Iron Shortage and Bile Salts Play a Major Role in the Expression of ompK Gene in Vibrio anguillarum

Abstract

The outer membrane protein K, OmpK first identified in Vibrio parahaemolyticus has been shown to be a receptor for a broad host range vibriophage KVP40 infecting members of the Vibrionaceae. In the study, the effect of culture conditions on the expression of ompK in V. anguillarum was studied using real-time PCR. The expression increased significantly in the presence of bile salts and iron chelating agent 2, 2' bipyridine, suggesting a role for this protein in bile resistance and also in iron acquisition by V. anguillarum. OmpK induction by iron limitation and the presence of bile salts was reconfirmed by western blot technique after growing the cells in trypticase soy broth supplemented with bile salts, blood and 2, 2' bipyridine. We surmise that the expression of OmpK protein of V. anguillarum is bile salt and iron chelating agent-dependent.

Quorum Sensing Determines the Choice of Antiphage Defense Strategy in Vibrio anguillarum

“…Interestingly, ompK expression was in fact enhanced in phage-amended wild-type and Δ vanT cultures relative to control cultures without phages. OmpK is a porin-like protein which has been suggested to be involved in bile salt resistance, as well as iron acquisition ( 25 ). We show here that OmpK also plays a role in the ability of V. anguillarum to use glucose-1-phosphate, glucose-6-phosphate, cis -aconitic acid, l -alaninamide, and l -alanine as growth substrates.…”

A comprehensive review of Vibrio (Listonella) anguillarum: ecology, pathology and prevention

“…The gene omp K encodes for another outer‐membrane protein which is dependent upon bile salts and iron‐chelating agents for expression suggesting that the protein plays a role in survival mechanisms within a host (Hamod et al . ). The pathogen also contains a 1755‐bp chitinase gene vac which is believed to contribute to virulence in crustaceans, but the notion remains unverified (Hirono et al .…”