Yersinia pestis Lipopolysaccharide Remodeling Confers Resistance to a Xenopsylla cheopis Cecropin.

ABSTRACT: Fleas are major vectors of Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. It has been proposed that Y. pestis has developed the ability to overcome the innate immune responses of fleas. Despite the fact that they transmit a number of bacterial infections, very little is known about the immune responses in fleas. In this study, we describe the antimicrobial activities of a cecropin from Xenopsylla cheopis (cheopin), an efficient vector for Y. pestis in the wild. This is the first cecropin-class antimicrobial peptide described from Siphonaptera insects. Cheopin showed potent activity against Gram-negative bacteria but little activity against wild-type Y. pestis KIM6+. Deletion of the aminoarabinose operon, which is responsible for the 4-amino-4-deoxy-l-ara

SUBMITTER: Mathew B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9410339 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature