The carRS-ompV-virK operon of Vibrio cholerae senses antimicrobial peptides and activates the expression of multiple resistance systems.

ABSTRACT: Antimicrobial peptides are small cationic molecules produced by eukaryotic cells to combat infection, as well as by bacteria for niche competition. Polymyxin B (PmB), a cyclic antimicrobial peptide, is used prophylactically in livestock and as a last-resort treatment for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in humans. In this study, a transcriptomic analysis in Vibrio cholerae showed that expression of the uncharacterized gene ompV is stimulated in response to PmB. We found that ompV is organized in a conserved four-gene operon with the two-component system carRS and virK in V. cholerae. A virK deletion mutant and an ompV deletion mutant were more sensitive to antimicrobials, suggesting that both OmpV and VirK contribute to antimicrobial resistance. Our transcriptomic analysis showed t

SUBMITTER: Mathieu-Denoncourt A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12012098 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature