Probing the heat shock response of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis: the major virulence factor, phospholipase D, is downregulated at 43 degrees C.

Heat shock response genes have been characterised in many organisms. Such genes are often induced not only following heat stress but also following a range of other stresses. In pathogenic bacteria, the common heat shock genes are usually induced during the initial infection process. The identification of other genes regulated during heat shock, besides the classical heat shock genes such as those of the dnaK and groEL operons, may provide information about other cellular responses such as membrane remodelling and nutrient scavenging that may be important in the early stages of infection. In this study, macroarray analysis has been used to identify a number of genes of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis that are either upregulated (e.g. clpB, dnaK) or downregulated (e.g. fagC, fas) in vitro following a heat shock. The major virulence factor, phospholipase D, was found to be highly downregulated.