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Volume 164, Issue 5

RelA/DTD-mediated regulation of spore formation and toxin production by type A strain SM101 Free

Abstract

RelA is a global regulator for stationary phase development in the model bacterium . The gene forms a bicistronic operon with the downstream gene. In this study, we evaluated the significance of RelA and DTD proteins in spore formation and toxin production by an important gastrointestinal pathogen . Our β-glucuronidase assay showed that in strain SM101, forms a bicistronic operon with its downstream gene, and the promoter is expressed during both vegetative and sporulation conditions. By constructing double and single mutants in SM101, we found that: (1) RelA is required for maintaining the efficient growth capacity of SM101 cells during vegetative conditions; (2) both RelA and DTD are required for spore formation and enterotoxin (CPE) production by SM101; (3) RelA/DTD activate CodY, which is known to activate spore formation and CPE production in SM101 by activating a key sporulation-specific σ factor F; (4) as expected, RelA/DTD activate sporulation-specific σ factors (σ, σ, σ and σ) by positively regulating Spo0A production; and finally (5) RelA, but not DTD, negatively regulates phospholipase C (PLC) production by repressing gene expression. Collectively, our results demonstrate that RelA modulates cellular physiology such as growth, spore formation and toxin production by type A strain SM101, although DTD also plays a role in these pleiotropic functions in coordination with RelA during sporulation. These findings have implications for the understanding of the mechanisms involved in the infectious cycle of .

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): C. perfringens , CPE , DTD , PLC , RelA and sporulation
© 2018 The Authors
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2018-05-01
2024-04-18
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RelA/DTD-mediated regulation of spore formation and toxin production by Clostridium perfringens type A strain SM101
Microbiology 164, 835 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.000655
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.000655
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.000655
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