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Detection of a gene encoding a phosphatidylinositol‐specific phospholipase C that is co‐ordinately expressed with listeriolysin in Listeria monocytogenes
Author(s) -
LeimeisterWächter M.,
Domann E.,
Chakraborty T.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1991.tb02117.x
Subject(s) - biology , gene , listeria monocytogenes , listeriolysin o , microbiology and biotechnology , phospholipase c , gene product , phosphoinositide phospholipase c , escherichia coli , operon , gene expression , genetics , listeria , signal transduction , bacteria
Summary A phosphatidylinositol‐specific phospholipase C (PI‐PLC) that is unique to the pathogenic Listeria species L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii has been detected. Deletion analysis performed with Escherichia coli recombinants expressing PI‐PLC activity together with maxicell analysis showed that a 34kDa polypeptide was responsible for this activity. Nucleotide sequencing revealed that the gene encoding this polypeptide comprises 317 amino acid residues with a 22‐amino‐acid signal peptide. This gene, designated pic for p hosphatidyl I nositol‐specific phospholipase C , is located back to back with the listeriolysin gene on the chromosome of L. monocytogenes where these genes are transcribed by divergent non‐overlapping promoters. Expression of the pic gene is dependent on the product of the prfA gene, which also regulates expression of the listeriolysin gene in L. monocytogenes.