title: An extracellular zinc metalloprotease gene of Burkholderia cepacia.
abstract: Burkholderia cepacia produces at least one extracellular zinc metalloprotease that may be involved in virulence. A B. cepacia zinc metalloprotease gene was cloned using a Burkholderia pseudomallei zinc metalloprotease gene as a probe. The predicted amino acid sequences of these B. cepacia and a B. pseudomallei extracellular zinc metalloproteases indicate that they are similar to the thermolysin-like family of metalloproteases (M4 family of metalloendopeptidases) and they are likely to be secreted via the general secretory pathway. zmpA isogenic mutants were constructed in B. cepacia genomovar III strains Pc715j and K56-2 by insertional inactivation of the zmpA genes. The zmpA mutants produced less protease than the parent strains. The B. cepacia strain K56-2 zmpA mutant was significantly less virulent than its parent strain in a chronic respiratory infection model; however, there was no difference between the virulence of B. cepacia strain Pc715j and a Pc715j zmpA mutant. The results indicate that this extracellular zinc metalloprotease may play a greater role in virulence in some strains of B. cepacia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary Health Sciences Center, 3330 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Corbett
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary Health Sciences Center, 3330 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Burtnick
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary Health Sciences Center, 3330 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kooi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary Health Sciences Center, 3330 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary Health Sciences Center, 3330 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Sokol
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016956:Burkholderia cepacia / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D016957:Burkholderia pseudomallei / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D051381:Rats; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013045:Species Specificity; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D008666:Metalloendopeptidases