title: Characterisation of a Pasteurella multocida esterase gene which confers a hemolytic phenotype in Escherichia coli under anaerobic conditions.
abstract: Investigation of the hemolytic phenotype under anaerobic growth conditions of an avian Pasteurella multocida strain, PBA100, resulted in the identification and characterisation of a gene encoding an esterase enzyme, mesA, that conferred a hemolytic phenotype in Escherichia coli under anaerobic conditions. MesA appeared to be expressed and functional under anaerobic and aerobic conditions in both E. coli and P. multocida. A P. multocida mesA mutant was generated which resulted in the loss of acetyl esterase activity under anaerobic conditions. However, this mutation did not cause any attenuation of virulence for mice nor a detectable change to the anaerobic hemolytic phenotype of P. multocida. In E. coli MesA appeared to cause hemolysis indirectly by the induction of the latent E. coli K-12 cytolysin, sheA.
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Pathogenesis Research Group, Department of Microbiology, Monash University, 3800, Clayton, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Ruffolo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rajakumar
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Adler
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002417:Cattle; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D004950:Esterases; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000235:genetics; D006736:Horses; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D016979:Pasteurella multocida / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D010641:Phenotype; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012756:Sheep; D013552:Swine; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004950:Esterases; C417605:MesA protein, Pasteurella multocida