A novel serine/threonine protein kinase homologue of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is specifically inducible within the host infection site and is required for full virulence in neutropenic mice.
A genetic locus of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was identified that is highly and specifically inducible during infection of neutropenic mice. This locus, ppkA, encodes a protein that is highly homologous to eukaryote-type serine/threonine protein kinases. A ppkA null mutant strain shows reduced virulence in neutropenic mice compared to the wild type. Overexpression of the PpkA protein greatly inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli or P. aeruginosa. However, a single amino acid change at the catalytic site of the kinase domain eliminated the toxic effect of PpkA on bacterial cells, suggesting that the kinase domain of PpkA is functional within bacterial cells.
Wang
J
J
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas 72205, USA.
Li
C
C
Yang
H
H
Mushegian
A
A
Jin
S
S
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014774:Virulence
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D010750:Phosphoproteins; C116685:ppkA protein, Pseudomonas aeruginosa; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases