Activation of metabolic and stress responses during subtoxic expression of the type I toxin hok in Erwinia amylovora.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems, abundant in prokaryotes, are composed of a toxin gene and its cognate antitoxin. Several toxins are implied to affect the physiological state and stress tolerance of bacteria in a population. We previously identified a chromosomally encoded hok-sok type I TA system in Erwinia amylovora, the causative agent of fire blight disease on pome fruit trees. A high-level induction of the hok gene was lethal to E. amylovora cells through unknown mechanisms. The molecular targets or regulatory roles of Hok were unknown.

Results

Here, we examined the physiological and transcriptomic changes of Erwinia amylovora cells expressing hok at subtoxic levels that were confirmed to confer no cell death, and at toxic levels that resulted in killing of cell

SUBMITTER: Peng J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7821729 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature