Abstract
The capacity of pathogens to cause disease depends strictly on the regulated expression of their virulence factors. In this study, we demonstrate that the untranslated mRNA of the recently described streptococcal pleiotropic effect locus (pel), which incidentally contains sagA, the structural gene for streptolysin S, is an effector of virulence factor expression in group A beta-haemolytic streptococci (GAS). Our data suggest that the regulation by pel RNA occurs at both transcriptional (e.g. emm, sic, nga) and post-transcriptional (e.g. SpeB) levels. We could exclude the possibility that the pel phenotype was linked to a polar effect on downstream genes (sagB-I). Remarkably, the RNA effector is regulated in a growth phase-dependent fashion and we provide evidence that pel RNA expression is induced by conditioned media.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1515-1527 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Molecular Microbiology |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Aug 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- M protein
- streptolysin S
- untranslated RNA
- virulence factor
- article
- bacterial gene
- bacterial virulence
- beta hemolytic Streptococcus
- culture medium
- gene expression
- gene locus
- genetic transcription
- nonhuman
- phenotype
- priority journal
- protein synthesis regulation
- regulatory RNA sequence
- Streptococcus group A
- Streptococcus pyogenes
- structural gene
- Bacterial Proteins
- Culture Media
- Conditioned
- Gene Expression Regulation
- Bacterial
- Phenotype
- RNA
- Transcription
- Genetic
- Untranslated Regions
- Virulence Factors
- Animalia
- Bacteria (microorganisms)
- Posibacteria
- Streptococcus
- Streptococcus sp. 'group A'
Research fields
- Virology and RNA biology
IMC Research Focuses
- Medical biotechnology
ÖFOS 2012 - Austrian Fields of Study
- 304005 Medical biotechnology
