The role of acetyl-phosphate in the pathogenesis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae MS11

N. gonorrhoeae is the aetiological agent of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea. The bacteria has adapted to be an obligate human pathogen and it possesses the ability to survive intracellularly by the expression of virulence factors. Post-translational modifications are found in all organisms, and are involved in the regulation of the metabolism and gene transcription. In this study we investigated the acetylation by acetyl-phosphate in N. gonorrhoeae by deleting genes from the phosphotransacetylase-acetate kinase pathway to control acetyl-phosphate production. We found that the metabolism and virulence was altered by the change of acetyl-phosphate concentration, molecule responsible for the acetylation of proteins. Furthermore, we proposed a regulatory pathway for the PTA-AK pathway which involved the histone-like family deacetylase (HDAC). Finally, the data obtained suggests that the enzyme Pta is essential for the pathogenesis of N. gonorrhoeae.