A functional ferric uptake regulator (Fur) protein in the fish pathogen Piscirickettsia salmonis

Authors

  • Oscar Almarza Universidad Mayor, Faculty of Sciences, Huechuraba, Chile
  • Katherine Valderrama PhD Program in Aquaculture, Universidad Catolica del Norte
  • Manuel Ayala Universidad Mayor, Faculty of Sciences, Huechuraba, Chile
  • Cristopher Segovia Universidad Mayor, Faculty of Sciences, Huechuraba, Chile
  • Javier Santander Memorial University of Newfoundland, Department of Ocean Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Canada

Keywords:

Piscirickettsia salmonis, ferric uptake regulator protein (Fur), transcriptional regulatory element, iron acquisition, fish pathogens

Abstract

Piscirickettsia salmonis, a Gram-negative fastidious facultative intracellular pathogen, is the causative agent of the salmonid rickettsial septicemia (SRS). The P. salmonis iron acquisition mechanisms and its molecular regulation are unknown. Iron is an essential element for bacterial pathogenesis. Typically, genes that encode for the iron acquisition machinery are regulated by the ferric uptake regulator (Fur) protein. P. salmonis fur sequence database reveals a diversity of fur genes without functional verification. Due to the fastidious nature of this bacterium, we evaluated the functionality of P. salmonis fur in the Salmonella Δfur heterologous system. Although P. salmonis fur gene strongly differed from the common Fur sequences, it restored the regulatory mechanisms of iron acquisition in Salmonella. We concluded that P. salmonis LF-89 has a conserved functional Fur protein, which reinforces the importance of iron during fish infection. [Int Microbiol 2016; 49-55]

Keywords: Piscirickettsia salmonis · ferric uptake regulator protein (Fur) · transcriptional regulatory element · iron acquisition · fish pathogens

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