The transcriptional repressor FarR is not involved in meningococcal fatty acid resistance mediated by the FarAB efflux pump and dependent on lipopolysaccharide structure.

ABSTRACT: Free fatty acids are important antimicrobial substances regulating the homeostasis of colonizing bacteria on epithelial surfaces. Here, we show that meningococci express a functional farAB efflux pump, which is indispensable for fatty acid resistance. However, other than in Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the transcriptional regulator FarR is not involved in regulation of this operon in Neisseria meningitidis. We tested the susceptibility of 23 meningococcal isolates against saturated and unsaturated long-chain fatty acids, proving that meningococci are generally highly resistant, with the exception of serogroup Y strains belonging to sequence type 23. Using genetically determined lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-truncated mutant strains, we show that addition of the LPS core oligosaccharide and hexa-acyla

SUBMITTER: Schielke S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2869119 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature