The role of 2-C-Methylerythritol-2,4-cyclopyrophosphate in the resuscitation of the “nonculturable” forms of Mycobacterium smegmatis

• Published in: Microbiology (New York) 2007-04, Vol.76 (2), p.147-152
• Main Authors: Goncharenko, A. V., Ershov, Yu. V., Salina, E. G., Wiesner, J., Vostroknutova, G. N., Sandanov, A. A., Kaprelyants, A. S., Ostrovsky, D. N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Mycobacterium smegmatis
• ISSN: 0026-2617; 1608-3237
• DOI: 10.1134/S0026261707020038

2-C-Methyl-D-erythritol-2,4-cyclopyrophosphate (MEC), an intermediate of the biosynthesis of isoprenoid compounds in bacteria, was found to be capable of exerting a resuscitating effect on resting Mycobacterium smegmatis cells. The introduction of an additional copy of the ispE gene encoding cytidyl-methyl-erythritol kinase, an enzyme involved in MEC synthesis in M. smegmatis, resulted in the emergence of a capacity for spontaneous reactivation of 'nonculturable' M. smegmatis cells, which is not characteristic of the wild-type cells of this species. The involvement of MEC in the transition from the 'nonculturable' state to the state of active growth is indicative of a previously unknown function of MEC, assumed to consist in regulation of the bacterial genome activity.