title: The Legionella pneumophila Dps homolog is regulated by iron and involved in multiple stress tolerance.
abstract: Iron homeostasis is essential to almost all organisms. In this study, we identified the putative homolog of the iron-storage protein-encoding gene, dpsL, in the intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila and demonstrated its expression under iron-limited conditions and its responses to multiple stresses. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that the expression of dpsL was enhanced under iron limitation regardless of the growth phase. Compared with the wild-type cells, the cells devoid of dpsL were heat and H(2)O(2)-sensitive. In contrast to the dps mutants of other bacteria, the growth of the dpsL mutant in an iron-deprived medium was delayed but finally reached the same cell density as wild-type cells during the stationary phase of growth. The finding that the dpsL mutant is salt resistant suggested the involvement of DpsL in virulence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Jia
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Yong-Lun
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Shi-Ning
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yong-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005293:Ferritins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D016952:Legionella pneumophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005293:Ferritins; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D007501:Iron