Different regulatory mechanisms of the capsule in hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumonia: “direct” wcaJ variation vs. “indirect” rmpA regulation

Abstract

The interaction of multiple factors is involved in capsule synthesis, including w<i>caJ</i> and r<i>mpA</i>. RmpA, an known conserved capsular regulator gene, acts on cps cluster promoters to promote the production of the hypercapsule. WcaJ as initiating enzyme of CPS biosynthesis, its presence determines the synthesis of capsule. Besides, different from rmpA, w<i>caJ</i> sequence consistency is limited to the same serotype, which cause wcaJ functioning in different serotype strains with sequence recognition specificity.