A novel lux operon in the cryptically bioluminescent fish pathogen Vibrio salmonicida is associated with virulence.

ABSTRACT: The cold-water-fish pathogen Vibrio salmonicida expresses a functional bacterial luciferase but produces insufficient levels of its aliphatic-aldehyde substrate to be detectably luminous in culture. Our goals were to (i) better explain this cryptic bioluminescence phenotype through molecular characterization of the lux operon and (ii) test whether the bioluminescence gene cluster is associated with virulence. Cloning and sequencing of the V. salmonicida lux operon revealed that homologs of all of the genes required for luminescence are present: luxAB (luciferase) and luxCDE (aliphatic-aldehyde synthesis). The arrangement and sequence of these structural lux genes are conserved compared to those in related species of luminous bacteria. However, V. salmonicida strains have a novel arrangemen

SUBMITTER: Nelson EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1828807 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature