Mutations in Ehrlichia chaffeensis Genes ECH_0660 and ECH_0665 Cause Transcriptional Changes in Response to Zinc or Iron Limitation.

ABSTRACT: Ehrlichia chaffeensis causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis by replicating within phagosomes of monocytes/macrophages. A function disruption mutation within the pathogen's ECH_0660 gene, which encodes a phage head-to-tail connector protein, resulted in the rapid clearance of the pathogen in vivo, while aiding in induction of sufficient immunity in a host to protect against wild-type infection challenge. In this study, we describe the characterization of a cluster of seven genes spanning from ECH_0659 to ECH_0665, which contained four genes encoding bacterial phage proteins, including the ECH_0660 gene. Assessment of the promoter region upstream of the first gene of the seven genes (ECH_0659) in Escherichia coli demonstrated transcriptional enhancement under zinc and iron starvation co

SUBMITTER: Torres-Escobar A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8316085 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature