M. tuberculosis phoP mutant lacking mcr7

The PhoPR two-component system is essential for virulence in Mycobacterium tuberculosis where it controls expression of approximately 2% of the genes, including those for the ESX-1 secretion apparatus, a major virulence determinant. Mutations in phoP lead to compromised production of pathogen-specific cell wall components and attenuation both ex vivo and in vivo. The PhoP regulon comprises several transcriptional regulators as well as genes for polyketide synthases and PE/PPE proteins. The most prominent site of PhoP regulation was located in the intergenic region between rv2395 and PE_PGRS41, where the mcr7 gene codes for a small non-coding RNA (ncRNA). Our prediction suggested that Mcr7 might regulate tatC at the post-transcriptional level by occlusion of the RBS and the consequent translational arrest. Consequently, we studied the secretome from exponentially grown cultures of strain H37Rv, its phoP mutant and a phoP complemented mutant by in-depth proteomics. The results are consistent with a regulatory model involving PhoP, Mcr7 and tatC mRNA since the absence of Mcr7 in the phoP mutant would result in more efficient TatC translation and therefore increased secretion.