This Article Full Text 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 Whitchurch, C. B. Articles by Wozniak, D. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Whitchurch, C. B. Articles by Wozniak, D. J.

Phosphorylation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Response Regulator AlgR Is Essential for Type IV Fimbria-Mediated Twitching Motility

ARC Special Research Centre for Functional and Applied Genomics, Institute for Molecular Bioscience,¹ Department of Biochemistry, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia,³ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina²

Received 4 September 2001/ Accepted 17 May 2002

The response regulator AlgR is required for both alginate biosynthesis and type IV fimbria-mediated twitching motility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study, the roles of AlgR signal transduction and phosphorylation in twitching motility and biofilm formation were examined. The predicted phosphorylation site of AlgR (aspartate 54) and a second aspartate (aspartate 85) in the receiver domain of AlgR were mutated to asparagine, and mutant algR alleles were introduced into the chromosome of P. aeruginosa strains PAK and PAO1. Assays of these mutants demonstrated that aspartate 54 but not aspartate 85 of AlgR is required for twitching motility and biofilm initiation. However, strains expressing AlgR D85N were found to be hyperfimbriate, indicating that both aspartate 54 and aspartate 85 are involved in fimbrial biogenesis and function. algD mutants were observed to have wild-type twitching motility, indicating that AlgR control of twitching motility is not mediated via its role in the control of alginate biosynthesis. In vitro phosphorylation assays showed that AlgR D54N is not phosphorylated by the enteric histidine kinase CheA. These findings indicate that phosphorylation of AlgR most likely occurs at aspartate 54 and that aspartate 54 and aspartate 85 of AlgR are required for the control of the molecular events governing fimbrial biogenesis, twitching motility, and biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Belete, B., Lu, H., Wozniak, D. J. (2008). Pseudomonas aeruginosa AlgR Regulates Type IV Pilus Biosynthesis by Activating Transcription of the fimU-pilVWXY1Y2E Operon. J. Bacteriol. 190: 2023-2030 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Morici, L. A., Carterson, A. J., Wagner, V. E., Frisk, A., Schurr, J. R., zu Bentrup, K. H., Hassett, D. J., Iglewski, B. H., Sauer, K., Schurr, M. J. (2007). Pseudomonas aeruginosa AlgR Represses the Rhl Quorum-Sensing System in a Biofilm-Specific Manner. J. Bacteriol. 189: 7752-7764 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Liberati, N. T., Urbach, J. M., Miyata, S., Lee, D. G., Drenkard, E., Wu, G., Villanueva, J., Wei, T., Ausubel, F. M. (2006). An ordered, nonredundant library of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PA14 transposon insertion mutants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103: 2833-2838 [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]  
• Southey-Pillig, C. J., Davies, D. G., Sauer, K. (2005). Characterization of Temporal Protein Production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. J. Bacteriol. 187: 8114-8126 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kuchma, S. L., Connolly, J. P., O'Toole, G. A. (2005). A Three-Component Regulatory System Regulates Biofilm Maturation and Type III Secretion in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J. Bacteriol. 187: 1441-1454 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wu, W., Badrane, H., Arora, S., Baker, H. V., Jin, S. (2004). MucA-Mediated Coordination of Type III Secretion and Alginate Synthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J. Bacteriol. 186: 7575-7585 [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]  
• Shan, Z., Xu, H., Shi, X., Yu, Y., Yao, H., Zhang, X., Bai, Y., Gao, C., Saris, P. E. J., Qiao, M. (2004). Identification of two new genes involved in twitching motility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Microbiology 150: 2653-2661 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Moskowitz, S. M., Foster, J. M., Emerson, J., Burns, J. L. (2004). Clinically Feasible Biofilm Susceptibility Assay for Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Patients with Cystic Fibrosis. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 1915-1922 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Wozniak, D. J., Keyser, R. (2004). Effects of Subinhibitory Concentrations of Macrolide Antibiotics on Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Chest 125: 62S-69S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Scheie, A. A., Petersen, F. C. (2004). THE BIOFILM CONCEPT: CONSEQUENCES FOR FUTURE PROPHYLAXIS OF ORAL DISEASES?. Crit. Rev. Oral Biol. Med. 15: 4-12 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Huang, B., Whitchurch, C. B., Mattick, J. S. (2003). FimX, a Multidomain Protein Connecting Environmental Signals to Twitching Motility in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J. Bacteriol. 185: 7068-7076 [Abstract] [Full Text]