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The pag Gene of pXO1 Is Involved in Capsule Biosynthesis of Bacillus anthracis Pasteur II Strain

The poly-γ-D-glutamic acid capsule and anthrax toxins are major virulence factors of Bacillus anthracis. Genes responsible for capsule biosynthesis are located on pXO2, whereas genes encoding the toxins, which are composed of edema factors, lethal factors, and protective antigens (PA), are located o...

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Autores principales: Liang, Xudong, Zhu, Jin, Zhao, Zhongzhi, Zheng, Feng, Zhang, Huijuan, Wei, Jianchun, Ji, Yon, Ji, Yinduo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5445325/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28603695
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2017.00203
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author Liang, Xudong
Zhu, Jin
Zhao, Zhongzhi
Zheng, Feng
Zhang, Huijuan
Wei, Jianchun
Ji, Yon
Ji, Yinduo
author_facet Liang, Xudong
Zhu, Jin
Zhao, Zhongzhi
Zheng, Feng
Zhang, Huijuan
Wei, Jianchun
Ji, Yon
Ji, Yinduo
author_sort Liang, Xudong
collection PubMed
description The poly-γ-D-glutamic acid capsule and anthrax toxins are major virulence factors of Bacillus anthracis. Genes responsible for capsule biosynthesis are located on pXO2, whereas genes encoding the toxins, which are composed of edema factors, lethal factors, and protective antigens (PA), are located on pXO1. In this study, we found that the pag null mutation not only eliminated the production of the protective antigen, it also eliminated the ability of the B. anthracis Pasteur II strain to form capsules. qPCR analysis revealed that the deletion of pag decreased the transcription levels of the capABCD operon and its regulatory genes acpA and acpB. The introduction of the acpA or acpB plasmid complemented the effect of the pag null mutation on capsule formation. Taken together, the above results suggest that PA probably affects capsule biosynthesis by altering the expression of acpA and acpB. In addition, we found that the deletion mutation of pag remarkably attenuated bacterial pathogenicity in a mouse model of infection. Our results indicate that besides encoding the protective antigen, the pag gene of pXO1 is also involved in the modulation of capsule biosynthesis. Our findings provide new insight into the regulation mechanisms of capsule formation in B. anthracis Pasteur II strain.
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spelling pubmed-54453252017-06-09 The pag Gene of pXO1 Is Involved in Capsule Biosynthesis of Bacillus anthracis Pasteur II Strain Liang, Xudong Zhu, Jin Zhao, Zhongzhi Zheng, Feng Zhang, Huijuan Wei, Jianchun Ji, Yon Ji, Yinduo Front Cell Infect Microbiol Microbiology The poly-γ-D-glutamic acid capsule and anthrax toxins are major virulence factors of Bacillus anthracis. Genes responsible for capsule biosynthesis are located on pXO2, whereas genes encoding the toxins, which are composed of edema factors, lethal factors, and protective antigens (PA), are located on pXO1. In this study, we found that the pag null mutation not only eliminated the production of the protective antigen, it also eliminated the ability of the B. anthracis Pasteur II strain to form capsules. qPCR analysis revealed that the deletion of pag decreased the transcription levels of the capABCD operon and its regulatory genes acpA and acpB. The introduction of the acpA or acpB plasmid complemented the effect of the pag null mutation on capsule formation. Taken together, the above results suggest that PA probably affects capsule biosynthesis by altering the expression of acpA and acpB. In addition, we found that the deletion mutation of pag remarkably attenuated bacterial pathogenicity in a mouse model of infection. Our results indicate that besides encoding the protective antigen, the pag gene of pXO1 is also involved in the modulation of capsule biosynthesis. Our findings provide new insight into the regulation mechanisms of capsule formation in B. anthracis Pasteur II strain. Frontiers Media S.A. 2017-05-26 /pmc/articles/PMC5445325/ /pubmed/28603695 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2017.00203 Text en Copyright © 2017 Liang, Zhu, Zhao, Zheng, Zhang, Wei, Ji and Ji. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Microbiology
Liang, Xudong
Zhu, Jin
Zhao, Zhongzhi
Zheng, Feng
Zhang, Huijuan
Wei, Jianchun
Ji, Yon
Ji, Yinduo
The pag Gene of pXO1 Is Involved in Capsule Biosynthesis of Bacillus anthracis Pasteur II Strain
title The pag Gene of pXO1 Is Involved in Capsule Biosynthesis of Bacillus anthracis Pasteur II Strain
title_full The pag Gene of pXO1 Is Involved in Capsule Biosynthesis of Bacillus anthracis Pasteur II Strain
title_fullStr The pag Gene of pXO1 Is Involved in Capsule Biosynthesis of Bacillus anthracis Pasteur II Strain
title_full_unstemmed The pag Gene of pXO1 Is Involved in Capsule Biosynthesis of Bacillus anthracis Pasteur II Strain
title_short The pag Gene of pXO1 Is Involved in Capsule Biosynthesis of Bacillus anthracis Pasteur II Strain
title_sort pag gene of pxo1 is involved in capsule biosynthesis of bacillus anthracis pasteur ii strain
topic Microbiology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5445325/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28603695
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2017.00203
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