title: The complexity of ToxT-dependent transcription in Vibrio cholerae.
abstract: Vibrio cholerae is the causative agent of the disease cholera, characterized by profuse watery diarrhoea. Two of the main virulence factors associated with the disease are cholera toxin (CT) and toxin-coregulated pilus (TCP). Expression of CT and TCP is regulated via a complex cascade of factors that respond to environmental signals, but ultimately ToxT is the direct transcriptional activator of the genes encoding CT and TCP. Recent studies have begun to unveil the mechanisms behind ToxT-dependent transcription. We review current knowledge of transcriptional activation by ToxT and the environmental stimuli that allow ToxT to regulate virulence gene expression, resulting in cholera pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases & Department of Biology, University of Texas, San Antonio, San Antonio TX, USA.
authors.forename: Gregor G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Karl E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Klose
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002771:Cholera / Q000382:microbiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C075626:tcpN protein, Vibrio cholerae