Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 18, 2026

Applying an Inducible Expression System to Study Interference of Bacterial Virulence Factors with Intracellular Signaling
Published on: June 25, 2015
The two-component sensor KinB acts as a phosphatase to regulate Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence
Nikhilesh S Chand1, Anne E Clatworthy, Deborah T Hung
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Abstract:
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that is capable of causing both acute and chronic infections. P. aeruginosa virulence is subject to sophisticated regulatory control by two-component systems that enable it to sense and respond to environmental stimuli. We recently reported that the two-component sensor KinB regulates virulence in acute P. aeruginosa infection. Furthermore, it regulates acute-virulence-associated phenotypes such as pyocyanin production, elastase production, and motility in a manner independent of its kinase activity. Here we show that KinB regulates virulence through the global sigma factor AlgU, which plays a key role in repressing P. aeruginosa acute-virulence factors, and through its cognate response regulator AlgB. However, we show that rather than phosphorylating AlgB, KinB's primary role in the regulation of virulence is to act as a phosphatase to dephosphorylate AlgB and alleviate phosphorylated AlgB's repression of acute virulence.
Related Concept Videos
Regulation of Bacterial Virulence
Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing
Amplifying Signals via Enzymatic Cascade
Transducer Mechanism: Enzyme-Linked Receptors
Major types that are helpful drug targets include:
Protein Kinases and Phosphatases
Protein kinases
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway

