CesRK, a two-component signal transduction system in Listeria monocytogenes, responds to the presence of cell wall-acting antibiotics and affects beta-lactam resistance.

ABSTRACT: Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen that can cause a variety of illnesses ranging from gastroenteritis to life-threatening septicemia. The beta-lactam antibiotic ampicillin remains the drug of choice for the treatment of listeriosis. We have previously identified a response regulator of a putative two-component signal transduction system that plays a role in the virulence and ethanol tolerance of L. monocytogenes. Here we present evidence that the response regulator, CesR, and a histidine protein kinase, CesK, which is encoded by the gene downstream from cesR, are involved in the ability of L. monocytogenes to tolerate ethanol and cell wall-acting antibiotics of the beta-lactam family. Furthermore, CesRK controls the expression of a putative extracellular peptide encoded by the

SUBMITTER: Kallipolitis BH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC253798 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature