Rickettsia Lipid A Biosynthesis Utilizes the Late Acyltransferase LpxJ for Secondary Fatty Acid Addition.

ABSTRACT: Members of the Rickettsia genus are obligate intracellular, Gram-negative coccobacilli that infect mammalian and arthropod hosts. Several rickettsial species are human pathogens and are transmitted by blood-feeding arthropods. In Gram-negative parasites, the outer membrane (OM) sits at the nexus of the host-pathogen interaction and is rich in lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The lipid A component of LPS anchors the molecule to the bacterial surface and is an endotoxic agonist of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Despite the apparent importance of lipid A in maintaining OM integrity, as well as its inflammatory potential during infection, this molecule is poorly characterized in Rickettsia pathogens. In this work, we have identified and characterized new members of the recently discovered

SUBMITTER: Guillotte ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6148475 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature