Nutrient depletion may trigger the Yersinia pestis OmpR-EnvZ regulatory system to promote flea-borne plague transmission.

ABSTRACT: The flea's lumen gut is a poorly documented environment where the agent of flea-borne plague, Yersinia pestis, must replicate to produce a transmissible infection. Here, we report that both the acidic pH and osmolarity of the lumen's contents display simple harmonic oscillations with different periods. Since an acidic pH and osmolarity are two of three known stimuli of the OmpR-EnvZ two-component system in bacteria, we investigated the role and function of this Y. pestis system in fleas. By monitoring the in vivo expression pattern of three OmpR-EnvZ-regulated genes, we concluded that the flea gut environment triggers OmpR-EnvZ. This activation was not, however, correlated with changes in pH and osmolarity but matched the pattern of nutrient depletion (the third known stimulus for OmpR-Env

SUBMITTER: Bontemps-Gallo S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6842400 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature