THE VIBRIO-CHOLERAE TOXIN-COREGULATED-PILUS GENE TCPI ENCODES A HOMOLOG OF METHYL-ACCEPTING CHEMOTAXIS PROTEINS

Virulence gene activation in Vibrio cholerae is under the control of the ToxR-ToxT regulatory cascade. The ToxR regulon consists of genes required for toxin-coregulated-pilus (TCP) biogenesis, accessory colonization factor genes, cholera toxin genes, and ToxR-activated genes (tag) of unknown function. The tagB gene was isolated by using a tagB::TnphoA fusion junction to probe a V. cholerae O395 bacteriophage lambda library. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that tagB is identical to tcpI, a gene which encodes a protein that negatively regulates the synthesis of the major pilin subunit of TCP (TcpA). Our results show that the tcpI gene encodes a 620 amino-acid protein that shares extensive sequence similarity with the highly conserved signaling domain in methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins. Expression of tcpI in Escherichia cati results in the synthesis of a 71-kDa polypeptide that becomes localized to the inner membrane. Similarly, TcpI-PhoA alkaline phosphatase activity is enriched in V. cholerae inner membrane preparations. Colonies of V. cholerae tcpI::TnphoA mutant cells display increased swarming on solid media when compared with those of the parental V. cholerae O395. Taken together, these observations suggest that TcpI may play a dual role in promoting vibrio colonization of the small bowel. In response to the appropriate environmental signal(s), TcpI permits maximum expression of tcpA while simultaneously reducing vibrio chemotaxis-directed motility. We believe coordinate regulation of colonization and motility determinants, in such a fashion, facilitates efficient V. cholerae microcolony formation.