title: Burkholderia cenocepacia J2315 acyl carrier protein: a potential target for antimicrobials' development?
abstract: This work describes the isolation and characterization of an acyl carrier protein (ACP) mutant from Burkholderia cenocepacia J2315, a strain of the Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc). Bcc comprises at least 9 species that emerged as opportunistic pathogens able to cause life-threatening infections, particularly severe among cystic fibrosis patients. Bacterial ACPs are the donors of the acyl moiety involved in the biosynthesis of fatty acids, which play a central role in metabolism. The mutant was found to exhibit an increased ability to form biofilms in vitro, a more hydrophobic cell surface and reduced ability to colonize and kill the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, used as a model of infection. The B. cenocepacia J2315 ACP protein is composed of 79 amino acid residues, with a predicted molecular mass and pI of 8.71kDa and 4.08, respectively. The ACP amino acid sequence was found to be 100% conserved within the genomes of the 52 Burkholderia strains sequenced so far. These data, together with results showing that the predicted structure of B. cenocepacia J2315 ACP is remarkably similar to the Escherichia coli AcpP, highlight its potential as a target to develop antibacterial agents to combat infections caused not only by Bcc species, but also by other Burkholderia species, especially B. pseudomallei and B. mallei.
authors.affiliation: IBB - Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre for Biological and Chemical Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Avenida Rovisco Pais, Torre Sul, Piso 6, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sílvia A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Christian G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Meirinhos-Soares
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wopperer
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schwager
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Eberl
authors.forename: Jorge H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Leitão
mesh_terms: D000213:Acyl Carrier Protein / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D018441:Biofilms; D019121:Burkholderia Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D042602:Burkholderia cepacia complex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D009154:Mutation; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D000213:Acyl Carrier Protein; D001426:Bacterial Proteins