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Coincubation Assay for Quantifying Competitive Interactions between Vibrio fischeri Isolates
Published on: July 22, 2019
Cyclo(Phe-Pro) modulates the expression of ompU in Vibrio spp
Dae-Kyun Park1, Ko-Eun Lee, Chang-Ho Baek
1Department of Life Science, Sogang University, Sinsoo-Dong 1, Mapo-Gu, Seoul 121-742, South Korea.
Abstract:
Vibrio vulnificus was found to produce a chemical that induced the expression of Vibrio fischeri lux genes. Electron spray ionization-mass spectrometry and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance analyses indicated that the compound was cyclo(L-Phe-L-Pro) (cFP). The compound was produced at a maximal level when cell cultures reached the onset of stationary phase. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel analysis of the total proteins of V. vulnificus indicated that expression of OmpU was enhanced by exogenously added synthetic or purified cFP. A toxR-null mutant failed to express ompU despite the addition of cFP. The related Vibrio spp. V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus, and V. harveyi also produced cFP, which induced the expression of their own ompU genes. cFP also enhanced the expression in V. cholerae of the ctx genes, which are known to be regulated by ToxR. Our results suggest that cFP is a signal molecule controlling the expression of genes important for the pathogenicity of Vibrio spp.
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