Published April 5, 2022 | Version v1
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Listeria monocytogenes requires cellular respiration for NAD+ regeneration and pathogenesis

Description

Cellular respiration is essential for multiple bacterial pathogens and a validated antibiotic target. In addition to driving oxidative phosphorylation, bacterial respiration has a variety of ancillary functions that obscure its contribution to pathogenesis. We find here that the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes encodes two respiratory pathways which are partially functionally redundant and indispensable for pathogenesis. Loss of respiration decreased NAD+ regeneration, but this could be specifically reversed by heterologous expression of a water-forming NADH oxidase (NOX). NOX expression fully rescued intracellular growth defects and increased L. monocytogenes loads >1,000- fold in a mouse infection model. Consistent with NAD+ regeneration maintaining L. monocytogenes viability and enabling immune evasion, a respiration-deficient strain exhibited elevated bacteriolysis within the host cytosol and NOX expression rescued this phenotype. These studies show that NAD+ regeneration represents a major role of L. monocytogenes respiration and highlight the nuanced relationship between bacterial metabolism, physiology, and pathogenesis.

Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files.

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Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.7554/eLife.75424
Other
oai:uchicago.tind.io:9874

Funding

National Institutes of Health
T32GM007215
National Institutes of Health
R01AI137070
National Institutes of Health
R01AI073843
National Institutes of Health
1P01AI063302
National Institutes of Health
1R01AI27655
National Institutes of Health
K22AI144031
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Ford Foundation Fellowship
University of California
Dissertation-Year Fellowship
Kinship Foundation
Searle Scholars Program
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program
Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Postdoctoral Enrichment Program
Vanderbilt University
Academic Pathways Postdoctoral Fellowship
Department of Energy
DE-AC02-05CH11231

UChicago Information

Division(s)
Biological Sciences Division
Department(s)
Microbiology
Center(s) or Institute(s)
Duchossois Family Institute