| Autor: |
LaGier MJ; Department of Biology, Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa, USA., Bilokopytov I; Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, USA., Cockerill B; Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, USA., Threadgill DS; Department of Veterinary Pathology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA. |
| Abstrakt: |
Campylobacter rectus is an understudied oral bacterium that contributes to periodontitis. Processes that contribute to the disease-causing capabilities of pathogens, such as chemotaxis, are largely unknown in C. rectus . The aim of this study was to better understand C. rectus chemotaxis, by examining the C. rectus genome for the presence of a cheY gene. CheY proteins play a part in chemotaxis by acting as two-component response regulators. Significantly, CheY proteins from several pathogens, including the related species Campylobacter jejuni, have been shown to contribute to bacterial virulence. Degenerate PCR, RT-PCR, sequence analyses, and structural modeling showed that C. rectus encodes a gene (C r-CheY ) which shares significant homology with previously characterized CheY proteins. Functional studies of a recombinant form of the protein supports a likely role of Cr-CheY in C. rectus chemotaxis. Cr-CheY is the first CheY characterized from the oral campylobacters. |
