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Journal of Bacteriology, February 2006, p. 1444-1450, Vol. 188, No. 4
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.188.4.1444-1450.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Lethal Mutations in the Isoprenoid Pathway of Salmonella enterica

Rita M. Cornish,1 John R. Roth,2 and C. Dale Poulter1*

Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112,1 Department of Microbiology, University of California, 314 Briggs Hall, Davis, California 956162

Received 3 September 2005/ Accepted 5 December 2005

Essential isoprenoid compounds are synthesized using the 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway in many gram-negative bacteria, some gram-positive bacteria, some apicomplexan parasites, and plant chloroplasts. The alternative mevalonate pathway is found in archaea and eukaryotes, including cytosolic biosynthesis in plants. The existence of orthogonal essential pathways in eukaryotes and bacteria makes the MEP pathway an attractive target for the development of antimicrobial agents. A system is described for identifying mutations in the MEP pathway of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Using this system, point mutations induced by diethyl sulfate were found in the all genes of the essential MEP pathway and also in genes involved in uptake of methylerythritol. Curiously, none of the MEP pathway genes could be identified in the same parent strain by transposon mutagenesis, despite extensive searches. The results complement the biochemical and bioinformatic approaches to the elucidation of the genes involved in the MEP pathway and also identify key residues for activity in the enzymes of the pathway.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Chemistry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. Phone and fax: (801) 581-4391. E-mail: poulter{at}chemistry.utah.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2006, p. 1444-1450, Vol. 188, No. 4
0021-9193/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.188.4.1444-1450.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Eoh, H., Brown, A. C., Buetow, L., Hunter, W. N., Parish, T., Kaur, D., Brennan, P. J., Crick, D. C. (2007). Characterization of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis 4-Diphosphocytidyl-2-C-Methyl-D-Erythritol Synthase: Potential for Drug Development. J. Bacteriol. 189: 8922-8927 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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