Disease relevance of hemA

• From Salmonella typhimurium LT2 hemA (delta-aminolevulinic acid requiring) 15 mutants were isolated which grew on the hydrophobic compound hemin [1].

High impact information on hemA

• A Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium hemA mutant is highly susceptible to oxidative DNA damage [2].
• Mutations in two genes, hemA and hemL, result in auxotrophy for ALA in Salmonella typhimurium, but the roles played by these genes and the mechanism of ALA synthesis are not understood [3].
• The predicted polypeptide sequence for the HemA protein shows no similarity to known ALA synthases, and no ALA synthase activity was detected in extracts prepared from strains carrying the cloned hemA gene [3].
• Another surprising finding of this study is that hemA lies directly upstream of prfA, which encodes peptide chain release factor 1 (RF-1) [3].
• The hemA mutation reduces the virulence of Salmonella typhimurium for mice by at least 10(7)-fold, as measured by change in LD50 [4].

Biological context of hemA

• The Hem- phenotype of hemL mutants is less severe than that of hemA mutants [5].

Other interactions of hemA

• The recombinant DNA molecules were transduced into an auxotrophic Salmonella double mutant ( hemA(-) hemE(-)) by phage P22 [6].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of hemA

• The salmonella with the hemA mutation persist in the spleen and liver for 2 to 3 weeks following intravenous injection [4].

References