Abstract
A novel gene that regulates the alpha-toxin (plc), kappa-toxin (colA), and theta;-toxin (pfoA) genes was identified using toxin-negative mutant strains of Clostridium perfringens. The cloned 3.2-kb fragment contained the virX gene encoding a 51-amino acid polypeptide of unknown function that seemed to be responsible for the activation of toxin genes. The virX knock out mutant of wild-type strain 13 showed a reduced expression of the plc, colA, and pfoA genes, which was complemented by the transformation of the intact virX gene. Deletion and site-directed mutagenesis studies suggested that the virX gene acts as a regulatory RNA rather than as a peptide regulator. The virX locus found in this study might play a part in the signal transduction to regulate toxin production in C. perfringens.
Publication types
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Comparative Study
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
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Bacterial Proteins / physiology
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Bacterial Toxins / biosynthesis*
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Bacterial Toxins / genetics
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Base Sequence
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Calcium-Binding Proteins*
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Clostridium perfringens / genetics*
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Clostridium perfringens / metabolism
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Codon, Nonsense
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Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial*
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Genes, Bacterial*
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Genes, Regulator*
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Hemolysin Proteins
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Microbial Collagenase / biosynthesis*
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Microbial Collagenase / genetics
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
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RNA, Bacterial / genetics*
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RNA, Bacterial / physiology
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Signal Transduction
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Type C Phospholipases / biosynthesis*
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Type C Phospholipases / genetics
Substances
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Bacterial Proteins
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Bacterial Toxins
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Calcium-Binding Proteins
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Codon, Nonsense
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Hemolysin Proteins
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RNA, Bacterial
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Clostridium perfringens theta-toxin
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Type C Phospholipases
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alpha toxin, Clostridium perfringens
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Microbial Collagenase
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kappa-toxin, Clostridium perfringens