Zinc transporters YbtX and ZnuABC are required for the virulence of Yersinia pestis in bubonic and pneumonic plague in mice.

ABSTRACT: A number of bacterial pathogens require the ZnuABC Zinc (Zn²⁺) transporter and/or a second Zn²⁺ transport system to overcome Zn²⁺ sequestration by mammalian hosts. Previously we have shown that in addition to ZnuABC, Yersinia pestis possesses a second Zn²⁺ transporter that involves components of the yersiniabactin (Ybt), siderophore-dependent iron transport system. Synthesis of the Ybt siderophore and YbtX, a member of the major facilitator superfamily, are both critical components of the second Zn²⁺ transport system. Here we demonstrate that a ybtX znu double mutant is essentially avirulent in mouse models of bubonic and pneumonic plague while a ybtX mutant retains high virulence in both plague models. While sequestration of host Zn i

SUBMITTER: Bobrov AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5532734 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature