Affiliation:
1. Center of Excellence for Vaccine Research, Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
) is a by-product of glycerol metabolism in mycoplasmas and has been shown to cause cytotoxicity for cocultured eukaryotic cells. There appears to be selective pressure for mycoplasmas to retain the genes needed for glycerol metabolism. This has generated interest and speculation as to their function during infection. However, the actual effects of glycerol metabolism and H
2
O
2
production on virulence
in vivo
have never been assessed in any
Mycoplasma
species. To this end, we determined that the wild-type (WT) R
low
strain of the avian pathogen
Mycoplasma gallisepticum
is capable of producing H
2
O
2
when grown in glycerol and is cytotoxic to eukaryotic cells in culture. Transposon mutants with mutations in the genes present in the glycerol transport and utilization pathway, namely,
glpO
,
glpK
, and
glpF
, were identified. All mutants assessed were incapable of producing H
2
O
2
and were not cytotoxic when grown in glycerol. We also determined that vaccine strains ts-11 and 6/85 produce little to no H
2
O
2
when grown in glycerol, while the naturally attenuated F strain does produce H
2
O
2
. Chickens were infected with one of two
glpO
mutants, a
glpK
mutant, R
low
, or growth medium, and tracheal mucosal thickness and lesion scores were assessed. Interestingly, all
glp
mutants were reproducibly virulent in the respiratory tracts of the chickens. Thus, there appears to be no link between glycerol metabolism/H
2
O
2
production/cytotoxicity and virulence for this
Mycoplasma
species in its natural host. However, it is possible that glycerol metabolism is required by
M. gallisepticum
in a niche that we have yet to study.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Infectious Diseases,Immunology,Microbiology,Parasitology
Cited by
28 articles.
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