Regulation of neurotoxin production and sporulation by a Putative agrBD signaling system in proteolytic Clostridium botulinum.

ABSTRACT: A significant number of genome sequences of Clostridium botulinum and related species have now been determined. In silico analysis of these data revealed the presence of two distinct agr loci (agr-1 and agr-2) in all group I strains, each encoding putative proteins with similarity to AgrB and AgrD of the well-studied Staphylococcus aureus agr quorum sensing system. In S. aureus, a small diffusible autoinducing peptide is generated from AgrD in a membrane-located processing event that requires AgrB. Here the characterization of both agr loci in the group I strain C. botulinum ATCC 3502 and of their homologues in a close relative, Clostridium sporogenes NCIMB 10696, is reported. In C. sporogenes NCIMB 10696, agr-1 and agr-2 appear to form transcriptional units that consist of agrB, agrD, and

SUBMITTER: Cooksley CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2897414 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature