A fructose/H+ symporter controlled by a LacI-type regulator promotes survival of pandemic Vibrio cholerae in seawater

Yutao Liu, Bin Liu, Tingting Xu, Qian Wang, Wendi Li, Jialin Wu, Xiaoyu Zheng, Bin Liu, Ruiying Liu, Xingmei Liu, Xi Guo, Lu Feng () and Lei Wang ()
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Yutao Liu: Ministry of Education
Bin Liu: Ministry of Education
Tingting Xu: Ministry of Education
Qian Wang: Ministry of Education
Wendi Li: Ministry of Education
Jialin Wu: Ministry of Education
Xiaoyu Zheng: Ministry of Education
Bin Liu: Ministry of Education
Ruiying Liu: Ministry of Education
Xingmei Liu: Ministry of Education
Xi Guo: Ministry of Education
Lu Feng: Ministry of Education
Lei Wang: Ministry of Education

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract The bacterium Vibrio cholerae can colonize the human intestine and cause cholera, but spends much of its life cycle in seawater. The pathogen must adapt to substantial environmental changes when moving between seawater and the human intestine, including different availability of carbon sources such as fructose. Here, we use in vitro experiments as well as mouse intestinal colonization assays to study the mechanisms used by pandemic V. cholerae to adapt to these environmental changes. We show that a LacI-type regulator (FruI) and a fructose/H+ symporter (FruT) are important for fructose uptake at low fructose concentrations, as those found in seawater. FruT is downregulated by FruI, which is upregulated when O2 concentrations are low (as in the intestine) by ArcAB, a two-component system known to respond to changes in oxygen levels. As a result, the bacteria predominantly use FruT for fructose uptake under seawater conditions (low fructose, high O2), and use a known fructose phosphotransferase system (PTS, Fpr) for fructose uptake under conditions found in the intestine. PTS activity leads to reduced levels of intracellular cAMP, which in turn upregulate virulence genes. Our results indicate that the FruT/FruI system may be important for survival of pandemic V. cholerae in seawater.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24971-3

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