Helicobacter pylori relies primarily on the purine salvage pathway for purine nucleotide biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Helicobacter pylori is a chronic colonizer of the gastric epithelium and plays a major role in the development of gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer. In its coevolution with humans, the streamlining of the H. pylori genome has resulted in a significant reduction in metabolic pathways, one being purine nucleotide biosynthesis. Bioinformatic analysis has revealed that H. pylori lacks the enzymatic machinery for de novo production of IMP, the first purine nucleotide formed during GTP and ATP biosynthesis. This suggests that H. pylori must rely heavily on salvage of purines from the environment. In this study, we deleted several genes putatively involved in purine salvage and processing. The growth and survival of these mutants were analyzed in both nutrient-rich and minimal m

SUBMITTER: Liechti G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3272961 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature