Background: C. jejuni modify the flagellar protein FlgG and lipid A with phosphoethanolamine. Results: The C. jejuni phosphoethanolamine transferase EptC modifies FlgG at position Thr 75 . Conclusion: Phosphoethanolamine modification of FlgG is required for motility, whereas modification of lipid A with phosphoethanolamine results in resistance to antimicrobial peptides. Significance: Understanding how bacterial surface modifications influence and regulate virulence is key for the development of novel therapeutics.

Summary Most gram-negative organisms produce lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a complex macromolecule anchored to the bacterial membrane by the lipid A moiety. Lipid A is synthesized via the Raetz pathway, a conserved nine-step enzymatic process first characterized in Escherichia coli. The Epsilonproteobacterium Helicobacter pylori uses the Raetz pathway to synthesize lipid A; however, only eight of nine enzymes in the pathway have been identified in this organism. Here, we identify the missing acyltransferase, Jhp0255, which transfers a secondary acyl chain to the 3′-linked primary acyl chain of lipid A, an activity similar to that of E. coli LpxM. This enzyme, reannotated as LpxJ due to limited sequence similarity with LpxM, catalyzes addition of a C12:0 or C14:0 acyl chain to the 3′-linked primary acyl chain of lipid A, complementing an E. coli LpxM mutant. Enzymatic assays demonstrate that LpxJ and homologs in Campylobacter jejuni and Wolinella succinogenes can act before the 2′ secondary acyltransferase, LpxL, as well as the 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid (Kdo) transferase, KdtA. Ultimately, LpxJ is one member of a large class of acyltransferases found in a diverse range of organisms that lack an E. coli LpxM homolog, suggesting that LpxJ participates in lipid A biosynthesis in place of an LpxM homolog.