The Role of the Transcription Factors MtrR and MtrA in the Fitness of the Pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance has been a health burden for humankind since the inception of antibiotic therapy. Generally, antibiotic resistance levies a fitness toll on the bacterium; however, previous work showed that the MtrC-MtrD-MtrE antibiotic efflux pump of the pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae is important for bacterial colonization of the murine lower genital tract in the absence of antibiotic substrates. The mtrCDE operon is under the control of MtrR, a repressor protein which, when mutated, increases the level of resistance to MtrC-MtrD-MtrE substrates. Results here show that mutation of mtrR confers an in vivo fitness advantage to N. gonorrhoeae via derepression of the mtrCDE operon. Conversely, when MtrA, the transcriptional activator of mtrCDE, is mutated MtrA-deficient strains are attenuated in vivo.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 19, 2007
- Accession Number
- AD1014066
Entities
People
- Douglas M. Warner
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences