Evidence that the algI/algJ gene cassette, required for O acetylation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa alginate, evolved by lateral gene transfer.

ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, isolated from chronically infected patients with cystic fibrosis, produce the O-acetylated extracellular polysaccharide, alginate, giving these strains a mucoid phenotype. O acetylation of alginate plays an important role in the ability of mucoid P. aeruginosa to form biofilms and to resist complement-mediated phagocytosis. The O-acetylation process is complex, requiring a protein with seven transmembrane domains (AlgI), a type II membrane protein (AlgJ), and a periplasmic protein (AlgF). The cellular localization of these proteins suggests a model wherein alginate is modified at the polymer level after the transport of O-acetyl groups to the periplasm. Here, we demonstrate that this mechanism for polysaccharide esterification may be common among bacteria, s

SUBMITTER: Franklin MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC438637 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature