Elucidating the virulence control network in Francisella tularensis

Abstract

The Gram-negative bacterium Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of tularemia and a model intracellular pathogen. It is also considered a potential bioweapon, as F. tularensis is highly infectious and has the potential to cause fatal disease in humans. Many factors required for F. tularensis virulence have been identified, yet we know relatively little regarding how these factors are regulated at the level of transcription. In order to further understand the regulation of virulence factors in F. tularensis, we have systematically determined the genomic regions associated with all of the transcription factors implicated in virulence using chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with high-throughput DNA sequencing (ChIP-Seq).