TY - JOUR
T1 - A mgl-like operon in Treponema pallidum, the syphilis spirochete
AU - Porcella, Stephen F.
AU - Popova, Taissia G.
AU - Hagman, Kayla E.
AU - Penn, Charles W.
AU - Radolf, Justin D.
AU - Norgard, Michael V.
PY - 1996/10/24
Y1 - 1996/10/24
N2 - A 38-kDa lipoprotein of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (T. pallidum), the syphilis spirochete, previously was identified as a putative homolog of E. coli MglB. In the present study, genome walking in regions adjacent to the T. pallidum 38-kDa lipoprotein gene has identified three contiguous genes (tp-mglB [formerly tpp38], tp-mglA, and tp-mglC) which appear to comprise a mgl-like operon in T. pallidum. A prominent transcript corresponding to tp-mglB, the first gene of the operon which encodes the carbohydrate receptor, is synthesized by T. pallidum along with lesser abundant transcript(s) corresponding to the entire T. pallidum mgl operon. An active promoter 135 bp upstream of tp-mglB is believed to direct mRNA synthesis for the operon. This is the first membrane protein-encoding operon of T. pallidum for which a putative function (glucose import) has been assigned. Furthermore, by analogy with E. coli MglB which interacts with the sensory transducer Trg to induce a chemotactic response, it is possible that T. pallidum also contains a homolog of E. coli Trg or other methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins. The existence of a mgl operon in T. pallidum thus may have important implications with respect to T. pallidum survival, tissue dissemination, and sensory transduction during virulence expression.
AB - A 38-kDa lipoprotein of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (T. pallidum), the syphilis spirochete, previously was identified as a putative homolog of E. coli MglB. In the present study, genome walking in regions adjacent to the T. pallidum 38-kDa lipoprotein gene has identified three contiguous genes (tp-mglB [formerly tpp38], tp-mglA, and tp-mglC) which appear to comprise a mgl-like operon in T. pallidum. A prominent transcript corresponding to tp-mglB, the first gene of the operon which encodes the carbohydrate receptor, is synthesized by T. pallidum along with lesser abundant transcript(s) corresponding to the entire T. pallidum mgl operon. An active promoter 135 bp upstream of tp-mglB is believed to direct mRNA synthesis for the operon. This is the first membrane protein-encoding operon of T. pallidum for which a putative function (glucose import) has been assigned. Furthermore, by analogy with E. coli MglB which interacts with the sensory transducer Trg to induce a chemotactic response, it is possible that T. pallidum also contains a homolog of E. coli Trg or other methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins. The existence of a mgl operon in T. pallidum thus may have important implications with respect to T. pallidum survival, tissue dissemination, and sensory transduction during virulence expression.
KW - ATP-binding cassette
KW - Chemotaxis
KW - Glucose
KW - Signal transduction
KW - Syphilis
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U2 - 10.1016/0378-1119(96)00286-7
DO - 10.1016/0378-1119(96)00286-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 8921855
AN - SCOPUS:0030600448
SN - 0378-1119
VL - 177
SP - 115
EP - 121
JO - Gene
JF - Gene
IS - 1-2
ER -