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Infection and Immunity, May 2009, p. 1842-1853, Vol. 77, No. 5
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.01216-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The RNA Chaperone Hfq Is Involved in Stress Response and Virulence in Neisseria meningitidis and Is a Pleiotropic Regulator of Protein Expression{triangledown}

Laura Fantappiè,1 Matteo M. E. Metruccio,1 Kate L. Seib,1 Francesca Oriente,1 Elena Cartocci,1 Francesca Ferlicca,1 Marzia M. Giuliani,1 Vincenzo Scarlato,1,2 and Isabel Delany1*

Novartis Vaccines, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy,1 Department of Biology, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy2

Received 2 October 2008/ Returned for modification 8 January 2009/ Accepted 6 February 2009

The well-conserved protein Hfq has emerged as the key modulator of riboregulation in bacteria. This protein is thought to function as an RNA chaperone and to facilitate base pairing between small regulatory RNA (sRNA) and mRNA targets, and many sRNAs are dependent on the Hfq protein for their regulatory functions. To address the possible role of Hfq in riboregulated circuits in Neisseria meningitidis, we generated an Hfq mutant of the MC58 strain, and the knockout mutant has pleiotropic phenotypes; it has a general growth phenotype in vitro in culture media, and it is sensitive to a wide range of stresses, including those that it may encounter in the host. Furthermore, the expression profile of a vast number of proteins is clearly altered in the mutant, and we have identified 27 proteins by proteomics. All of the phenotypes tested to date are also restored by complementation of Hfq expression in the mutant strain. Importantly, in ex vivo and in vivo models of infection the Hfq mutant is attenuated. These data indicate that Hfq plays a key role in stress response and virulence, and we propose a major role for Hfq in regulation of gene expression. Moreover, this study suggests that in meningococcus there is a large Hfq-mediated sRNA network which so far is largely unexplored.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Novartis Vaccines, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy. Phone: 39 0577 245343. Fax: 39 0577 243564. E-mail: isabel.delany{at}novartis.com

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 17 February 2009.

Editor: J. N. Weiser

Infection and Immunity, May 2009, p. 1842-1853, Vol. 77, No. 5
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.01216-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Link, T. M., Valentin-Hansen, P., Brennan, R. G. (2009). Structure of Escherichia coli Hfq bound to polyriboadenylate RNA. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106: 19292-19297 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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