Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1993 Jun;175(11):3520–3528. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.11.3520-3528.1993

LcrG, a secreted protein involved in negative regulation of the low-calcium response in Yersinia pestis.

E Skryzpek 1, S C Straley 1
PMCID: PMC204752  PMID: 8501055

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to define the function of LcrG, the product of the first gene in the lcrGVHyopBD operon of the low-Ca(2+)-response (LCR) virulence plasmid of Yersinia pestis. We created a Y. pestis strain having an in-frame deletion in lcrG. This nonpolar mutant had an abnormal LCR growth phenotype: it was unable to grow at 37 degrees C in the presence of 2.5 mM Ca2+ ("Ca2+ blind") but was able to grow at 37 degrees C when 18 mM ATP was present. At 37 degrees C it failed to downregulate the expression and secretion of its truncated product (LcrG), V antigen, and YopM. All of these mutant properties were complemented by plasmids carrying normal lcrG. However, a nonpolar lcrE mutation and an lcrH mutation (both also causing a Ca(2+)-blind phenotype) were not complemented in this way. The Y. pestis parent strain expressed LcrG at 37 degrees C in the presence and absence of Ca2+ and transported it to the medium when Ca2+ was absent. We identified two LCR-regulated loci, lcrD and yscDEF, required for this transport. Complementation analysis of the Y. pestis lcrR strain previously shown to lack the expression of LcrG showed that the loss of LcrG but not of LcrR caused the Ca(2+)-blind phenotype of that mutant. Taken together, the results show that LcrG is a negative regulator of the LCR, perhaps functioning in Ca2+ sensing along with LcrE.

Full text

PDF
3523

Images in this article

3524Image
on p.3524
3526Image
on p.3526
3526Image
on p.3526

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BRUBAKER R. R., SURGALLA M. J. THE EFFECT OF CA++ AND MG++ ON LYSIS, GROWTH, AND PRODUCTION OF VIRULENCE ANTIGENS BY PASTEURELLA PESTIS. J Infect Dis. 1964 Feb;114:13–25. doi: 10.1093/infdis/114.1.13. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BURROWS T. W. An antigen determining virulence in Pasteurella pestis. Nature. 1956 Mar 3;177(4505):426–427. doi: 10.1038/177426b0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Barve S. S., Straley S. C. lcrR, a low-Ca2(+)-response locus with dual Ca2(+)-dependent functions in Yersinia pestis. J Bacteriol. 1990 Aug;172(8):4661–4671. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.8.4661-4671.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Ben-Gurion R., Shafferman A. Essential virulence determinants of different Yersinia species are carried on a common plasmid. Plasmid. 1981 Mar;5(2):183–187. doi: 10.1016/0147-619x(81)90019-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bergman T., Håkansson S., Forsberg A., Norlander L., Macellaro A., Bäckman A., Bölin I., Wolf-Watz H. Analysis of the V antigen lcrGVH-yopBD operon of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis: evidence for a regulatory role of LcrH and LcrV. J Bacteriol. 1991 Mar;173(5):1607–1616. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.5.1607-1616.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Birnboim H. C., Doly J. A rapid alkaline extraction procedure for screening recombinant plasmid DNA. Nucleic Acids Res. 1979 Nov 24;7(6):1513–1523. doi: 10.1093/nar/7.6.1513. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Bliska J. B., Guan K. L., Dixon J. E., Falkow S. Tyrosine phosphate hydrolysis of host proteins by an essential Yersinia virulence determinant. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Feb 15;88(4):1187–1191. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.4.1187. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Bolivar F., Rodriguez R. L., Greene P. J., Betlach M. C., Heyneker H. L., Boyer H. W., Crosa J. H., Falkow S. Construction and characterization of new cloning vehicles. II. A multipurpose cloning system. Gene. 1977;2(2):95–113. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Brubaker R. R. The V antigen of yersiniae: an overview. Contrib Microbiol Immunol. 1991;12:127–133. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Bölin I., Norlander L., Wolf-Watz H. Temperature-inducible outer membrane protein of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica is associated with the virulence plasmid. Infect Immun. 1982 Aug;37(2):506–512. doi: 10.1128/iai.37.2.506-512.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Cornelis G. R., Biot T., Lambert de Rouvroit C., Michiels T., Mulder B., Sluiters C., Sory M. P., Van Bouchaute M., Vanooteghem J. C. The Yersinia yop regulon. Mol Microbiol. 1989 Oct;3(10):1455–1459. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1989.tb00129.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Cornelis G., Laroche Y., Balligand G., Sory M. P., Wauters G. Yersinia enterocolitica, a primary model for bacterial invasiveness. Rev Infect Dis. 1987 Jan-Feb;9(1):64–87. doi: 10.1093/clinids/9.1.64. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Cornelis G., Sluiters C., de Rouvroit C. L., Michiels T. Homology between virF, the transcriptional activator of the Yersinia virulence regulon, and AraC, the Escherichia coli arabinose operon regulator. J Bacteriol. 1989 Jan;171(1):254–262. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.1.254-262.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Dunn S. D. Effects of the modification of transfer buffer composition and the renaturation of proteins in gels on the recognition of proteins on Western blots by monoclonal antibodies. Anal Biochem. 1986 Aug 15;157(1):144–153. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(86)90207-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ferber D. M., Brubaker R. R. Plasmids in Yersinia pestis. Infect Immun. 1981 Feb;31(2):839–841. doi: 10.1128/iai.31.2.839-841.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Forsberg A., Bölin I., Norlander L., Wolf-Watz H. Molecular cloning and expression of calcium-regulated, plasmid-coded proteins of Y. pseudotuberculosis. Microb Pathog. 1987 Feb;2(2):123–137. doi: 10.1016/0882-4010(87)90104-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Forsberg A., Viitanen A. M., Skurnik M., Wolf-Watz H. The surface-located YopN protein is involved in calcium signal transduction in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Mol Microbiol. 1991 Apr;5(4):977–986. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1991.tb00773.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Goguen J. D., Yother J., Straley S. C. Genetic analysis of the low calcium response in Yersinia pestis mu d1(Ap lac) insertion mutants. J Bacteriol. 1984 Dec;160(3):842–848. doi: 10.1128/jb.160.3.842-848.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Guan K. L., Dixon J. E. Protein tyrosine phosphatase activity of an essential virulence determinant in Yersinia. Science. 1990 Aug 3;249(4968):553–556. doi: 10.1126/science.2166336. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Haddix P. L., Straley S. C. Structure and regulation of the Yersinia pestis yscBCDEF operon. J Bacteriol. 1992 Jul;174(14):4820–4828. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.14.4820-4828.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Kado C. I., Liu S. T. Rapid procedure for detection and isolation of large and small plasmids. J Bacteriol. 1981 Mar;145(3):1365–1373. doi: 10.1128/jb.145.3.1365-1373.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Krueger J. H., Walker G. C. Mud(Ap, lac)-generated fusions in studies of gene expression. Methods Enzymol. 1983;100:501–509. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(83)00075-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. LAWTON W. D., ERDMAN R. L., SURGALLA M. J. BIOSYNTHESIS AND PURIFICATION OF V AND W ANTIGEN IN PASTEURELLA PESTIS. J Immunol. 1963 Aug;91:179–184. doi: 10.21236/ad0299868. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Laemmli U. K. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970 Aug 15;227(5259):680–685. doi: 10.1038/227680a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Lambert de Rouvroit C., Sluiters C., Cornelis G. R. Role of the transcriptional activator, VirF, and temperature in the expression of the pYV plasmid genes of Yersinia enterocolitica. Mol Microbiol. 1992 Feb;6(3):395–409. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Leung K. Y., Reisner B. S., Straley S. C. YopM inhibits platelet aggregation and is necessary for virulence of Yersinia pestis in mice. Infect Immun. 1990 Oct;58(10):3262–3271. doi: 10.1128/iai.58.10.3262-3271.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Leung K. Y., Straley S. C. The yopM gene of Yersinia pestis encodes a released protein having homology with the human platelet surface protein GPIb alpha. J Bacteriol. 1989 Sep;171(9):4623–4632. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.9.4623-4632.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Lindler L. E., Klempner M. S., Straley S. C. Yersinia pestis pH 6 antigen: genetic, biochemical, and virulence characterization of a protein involved in the pathogenesis of bubonic plague. Infect Immun. 1990 Aug;58(8):2569–2577. doi: 10.1128/iai.58.8.2569-2577.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Michiels T., Cornelis G. R. Secretion of hybrid proteins by the Yersinia Yop export system. J Bacteriol. 1991 Mar;173(5):1677–1685. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.5.1677-1685.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Michiels T., Vanooteghem J. C., Lambert de Rouvroit C., China B., Gustin A., Boudry P., Cornelis G. R. Analysis of virC, an operon involved in the secretion of Yop proteins by Yersinia enterocolitica. J Bacteriol. 1991 Aug;173(16):4994–5009. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.16.4994-5009.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Michiels T., Wattiau P., Brasseur R., Ruysschaert J. M., Cornelis G. Secretion of Yop proteins by Yersiniae. Infect Immun. 1990 Sep;58(9):2840–2849. doi: 10.1128/iai.58.9.2840-2849.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Miller V. L., Mekalanos J. J. A novel suicide vector and its use in construction of insertion mutations: osmoregulation of outer membrane proteins and virulence determinants in Vibrio cholerae requires toxR. J Bacteriol. 1988 Jun;170(6):2575–2583. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.6.2575-2583.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Mulder B., Michiels T., Simonet M., Sory M. P., Cornelis G. Identification of additional virulence determinants on the pYV plasmid of Yersinia enterocolitica W227. Infect Immun. 1989 Aug;57(8):2534–2541. doi: 10.1128/iai.57.8.2534-2541.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Perry R. D., Harmon P. A., Bowmer W. S., Straley S. C. A low-Ca2+ response operon encodes the V antigen of Yersinia pestis. Infect Immun. 1986 Nov;54(2):428–434. doi: 10.1128/iai.54.2.428-434.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Perry R. D., Pendrak M. L., Schuetze P. Identification and cloning of a hemin storage locus involved in the pigmentation phenotype of Yersinia pestis. J Bacteriol. 1990 Oct;172(10):5929–5937. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.10.5929-5937.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  36. Plano G. V., Barve S. S., Straley S. C. LcrD, a membrane-bound regulator of the Yersinia pestis low-calcium response. J Bacteriol. 1991 Nov;173(22):7293–7303. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.22.7293-7303.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Plano G. V., Straley S. C. Multiple effects of lcrD mutations in Yersinia pestis. J Bacteriol. 1993 Jun;175(11):3536–3545. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.11.3536-3545.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Portnoy D. A., Martinez R. J. Role of a plasmid in the pathogenicity of Yersinia species. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1985;118:29–51. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-70586-1_3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Portnoy D. A., Moseley S. L., Falkow S. Characterization of plasmids and plasmid-associated determinants of Yersinia enterocolitica pathogenesis. Infect Immun. 1981 Feb;31(2):775–782. doi: 10.1128/iai.31.2.775-782.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Portnoy D. A., Wolf-Watz H., Bolin I., Beeder A. B., Falkow S. Characterization of common virulence plasmids in Yersinia species and their role in the expression of outer membrane proteins. Infect Immun. 1984 Jan;43(1):108–114. doi: 10.1128/iai.43.1.108-114.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Price S. B., Cowan C., Perry R. D., Straley S. C. The Yersinia pestis V antigen is a regulatory protein necessary for Ca2(+)-dependent growth and maximal expression of low-Ca2+ response virulence genes. J Bacteriol. 1991 Apr;173(8):2649–2657. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.8.2649-2657.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Price S. B., Leung K. Y., Barve S. S., Straley S. C. Molecular analysis of lcrGVH, the V antigen operon of Yersinia pestis. J Bacteriol. 1989 Oct;171(10):5646–5653. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.10.5646-5653.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  43. Price S. B., Straley S. C. lcrH, a gene necessary for virulence of Yersinia pestis and for the normal response of Y. pestis to ATP and calcium. Infect Immun. 1989 May;57(5):1491–1498. doi: 10.1128/iai.57.5.1491-1498.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  44. Protsenko O. A., Anisimov P. I., Mozharov O. T., Konnov N. P., Popov Iu A. Vyiavlenie i kharakteristika plazmid chumnogo mikroba, determiniruiushchikh sintez pestitsina I, antigena fraktsiia I i ékzotoksina "myshinogo" toksina. Genetika. 1983 Jul;19(7):1081–1090. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  45. Reisner B. S., Straley S. C. Yersinia pestis YopM: thrombin binding and overexpression. Infect Immun. 1992 Dec;60(12):5242–5252. doi: 10.1128/iai.60.12.5242-5252.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  46. Rimpiläinen M., Forsberg A., Wolf-Watz H. A novel protein, LcrQ, involved in the low-calcium response of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis shows extensive homology to YopH. J Bacteriol. 1992 May;174(10):3355–3363. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.10.3355-3363.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Rosqvist R., Forsberg A., Wolf-Watz H. Intracellular targeting of the Yersinia YopE cytotoxin in mammalian cells induces actin microfilament disruption. Infect Immun. 1991 Dec;59(12):4562–4569. doi: 10.1128/iai.59.12.4562-4569.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Sodeinde O. A., Goguen J. D. Genetic analysis of the 9.5-kilobase virulence plasmid of Yersinia pestis. Infect Immun. 1988 Oct;56(10):2743–2748. doi: 10.1128/iai.56.10.2743-2748.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. Straley S. C., Bowmer W. S. Virulence genes regulated at the transcriptional level by Ca2+ in Yersinia pestis include structural genes for outer membrane proteins. Infect Immun. 1986 Feb;51(2):445–454. doi: 10.1128/iai.51.2.445-454.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  51. Straley S. C., Bowmer W. S. Virulence genes regulated at the transcriptional level by Ca2+ in Yersinia pestis include structural genes for outer membrane proteins. Infect Immun. 1986 Feb;51(2):445–454. doi: 10.1128/iai.51.2.445-454.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  52. Straley S. C., Brubaker R. R. Cytoplasmic and membrane proteins of yersiniae cultivated under conditions simulating mammalian intracellular environment. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Feb;78(2):1224–1228. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.2.1224. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  53. Une T., Brubaker R. R. In vivo comparison of avirulent Vwa- and Pgm- or Pstr phenotypes of yersiniae. Infect Immun. 1984 Mar;43(3):895–900. doi: 10.1128/iai.43.3.895-900.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  54. Vallette F., Mege E., Reiss A., Adesnik M. Construction of mutant and chimeric genes using the polymerase chain reaction. Nucleic Acids Res. 1989 Jan 25;17(2):723–733. doi: 10.1093/nar/17.2.723. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  55. Viitanen A. M., Toivanen P., Skurnik M. The lcrE gene is part of an operon in the lcr region of Yersinia enterocolitica O:3. J Bacteriol. 1990 Jun;172(6):3152–3162. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.6.3152-3162.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  56. Yother J., Chamness T. W., Goguen J. D. Temperature-controlled plasmid regulon associated with low calcium response in Yersinia pestis. J Bacteriol. 1986 Feb;165(2):443–447. doi: 10.1128/jb.165.2.443-447.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  57. Yother J., Goguen J. D. Isolation and characterization of Ca2+-blind mutants of Yersinia pestis. J Bacteriol. 1985 Nov;164(2):704–711. doi: 10.1128/jb.164.2.704-711.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  58. Zahorchak R. J., Brubaker R. R. Effect of exogenous nucleotides on Ca2+ dependence and V antigen synthesis in Yersinia pestis. Infect Immun. 1982 Dec;38(3):953–959. doi: 10.1128/iai.38.3.953-959.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  59. Zahorchak R. J., Charnetzky W. T., Little R. V., Brubaker R. R. Consequences of Ca2+ deficiency on macromolecular synthesis and adenylate energy charge in Yersinia pestis. J Bacteriol. 1979 Sep;139(3):792–799. doi: 10.1128/jb.139.3.792-799.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES