title: Transcriptome analysis of the Mg2+-responsive PhoP regulator in Yersinia pestis.
abstract: PhoP was previously shown to be important for Yersinia pestis survival in macrophage and under macrophage-induced stresses. In this work, a phoP disruptant of Y. pestis 201 was generated using the Red cloning procedure. The transcription profile of the wild-type Y. pestis was then compared with that of the phoP mutant under Mg2+-limiting conditions. It was revealed that PhoP/PhoQ governed a wide set of cellular pathways in Y. pestis, especially including the positive regulation of many metabolic processes, Mg2+ transport, peptidoglycan remodeling, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) modification and various stress-protective functions. The Mg2+ transport system regulated by PhoP may make Y. pestis to maintain the magnesium homeostasis under low Mg2+ environments. The PhoP-controlled stress-protective functions likely constitute the molecular basis for the observation that mutation of the phoP gene rendered the bacteria more sensitive to various macrophage-induced stresses. Modification of LPS mediated by PhoP is hypothesized to not only neutralize negative charges as normally done by Mg2+ ions, but also mediate the resistance of Y. pestis to antimicrobial peptides. The microarray results provide a population of candidate genes or pathways, and further biochemical experiments are needed to elucidate the PhoP-dependent mechanisms by which Y. pestis survives the antibacterial strategies employed by host macrophages.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Analytical Microbiology, State Key laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, National Center for Biomedical Analysis, Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, China.
authors.forename: Dongsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yanping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Zeliang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jingfu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Yajun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Bei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhaobiao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Zongmin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Xiaoyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ruifu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D017136:Ion Transport; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008264:Macrophages / Q000382:microbiology; D008274:Magnesium / Q000378:metabolism*; D016296:Mutagenesis; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015010:Yersinia pestis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D010457:Peptidoglycan; C061064:PhoP protein, Bacteria; D008274:Magnesium