A Precise Temperature-Responsive Bistable Switch Controlling Yersinia Virulence.
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Authors
Nuss, Aaron MischaSchuster, Franziska
Roselius, Louisa
Klein, Johannes
Bücker, René
Herbst, Katharina
Heroven, Ann Kathrin
Pisano, Fabio
Wittmann, Christoph
Münch, Richard
Müller, Johannes
Jahn, Dieter
Dersch, Petra

Issue Date
2016-12
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Different biomolecules have been identified in bacterial pathogens that sense changes in temperature and trigger expression of virulence programs upon host entry. However, the dynamics and quantitative outcome of this response in individual cells of a population, and how this influences pathogenicity are unknown. Here, we address these questions using a thermosensing virulence regulator of an intestinal pathogen (RovA of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis) as a model. We reveal that this regulator is part of a novel thermoresponsive bistable switch, which leads to high- and low-invasive subpopulations within a narrow temperature range. The temperature range in which bistability is observed is defined by the degradation and synthesis rate of the regulator, and is further adjustable via a nutrient-responsive regulator. The thermoresponsive switch is also characterized by a hysteretic behavior in which activation and deactivation occurred on vastly different time scales. Mathematical modeling accurately mirrored the experimental behavior and predicted that the thermoresponsiveness of this sophisticated bistable switch is mainly determined by the thermo-triggered increase of RovA proteolysis. We further observed RovA ON and OFF subpopulations of Y. pseudotuberculosis in the Peyer's patches and caecum of infected mice, and that changes in the RovA ON/OFF cell ratio reduce tissue colonization and overall virulence. This points to a bet-hedging strategy in which the thermoresponsive bistable switch plays a key role in adapting the bacteria to the fluctuating conditions encountered as they pass through the host's intestinal epithelium and suggests novel strategies for the development of antimicrobial therapies.Citation
A Precise Temperature-Responsive Bistable Switch Controlling Yersinia Virulence. 2016, 12 (12):e1006091 PLoS Pathog.Affiliation
Helmholtz Centre for infection research, Inhoffenstr. 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.Journal
PLoS pathogensPubMed ID
28006011Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
1553-7374ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1371/journal.ppat.1006091
Scopus Count
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/