Two predicted chemoreceptors of Helicobacter pylori promote stomach infection.
Helicobacter pylori must be motile or display chemotaxis to be able to fully infect mammals, but it is not known how this chemotaxis is directed. We disrupted two genes encoding predicted chemoreceptors, tlpA and tlpC. H. pylori mutants lacking either of these genes are fully motile and chemotactic in vitro and are as able as the wild type to infect mice when they are the sole infecting strains. In contrast, when mice are coinfected with the H. pylori SS1 tlpA or tlpC mutant and the wild type, we find more wild type than mutant after 2 weeks of colonization. Neither strain has an in vitro growth defect. These results suggest that the tlpA- and tlpC-encoded proteins assist colonization of the stomach environment.
Andermann
Tessa M
TM
Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA.
Chen
Yu-Ting
YT
Ottemann
Karen M
KM
D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005756:Gastritis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D051379:Mice; D013270:Stomach / Q000382:microbiology; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C089936:TlpC protein, Bacillus subtilis; C075138:TlpA protein, Salmonella