Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 1992 · 522 citations · 31 references
Life SciencesMicrobiologyMolecular GeneticsGene ExpressionMicrobial GeneticsMicrobial PathogenesisBacterial Gene RegulationBacterial PathogenesisBacterial Virulence FactorsMicrobial Virulence FactorsPathogen Virulence FactorsVirulence Gene RegulationAcid StressAlternative Sigma Factor RegulationAlternative Sigma FactorsBacterial Virulence GenesTranscriptional Regulation Of Virulence GenesVirulence Factor ExpressionVirulence Factor RegulationVirulence Plasmid Regulation
Nutrient limitation is a critical signal in Salmonella virulence gene regulation. The katF (rpoS) gene mediates the expression of the Salmonella spv plasmid virulence genes during bacterial starvation. A katF Salmonella mutant has increased susceptibility to nutrient deprivation, oxidative stress, acid stress, and DNA damage, conditions which are relevant to the intraphagosomal environment of host macrophages. Moreover, the katF mutant has significantly reduced virulence in mice. katF encodes an alternative sigma factor of RNA polymerase which coordinately regulates Salmonella virulence.
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