LoiA directly represses lon gene expression to activate the expression of Salmonella pathogenicity island-1 genes

In this study, we showed that LoiA directly represses the expression of the lon gene during invasion by binding to the promoter region of lon. The activation of S. Typhimurium SPI-1 gene expression by LoiA is associated with its repression of lon. Moreover, through invasion and mouse infection assays, we found that the repression of lon by LoiA contributes to S. Typhimurium invasion of intestinal epithelial cells and virulence in mice. However, LoiA does not influence lon expression during S. Typhimurium growth in macrophages, which may be associated with the low expression level of loiA in macrophages. Collectively, these findings establish the direct regulation of lon by LoiA and describe a novel mechanism by which LoiA regulates SPI-1 gene expression.
Source: Research in Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Source Type: research