Significance of tagl and mfd genes in the virulence of non-typeable Haemophilus infl uenzae Autors/ores Denis A. Spricig Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Biosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra Pilar Cortés Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Biosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra David Moranta Network Biomedical Research. Respiratory Diseases and Health Research Foundation Balearic Island, Joan March Hospital, Bunyola Jordi Barbé Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Biosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra José Antonio Bengoechea Network Biomedical Research. Respiratory Diseases and Health Research Foundation Balearic Island, Joan March Hospital, Bunyola, Spain; Centre for Infection and Immunity, Queens University Belfast. Belfast, UK Montserrat Llagostera Department of Genetics and Microbiology Faculty of Biosciences Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra Paraules clau: Haemophilus infl uenzae, alkylating agents, virulence, genes tagI and mfd Resum Non-typeable Haemophilus infl uenzae (NTHi) is an opportunist pathogen well adapted to the human upper respiratory tract and responsible for many respiratory diseases. In the human airway, NTHi is exposed to pollutants, such as alkylating agents, that damage its DNA. In this study, we examined the signifi cance of genes involved in the repair of DNA alkylation damage in NTHi virulence. Two knockout mutants, tagI and mfd, encoding N3methyladenine-DNA glycosylase I and the key protein involved in transcription-coupled repair, respectively, were constructed and their virulence in a BALB/c mice model was examined. This work shows that N3-methyladenine-DNA glycosylase I is constitutively expressed in NTHi and that it is relevant for its virulence. [Int Microbiol 2014; 17(3):159-164]Keywords: Haemophilus infl uenzae · alkylating agents · virulence · genes tagI and mfd Biografia de l'autor/a Denis A. Spricig, Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Biosciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra Descàrregues PDF (English) Número Vol. 17 Núm. 3 (2014) Secció Articles Llicència Submission of a manuscript to International Microbiology implies: that the work described has not been published before, including publication in the World Wide Web (except in the form of an Abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that all the coauthors have agreed to its publication. The corresponding author signs for and accepts responsability for releasing this material and will act on behalf of any and all coauthors regarding the editorial review and publication process.If an article is accepted for publication in International Microbiology, the authors (or other copyright holder) must transfer to the journal the right–not exclusive–to reproduce and distribute the article including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline, online) or any other reproductions of similar nature. Nevertheless, all article in International Microbiology will be available on the Internet to any reader at no cost. The journal allows users to freely download, copy, print, distribute, search, and link to the full text of any article, provided the authorship and source of the published article is cited. The copyright owner's consent does not include copying for new works, or resale. In these cases, the specific written permission of International Microbiology must first be obtained.Authors are requested to create a link to the published article on the journal's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The original publication is available on LINK at <http://www.im.microbios.org>. Please use the appropiate URL for the article in LINK. Articles disseminated via LINK are indexed, abstracted, and referenced by many abstracting and information services, bibliographic networks, subscription agencies, library networks, and consortia.
