Molecular Mimicry: a host subversion strategy employed by Legionella pneumophila
Event details
| Date | 21.03.2023 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Carmen Buchrieser, Pasteur Institute, University of Paris |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
Legionella pneumophila, the etiological agent of Legionnaire’s disease, a severe pneumonia often fatal when not treated promptly, is a Gram-negative bacterium present in fresh and artificial water environments where it replicates in aquatic, protozoan hosts. When aerosolized bacteria are inhaled, they can colonize the respiratory tract, invade alveolar macrophages and replicate therein causing the disease. To replicate intracellularly this bacterium secrets over 330 effectors via a type IV secretion system (T4SS). Certain of these effectors target the nucleus. One of these effectors is a eukaryotic methyltransferase carrying a SET domain (RomA) that methylates K14 of histone H3 (H3K14me3) to counteract host immune responses. However, it is not known how H3K14 methylation occurs due to L. pneumophila infection as this residue is usually acetylated. We have identified a eukaryotic-like histone deacetylase that we named LphD in the L. pneumophila genome. L. pneumophila LphD is secreted by the T4SS, that works in synergy with RomA. The distribution of RomA and LphD within the genus Legionella, their evolution and their functional roles will be discussed.
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- Melanie Blokesch