The <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY two-component system is a virulence determinant in the urinary tract
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The <it>Salmonella enterica </it>BarA-SirA, the <it>Erwinia carotovora </it>ExpS-ExpA, the <it>Vibrio cholerae </it>BarA-VarA and the <it>Pseudomonas spp </it>GacS-GacA all belong to th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2006-03-01
|
| Series: | BMC Microbiology |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/6/27 |
| _version_ | 1818806774170386432 |
|---|---|
| author | Georgellis Dimitris Jonas Kristina Pernestig Anna-Karin Tomenius Henrik Möllby Roland Normark Staffan Melefors Öjar |
| author_facet | Georgellis Dimitris Jonas Kristina Pernestig Anna-Karin Tomenius Henrik Möllby Roland Normark Staffan Melefors Öjar |
| author_sort | Georgellis Dimitris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The <it>Salmonella enterica </it>BarA-SirA, the <it>Erwinia carotovora </it>ExpS-ExpA, the <it>Vibrio cholerae </it>BarA-VarA and the <it>Pseudomonas spp </it>GacS-GacA all belong to the same orthologous family of two-component systems as the <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY. In the first four species it has been demonstrated that disruption of this two-component system leads to a clear reduction in virulence of the bacteria. Our aim was to determine if the <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY two-component system is connected with virulence using a monkey cystitis model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cystitis was generated in <it>Macaque fascularis </it>monkeys by infecting the bladder with a 1:1 mixture of the uropathogenic <it>Escherichia coli </it>isolate <it>DS17 </it>and a derivative where the <it>uvrY </it>gene had been disrupted with a kanamycin resistance gene. Urine was collected through bladder punctuation at subsequent time intervals and the relative amount of <it>uvrY </it>mutant was determined. This showed that inactivation of the UvrY response regulator leads to a reduced fitness. In similar competitions in culture flasks with Luria Broth (LB) the <it>uvrY </it>mutant rather had a higher fitness than the wild type. When the competitions were done in flasks with human urine the <it>uvrY </it>mutant initially had a lower fitness. This was followed by a fluctuation in the level of mutant in the long-term culture, with a pattern that was specific for the individual urines that were tested. Addition of LB to the different urine competition cultures however clearly led to a consistently higher fitness of the <it>uvrY </it>mutant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This paper demonstrates that the BarA-UvrY two-component system is a determinant for virulence in a monkey cystitis model. The observed competition profiles strengthen our previous hypothesis that disruption of the BarA-UvrY two-component system impairs the ability of the bacteria to switch between different carbon sources. The urine in the bladder contains several different carbon sources and its composition changes over time. Inability to efficiently switch between the carbon sources may thus provide an explanation to the reduced fitness of the <it>uvrY </it>mutant in the cystitis model.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T19:15:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e4f11eb50b004475a4191e921a3edf61 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2180 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T19:15:07Z |
| publishDate | 2006-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-e4f11eb50b004475a4191e921a3edf612022-12-21T20:56:09ZengBMCBMC Microbiology1471-21802006-03-01612710.1186/1471-2180-6-27The <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY two-component system is a virulence determinant in the urinary tractGeorgellis DimitrisJonas KristinaPernestig Anna-KarinTomenius HenrikMöllby RolandNormark StaffanMelefors Öjar<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The <it>Salmonella enterica </it>BarA-SirA, the <it>Erwinia carotovora </it>ExpS-ExpA, the <it>Vibrio cholerae </it>BarA-VarA and the <it>Pseudomonas spp </it>GacS-GacA all belong to the same orthologous family of two-component systems as the <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY. In the first four species it has been demonstrated that disruption of this two-component system leads to a clear reduction in virulence of the bacteria. Our aim was to determine if the <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY two-component system is connected with virulence using a monkey cystitis model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cystitis was generated in <it>Macaque fascularis </it>monkeys by infecting the bladder with a 1:1 mixture of the uropathogenic <it>Escherichia coli </it>isolate <it>DS17 </it>and a derivative where the <it>uvrY </it>gene had been disrupted with a kanamycin resistance gene. Urine was collected through bladder punctuation at subsequent time intervals and the relative amount of <it>uvrY </it>mutant was determined. This showed that inactivation of the UvrY response regulator leads to a reduced fitness. In similar competitions in culture flasks with Luria Broth (LB) the <it>uvrY </it>mutant rather had a higher fitness than the wild type. When the competitions were done in flasks with human urine the <it>uvrY </it>mutant initially had a lower fitness. This was followed by a fluctuation in the level of mutant in the long-term culture, with a pattern that was specific for the individual urines that were tested. Addition of LB to the different urine competition cultures however clearly led to a consistently higher fitness of the <it>uvrY </it>mutant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This paper demonstrates that the BarA-UvrY two-component system is a determinant for virulence in a monkey cystitis model. The observed competition profiles strengthen our previous hypothesis that disruption of the BarA-UvrY two-component system impairs the ability of the bacteria to switch between different carbon sources. The urine in the bladder contains several different carbon sources and its composition changes over time. Inability to efficiently switch between the carbon sources may thus provide an explanation to the reduced fitness of the <it>uvrY </it>mutant in the cystitis model.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/6/27 |
| spellingShingle | Georgellis Dimitris Jonas Kristina Pernestig Anna-Karin Tomenius Henrik Möllby Roland Normark Staffan Melefors Öjar The <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY two-component system is a virulence determinant in the urinary tract BMC Microbiology |
| title | The <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY two-component system is a virulence determinant in the urinary tract |
| title_full | The <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY two-component system is a virulence determinant in the urinary tract |
| title_fullStr | The <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY two-component system is a virulence determinant in the urinary tract |
| title_full_unstemmed | The <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY two-component system is a virulence determinant in the urinary tract |
| title_short | The <it>Escherichia coli </it>BarA-UvrY two-component system is a virulence determinant in the urinary tract |
| title_sort | it escherichia coli it bara uvry two component system is a virulence determinant in the urinary tract |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/6/27 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT georgellisdimitris theitescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT jonaskristina theitescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT pernestigannakarin theitescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT tomeniushenrik theitescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT mollbyroland theitescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT normarkstaffan theitescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT meleforsojar theitescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT georgellisdimitris itescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT jonaskristina itescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT pernestigannakarin itescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT tomeniushenrik itescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT mollbyroland itescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT normarkstaffan itescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract AT meleforsojar itescherichiacoliitbarauvrytwocomponentsystemisavirulencedeterminantintheurinarytract |