The CpxA/CpxR Two-Component System Affects Biofilm Formation and Virulence in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Yuan, Fangyan¹  Peng, Wei¹  Liu, Ting¹  Chen, Huanchun²  Cheng, Hui²  Li, Huan²  Yan, Kang²  Zhao, Haixu³  Chang, Peixi³  Liu, Feng³  Bei, Weicheng³ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Development of Veterinary Diagnostic Products of Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, China;State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, China;The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, China

关键词: Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae;    CpxA/CpxR;    Biofilm;    RpoE;    Virulence;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fcimb.2018.00072

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Gram-negative bacteria have evolved numerous two-component systems (TCSs) to cope with external environmental changes. The CpxA/CpxR TCS consisting of the kinase CpxA and the regulator CpxR, is known to be involved in the biofilm formation and virulence of Escherichia coli. However, the role of CpxA/CpxR remained unclear in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, a bacterial pathogen that can cause porcine contagious pleuropneumonia. In this report, we show that CpxA/CpxR contributes to the biofilm formation ability of A. pleuropneumoniae. Furthermore, we demonstrate that CpxA/CpxR plays an important role in the expression of several biofilm-related genes in A. pleuropneumoniae, such as rpoE and pgaC. Furthermore, The results of electrophoretic mobility shift assays and DNase I footprinting analysis demonstrate that CpxR-P can regulate the expression of the pgaABCD operon through rpoE. In an experimental infection of mice, the animals infected with a cpxA/cpxR mutant exhibited delayed mortality and lower bacterial loads in the lung than those infected with the wildtype bacteria. In conclusion, these results indicate that the CpxA/CpxR TCS plays a contributing role in the biofilm formation and virulence of A. pleuropneumoniae.

【 授权许可】

CC BY