Premium
The Legionella pneumophila Dps homolog is regulated by iron and involved in multiple stress tolerance
Author(s) -
Yu Mingjia,
Ren Jun,
Zeng Yonglun,
Zhou Shining,
Lu Yongjun
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of basic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.58
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1521-4028
pISSN - 0233-111X
DOI - 10.1002/jobm.200800357
Subject(s) - legionella pneumophila , mutant , virulence , intracellular , microbiology and biotechnology , wild type , bacteria , pathogen , biology , legionella , gene , chemistry , biochemistry , genetics
Iron homeostasis is essential to almost all organisms. In this study, we identified the putative homolog of the iron‐storage protein‐encoding gene, dpsL , in the intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila and demonstrated its expression under iron‐limited conditions and its responses to multiple stresses. Quantitative real‐time PCR analysis indicated that the expression of dpsL was enhanced under iron limitation regardless of the growth phase. Compared with the wild‐type cells, the cells devoid of dpsL were heat and H 2 O 2 ‐sensitive. In contrast to the dps mutants of other bacteria, the growth of the dpsL mutant in an iron‐deprived medium was delayed but finally reached the same cell density as wild‐type cells during the stationary phase of growth. The finding that the dpsL mutant is salt resistant suggested the involvement of DpsL in virulence. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)