HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Espariz, M. Articles by Soncini, F. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Espariz, M. Articles by Soncini, F. C. Agricola Articles by Espariz, M. Articles by Soncini, F. C.

Dissecting the Salmonella response to copper

Martín Espariz

Susana K. Checa

Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531, S2002LRK-Rosario, Argentina

Correspondence
Fernando C. Soncini
soncini{at}ibr.gov.ar

Intracellular copper homeostasis in bacteria is maintained as the result of a complex ensemble of cellular processes that in Escherichia coli involve the coordinated action of two systems, cue and cus. In contrast, the pathogenic bacterium Salmonella harbours only the cue regulon, including copA, which is shown here to be transcriptionally controlled by CueR. Mutant strains in the CueR-regulated genes were constructed to characterize the response of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to high concentrations of extracellular copper under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Unlike its counterpart in E. coli, inactivation of cuiD displays the most severe phenotype and is also required for copper tolerance under anaerobic conditions. Deletion of copA has a mild effect in aerobiosis, but strongly impairs survival in the absence of oxygen. In a copA strain, a second Salmonella-specific P-type ATPase, GolT, can substitute the copper transporter, diminishing the effect of its deletion. The overall results highlight the importance of the cue system for controlling intracellular copper stress. The observed differences between Salmonella and E. coli in handling copper excess may contribute to our understanding of the distinct capability of these related pathogenic bacteria to survive outside the host.

These authors contributed equally to this work.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. K. Ward, E. A. Hoye, and A. M. Talaat The Global Responses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to Physiological Levels of Copper J. Bacteriol., April 15, 2008; 190(8): 2939 - 2946. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]