Silence is golden: How MucR’s repressor activity contributes to Brucella virulence

Le résumé fourni par la source

The small Zn finger protein MucR is an essential virulence determinant in Brucella. This nucleoidassociated protein not only plays a critical role in organizing the structure and topology of the dual chromosomes of these bacteria, but also has global effects on gene expression. One property that MucR appears to share with its H-NS and H-NS-like counterparts in other bacteria is its ability to serve as a gene silencer that a) works in concert with antagonistic transcriptional regulators known as ‘counter-silencers’ to ensure that specific genes are only highly expressed when their products provide a fitness benefit to the bacterial cell; and b) prevents the potentially toxic expression of genes acquired by horizontal gene transfer. Experimental evidence suggests that both functions have allowed MucR to play a central role in evolution of the zoonotic Brucella strains as highly host-adapted mammalian pathogens.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.