A fructose/H⁺ symporter controlled by a LacI-type regulator promotes survival of pandemic Vibrio cholerae in seawater.

ABSTRACT: The bacterium Vibrio cholerae can colonize the human intestine and cause cholera, but spends much of its life cycle in seawater. The pathogen must adapt to substantial environmental changes when moving between seawater and the human intestine, including different availability of carbon sources such as fructose. Here, we use in vitro experiments as well as mouse intestinal colonization assays to study the mechanisms used by pandemic V. cholerae to adapt to these environmental changes. We show that a LacI-type regulator (FruI) and a fructose/H⁺ symporter (FruT) are important for fructose uptake at low fructose concentrations, as those found in seawater. FruT is downregulated by FruI, which is upregulated when O₂ concentrations are low (as in the intestine) by ArcAB, a t

SUBMITTER: Liu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8324912 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature