title: Cloning and characterization of the Neisseria meningitidis rfaC gene encoding alpha-1,5 heptosyltransferase I.
abstract: We cloned and characterized the Neisseria meningitidis rfaC gene which encodes an enzyme, alpha-1,5 heptosyltransferase I, involved in the synthesis of the deep-core of the lipooligosaccharide. The N. meningitidis rfaC mutant, obtained by an allelic exchange, produced lipooligosaccharide which migrated faster in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis than the lipooligosaccharide isolated from the wild-type N. meningitidis. The N. meningitidis rfaC mutant was not affected by growth in a rich microbiological medium and did not show any defect in adhesion to epithelial cell lines. Conversely, the rfaC mutant was attenuated in the infant rat model of meningococcemia, thus confirming the importance of intact lipooligosaccharide in the virulence of N. meningitidis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland 97201, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stojiljkovic
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hwa
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Nassif
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D016470:Bacteremia; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016695:Glycosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008589:Meningococcal Infections; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C023023:lipid-linked oligosaccharides; D016695:Glycosyltransferases; C080934:lipooligosaccharide 1,5-heptosyltransferase