An integrated genomic regulatory network of virulence-related transcriptional factors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Journal:
- Nature Communications
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1038/s41467-019-10778-w
- Affiliations:
- 3
- Authors:
- 7
Research Highlight
A network analysis of virulence control
© Callista Images/Getty
A network analysis of the relationships between key regulatory proteins and the genes they target could help scientists discover new drugs for treating Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.
A team that included researchers from Nankai University probed the genome-wide binding patterns of 20 transcription factors that control quorum sensing and protein secretion systems in P. aeruginosa, a rod-shaped bacterium that often sickens people in hospitals.
After identifying and experimentally validating 347 genes as targets of these virulence-associated transcription factors, the researchers mapped all the interactions between the proteins and their target DNA — creating what they call the Pseudomonas aeruginosa genomic regulatory network, or PAGnet for short.
The tool, which is freely available online at pagnetwork.org, revealed functional crosstalk between various transcription factors and helped the authors discover new functions of certain proteins. Drugs that target certain nodes in this network could help limit the ability of P. aeruginosa to infect people.
References
- Nature Communications 10, 2931 (2019). doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-10778-w
| Institutions | Authors | Share |
|---|---|---|
| City University of Hong Kong (CityU), China | 0.57 | |
| Nankai University (NKU), China | 0.29 | |
| City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute (CityU Shenzhen), China | 0.14 |