Zinc Transporters YbtX and ZnuABC Are Required for the Virulence of Yersinia pestis in Bubonic and Pneumonic Plague in Mice

Authors

Alexander G. Bobrov, Washington State University
Olga Kirillina, Washington State University
Marina Y. Fosso, University of KentuckyFollow
Jacqueline D. Fetherston, University of KentuckyFollow
M. Clarke Miller, University of North Georgia
Tiva T. VanCleave, University of Louisville
Joseph A. Burlison, University of Louisville
William K. Arnold, University of KentuckyFollow
Matthew B. Lawrenz, University of Louisville
Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova, University of KentuckyFollow
Robert D. Perry, University of KentuckyFollow

Abstract

A number of bacterial pathogens require the ZnuABC Zinc (Zn²⁺) transporter and/or a second Zn²⁺ transport system to overcome Zn²⁺ sequestration by mammalian hosts. Previously we have shown that in addition to ZnuABC, Yersinia pestis possesses a second Zn²⁺ transporter that involves components of the yersiniabactin (Ybt), siderophore-dependent iron transport system. Synthesis of the Ybt siderophore and YbtX, a member of the major facilitator superfamily, are both critical components of the second Zn²⁺ transport system. Here we demonstrate that a ybtX znu double mutant is essentially avirulent in mouse models of bubonic and pneumonic plague while a ybtX mutant retains high virulence in both plague models. While sequestration of host Zn is a key nutritional immunity factor, excess Zn appears to have a significant antimicrobial role in controlling intracellular bacterial survival. Here, we demonstrate that ZntA, a Zn²⁺ exporter, plays a role in resistance to Zn toxicity in vitro, but that a zntA zur double mutant retains high virulence in both pneumonic and bubonic plague models and survival in macrophages. We also confirm that Ybt does not directly bind Zn²⁺in vitro under the conditions tested. However, we detect a significant increase in Zn²⁺-binding ability of filtered supernatants from a Ybt⁺ strain compared to those from a strain unable to produce the siderophore, supporting our previously published data that Ybt biosynthetic genes are involved in the production of a secreted Zn-binding molecule (zincophore). Our data suggest that Ybt or a modified Ybt participate in or promote Zn-binding activity in culture supernatants and is involved in Zn acquisition in Y. pestis.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2017

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Metallomics, v. 9, issue 6, p. 757-772.

This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2017

The copyright holder has granted the permission for posting the article here.

The document available for download is the authors' post-peer-review final draft of the article.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1039/C7MT00126F

Funding Information

This work was supported by Public Health Services Grant R01 AI33481 from the US National Institutes of Health and by startup funds from the University of Kentucky (to S.G.-T.). M.B.L. and T.T.V. were supported by Public Health Services grant R21 AI119557 from the US National Institutes of Health.

Related Content

Refer to Web version on PubMed Central for supplementary material.

Repository Citation

Bobrov, Alexander G.; Kirillina, Olga; Fosso, Marina Y.; Fetherston, Jacqueline D.; Miller, M. Clarke; VanCleave, Tiva T.; Burlison, Joseph A.; Arnold, William K.; Lawrenz, Matthew B.; Garneau-Tsodikova, Sylvie; and Perry, Robert D., "Zinc Transporters YbtX and ZnuABC Are Required for the Virulence of Yersinia pestis in Bubonic and Pneumonic Plague in Mice" (2017). Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Faculty Publications. 139.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/microbio_facpub/139