Files
Download Full Text (1001 KB)
Keywords
Abstract, pathways, Experiments, Future, Conclusion
Abstract
Pectobacterium carotovorum is a plant-pathogenic bacterium, causing soft rot diseases in vegetables such as potatoes and carrots. Mainly, this is achieved by the production of plant cell walldegrading enzymes, allowing for invasion of host cells. The general mechanisms underlying the pathogenicity of P. carotovorum are well characterized, but the phenotypic effects of some core metabolic processes are not. An important part of metabolism in bacteria is pyruvate production and utilization as a metabolic intermediate. P. carotovorum has two critical genes— pflB and aceE—that play roles in directing pyruvate metabolism. PflB encodes pyruvate formate-lyase, enabling the bacterium to convert pyruvate into formate and acetyl-CoA under low-oxygen conditions. AceE is integral to the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, which operates more efficiently in oxygenrich environments, funneling pyruvate into the bacterium’s principal energy-generating cycles. These two genes, when knocked out, appear to decrease overall virulence of P. carotovorum.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Shreeve, Ethan; Naylor, Foxx; and Schachterle, Jeffrey, "AceE and PflB: Interference in oxygen independent or dependent metabolic pathways affect virulence of P. carotovorum" (2025). Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025. 73.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/library_studentposters_2025/73
Document Type
Book
Publication Date
2025
Language
English
College
Life Sciences
Department
Microbiology and Molecular Biology
Copyright Use Information
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/