Abstract
Pathogenic microbes commonly respond to environmental cues in the host by activating specialized protein secretion systems. Mycobacterium tuberculosis uses the specialized Type VII ESX protein secretion systems to transport a subset of effector proteins. The ESX-5 secretion system is involved in virulence, but both the mechanism of regulation and activating signal were unknown. Our work, reviewed here, has established that the phosphate sensing Pst/SenX3–RegX3 system directly activates ESX-5 secretion in response to phosphate limitation, a relevant environmental signal likely encountered by M. tuberculosis in the host. This review focuses on how elucidation of the ESX-5 regulatory network provides insight into its biological roles, which may include both phosphate acquisition and pathogenesis.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 759-763 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Current Genetics |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 1 2016 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by institutional start-up funds from the University of Minnesota (ADT).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Keywords
- ESX secretion
- Pst system
- RegX3
- Type VII secretion
