Phase Variation of Hemoglobin Utilization inNeisseria gonorrhoeae

CJ Chen, C Elkins, PF Sparling - Infection and immunity, 1998 - Am Soc Microbiol
CJ Chen, C Elkins, PF Sparling
Infection and immunity, 1998Am Soc Microbiol
Most Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates are unable to use human hemoglobin as the sole
source of iron for growth (Hgb−), but a minor population is able to do so (Hgb+). This minor
population grows luxuriously on hemoglobin, expresses two outer membrane proteins of 42
kDa (HpuA) and 89 kDa (HpuB), and binds hemoglobin under iron-stressed conditions. In
addition to the previously reported HpuB, we identified and characterized HpuA, which is
encoded by the gene hpuA, located immediately upstream of hpuB. Expression of both …
Abstract
Most Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates are unable to use human hemoglobin as the sole source of iron for growth (Hgb), but a minor population is able to do so (Hgb+). This minor population grows luxuriously on hemoglobin, expresses two outer membrane proteins of 42 kDa (HpuA) and 89 kDa (HpuB), and binds hemoglobin under iron-stressed conditions. In addition to the previously reported HpuB, we identified and characterized HpuA, which is encoded by the gene hpuA, located immediately upstream of hpuB. Expression of both proteins was found to be controlled at the translational level by frameshift mutations in a run of guanine residues within thehpuA sequence encoding the mature HpuA protein. The “on-phase” hemoglobin-utilizing variants contained 10 G’s, while the “off-phase” variants contained 9 G’s. InsertionalhpuB mutants of FA19 Hgb+ and FA1090 Hgb+ no longer expressed HpuB but still produced HpuA. A polar insertional mutation of the upstream hpuA gene in FA1090 Hgb+ eliminated production of both HpuA and HpuB, whereas a nonpolar insertional mutant expressed HpuB only. Insertional mutagenesis of either hpuA or hpuB or both substantially decreased the hemoglobin binding ability of the FA1090 Hgb+ variant and prevented growth on hemoglobin plates. Therefore, both HpuA and HpuB were required for the utilization of hemoglobin for growth.
American Society for Microbiology