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Journal of Bacteriology, September 2008, p. 5972-5980, Vol. 190, No. 17
0021-9193/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00548-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Membrane Morphology and Leukotoxin Secretion Are Associated with a Novel Membrane Protein of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans{triangledown}

Claude V. Gallant,1 Maja Sedic,1 Erin A. Chicoine,1 Teresa Ruiz,2 and Keith P. Mintz1*

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics,1 Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont2

Received 21 April 2008/ Accepted 30 June 2008

Gram-negative bacteria display either a flat or an irregular outer membrane. The periodontal pathogen Aggregatibacter (Actinobacillus) actinomycetemcomitans has an irregular outer membrane. We have identified a gene that is associated with the biogenesis of this morphology. The gene is part of a three-gene operon and codes for a 141-kDa protein designated morphogenesis protein C (MorC), which is conserved in several gram-negative bacteria including Haemophilus influenzae and Pasteurella multocida. Insertional inactivation of this gene resulted in the conversion of an irregularly shaped membrane to a flat membrane. Associated with this morphological change were the autoaggregation of the bacteria during planktonic growth and a concomitant increase in the surface hydrophobicity of the bacterium. The absence of MorC also resulted in the loss of the secretion of leukotoxin but not the ltxA transcription. Our findings suggest that MorC is critical for membrane morphology and leukotoxin secretion in A. actinomycetemcomitans.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Rm. 118, Stafford Hall, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405. Phone: (802) 656-0712. Fax: (802) 656-8749. E-mail: Keith.Mintz{at}uvm.edu

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

Journal of Bacteriology, September 2008, p. 5972-5980, Vol. 190, No. 17
0021-9193/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00548-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Yu, C., Mintz, K. P., Ruiz, T. (2009). Investigation of the Three-Dimensional Architecture of the Collagen Adhesin EmaA of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans by Electron Tomography. J. Bacteriol. 191: 6253-6261 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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