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Capsular polysaccharide production and serum survival of Vibrio vulnificus are dependent on antitermination control by RfaH
Author(s) -
Garrett Shana B.,
GarrisonSchilling Katherine L.,
Cooke Jeffrey T.,
Pettis Gregg S.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1002/1873-3468.12490
Subject(s) - vibrio vulnificus , virulence , phase variation , operon , microbiology and biotechnology , mutant , biology , pathogen , polysaccharide , bacteria , phenotype , vibrio , antitermination , bacterial capsule , vibrionaceae , gene , genetics , biochemistry
The human pathogen Vibrio vulnificus undergoes phase variation among colonial morphotypes, including a virulent opaque form which produces capsular polysaccharide ( CPS ) and a translucent phenotype that produces little or no CPS and is attenuated. Here, we found that a V. vulnificus mutant defective for RfaH antitermination control showed a diminished capacity to undergo phase variation and displayed significantly reduced distal gene expression within the Group I CPS operon. Moreover, the rfaH mutant produced negligible CPS and was highly sensitive to killing by normal human serum, results which indicate that RfaH is likely essential for virulence in this bacterium.