Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Quantifying Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Type III Secretion System Activity Following Iron Starvation and Anaerobic Growth
Published on: May 31, 2024
The pyruvate-tricarboxylic acid cycle node: a focal point of virulence control in the enteric pathogen Yersinia
René Bücker1, Ann Kathrin Heroven2, Judith Becker3
1From the Institute of Systems Biotechnology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrücken, the Institute of Biochemical Engineering, Technische Universität, Braunschweig and.
Abstract:
Despite our increasing knowledge of the specific pathogenicity factors in bacteria, the contribution of metabolic processes to virulence is largely unknown. Here, we elucidate a tight connection between pathogenicity and core metabolism in the enteric pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis by integrated transcriptome and [(13)C]fluxome analysis of the wild type and virulence-regulator mutants. During aerobic growth on glucose, Y. pseudotuberculosis reveals an unusual flux distribution with a high level of secreted pyruvate. The absence of the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators RovA, CsrA, and Crp strongly perturbs the fluxes of carbon core metabolism at the level of pyruvate metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and these perturbations are accompanied by transcriptional changes in the corresponding enzymes. Knock-outs of regulators of this metabolic branch point and of its central enzyme, pyruvate kinase (ΔpykF), result in mutants with significantly reduced virulence in an oral mouse infection model. In summary, our work identifies the pyruvate-TCA cycle node as a focal point for controlling the host colonization and virulence of Yersinia.
Related Concept Videos
Regulation of Bacterial Virulence
Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing
Respiration Pathways
Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages
Fates of Pyruvate
In aerobic organisms, pyruvate is metabolized via the citric acid cycle to produce reduced coenzymes NADH and FADH2. These coenzymes are then oxidized in the electron transport chain to produce ATP and, in the process, regenerate the NAD+ and FAD. As seen in some cell types and organisms, fermentation...
The Citric Acid Cycle: Overview
The citric...

