Myo-Inositol as a carbon substrate in Francisella and insights into the metabolism of Francisella sp. strain W12-1067.

Myo-Inositol as a carbon substrate in Francisella and insights into the metabolism of Francisella sp. strain W12-1067. Int J Med Microbiol. 2020 May 05;:151426 Authors: Chen F, Köppen K, Rydzewski K, Einenkel R, Morguet C, Vu DT, Eisenreich W, Heuner K Abstract Recently, a new environmental Francisella strain, Francisella sp. strain W12-1067, has been identified in Germany. This strain is negative for the Francisella pathogenicity island (FPI) but exhibits a putative alternative type VI secretion system. Some known virulence factors of Francisella are present, but the pathogenic capacity of this species is not known yet. In silico genome analysis reveals the presence of a gene cluster tentatively enabling myo-inositol (MI) utilization via a putative inositol oxygenase. Labelling experiments starting from 2H-inositol demonstrate that this gene cluster is indeed involved in the metabolism of MI. We further show that, under in vitro conditions, supply of MI increases growth rates of strain W12-1067 in the absence of glucose and that the metabolism of MI is strongly reduced in a W12-1067 mutant lacking the MI gene cluster. The positive growth effect of MI in the absence of glucose is restored in this mutant strain by introducing the complete MI gene cluster. F. novicida Fx1 is also positive for the MI metabolizing gene cluster and MI again increases growth in a glucose-free medium, in contrast to F. novicida strain U112, which is shown ...
Source: International Journal of Medical Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Int J Med Microbiol Source Type: research