Helicobacter pylori chemoreceptor TlpC mediates chemotaxis to lactate

Overview on chemotaxis and acid resistance in Helicobacter pylori.

The Helicobacter pylori chemotaxis receptor TlpB (HP0103) is required for pH taxis and for colonization of the gastric mucosa.

The location of Helicobacter pylori in the gastric mucosa of mammals is defined by natural pH gradients within the gastric mucus, which are more alkaline proximal to the mucosal epithelial cells and more acidic toward the lumen. We have used a microscope slide-based pH gradient assay and video data collection system to document pH-tactic behavior. In response to hydrochloric acid (HCl), H. pylo...

Two predicted chemoreceptors of Helicobacter pylori promote stomach infection.

Helicobacter pylori must be motile or display chemotaxis to be able to fully infect mammals, but it is not known how this chemotaxis is directed. We disrupted two genes encoding predicted chemoreceptors, tlpA and tlpC. H. pylori mutants lacking either of these genes are fully motile and chemotactic in vitro and are as able as the wild type to infect mice when they are the sole infecting strains...

Composite system mediates two-step DNA uptake into Helicobacter pylori.

The Gram-negative gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori depends on natural transformation for genomic plasticity, which leads to host adaptation and spread of resistances. Here, we show that H. pylori takes up covalently labeled fluorescent DNA preferentially at the cell poles and that uptake is dependent on the type IV secretion system ComB. By titration of external pH and detection of accessib...

Sinorhizobium meliloti chemoreceptor McpU mediates chemotaxis toward host plant exudates through direct proline sensing.

Bacterial chemotaxis is an important attribute that aids in establishing symbiosis between rhizobia and their legume hosts. Plant roots and seeds exude a spectrum of molecules into the soil to attract their bacterial symbionts. The alfalfa symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti possesses eight chemoreceptors to sense its environment and mediate chemotaxis toward its host. The methyl accepting chemotax...