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Journal of Bacteriology, August 1998, p. 3882-3890, Vol. 180, No. 15
Department of Microbiology and Immunology,
Albert B. Chandler Medical Center, University of Kentucky,
Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0084
Received 21 January 1998/Accepted 22 May 1998
The Yersinia pestis low-Ca2+ response
stimulon is responsible for the temperature- and
Ca2+-regulated expression and secretion of plasmid
pCD1-encoded antihost proteins (V antigen and Yops). We have previously
shown that lcrD, yscC, yscD,
yscG, and yscR encode proteins that are
essential for high-level expression and secretion of V antigen and Yops at 37°C in the absence of Ca2+. In this study, we
characterized yscO of the Yop secretion (ysc) operon that contains yscN through yscU by
determining the localization of its gene product and the phenotype of
an in-frame deletion. The yscO mutant grew and expressed
the same levels of Yops as the parent at 37°C in the presence of
Ca2+. In the absence of Ca2+, the mutant grew
independently of Ca2+, expressed only basal levels of V
antigen and Yops, and failed to secrete these. These defects could be
partially complemented by providing yscO in
trans in the yscO mutant. Overexpression of
YopM and V antigen in the mutant failed to restore the export of either
protein, showing that the mutation had a direct effect on secretion.
These results indicated that the yscO gene product is
required for high-level expression and secretion of V antigen and Yops.
YscO was found by immunoblot analysis in the soluble and membrane
fractions of bacteria growing at 37°C irrespective of the presence of
Ca2+ and in the culture medium in the absence of
Ca2+. YscO is the only mobile protein identified so far in
the Yersinia species that is required for secretion of V
antigen and Yops.
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
YscO of Yersinia pestis Is a Mobile Core
Component of the Yop Secretion System
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology and Immunology, Albert B. Chandler Medical Center,
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536-0084. Phone: (606)
323-6538. Fax: (606) 257-8994. E-mail:
scstra01{at}pop.uky.edu.
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