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Journal of Bacteriology, June 2002, p. 3130-3134, Vol. 184, No. 11
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.11.3130-3134.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Construction and Characterization of a cheA Mutant of Treponema denticola

Renate Lux, Jee-Hyun Sim, Jon P. Tsai, and Wenyuan Shi*

School of Dentistry and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095-1668

Received 2 October 2001/ Accepted 11 March 2002

The Treponema denticola cheA gene, encoding the central kinase of the general chemotaxis pathway, was analyzed for its role in chemotaxis and tissue penetration. The cheA gene was interrupted by insertion of an ermF-ermAM gene cassette. Reverse transcription-PCR confirmed that the other downstream chemotaxis genes within the same operon (cheW, cheX, and cheY) were still expressed in the cheA mutant strain. Lack of cheA resulted in decreased swarming on soft-agar swarm plates and failure to respond chemotactically to a mixture of nutrients. Behavioral analyses using video microscopy revealed that the cheA mutant exhibited coordinated cell movement. The cellular reversal frequency, however, was severely reduced, indicating that CheA in T. denticola mainly controls cellular reversal and that active chemotaxis signaling input is not required for coordination of flagellar rotation at both cell poles.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Dentistry and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1668. Phone: (310) 825-8356. Fax: (310) 794-7109. E-mail: wenyuan{at}ucla.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, June 2002, p. 3130-3134, Vol. 184, No. 11
0021-9193/02/$04.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.184.11.3130-3134.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Bakker, R. G., Li, C., Miller, M. R., Cunningham, C., Charon, N. W. (2007). Identification of Specific Chemoattractants and Genetic Complementation of a Borrelia burgdorferi Chemotaxis Mutant: Flow Cytometry-Based Capillary Tube Chemotaxis Assay. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 1180-1188 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sim, J.-H., Shi, W., Lux, R. (2005). Protein-protein interactions in the chemotaxis signalling pathway of Treponema denticola. Microbiology 151: 1801-1807 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ikegami, A., Honma, K., Sharma, A., Kuramitsu, H. K. (2004). Multiple Functions of the Leucine-Rich Repeat Protein LrrA of Treponema denticola. Infect. Immun. 72: 4619-4627 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lux, R., Shi, W. (2004). CHEMOTAXIS-GUIDED MOVEMENTS IN BACTERIA. CROBM 15: 207-220 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Szurmant, H., Ordal, G. W. (2004). Diversity in Chemotaxis Mechanisms among the Bacteria and Archaea. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 68: 301-319 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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