Increased Motility in Campylobacter jejuni and Changes in Its Virulence, Fitness, and Morphology Following Protein Expression on Ribosomes with Altered RsmA Methylation

Agnieszka Sałamaszyńska-Guz*, Małgorzata Murawska, Paweł Bącal, Agnieszka Ostrowska, Ewelina Kwiecień, Ilona Stefańska, Stephen Douthwaite

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Infection with Campylobacter jejuni is the major cause of human gastroenteritis in the United States and Europe, leading to debilitating autoimmune sequelae in many cases. While considerable progress has been made in detailing the infectious cycle of C. jejuni, a full understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for virulence remains to be elucidated. Here, we apply a novel approach by modulating protein expression on the pathogen's ribosomes by inactivating a highly conserved rRNA methyltransferase. Loss of the RsmA methyltransferase results in a more motile strain with greater adhesive and cell-invasive properties. These phenotypical effects correlate with enhanced expression of specific proteins related to flagellar formation and function, together with enzymes involved in cell wall/membrane and amino acid synthesis. Despite the enhancement of certain virulent traits, the null strain grows poorly on minimal media and is rapidly out-competed by the wild-type strain. Complementation with an active copy of the rsmA gene rescues most of the traits changed in the mutant. However, the complemented strain overexpresses rsmA and displays new flaws, including loss of the spiral cell shape, which is distinctive for C. jejuni. Proteins linked with altered virulence and morphology are identified here by mass spectrometry proteomic analyses of the strains.

Original languageEnglish
Article number9797
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume25
Issue number18
Number of pages18
ISSN1661-6596
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10. Sept 2024

Keywords

  • Campylobacter jejuni/pathogenicity
  • Ribosomes/metabolism
  • Virulence/genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins/genetics
  • Methyltransferases/metabolism
  • Methylation
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
  • Humans
  • Campylobacter Infections/microbiology
  • Proteomics/methods

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