Host-adapted metabolism and its regulation in bacterial pathogens

Citation: Dandekar T and Eisenreich W (2015) Host-adapted metabolism and its regulation in bacterial pathogens. The mutual interaction between bacterial pathogens and their host organisms is a key feature of virulence. Since bacterial pathogens are highly specific in their infection behavior against different host organisms, cell types and cell compartments, the host-pathogen interplay is crucial in bacterial virulence. There is increasing evidence that basic metabolic pathways and fluxes in pathogens are modulated during the infection process as a response to adapt to the specific and dynamic conditions of the host environments, such as various cell types and compartments. Although a manipulation of these adaptation processes could be a key in the future treatment of bacterial infections, our knowledge about these metabolic features and their controlling factors is still limited. Hence, the German research council (DFG) funded priority programme SPP1316 (2008–2014) for the investigation of host-adapted metabolism of bacterial pathogens. Within the SPP1316, a number of groups have investigated in considerable detail how bacterial pathogens adapt their metabolism during colonization of their host organisms, how the metabolism of pathogenic bacteria and host organism is interconnected and which mechanisms of control are active. As a result for these investigations and further studies, various chapters of this " Topic hosted by Frontiers " report on the identification of metabolic pathways that are important for the bacterial pathogen during infection, and on determination of metabolic fluxes. Questions that are addressed by the Topic include: Why are bacteria able to multiply in the body of the host and can cause dis-ease? Which specific toxins and/or invasins are produced? In general, which metabolic adaptations allow bacterial pathogens to colonize their host? Further points that are considered concern the interconnected metabolism of host and pathogen and the regulatory mechanisms that are activated in both pathogen and host. Furthermore, we cover several highly sensitive methods of bioanalyt-ics and high throughput screening approaches developed in recent years. A systematic synopsis of metabolism of bacterial pathogens adapted to host conditions is given here. Further chapters consider main metabolic pathways and fluxes, metabolic reactions of specific pathogens in their respective host niches as well as genetic and regulatory mechanisms of their metabolic adaptation. As a result, an integrated view on the nature and mechanisms in host-adapted bacterial metabolism is represented by the various articles of this Topic. The data show that host-pathogen metabolic adaptation is highly specific at least for most …