H(2)O(2), which causes macrophage-related stress, triggers induction of expression of virulence-associated plasmid determinants in Rhodococcus equi.

ABSTRACT: The response of the intracellular pathogen Rhodococcus equi to H(2)O(2) treatment, a situation potentially encountered after the oxidative burst of alveolar macrophages, was analyzed. Compared to other bacteria, including Deinococcus radiodurans, R. equi showed exceptionally high resistance to this stress. A proteomic approach showed that four polypeptides present in the wild-type strain (85F) are missing in the plasmid-cured strain 85F(P-), and by using a DNA macroarray, we identified two plasmid-encoded vap genes, vapA and vapG, whose expression was highly induced by H(2)O(2) treatment. Whereas the transcript size of vapA was compatible with a monocistronic mRNA, the transcript of vapG was considerably longer. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends PCRs showed that the transcriptional start si

SUBMITTER: Benoit S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC128077 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature