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Copper resistance genes of Burkholderia cenocepacia H111 identified by transposon sequencing
Author(s) -
Higgins Steven,
Gualdi Stefano,
PintoCarbó Marta,
Eberl Leo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
environmental microbiology reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.229
H-Index - 69
ISSN - 1758-2229
DOI - 10.1111/1758-2229.12828
Subject(s) - periplasmic space , microbiology and biotechnology , burkholderia , biology , efflux , pseudomonas syringae , transposon mutagenesis , copper toxicity , transposable element , copper , escherichia coli , gene , cell envelope , plasmid , bacterial outer membrane , bacteria , genetics , pathogen , chemistry , genome , organic chemistry
Summary Copper is an essential element but in excess is highly toxic and therefore cytoplasmic levels must be tightly controlled. Member of the genus Burkholderia are highly resistant to various heavy metals and are often isolated from acidic soils where copper bioavailability is high. In this study, we employed transposon sequencing (Tn‐Seq) to identify copper resistance genes in Burkholderia cenocepacia H111. We identified a copper efflux system that shares similarities with the plasmid‐based copper detoxification systems found in Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas syringae . We also found that several of the identified resistance determinants are involved in maintaining the integrity of the cell envelope, suggesting that proteins located in the outer membrane and periplasmic space are particularly sensitive to copper stress. Given that several of the resistance genes are required for the repair and turnover of misfolded proteins, we suggest that copper toxicity is caused by protein damage rather than by oxidative stress.