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Journal of Bacteriology, September 1998, p. 4912-4921, Vol. 180, No. 18
Department of Microbiology and Immunology,
University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33176
Received 24 April 1998/Accepted 8 July 1998
Following contact with a eucaryotic cell, Yersinia
species pathogenic for humans (Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis, and Y. enterocolitica) export and
translocate a distinct set of virulence proteins (YopE, YopH, YopJ,
YopM, and YpkA) from the bacterium into the eucaryotic cell. During in
vitro growth at 37°C in the presence of calcium, Yop secretion is
blocked; however, in the absence of calcium, Yop secretion is
triggered. Yop secretion occurs via a plasmid-encoded type III, or
"contact-dependent," secretion system. The secreted YopN (also
known as LcrE), TyeA, and LcrG proteins are necessary to prevent Yop
secretion in the presence of calcium and prior to contact with a
eucaryotic cell. In this paper we characterize the role of the
yscB gene product in the regulation of Yop secretion in
Y. pestis. A yscB deletion mutant secreted YopM
and V antigen both in the presence and in the absence of calcium;
however, the export of YopN was specifically reduced in this strain.
Complementation with a functional copy of yscB in
trans completely restored the wild-type secretion phenotype for YopM, YopN, and V antigen. The YscB amino acid sequence showed significant similarities to those of SycE and SycH, the specific Yop
chaperones for YopE and YopH, respectively. Protein cross-linking and
immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated a specific interaction between
YscB and YopN. In-frame deletions in yopN eliminating the
coding region for amino acids 51 to 85 or 6 to 100 prevented the
interaction of YopN with YscB. Taken together, these results indicate
that YscB functions as a specific chaperone for YopN in Y. pestis.
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
YscB of Yersinia pestis Functions as a
Specific Chaperone for YopN
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology and Immunology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33176. Phone: (305) 243-6310. Fax: (305) 243-4623. E-mail: gplano{at}mednet.med.miami.edu.
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