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Regulation of capsular polysialic acid biosynthesis by temperature in Pasteurella haemolytica A2
Author(s) -
Barrallo Sofia,
Reglero Angel,
Revilla-Nuin Beatriz,
Martı́nez-Blanco Honorina,
Rodrı́guez-Aparicio Leandro B,
Ferrero Miguel A
Publication year - 1999
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 - 10.1016/s0014-5793(99)00163-5
Subject(s) - polysialic acid , biosynthesis , enzyme , polysaccharide , bacteria , biochemistry , chemistry , bacterial growth , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , cell adhesion , genetics , cell , neural cell adhesion molecule
The capsular polysaccharide of Pasteurella haemolytica A2 consists of a linear polymer of N ‐acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) with α(2–8) linkages. The production of this polymer is strictly regulated by the growth temperature and above 40°C no production is detected. Analysis of the enzymatic activities directly involved in its biosynthesis reveals that Neu5Ac lyase, CMP‐Neu5Ac synthetase and polysialyltransferase are involved in this regulation. Very low activities were found in P. haemolytica grown at 43°C (at least 25 times lower than those observed when the growth temperature was 37°C). The synthesis of these enzymes increased rapidly when bacteria grown at 43°C were transferred to 37°C and decreased dramatically when cells grown at 37°C were transferred to 43°C. These findings indicate that the cellular growth temperature regulates the synthesis of these enzymes and hence the concentration of the intermediates necessary for capsular polysaccharide genesis in P. haemolytica A2.