American Society for Microbiology

Nhiễm trùng đường hô hấp do Pseudomonas aeruginosa và Burkholderia cepacia đóng vai trò chính trong sinh bệnh học của xơ nang (CF). Bài tổng quan này tóm tắt những tiến bộ mới nhất trong việc hiểu mối tương tác giữa vật chủ và mầm bệnh trong CF với sự nhấn mạnh vào vai trò và kiểm soát của sự chuyển đổi thành dạng nhầy trong P. aeruginosa, hiện tượng này biểu hiện sự thích ứng của loại mầm bệnh cơ hội này với quá trình nhiễm trùng mãn tính trong CF, và sức đề kháng tự nhiên với kháng sinh của B. cepacia, sự lây lan giữa người với người, và đôi khi gây tử vong nhanh chóng do loại vi khuẩn này gây ra. Mặc dù việc hiểu cơ chế chuyển đổi thành dạng nhầy trong P. aeruginosa đã tiến đến mức mà hiện tượng này đã trở thành một hệ thống mô hình để nghiên cứu phản ứng căng thẳng của vi khuẩn trong sinh bệnh học vi sinh, thách thức gần đây hơn với B. cepacia, vốn nổi lên như một mầm bệnh thực sự mạnh mẽ của CF, được thảo luận trong bối cảnh các vấn đề lâm sàng, phân loại, truyền nhiễm và các phương thức tiềm năng của kiểu bệnh lý.

The linkage map of Escherichia coli K-12 depicts the arrangement of genes on the circular chromosome of this organism. The basic units of the map are minutes, determined by the time-of-entry of markers from Hfr into F- strains in interrupted-conjugation experiments. The time-of-entry distances have been refined over the years by determination of the frequency of cotransduction of loci in transduction experiments utilizing bacteriophage P1, which transduces segments of DNA approximately 2 min in length. In recent years, the relative positions of many genes have been determined even more precisely by physical techniques, including the mapping of restriction fragments and the sequencing of many small regions of the chromosome. On the whole, the agreement between results obtained by genetic and physical methods has been remarkably good considering the different levels of accuracy to be expected of the methods used. There are now few regions of the map whose length is still in some doubt. In some regions, genetic experiments utilizing different mutant strains give different map distances. In other regions, the genetic markers available have not been close enough to give accurate cotransduction data. The chromosome is now known to contain several inserted elements apparently derived from lambdoid phages and other sources. The nature of the region in which the termination of replication of the chromosome occurs is now known to be much more complex than the picture given in the previous map. The present map is based upon the published literature through June of 1988. There are now 1,403 loci placed on the linkage group, which may represent between one-third and one-half of the genes in this organism.

Bacteria continuously adapt to changes in their environment. Responses are largely controlled by signal transduction systems that contain two central enzymatic components, a protein kinase that uses adenosine triphosphate to phosphorylate itself at a histidine residue and a response regulator that accepts phosphoryl groups from the kinase. This conserved phosphotransfer chemistry is found in a wide range of bacterial species and operates in diverse systems to provide different regulatory outputs. The histidine kinases are frequently membrane receptor proteins that respond to environmental signals and phosphorylate response regulators that control transcription. Four specific regulatory systems are discussed in detail: chemotaxis in response to attractant and repellent stimuli (Che), regulation of gene expression in response to nitrogen deprivation (Ntr), control of the expression of enzymes and transport systems that assimilate phosphorus (Pho), and regulation of outer membrane porin expression in response to osmolarity and other culture conditions (Omp). Several additional systems are also examined, including systems that control complex developmental processes such as sporulation and fruiting-body formation, systems required for virulent infections of plant or animal host tissues, and systems that regulate transport and metabolism. Finally, an attempt is made to understand how cross-talk between parallel phosphotransfer pathways can provide a global regulatory curcuitry.

The discovery in 1977 that Agrobacterium species can transfer a discrete segment of oncogenic DNA (T-DNA) to the genome of host plant cells has stimulated an intense interest in the molecular biology underlying these plant-microbe associations. This attention in turn has resulted in a series of insights about the biology of these organisms that continue to accumulate at an ever-increasing rate. This excitement was due in part to the notion that this unprecedented interkingdom DNA transfer could be exploited to create transgenic plants containing foreign genes of scientific or commercial importance. In the course of these discoveries, Agrobacterium became one of the best available models for studying the molecular interactions between bacteria and higher organisms. One extensively studied aspect of this association concerns the exchange of chemical signals between Agrobacterium spp. and host plants. Agrobacterium spp. can recognize no fewer than five classes of low-molecular-weight compounds released from plants, and other classes probably await discovery. The most widely studied of these are phenolic compounds, which stimulate the transcription of the genes needed for infection. Other compounds include specific monosaccharides and acidic environments which potentiate vir gene induction, acidic polysaccharides which induce one or more chromosomal genes, and a family of compounds called opines which are released from tumorous plant cells to the bacteria as nutrient sources. Agrobacterium spp. in return release a variety of chemical compounds to plants. The best understood is the transferred DNA itself, which contains genes that in various ways upset the balance of phytohormones, ultimately causing neoplastic cell proliferation. In addition to transferring DNA, some Agrobacterium strains directly secrete phytohormones. Finally, at least some strains release a pectinase, which degrades a component of plant cell walls.