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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2006, p. 6623-6631, Vol. 72, No. 10
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00624-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Homolog of Bacillus subtilis Trigger Factor in Listeria monocytogenes Is Involved in Stress Tolerance and Bacterial Virulence

Armelle Bigot,{dagger} Eleonore Botton,{dagger} Iharilalao Dubail, and Alain Charbit*

INSERM U-570, CHU Necker-Enfants Malades, 156, rue de Vaugirard, 75730 Paris Cedex 15, France

Received 17 March 2006/ Accepted 21 July 2006

Molecular chaperones play an essential role in the folding of nascent chain polypeptides, as well as in the refolding and degradation of misfolded or aggregated proteins. They also assist in protein translocation and participate in stress functions. We identified a gene, designated tig, encoding a protein homologous to trigger factor (TF), a cytosolic ribosome-associated chaperone, in the genome of Listeria monocytogenes. We constructed a chromosomal {Delta}tig deletion and evaluated the impact of the mutation on bacterial growth in broth under various stress conditions and on pathogenesis. The {Delta}tig deletion did not affect cell viability but impaired survival in the presence of heat and ethanol stresses. We also identified the ffh gene, encoding a protein homologous to the SRP54 eukaryotic component of the signal recognition particle. However, a {Delta}ffh deletion was not tolerated, suggesting that Ffh is essential, as it is in Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. Thus, although dispensable for growth, TF is involved in the stress response of L. monocytogenes. The {Delta}tig mutant showed no or very modest intracellular survival defects in eukaryotic cells. However, in vivo it showed a reduced capacity to persist in the spleens and livers of infected mice, revealing that TF has a role in the pathogenicity of L. monocytogenes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Faculté de Médecine Necker, 156, rue de Vaugirard, 75730 Paris Cedex 15, France. Phone: 33 1-40 61 53 76. Fax: 33 1-40 61 55 92. E-mail: charbit{at}necker.fr.

{dagger} A.B. and E.B. contributed equally to this work.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2006, p. 6623-6631, Vol. 72, No. 10
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00624-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Bigot, A., Raynaud, C., Dubail, I., Dupuis, M., Hossain, H., Hain, T., Chakraborty, T., Charbit, A. (2009). lmo1273, a novel gene involved in Listeria monocytogenes virulence. Microbiology 155: 891-902 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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