Role of phosphoglucomutase of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, virulence, and antibiotic resistance.

ABSTRACT: A homologue of the algC gene, responsible for the production of a phosphoglucomutase (PGM) associated with LPS and alginate biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, spgM, was cloned from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. The spgM gene was shown to encode a bifunctional enzyme with both PGM and phosphomannomutase activities. Mutants lacking spgM produced less LPS than the SpgM(+) parent strain and had a tendency for shorter O polysaccharide chains. No changes in LPS chemistry were obvious as a result of the loss of spgM. Significantly, however, spgM mutants displayed a modest increase in susceptibility to several antimicrobial agents and were completely avirulent in an animal model of infection. The latter finding may relate to the resultant serum sensitivity of spgM mutants which, unlike the wi

SUBMITTER: McKay GA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC155759 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature