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
Services
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 Pilo, P.
Right arrow Articles by Frey, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pilo, P.
Right arrow Articles by Frey, J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, October 2005, p. 6824-6831, Vol. 187, No. 19
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.187.19.6824-6831.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Metabolic Enzyme as a Primary Virulence Factor of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Small Colony

Paola Pilo,1,{dagger} Edy M. Vilei,1 Ernst Peterhans,2 Laetitia Bonvin-Klotz,3 Michael H. Stoffel,3 Dirk Dobbelaere,4 and Joachim Frey1*

Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology,1 Institute of Veterinary Virology,2 Department of Veterinary Anatomy,3 Institute of Animal Pathology, University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, 3001 Bern, Switzerland4

Received 21 April 2005/ Accepted 5 July 2005

During evolution, pathogenic bacteria have developed complex interactions with their hosts. This has frequently involved the acquisition of virulence factors on pathogenicity islands, plasmids, transposons, or prophages, allowing them to colonize, survive, and replicate within the host. In contrast, Mycoplasma species, the smallest self-replicating organisms, have regressively evolved from gram-positive bacteria by reduction of the genome to a minimal size, with the consequence that they have economized their genetic resources. Hence, pathogenic Mycoplasma species lack typical primary virulence factors such as toxins, cytolysins, and invasins. Consequently, little is known how pathogenic Mycoplasma species cause host cell damage, inflammation, and disease. Here we identify a novel primary virulence determinant in Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Small Colony (SC), which causes host cell injury. This virulence factor, released in significant amounts in the presence of glycerol in the growth medium, consists of toxic by-products such as H2O2 formed by L-{alpha}-glycerophosphate oxidase (GlpO), a membrane-located enzyme that is involved in the metabolism of glycerol. When embryonic calf nasal epithelial cells are infected with M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC in the presence of physiological amounts of glycerol, H2O2 is released inside the cells prior to cell death. This process can be inhibited with monospecific anti-GlpO antibodies.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Bern, Länggass-Strasse 122, 3001 Bern, Switzerland. Phone: 41 31 631 2414. Fax: 41 31 631 2634. E-mail: joachim.frey{at}vbi.unibe.ch.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Microbiology, Columbia University, 701 West 168th St., New York, NY 10032.

Journal of Bacteriology, October 2005, p. 6824-6831, Vol. 187, No. 19
0021-9193/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.187.19.6824-6831.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Tardy, F., Maigre, L., Poumarat, F., Citti, C. (2009). Identification and distribution of genetic markers in three closely related taxa of the Mycoplasma mycoides cluster: refining the relative position and boundaries of the Mycoplasma sp. bovine group 7 taxon (Mycoplasma leachii). Microbiology 155: 3775-3787 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Machado, C. X., Pinto, P. M., Zaha, A., Ferreira, H. B. (2009). A peroxiredoxin from Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae with a possible role in H2O2 detoxification. Microbiology 155: 3411-3419 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hames, C., Halbedel, S., Hoppert, M., Frey, J., Stulke, J. (2009). Glycerol Metabolism Is Important for Cytotoxicity of Mycoplasma pneumoniae. J. Bacteriol. 191: 747-753 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Janis, C., Bischof, D., Gourgues, G., Frey, J., Blanchard, A., Sirand-Pugnet, P. (2008). Unmarked insertional mutagenesis in the bovine pathogen Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC: characterization of a lppQ mutant. Microbiology 154: 2427-2436 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Jenkins, C., Samudrala, R., Geary, S. J., Djordjevic, S. P. (2008). Structural and Functional Characterization of an Organic Hydroperoxide Resistance Protein from Mycoplasma gallisepticum. J. Bacteriol. 190: 2206-2216 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Madsen, M. L., Puttamreddy, S., Thacker, E. L., Carruthers, M. D., Minion, F. C. (2008). Transcriptome Changes in Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae during Infection. Infect. Immun. 76: 658-663 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bischof, D. F., Janis, C., Vilei, E. M., Bertoni, G., Frey, J. (2008). Cytotoxicity of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides Small Colony Type to Bovine Epithelial Cells. Infect. Immun. 76: 263-269 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»