Disease relevance of virF

• Homology between virF, the transcriptional activator of the Yersinia virulence regulon, and AraC, the Escherichia coli arabinose operon regulator [1].
• A multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed to detect the presence of the ail, yst, and virF genes of Yersinia enterocolitica simultaneously, quickly and accurately [2].
• Amplification of the virF gene was also achieved from strains of Y. pseudotuberculosis carrying the 70 kb plasmid but not with preparations from other related Yersinia species or from other members of the family Enterobacteriaceae [2].

High impact information on virF

• The yop genes, scattered around the pYV plasmid, constitute a thermoinduced regulon controlled by the product of virF gene [3].
• The production of YlpA is controlled by virF and only occurs at 37 degrees C in the absence of Ca2+ ions [4].
• Here, we present evidence that the Y. enterocolitica virulence plasmid, pYV, undergoes a conformational transition between 30 and 37 degrees C. Using a simplified two-dimensional, single-gel assay, we show that pYV contains multiple regions of intrinsic curvature, including virF, the positive activator of virulence genes [5].
• The amplified fragment sizes were 356 base-pairs (bp) for the ail gene, 134 bp for the yst gene, and 231 bp for the virF gene [2].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of virF

• Virulence-associated genes viz. ail, virF, inv, myfA, ystA, ystB, ystC, tccC, hreP, fepA, fepD, fes, ymoA and sat were studied in 81 clinical and nonclinical strains of Y. enterocolitica biovar 1A by PCR amplification [6].

References