This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Aeckersberg, F.
Right arrow Articles by Ruby, E. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Aeckersberg, F.
Right arrow Articles by Ruby, E. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, November 2001, p. 6590-6597, Vol. 183, No. 22
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.22.6590-6597.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Vibrio fischeri Outer Membrane Protein OmpU Plays a Role in Normal Symbiotic Colonization

F. Aeckersberg, C. Lupp, B. Feliciano, and E. G. Ruby*

Pacific Biomedical Research Center, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Received 9 May 2001/Accepted 21 August 2001

The nascent light-emitting organ of newly hatched juveniles of the Hawaiian sepiolid squid Euprymna scolopes is specifically colonized by cells of Vibrio fischeri that are obtained from the ambient seawater. The mechanisms that promote this specific, cooperative colonization are likely to require a number of bacterial and host-derived factors and activities, only some of which have been described to date. A characteristic of many host-pathogen associations is the presence of bacterial mechanisms that allow attachment to specific tissues. These mechanisms have been well characterized and often involve bacterial fimbriae or outer membrane proteins (OMPs) that act as adhesins, the expression of which has been linked to virulence regulators such as ToxR in Vibrio cholerae. Analogous or even homologous mechanisms are probably operative in the initiation and persistence of cooperative bacterial associations, although considerably less is known about them. We report the presence in V. fischeri of ompU, a gene encoding a 32.5-kDa protein homolog of two other OMPs, OmpU of V. cholerae (50.8% amino acid sequence identity) and OmpL of Photobacterium profundum (45.5% identity). A null mutation introduced into the V. fischeri ompU resulted in the loss of an OMP with an estimated molecular mass of about 34 kDa; genetic complementation of the mutant strain with a DNA fragment containing only the ompU gene restored the production of this protein. The expression of the V. fischeri OmpU was not significantly affected by either (i) iron or phosphate limitation or (ii) a mutation that renders V. fischeri defective in the synthesis of a homolog of the OMP-regulatory protein ToxR. The ompU mutant grew normally in complex nutrient media but was more susceptible to growth inhibition in the presence of either anionic detergents or the antimicrobial peptide protamine sulfate. Interestingly, colonization experiments showed that the ompU null mutant initiated a symbiotic association with juvenile light organ tissue with only about 60% of the effectiveness of the parent strain. When colonization did occur, it proceeded more slowly and resulted in an approximately fourfold-smaller bacterial population. Surprisingly, there was no evidence that in a mixed infection with its parent, the ompU-defective strain had a competitive disadvantage, suggesting that the presence of the parent strain provided a shared compensatory activity. Thus, the OmpU protein appears to play a role in the normal process by which V. fischeri initiates its colonization of the nascent light organ of juvenile squids.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Pacific Biomedical Research Center, 41 Ahui Street, Honolulu, HI 96813. Phone: (808) 539-7309. Fax: (808) 599-4817. E-mail: eruby{at}hawaii.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, November 2001, p. 6590-6597, Vol. 183, No. 22
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.22.6590-6597.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Pilonieta, M. C., Erickson, K. D., Ernst, R. K., Detweiler, C. S. (2009). A Protein Important for Antimicrobial Peptide Resistance, YdeI/OmdA, Is in the Periplasm and Interacts with OmpD/NmpC. J. Bacteriol. 191: 7243-7252 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • van der Hoeven, R., Forst, S. (2009). OpnS, an Outer Membrane Porin of Xenorhabdus nematophila, Confers a Competitive Advantage for Growth in the Insect Host. J. Bacteriol. 191: 5471-5479 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Adin, D. M., Visick, K. L., Stabb, E. V. (2008). Identification of a Cellobiose Utilization Gene Cluster with Cryptic {beta}-Galactosidase Activity in Vibrio fischeri. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 4059-4069 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Goo, S. Y., Lee, H.-J., Kim, W. H., Han, K.-L., Park, D.-K., Lee, H.-J., Kim, S. M., Kim, K.-S., Lee, K.-H., Park, S.-J. (2006). Identification of OmpU of Vibrio vulnificus as a Fibronectin-Binding Protein and Its Role in Bacterial Pathogenesis. Infect. Immun. 74: 5586-5594 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Park, D.-K., Lee, K.-E., Baek, C.-H., Kim, I. H., Kwon, J.-H., Lee, W. K., Lee, K.-H., Kim, B.-S., Choi, S.-H., Kim, K.-S. (2006). Cyclo(Phe-Pro) Modulates the Expression of ompU in Vibrio spp.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 2214-2221 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dunn, A. K., Millikan, D. S., Adin, D. M., Bose, J. L., Stabb, E. V. (2006). New rfp- and pES213-Derived Tools for Analyzing Symbiotic Vibrio fischeri Reveal Patterns of Infection and lux Expression In Situ. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 802-810 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mathur, J., Waldor, M. K. (2004). The Vibrio cholerae ToxR-Regulated Porin OmpU Confers Resistance to Antimicrobial Peptides. Infect. Immun. 72: 3577-3583 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • McCann, J., Stabb, E. V., Millikan, D. S., Ruby, E. G. (2003). Population Dynamics of Vibrio fischeri during Infection of Euprymna scolopes. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 5928-5934 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Millikan, D. S., Ruby, E. G. (2003). FlrA, a {sigma}54-Dependent Transcriptional Activator in Vibrio fischeri, Is Required for Motility and Symbiotic Light-Organ Colonization. J. Bacteriol. 185: 3547-3557 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wang, S.-Y., Lauritz, J., Jass, J., Milton, D. L. (2003). Role for the major outer-membrane protein from Vibrio anguillarum in bile resistance and biofilm formation. Microbiology 149: 1061-1071 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • DeLoney, C. R., Bartley, T. M., Visick, K. L. (2002). Role for Phosphoglucomutase in Vibrio fischeri-Euprymna scolopes Symbiosis. J. Bacteriol. 184: 5121-5129 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Millikan, D. S., Ruby, E. G. (2002). Alterations in Vibrio fischeri Motility Correlate with a Delay in Symbiosis Initiation and Are Associated with Additional Symbiotic Colonization Defects. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 2519-2528 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2010 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»