Reciprocal regulation of Yersinia pestis biofilm formation and virulence by RovM and RovA.

RovA is known to enhance Yersinia pestis virulence by directly upregulating the psa loci. This work presents a complex gene regulatory paradigm involving the reciprocal regulatory action of RovM and RovA on the expression of biofilm and virulence genes as well as on their own genes. RovM and RovA enhance and inhibit Y. pestis biofilm production, respectively, whereas RovM represses virulence in mice. RovM directly stimulates the transcription of hmsT, hmsCDE and rovM, while indirectly enhancing hmsHFRS transcription. It also indirectly represses hmsP transcription. By contrast, RovA directly represses hmsT transcription and indirectly inhibits waaAE-coaD transcription, while RovM inhibits psaABC and psaEF transcription by directly repressing rovA transcription. rovM expression is significantly upregulated at 26°C (the temperature of the flea gut) relative to 37°C (the warm-blooded host temperature). We speculate that upregulation of rovM together with downregulation of rovA in the flea gut would promote Y. pestis biofilm formation while inhibiting virulence gene expression, leading to a more transmissible infection of this pathogen in fleas. Once the bacterium shifts to a lifestyle in the warm-blooded hosts, inhibited RovM production accompanied by recovered RovA synthesis would encourage virulence factor production and inhibit biofilm gene expression.

Liu L ，Fang H ，Yang H ，Zhang Y ，Han Y ，Zhou D ，Yang R ... -  《Open Biology》

A LysR-Type Transcriptional Regulator, RovM, Senses Nutritional Cues Suggesting that It Is Involved in Metabolic Adaptation of Yersinia pestis to the Flea Gut.

Vadyvaloo V ，Hinz AK 《PLoS One》

BfvR, an AraC-Family Regulator, Controls Biofilm Formation and pH6 Antigen Production in Opposite Ways in Yersinia pestis Biovar Microtus.

Fang H ，Liu L ，Zhang Y ，Yang H ，Yan Y ，Ding X ，Han Y ，Zhou D ，Yang R ... -  《Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology》

Plasmid pPCP1-derived sRNA HmsA promotes biofilm formation of Yersinia pestis.

Liu Z ，Gao X ，Wang H ，Fang H ，Yan Y ，Liu L ，Chen R ，Zhou D ，Yang R ，Han Y ... -  《BMC MICROBIOLOGY》

RovM, a novel LysR-type regulator of the virulence activator gene rovA, controls cell invasion, virulence and motility of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis.

Heroven AK ，Dersch P 《MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY》