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A mathematical model of flagellar gene regulation and construction in Salmonella enterica
- Source :
- PLoS Computational Biology, Vol 16, Iss 10, p e1007689 (2020), PLoS Computational Biology
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2020.
-
Abstract
- Millions of people worldwide develop foodborne illnesses caused by Salmonella enterica (S. enterica) every year. The pathogenesis of S. enterica depends on flagella, which are appendages that the bacteria use to move through the environment. Interestingly, populations of genetically identical bacteria exhibit heterogeneity in the number of flagella. To understand this heterogeneity and the regulation of flagella quantity, we propose a mathematical model that connects the flagellar gene regulatory network to flagellar construction. A regulatory network involving more than 60 genes controls flagellar assembly. The most important member of the network is the master operon, flhDC, which encodes the FlhD4C2 protein. FlhD4C2 controls the construction of flagella by initiating the production of hook basal bodies (HBBs), protein structures that anchor the flagella to the bacterium. By connecting a model of FlhD4C2 regulation to a model of HBB construction, we investigate the roles of various feedback mechanisms. Analysis of our model suggests that a combination of regulatory mechanisms at the protein and transcriptional levels induce bistable FlhD4C2 levels and heterogeneous numbers of flagella. Also, the balance of regulatory mechanisms that become active following HBB construction is sufficient to provide a counting mechanism for controlling the total number of flagella produced.<br />Author summary Salmonella causes foodborne illnesses in millions of people worldwide each year. Flagella, which are appendages that the bacteria use to move through the environment, are a key factor in the infection process. Populations of genetically identical bacteria have been observed to contain both motile cells, generally with 6–10 flagella, and nonmotile cells, with no flagella. In this paper, we use mathematical models of the gene network that regulates flagellar construction to explore how the bacteria controls the number of flagella produced. We suggest that a bacterium must accumulate a threshold amount of a master regulator protein to initiate flagella production and failure to reach the threshold results in no flagella. Downstream mechanisms that impact the amount of master regulator protein are sufficient to determine how many flagella are produced.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Bacterial Diseases
Operon
Physiology
Gene regulatory network
Gene Expression
Restriction Fragment Mapping
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
0302 clinical medicine
Protein structure
Medical Conditions
Mathematical and Statistical Techniques
Salmonella
Medicine and Health Sciences
Basal body
Gene Regulatory Networks
Biology (General)
Regulation of gene expression
Ecology
biology
Mathematical Models
Physics
Salmonella enterica
Condensed Matter Physics
Cell biology
Bacterial Pathogens
Infectious Diseases
Computational Theory and Mathematics
Flagella
Medical Microbiology
Modeling and Simulation
Physical Sciences
Nucleation
Cellular Structures and Organelles
Pathogens
Research Article
Pathogen Motility
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis
Virulence Factors
QH301-705.5
Flagellum
Research and Analysis Methods
Models, Biological
Microbiology
03 medical and health sciences
Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Bacterial Proteins
Enterobacteriaceae
Genetics
Gene Regulation
Molecular Biology Techniques
Gene
Molecular Biology
Microbial Pathogens
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Secretion
Bacteria
Gene Mapping
Organisms
Computational Biology
Membrane Proteins
Biology and Life Sciences
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Cell Biology
biology.organism_classification
Basal Bodies
030104 developmental biology
Trans-Activators
Physiological Processes
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 15537358
- Volume :
- 16
- Issue :
- 10
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLoS Computational Biology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....8791db0a846284d6e8de528639a5e68f