Metabolic Plasticity Aids Amphotropism of Coxiella burnetii

Abstract

Coxiella burnetii , the causative agent of query (Q) fever in humans, is an obligate intracellular bacterium. C. burnetii can naturally infect a broad range of host organisms (e.g., mammals and arthropods) and cell types. This amphotropic nature of C. burnetii , in combination with its ability to utilize both glycolytic and gluconeogenic carbon sources, suggests that the pathogen relies on metabolic plasticity to replicate in nutritionally diverse intracellular environments.