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 Jimenez, N.
Right arrow Articles by Tomás, J. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Jimenez, N.
Right arrow Articles by Tomás, J. M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, June 2008, p. 4198-4209, Vol. 190, No. 12
0021-9193/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00153-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Aeromonas hydrophila wb*O34 Gene Cluster: Genetics and Temperature Regulation{triangledown}

Natalia Jimenez, Rocío Canals, María Teresa Saló, Silvia Vilches, Susana Merino, and Juan M. Tomás*

Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08071 Barcelona, Spain

Received 30 January 2008/ Accepted 2 April 2008

The Aeromonas hydrophila wb*O34 gene cluster of strain AH-3 (serotype O34) was cloned and sequenced. This cluster contains genes necessary for the production of O34-antigen lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in A. hydrophila. We determined, using either mutation or sequence homology, roles for the majority of genes in the cluster by using the chemical O34-antigen LPS structure obtained for strain AH-3. The O34-antigen LPS export system has been shown to be a Wzy-dependent pathway typical of heteropolysaccharide pathways. Furthermore, the production of A. hydrophila O34-antigen LPS in Escherichia coli K-12 strains is dependent on incorporation of the Gne enzyme (UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine 4-epimerase) necessary for the formation of UDP-galactosamine in these strains. By using rapid amplification of cDNA ends we were able to identify a transcription start site upstream of the terminal wzz gene, which showed differential transcription depending on the growth temperature of the strain. The Wzz protein is able to regulate the O34-antigen LPS chain length. The differential expression of this protein at different temperatures, which was substantially greater at 20°C than at 37°C, explains the previously observed differential production of O34-antigen LPS and its correlation with the virulence of A. hydrophila serotype O34 strains.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Departamento Microbiología, Facultad Biología, Universidad Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08071 Barcelona. Spain. Phone: 34-93-4021486. Fax: 34-93-4039047. E-mail: jtomas{at}ub.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 11 April 2008.

Journal of Bacteriology, June 2008, p. 4198-4209, Vol. 190, No. 12
0021-9193/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00153-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Vilches, S., Jimenez, N., Tomas, J. M., Merino, S. (2009). Aeromonas hydrophila AH-3 Type III Secretion System Expression and Regulatory Network. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 6382-6392 [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»