deleted caused the activation of alginate biosynthesis in transconjugants of several P. aeruginosa strains. DNA containing algT was shown to hybridize to the genomes of several Pseudomonas species, including P. putida, P. stutzeri, and P. fluorescens. Transconjugants of these species carrying algT DNA (with a deletion of algN) from pJF15 showed a mucoid phenotype and increased production of uronic acid-containing polymers that resembled alginate.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Leech, A. J., Sprinkle, A., Wood, L., Wozniak, D. J., Ohman, D. E. (2008). The NtrC Family Regulator AlgB, Which Controls Alginate Biosynthesis in Mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Binds Directly to the algD Promoter. J. Bacteriol. 190: 581-589 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ciofu, O., Lee, B., Johannesson, M., Hermansen, N. O., Meyer, P., Hoiby, N., the Scandinavian Cystic Fibrosis Study Consortium, (2008). Investigation of the algT operon sequence in mucoid and non-mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from 115 Scandinavian patients with cystic fibrosis and in 88 in vitro non-mucoid revertants. Microbiology 154: 103-113 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wood, L. F., Ohman, D. E. (2006). Independent Regulation of MucD, an HtrA-Like Protease in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the Role of Its Proteolytic Motif in Alginate Gene Regulation.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 3134-3137 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Baynham, P. J., Ramsey, D. M., Gvozdyev, B. V., Cordonnier, E. M., Wozniak, D. J. (2006). The Pseudomonas aeruginosa Ribbon-Helix-Helix DNA-Binding Protein AlgZ (AmrZ) Controls Twitching Motility and Biogenesis of Type IV Pili. J. Bacteriol. 188: 132-140 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Sarkisova, S., Patrauchan, M. A., Berglund, D., Nivens, D. E., Franklin, M. J. (2005). Calcium-Induced Virulence Factors Associated with the Extracellular Matrix of Mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. J. Bacteriol. 187: 4327-4337 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Reiling, S. A., Jansen, J. A., Henley, B. J., Singh, S., Chattin, C., Chandler, M., Rowen, D. W. (2005). Prc protease promotes mucoidy in mucA mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microbiology 151: 2251-2261 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Carterson, A. J., Morici, L. A., Jackson, D. W., Frisk, A., Lizewski, S. E., Jupiter, R., Simpson, K., Kunz, D. A., Davis, S. H., Schurr, J. R., Hassett, D. J., Schurr, M. J. (2004). The Transcriptional Regulator AlgR Controls Cyanide Production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J. Bacteriol. 186: 6837-6844 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Jackson, K. D., Starkey, M., Kremer, S., Parsek, M. R., Wozniak, D. J. (2004). Identification of psl, a Locus Encoding a Potential Exopolysaccharide That Is Essential for Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 Biofilm Formation. J. Bacteriol. 186: 4466-4475 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Priebe, G. P., Dean, C. R., Zaidi, T., Meluleni, G. J., Coleman, F. T., Coutinho, Y. S., Noto, M. J., Urban, T. A., Pier, G. B., Goldberg, J. B. (2004). The galU Gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Is Required for Corneal Infection and Efficient Systemic Spread following Pneumonia but Not for Infection Confined to the Lung. Infect. Immun. 72: 4224-4232 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Lizewski, S. E., Lundberg, D. S., Schurr, M. J. (2002). The Transcriptional Regulator AlgR Is Essential for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pathogenesis. Infect. Immun. 70: 6083-6093 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wyckoff, T. J. O., Thomas, B., Hassett, D. J., Wozniak, D. J. (2002). Static growth of mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa selects for non-mucoid variants that have acquired flagellum-dependent motility. Microbiology 148: 3423-3430 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Castaneda, M., Sanchez, J., Moreno, S., Nunez, C., Espin, G. (2001). The Global Regulators GacA and sigma S Form Part of a Cascade That Controls Alginate Production in Azotobacter vinelandii. J. Bacteriol. 183: 6787-6793 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Nivens, D. E., Ohman, D. E., Williams, J., Franklin, M. J. (2001). Role of Alginate and Its O Acetylation in Formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Microcolonies and Biofilms. J. Bacteriol. 183: 1047-1057 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Núñez, C., León, R., Guzmán, J., Espín, G., Soberón-Chávez, G. (2000). Role of Azotobacter vinelandii mucA and mucC Gene Products in Alginate Production. J. Bacteriol. 182: 6550-6556 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Keith, L. M. W., Bender, C. L. (1999). AlgT (sigma 22) Controls Alginate Production and Tolerance to Environmental Stress in Pseudomonas syringae. J. Bacteriol. 181: 7176-7184 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fakhr, M. K., Peñaloza-Vázquez, A., Chakrabarty, A. M., Bender, C. L. (1999). Regulation of Alginate Biosynthesis in Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. J. Bacteriol. 181: 3478-3485 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ma, S., Selvaraj, U., Ohman, D. E., Quarless, R., Hassett, D. J., Wozniak, D. J. (1998). Phosphorylation-Independent Activity of the Response Regulators AlgB and AlgR in Promoting Alginate Biosynthesis in Mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J. Bacteriol. 180: 956-968 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Jain, S., Ohman, D. E. (1998). Deletion of algK in Mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa Blocks Alginate Polymer Formation and Results in Uronic Acid Secretion. J. Bacteriol. 180: 634-641 [Abstract] [Full Text]