Virulence-associated nucleic acid sequences and uses thereof

Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology – Measuring or testing process involving enzymes or...

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C530S350000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06355411

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to nucleic acid molecules, genes, and polypeptides that are related to microbial pathogenicity.
Pathogens employ a number of genetic strategies to cause infection and, occasionally, disease in their hosts. The expression of microbial pathogenicity is dependent upon complex genetic regulatory circuits. Knowledge of the themes in microbial pathogenicity is necessary for understanding pathogen virulence mechanisms and for the development of new “anti-virulence or anti-pathogenic” agents, which are needed to combat infection and disease.
In one particular example, the opportunistic human pathogen,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, is a ubiquitous gram-negative bacterium isolated from soil, water, and plants (Palleroni, J. N. In:
Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology
, ed., J. G. Holt, Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, Md., pp. 141-172, 1984). A variety of
P. aeruginosa
virulence factors have been described and the majority of these, such as exotoxin A, elastase, and phospholipase C, were first detected biochemically on the basis of their cytotoxic activity (Fink, R. B.,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa the Opportunist: Pathogenesis and Disease
, Boca Raton, CRC Press Inc., 1993). Subsequently, the genes corresponding to these factors or genes that regulate the expression of these factors were identified. In general, most pathogenicity-related genes in mammalian bacterial pathogens were first detected using a bio-assay. In contrast to mammalian pathogens, simple systematic genetic strategies have been routinely employed to identify pathogenicity-related genes in plant pathogens. Following random transposon-mediated mutagenesis, thousands of mutant clones of the phytopathogen are inoculated separately into individual plants to determine if they contain a mutation that affects the pathogenic interaction with the host (Boucher et al.,
J. Bacteriol.
168:5626-5623, 1987; Comai and Kosuge,
J. Bacteriol.
149:40-46, 1982; Lindgren et al.,
J. Bacteriol.
168:512-522, 1986; Rahme et al.,
J. Bacteriol.
173:575-586, 1991; Willis et al.,
Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact.
3:149-156, 1990). Comparable experiments using whole-animal mammalian pathogenicity models are not feasible because of the vast numbers of animals that must be subjected to pathogenic attack.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
We have identified and characterized a number of nucleic acid molecules, polypeptides, and small molecules (e.g., phenazines) that are involved in conferring pathogenicity and virulence to a pathogen. This discovery therefore provides a basis for drug-screening assays aimed at evaluating and identifying “anti-virulence” agents which are capable of blocking pathogenicity and virulence of a pathogen, e.g., by selectively switching pathogen gene expression on or off, or which inactivate or inhibit the activity of a polypeptide which is involved in the pathogenicity of a microbe. Drugs that target these molecules are useful as such anti-virulence agents.
In one aspect, the invention features an isolated nucleic acid molecule including a sequence substantially identical to any one of BI48 (SEQ ID NO:1), ORF2 (SEQ ID NO:2), ORF3 (SEQ ID NO:4), ORF602c (SEQ ID NO:6), ORF214 (SEQ ID NO:8), ORF1242c (SEQ ID NO:10), ORF594 (SEQ ID NO:12), ORF1040 (SEQ ID NO:14), ORF1640c (SEQ ID NO:16), ORF2228c (SEQ ID NO:18), ORF2068c (SEQ ID NO:20), ORF1997 (SEQ ID NO:22), ORF2558c (SEQ ID NO:24), ORF2929c (SEQ ID NO:26), ORF3965c (SEQ ID NO:28), ORF3218 (SEQ ID NO:30), ORF3568 (SEQ ID NO:32), ORF4506c (SEQ ID NO:34), ORF3973 (SEQ ID NO:36), ORF4271 (SEQ ID NO:38), ORF4698 (SEQ ID NO:40), ORF5028 (SEQ ID NO:42), ORF5080 (SEQ ID NO:44), ORF6479c (SEQ ID NO:46), ORF5496 (SEQ ID NO:48), ORF5840 (SEQ ID NO:50), ORF5899 (SEQ ID NO:52), ORF6325 (SEQ ID NO:54), ORF7567c (SEQ ID NO:56), ORF7180 (SEQ ID NO:58), ORF7501 (SEQ ID NO:60), ORF7584 (SEQ ID NO:62), ORF8208c (SEQ ID NO:64), ORF8109 (SEQ ID NO:66), ORF9005Sc (SEQ ID NO:68), ORF8222 (SEQ ID NO:70), ORF8755c (SEQ ID NO:72), ORF9431c (SEQ ID NO:74), ORF9158 (SEQ ID NO:76), ORF10125c (SEQ ID NO:78), ORF9770 (SEQ ID NO:80), ORF9991 (SEQ ID NO82), ORF10765c (SEQ ID N0:84), ORF10475 (SEQ ID NO:86), ORF11095c (SEQ ID NO:88), ORF11264 (SEQ ID NO:90), ORF11738 (SEQ ID NO:92), ORF12348c (SEQ ID NO:94), ORF12314c (SEQ ID NO:96), ORF13156c (SEQ ID NO:98), ORF12795 (SEQ ID NO:100), ORF13755c (SEQ ID NO:210), ORF13795c (SEQ ID NO:212), ORF14727c (SEQ ID NO:214), ORF13779 (SEQ ID NO:216), ORF14293c (SEQ ID NO:218), ORF14155 (SEQ ID NO:220), ORF14360 (SEQ ID NO:222), ORF15342c (SEQ ID NO:224), ORF15260c (SEQ ID NO:226), ORF14991 (SEQ ID NO:228), ORF15590c (SEQ ID NO:230), ORF15675c (SEQ ID NO:232), ORF16405 (SEQ ID NO:234), ORF16925 (SEQ ID NO:236), ORF17793c (SEQ ID NO:238), ORF18548c (SEQ ID NO:240), ORF17875 (SEQ ID NO:242), ORF18479 (SEQ ID NO:244), ORF19027c (SEQ ID NO:246), ORF19305 (SEQ ID NO:248), ORF19519 (SEQ ID NO:250), ORF19544 (SEQ ID NO:252), ORF20008 (SEQ ID NO:254), ORF20623c (SEQ ID NO:256), ORF21210c (SEQ ID NO:258), ORF21493c (SEQ ID NO:260), ORF21333 (SEQ ID NO:262), ORF22074c (SEQ ID NO:264), ORF21421 (SEQ ID NO:266), ORF22608c (SEQ ID NO:268), ORF22626 (SEQ ID NO:270), ORF23228 (SEQ ID NO:272), ORF23367 (SEQ ID NO:274), ORF25103c (SEQ ID NO:276), ORF23556 (SEQ ID NO:278), ORF26191c (SEQ ID NO:280), ORF23751 (SEQ ID NO:282), ORF24222 (SEQ ID NO:284), ORF24368 (SEQ ID NO:286), ORF24888c (SEQ ID NO:288), ORF25398c (SEQ ID NO:290), ORF25892c (SEQ ID NO:292), ORF25110 (SEQ ID NO:294), ORF25510 (SEQ ID NO:296), ORF26762c (SEQ ID NO:298), ORF26257 (SEQ ID NO:300), ORF26844c (SEQ ID NO:302), ORF26486 (SEQ ID NO:304), ORF26857c (SEQ ID NO:306), ORF27314c (SEQ ID NO:308), ORF27730c (SEQ ID NO:310), ORF26983 (SEQ ID NO:312), ORF28068c (SEQ ID NO:314), ORF27522 (SEQ ID NO:316), ORF28033c (SEQ ID NO:318), ORF29701c (SEQ ID NO:320), ORF28118 (SEQ ID NO:322), ORF28129 (SEQ ID NO:324), ORF29709c (SEQ ID NO:326), ORF29189 (SEQ ID NO:328), ORF29382 (SEQ ID NO:330), ORF30590c (SEQ ID NO:332), ORF29729 (SEQ ID NO:334), ORF30221 (SEQ ID NO:336), ORF30736c (SEQ ID NO:338), ORF30539 (SEQ ID NO:340), ORF31247c (SEQ ID NO:342), ORF39063c (SEQ ID NO:344), ORF31539c (SEQ ID NO:346), ORF31222 (SEQ ID NO:348), ORF31266 (SEQ ID NO:350), ORF31661c (SEQ ID NO:352), ORF32061c (SEQ ID NO:354), ORF32072c (SEQ ID NO:356), ORF31784 (SEQ ID NO:358), ORF32568c (SEQ ID NO:360), ORF33157c (SEQ ID NO:362), ORF32530 (SEQ ID NO:364), ORF33705c (SEQ ID NO:366), ORF32832 (SEQ ID NO:368), ORF33547c (SEQ ID NO:370), ORF33205 (SEQ ID NO:372), ORF33512 (SEQ ID NO:374), ORF33771 (SEQ ID NO:376), ORF34385c (SEQ ID NO:378), ORF33988 (SEQ ID NO:380), ORF34274 (SEQ ID NO:382), ORF34726c (SEQ ID NO:384), ORF34916 (SEQ ID NO:386), ORF35464c (SEQ ID NO:388), ORF35289 (SEQ ID NO:390), ORF35410 (SEQ ID NO:392), ORF35907c (SEQ ID NO:394),ORF35534 (SEQ ID NO:396), ORF35930 (SEQ ID NO:398), ORF36246 (SEQ ID NO:400), ORF26640c (SEQ ID NO:402), ORF36769 (SEQ ID NO:404), ORF37932c (SEQ ID NO:406), ORF38640c (SEQ ID NO:408), ORF39309c (SEQ ID NO:410), ORF38768 (SEQ ID NO:412), ORF40047c (SEQ ID NO:414), ORF40560c (SEQ ID NO:416), ORF40238 (SEQ ID NO:418), ORF40329 (SEQ ID NO:420), QRF40709c (SEQ ID NO:422), ORF40507 (SEQ ID NO:424), ORF41275c (SEQ ID NO:426), ORF42234c (SEQ ID NO:428), ORF41764c (SEQ ID NO:430), ORF41284 (SEQ ID NO:432), ORF41598 (SEQ ID NO:434), ORF42172c (SEQ ID NO:436), ORF42233c (SEQ ID NO:451), 33A9 (SEQ ID NO:102, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, and 198), 34B12 (SEQ ID NO:104), 34B12-ORF1 (SEQ ID NO:105), 34B12-ORF2 SEQ ID NO:106), 36A4 (SEQ ID NO:109), 36A4 contig (SEQ ID NO:111), 23A2 (SEQ ID NO:112), 3E8 phn(−)(SEQ ID NO:114), 3E8 contigPAO1 (SEQ ID NO:115), 34H4 (SEQ ID NO:118), 33C7 (SEQ ID NO:119), 25a12.3 (SEQ ID NO:120), 8C12 (SEQ ID NO:121), 2A8 (SEQ ID NO:122), 41A5 (SEQ ID NO:123), 50E12 (SEQ ID NO:124), 35A9 (SEQ ID NO:125), pho23 (SEQ ID NO:126), 16G12 (SEQ ID NO:127), 25F1 (SEQ ID NO:128), PA14 degP (SEQ ID NO:131), 1126 contig (SEQ ID NO:135), contig 1344 (SEQ ID NO:136), ORFA (SEQ ID NO:153), ORFB (SEQ ID NO:154), ORFC (SEQ ID NO:155), phzR (SEQ

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