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 Stewart, B. J. Articles by McCarter, L. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Stewart, B. J. Articles by McCarter, L. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J. Bacteriol., Jan 1997, 107-114, Vol 179, No. 1
Copyright © 1997, American Society for Microbiology

The lonS gene regulates swarmer cell differentiation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

BJ Stewart, JL Enos-Berlage and LL McCarter
Department of Microbiology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242, USA.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus differentiates from a polarly flagellated, short, rod-shaped cell known as the swimmer to the elongated, hyperflagellated, and multinucleated swarmer cell type when it is grown on a surface. The swarmer is adapted to movement over and colonization of surfaces. To understand the signal transduction mechanism by which the bacterium recognizes surfaces and reprograms gene expression, we isolated a new class of mutants defective in surface sensing. These mutants were constitutive for swarmer cell gene expression, inappropriately expressing high levels of a swarmer cell gene fusion product when grown in liquid. They showed no defect in the swimming motility system, unlike all previously isolated constitutive mutants which have defects in the alternate, polar motility system. The lesions in the majority of the newly isolated mutants were found to be in a gene, lonS, which encodes a polypeptide exhibiting 81% sequence identity to the Escherichia coli Lon protein, an ATP-dependent protease. Upstream sequences preceding the lonS coding region resemble a heat shock promoter, and the homology extends to sequences flanking lonS. The gene order appears to be clpX lonS hupB, like the organization of the E. coli locus. V. parahaemolyticus lonS complemented E. coli lon mutants to restore UV resistance and capsular polysaccharide regulation to that of the wild type. Vibrio lonS mutants were UV sensitive. In addition, when grown in liquid and examined in a light microscope, lonS mutant cells were extremely long and thus resembled swarmer cells harvested from a surface.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Clemmer, K. M., Rather, P. N. (2008). The Lon protease regulates swarming motility and virulence gene expression in Proteus mirabilis. J Med Microbiol 57: 931-937 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Young, K. D. (2006). The Selective Value of Bacterial Shape. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 70: 660-703 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Su, S., Stephens, B. B., Alexandre, G., Farrand, S. K. (2006). Lon protease of the {alpha}-proteobacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens is required for normal growth, cellular morphology and full virulence.. Microbiology 152: 1197-1207 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Stewart, B. J., McCarter, L. L. (2003). Lateral Flagellar Gene System of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. J. Bacteriol. 185: 4508-4518 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Boles, B. R., McCarter, L. L. (2002). Vibrio parahaemolyticus scrABC, a Novel Operon Affecting Swarming and Capsular Polysaccharide Regulation. J. Bacteriol. 184: 5946-5954 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Senesi, S., Celandroni, F., Salvetti, S., Beecher, D. J., Wong, A. C. L., Ghelardi, E. (2002). Swarming motility in Bacillus cereus and characterization of a fliY mutant impaired in swarm cell differentiation. Microbiology 148: 1785-1794 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dixit, M., Murudkar, C. S., Rao, K. K. (2002). epr Is Transcribed from a {varsigma}D Promoter and Is Involved in Swarming of Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 184: 596-599 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Takaya, A., Tomoyasu, T., Tokumitsu, A., Morioka, M., Yamamoto, T. (2002). The ATP-Dependent Lon Protease of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Regulates Invasion and Expression of Genes Carried on Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 1. J. Bacteriol. 184: 224-232 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Serrano, M., Hövel, S., Moran, C. P. Jr., Henriques, A. O., Völker, U. (2001). Forespore-Specific Transcription of the lonB Gene during Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 183: 2995-3003 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Toguchi, A., Siano, M., Burkart, M., Harshey, R. M. (2000). Genetics of Swarming Motility in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium: Critical Role for Lipopolysaccharide. J. Bacteriol. 182: 6308-6321 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Gestwicki, J. E., Lamanna, A. C., Harshey, R. M., McCarter, L. L., Kiessling, L. L., Adler, J. (2000). Evolutionary Conservation of Methyl-Accepting Chemotaxis Protein Location in Bacteria and Archaea. J. Bacteriol. 182: 6499-6502 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Summers, M. L., Botero, L. M., Busse, S. C., McDermott, T. R. (2000). The Sinorhizobium meliloti Lon Protease Is Involved in Regulating Exopolysaccharide Synthesis and Is Required for Nodulation of Alfalfa. J. Bacteriol. 182: 2551-2558 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Claret, L., Hughes, C. (2000). Rapid Turnover of FlhD and FlhC, the Flagellar Regulon Transcriptional Activator Proteins, during Proteus Swarming. J. Bacteriol. 182: 833-836 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Van Melderen, L., Gottesman, S. (1999). Substrate sequestration by a proteolytically inactive Lon mutant. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96: 6064-6071 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• McCarter, L. L. (1998). . J. Bacteriol. 180: 3166-3173 [Abstract]