Find in Library
Search millions of books, articles, and more
Indexed Open Access Databases
<i>Mab_3083c</i> Is a Homologue of RNase J and Plays a Role in Colony Morphotype, Aggregation, and Sliding Motility of <i>Mycobacterium abscessus</i>
oleh: Ting-Yu Liu, Sheng-Hui Tsai, Jenn-Wei Chen, Yu-Ching Wang, Shiau-Ting Hu, Yih-Yuan Chen
Format: | Article |
---|---|
Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2021-03-01 |
Deskripsi
<i>Mycobacterium abscessus</i> is an opportunistic pathogen causing human diseases, especially in immunocompromised patients. <i>M. abscessus</i> strains with a rough morphotype are more virulent than those with a smooth morphotype. Morphotype switch may occur during a clinical infection. To investigate the genes involved in colony morphotype switching, we performed transposon mutagenesis in a rough clinical strain of <i>M. abscessus</i>. A morphotype switching mutant (smooth) named <i>mab_3083c</i>::Tn was obtained. This mutant was found to have a lower aggregative ability and a higher sliding motility than the wild type strain. However, its glycopeptidolipid (GPL) content remained the same as those of the wild type. Complementation of the mutant with a functional <i>mab_3083c</i> gene reverted its morphotype back to rough, indicating that <i>mab_3083c</i> is associated with colony morphology of <i>M. abscessus</i>. Bioinformatic analyses showed that <i>mab_3083c</i> has a 75.4% identity in amino acid sequence with the well-characterized ribonuclease J (RNase J) of <i>M. smegmatis</i> (RNase J<sub>Msmeg</sub>). Complementation of the mutant with the RNase J gene of <i>M. smegmatis</i> also switched its colony morphology from smooth back to rough. These results suggest that Mab_3083c is a homologue of RNase J and involved in regulating <i>M. abscessus</i> colony morphotype switching.