Molecular characterization of two-component systems of Helicobacter pylori

Two-component systems are frequently involved in the adaptation of bacteria to changing environmental conditions at the level of transcriptional regulation. Here we report the characterization of members of the two-component systems of the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori deduced from the genome sequence of strain 26695. We demonstrate that the response regulators HP166, HP1043, and HP1021 have essential functions, as disruption of the corresponding genes is lethal for the bacteria, irrespective of the fact that HP1043 and HP1021 have nonconserved substitutions in crucial amino acids of their receiver domains. An analysis of the in vitro phosphorylation properties of the two-component proteins demonstrates that HP244-HP703 and HP165-HP166 are cognate histidine kinase-response regulator pairs. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the variability of the histidine kinase HP165 caused by a poly(C) tract of variable length close to the 3' end of open reading frame 165/164 does not interfere with the kinase activity of the transmitter domain of HP165.