Fe³⁺-dependent epistasis between the CpxR-activated loci and the PmrA-activated LPS modification loci in Salmonella enterica

Abstract

Bacteria utilize varying combinations of two-component regulatory systems, many of which respond and adapt closely to stress conditions, thus expanding their niche steadily. While mechanisms of recognition and avoidance of the specific Fe³⁺ signal by the PmrA/PmrB system is well understood, those of the CpxR/CpxA system are more complex because they can be induced by various stress conditions, which, in turn, expresses a variety of phenotypes. Here, we highlight another aspect of the CpxR/CpxA system; mutations in degP and yqjA genes, which are under the control of the system, exhibit an iron sensitive phenotype in the mutant background defective in the PmrA-dependent gene products that alter the pyrophosphate status of the lipid A moiety of lipopolysaccharide in Salmonella enterica. Therefore, after the PmrA/PmrB-mediated Fe³⁺-dependent control of the pyrophosphate status on the cell surface, the CpxR/CpxA system is one of the second layers of envelope stress response that allows adaptation to high Fe³⁺ conditions in this bacterium.