title: Shift in ribonucleotide reductase gene expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa during infection.
abstract: The roles of different ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) in bacterial pathogenesis have not been studied systematically. In this work we analyzed the importance of the different Pseudomonas aeruginosa RNRs in pathogenesis using the Drosophila melanogaster host-pathogen interaction model. P. aeruginosa codes for three different RNRs with different environmental requirements. Class II and III RNR chromosomal mutants exhibited reduced virulence in this model. Translational reporter fusions of RNR gene nrdA, nrdJ, or nrdD to the green fluorescent protein were constructed to measure the expression of each class during the infection process. Analysis of the P. aeruginosa infection by flow cytometry revealed increased expression of nrdJ and nrdD and decreased nrdA expression during the infection process. Expression of each RNR class fits with the pathogenicities of the chromosomal deletion mutants. An extended understanding of the pathogenicity and physiology of P. aeruginosa will be important for the development of novel drugs against infections in cystic fibrosis patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics, Arrhenius Laboratories for Natural Sciences, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden. britt-marie.sjoberg@molbio.su.se
authors.forename: Britt-Marie
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Sjöberg
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Torrents
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000382:microbiology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D009154:Mutation; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D012264:Ribonucleotide Reductases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017384:Sequence Deletion
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D012264:Ribonucleotide Reductases