Stringent response governs the oxidative stress resistance and virulence of Francisella tularensis.

ABSTRACT: Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for causing tularemia in the northern hemisphere. F. tularensis has long been developed as a biological weapon due to its ability to cause severe illness upon inhalation of as few as ten organisms and, based on its potential to be used as a bioterror agent is now classified as a Tier 1 Category A select agent by the CDC. The stringent response facilitates bacterial survival under nutritionally challenging starvation conditions. The hallmark of stringent response is the accumulation of the effector molecules ppGpp and (p)ppGpp known as stress alarmones. The relA and spoT gene products generate alarmones in several Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. RelA is a ribosome-associated ppGpp synthetase that gets activated under amino a

SUBMITTER: Ma Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6812791 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature