<i>Rickettsia rickettsii</i> RoaM negatively regulates expression of a limited number of rickettsial genes
RoaM was previously shown to repress the production of actin tails by unknown mechanisms. The <i>roaM</i> gene is negatively selected for in cell culture resulting in hyper-spreading mutants. This work reveals that rather than specifically regulating motility in <i>Rickettsia rickettsii</i>, a set of rickettsial genes is downregulated that includes the type IV secreted effector, <i>rarP2</i>, as well as two other secreted, putative effectors. Relatively few secreted effectors have been identified in <i>Rickettsia</i>. RoaM appears to be part of a larger biological program encompassing active spreading in mammalian cells and may be a critical component for <i>R. rickettsii</i> to transition from arthropod to mammalian host.
Authors
- Tina R. Clark (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8377-1278)
- Justin Lack (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0584-4010)
- Ted Hackstadt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1367-5528)
- Elisabeth Meyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3108-6017)
- Craig Martens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8112-2234)
- Rebecca L. Miller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1227-5891)
- Stacy Ricklefs
- Sarah L. Anzick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4907-513X)
- Myndi G. Holbrook (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2376-2633)
- Adam M. Nock (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2142-5334)
Institutions
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- mSphere
- Published
- 2025-04-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/msphere.00077-25
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.05
Funders
- NHLBI Division of Intramural Research