scholarly journals Legionella pneumophila S1P-lyase targets host sphingolipid metabolism and restrains autophagy

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 1901-1906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Rolando ◽  
Pedro Escoll ◽  
Tamara Nora ◽  
Joëlle Botti ◽  
Valérie Boitez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Sphingolipid Metabolism ◽  
Intracellular Pathogens ◽  
Macrophage Infection ◽  
Independent Manner ◽  
S1p Lyase

Autophagy is an essential component of innate immunity, enabling the detection and elimination of intracellular pathogens. Legionella pneumophila, an intracellular pathogen that can cause a severe pneumonia in humans, is able to modulate autophagy through the action of effector proteins that are translocated into the host cell by the pathogen’s Dot/Icm type IV secretion system. Many of these effectors share structural and sequence similarity with eukaryotic proteins. Indeed, phylogenetic analyses have indicated their acquisition by horizontal gene transfer from a eukaryotic host. Here we report that L. pneumophila translocates the effector protein sphingosine-1 phosphate lyase (LpSpl) to target the host sphingosine biosynthesis and to curtail autophagy. Our structural characterization of LpSpl and its comparison with human SPL reveals high structural conservation, thus supporting prior phylogenetic analysis. We show that LpSpl possesses S1P lyase activity that was abrogated by mutation of the catalytic site residues. L. pneumophila triggers the reduction of several sphingolipids critical for macrophage function in an LpSpl-dependent and -independent manner. LpSpl activity alone was sufficient to prevent an increase in sphingosine levels in infected host cells and to inhibit autophagy during macrophage infection. LpSpl was required for efficient infection of A/J mice, highlighting an important virulence role for this effector. Thus, we have uncovered a previously unidentified mechanism used by intracellular pathogens to inhibit autophagy, namely the disruption of host sphingolipid biosynthesis.

scholarly journals Structural genomic applied on the rust fungus Melampsora larici-populina reveals two candidate effector proteins adopting cystine-knot and nuclear transport factor 2-like protein folds

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine de Guillen ◽  
Cécile Lorrain ◽  
Pascale Tsan ◽  
Philippe Barthe ◽  
Benjamin Petre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Nuclear Transport ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Rust Fungus ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
Structural Genomic ◽  
Transport Factor

ABSTRACTRust fungi are plant pathogens that secrete an arsenal of effector proteins interfering with plant functions and promoting parasitic infection. Effectors are often species-specific, evolve rapidly, and display low sequence similarities with known proteins or domains. How rust fungal effectors function in host cells remains elusive, and biochemical and structural approaches have been scarcely used to tackle this question. In this study, we used a strategy based on recombinant protein production in Escherichia coli to study eleven candidate effectors of the leaf rust fungus Melampsora larici-populina. We successfully purified and solved the three-dimensional structure of two proteins, MLP124266 and MLP124017, using NMR spectroscopy. Although both proteins show no sequence similarity with known proteins, they exhibit structural similarities to knottin and nuclear transport factor 2-like proteins, respectively. Altogether, our findings show that sequence-unrelated effectors can adopt folds similar to known proteins, and encourage the use of biochemical and structural approaches to functionally characterize rust effector candidates.

The Legionella pneumophila effector RavY contributes to a replication-permissive vacuolar environment during infection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luying Liu ◽  
Craig R. Roy
Keyword(s):  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Type Iv Secretion ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Effector Protein ◽  
Intracellular Replication ◽  
Phagocytic Cells ◽  
Host Molecules ◽  
Type Iv ◽  
Legionnaires Disease

Legionella pneumophila is the causative agent of Legionnaires’ Disease and is capable replicating inside phagocytic cells such as mammalian macrophages. The Dot/Icm type IV secretion system is a L. pneumophila virulence factor that is essential for successful intracellular replication. During infection, L. pneumophila builds a replication permissive vacuole by recruiting multiple host molecules and hijacking host cellular signaling pathways, a process mediated by the coordinated functions of multiple Dot/Icm effector proteins. RavY is a predicted Dot/Icm effector protein found to be important for optimal L. pneumophila replication inside host cells. Here, we demonstrate that RavY is a Dot/Icm-translocated effector protein that is dispensable for axenic replication of L. pneumophila , but critical for optimal intracellular replication of the bacteria. RavY is not required for avoidance of endosomal maturation, nor does RavY contribute to the recruitment of host molecules found on replication-permissive vacuoles, such as ubiquitin, RAB1a, and RTN4. Vacuoles containing L. pneumophila ravY mutants promote intracellular survival but limit replication. The replication defect of the L. pneumophila ravY mutant was complemented when the mutant was in the same vacuole as wild type L. pneumophila . Thus, RavY is an effector that is essential for promoting intracellular replication of L. pneumophila once the specialized vacuole has been established.

scholarly journals Divergent Evolution of Legionella RCC1 Repeat Effectors Defines the Range of Ran GTPase Cycle Targets

mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Leoni Swart ◽  
Bernhard Steiner ◽  
Laura Gomez-Valero ◽  
Sabina Schütz ◽  
Mandy Hannemann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Host Cell ◽  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Small Gtpase ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Divergent Evolution ◽  
Ran Gtpase ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gtpase Cycle ◽  
Gtpase Ran

ABSTRACT Legionella pneumophila governs its interactions with host cells by secreting >300 different “effector” proteins. Some of these effectors contain eukaryotic domains such as the RCC1 (regulator of chromosome condensation 1) repeats promoting the activation of the small GTPase Ran. In this report, we reveal a conserved pattern of L. pneumophila RCC1 repeat genes, which are distributed in two main clusters of strains. Accordingly, strain Philadelphia-1 contains two RCC1 genes implicated in bacterial virulence, legG1 (Legionella eukaryotic gene 1), and ppgA, while strain Paris contains only one, pieG. The RCC1 repeat effectors localize to different cellular compartments and bind distinct components of the Ran GTPase cycle, including Ran modulators and the small GTPase itself, and yet they all promote the activation of Ran. The pieG gene spans the corresponding open reading frames of legG1 and a separate adjacent upstream gene, lpg1975. legG1 and lpg1975 are fused upon addition of a single nucleotide to encode a protein that adopts the binding specificity of PieG. Thus, a point mutation in pieG splits the gene, altering the effector target. These results indicate that divergent evolution of RCC1 repeat effectors defines the Ran GTPase cycle targets and that modulation of different components of the cycle might fine-tune Ran activation during Legionella infection. IMPORTANCE Legionella pneumophila is a ubiquitous environmental bacterium which, upon inhalation, causes a life-threatening pneumonia termed Legionnaires’ disease. The opportunistic pathogen grows in amoebae and macrophages by employing a “type IV” secretion system, which secretes more than 300 different “effector” proteins into the host cell, where they subvert pivotal processes. The function of many of these effector proteins is unknown, and their evolution has not been studied. L. pneumophila RCC1 repeat effectors target the small GTPase Ran, a molecular switch implicated in different cellular processes such as nucleocytoplasmic transport and microtubule cytoskeleton dynamics. We provide evidence that one or more RCC1 repeat genes are distributed in two main clusters of L. pneumophila strains and have divergently evolved to target different components of the Ran GTPase activation cycle at different subcellular sites. Thus, L. pneumophila employs a sophisticated strategy to subvert host cell Ran GTPase during infection.

scholarly journals MultipleLegionella pneumophilaeffector virulence phenotypes revealed through high-throughput analysis of targeted mutant libraries

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (48) ◽  
pp. E10446-E10454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie R. Shames ◽  
Luying Liu ◽  
James C. Havey ◽  
Whitman B. Schofield ◽  
Andrew L. Goodman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Severe Pneumonia ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Effector Protein ◽  
Host Immune System ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
High Throughput Analysis ◽  
Single Strain

Legionella pneumophilais the causative agent of a severe pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease. A single strain ofL. pneumophilaencodes a repertoire of over 300 different effector proteins that are delivered into host cells by the Dot/Icm type IV secretion system during infection. The large number ofL. pneumophilaeffectors has been a limiting factor in assessing the importance of individual effectors for virulence. Here, a transposon insertion sequencing technology called INSeq was used to analyze replication of a pool of effector mutants in parallel both in a mouse model of infection and in cultured host cells. Loss-of-function mutations in genes encoding effector proteins resulted in host-specific or broad virulence phenotypes. Screen results were validated for several effector mutants displaying different virulence phenotypes using genetic complementation studies and infection assays. Specifically, loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding LegC4 resulted in enhancedL. pneumophilain the lungs of infected mice but not within cultured host cells, which indicates LegC4 augments bacterial clearance by the host immune system. The effector proteins RavY and Lpg2505 were important for efficient replication within both mammalian and protozoan hosts. Further analysis of Lpg2505 revealed that this protein functions as a metaeffector that counteracts host cytotoxicity displayed by the effector protein SidI. Thus, this study identified a large cohort of effectors that contribute toL. pneumophilavirulence positively or negatively and has demonstrated regulation of effector protein activities by cognate metaeffectors as being critical for host pathogenesis.

scholarly journals Evidence for Acquisition of Legionella Type IV Secretion Substrates via Interdomain Horizontal Gene Transfer

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (22) ◽  
pp. 7716-7726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karim Suwwan de Felipe ◽  
Sergey Pampou ◽  
Oliver S. Jovanovic ◽  
Christopher D. Pericone ◽  
Senna F. Ye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Open Reading Frames ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Major Mechanism ◽  
Cell Functions

ABSTRACT Intracellular pathogens exploit host cell functions to create a replication niche inside eukaryotic cells. The causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, the γ-proteobacterium Legionella pneumophila, resides and replicates within a modified vacuole of protozoan and mammalian cells. L. pneumophila translocates effector proteins into host cells through the Icm-Dot complex, a specialized type IVB secretion system that is required for intracellular growth. To find out if some effector proteins may have been acquired through interdomain horizontal gene transfer (HGT), we performed a bioinformatic screen that searched for eukaryotic motifs in all open reading frames of the L. pneumophila Philadelphia-1 genome. We found 44 uncharacterized genes with many distinct eukaryotic motifs. Most of these genes contain G+C biases compared to other L. pneumophila genes, supporting the theory that they were acquired through HGT. Furthermore, we found that several of them are expressed and up-regulated in stationary phase in an RpoS-dependent manner. In addition, at least seven of these gene products are translocated into host cells via the Icm-Dot complex, confirming their role in the intracellular environment. Reminiscent of the case with most Icm-Dot substrates, most of the strains containing mutations in these genes grew comparably to the parent strain intracellularly. Our findings suggest that in L. pneumophila, interdomain HGT may have been a major mechanism for the acquisition of determinants of infection.

scholarly journals Live-Cell Imaging of Phosphoinositide Dynamics and Membrane Architecture during Legionella Infection

mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Weber ◽  
Maria Wagner ◽  
Hubert Hilbi
Keyword(s):  
Host Cell ◽  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Live Cell Imaging ◽  
Cell Imaging ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Host Cell Membrane ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Temporal And Spatial

ABSTRACTThe causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease,Legionella pneumophila, replicates in amoebae and macrophages in a distinct membrane-bound compartment, theLegionella-containing vacuole (LCV). LCV formation is governed by the bacterial Icm/Dot type IV secretion system that translocates ~300 different “effector” proteins into host cells. Some of the translocated effectors anchor to the LCV membrane via phosphoinositide (PI) lipids. Here, we use the soil amoebaDictyostelium discoideum, producing fluorescent PI probes, to analyze the LCV PI dynamics by live-cell imaging. Upon uptake of wild-type or Icm/Dot-deficientL. pneumophila, PtdIns(3,4,5)P3transiently accumulated for an average of 40 s on early phagosomes, which acquired PtdIns(3)Pwithin 1 min after uptake. Whereas phagosomes containing ΔicmTmutant bacteria remained decorated with PtdIns(3)P, more than 80% of wild-type LCVs gradually lost this PI within 2 h. The process was accompanied by a major rearrangement of PtdIns(3)P-positive membranes condensing to the cell center. PtdIns(4)Ptransiently localized to early phagosomes harboring wild-type or ΔicmT L. pneumophilaand was cleared within minutes after uptake. During the following 2 h, PtdIns(4)Psteadily accumulated only on wild-type LCVs, which maintained a discrete PtdIns(4)Pidentity spatially separated from calnexin-positive endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for at least 8 h. The separation of PtdIns(4)P-positive and ER membranes was even more pronounced for LCVs harboring ΔsidC-sdcAmutant bacteria defective for ER recruitment, without affecting initial bacterial replication in the pathogen vacuole. These findings elucidate the temporal and spatial dynamics of PI lipids implicated in LCV formation and provide insight into host cell membrane and effector protein interactions.IMPORTANCEThe environmental bacteriumLegionella pneumophilais the causative agent of Legionnaires’ pneumonia. The bacteria form in free-living amoebae and mammalian immune cells a replication-permissive compartment, theLegionella-containing vacuole (LCV). To subvert host cell processes, the bacteria secrete the amazing number of ~300 different proteins into host cells. Some of these proteins bind phosphoinositide (PI) lipids to decorate the LCV. PI lipids are crucial factors involved in host cell membrane dynamics and LCV formation. UsingDictyosteliumamoebae producing one or two distinct fluorescent probes, we elucidated the dynamic LCV PI pattern in high temporal and spatial resolution. Notably, the endocytic PI lipid PtdIns(3)Pwas slowly cleared from LCVs, thus incapacitating the host cell’s digestive machinery, while PtdIns(4)Pgradually accumulated on the LCV, enabling critical interactions with host organelles. The LCV PI pattern underlies the spatiotemporal configuration of bacterial effector proteins and therefore represents a crucial aspect of LCV formation.

scholarly journals The Legionella longbeachae Icm/Dot Substrate SidC Selectively Binds Phosphatidylinositol 4-Phosphate with Nanomolar Affinity and Promotes Pathogen Vacuole-Endoplasmic Reticulum Interactions

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (10) ◽  
pp. 4021-4033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Dolinsky ◽  
Ina Haneburger ◽  
Adam Cichy ◽  
Mandy Hannemann ◽  
Aymelt Itzen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Severe Pneumonia ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Titration Calorimetry ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Phosphatidylinositol 4

ABSTRACTLegionellaspp. cause the severe pneumonia Legionnaires' disease. The environmental bacteria replicate intracellularly in free-living amoebae and human alveolar macrophages within a distinct, endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-derived compartment termed theLegionella-containing vacuole (LCV). LCV formation requires the bacterial Icm/Dot type IV secretion system (T4SS) that translocates into host cells a plethora of different “effector” proteins, some of which anchor to the pathogen vacuole by binding to phosphoinositide (PI) lipids. Here, we identified by unbiased pulldown assays inLegionella longbeachaelysates a 111-kDa SidC homologue as the major phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate [PtdIns(4)P]-binding protein. The PI-binding domain was mapped to a 20-kDa P4C [PtdIns(4)Pbinding of SidC] fragment. Isothermal titration calorimetry revealed that SidC ofL. longbeachae(SidCLlo) binds PtdIns(4)Pwith aKd(dissociation constant) of 71 nM, which is 3 to 4 times lower than that of the SidC orthologue ofLegionella pneumophila(SidCLpn). Upon infection of RAW 264.7 macrophages withL. longbeachae, endogenous SidCLloor ectopically produced SidCLpnlocalized in an Icm/Dot-dependent manner to the PtdIns(4)P-positive LCVs. AnL. longbeachaeΔsidCdeletion mutant was impaired for calnexin recruitment to LCVs inDictyostelium discoideumamoebae and outcompeted by wild-type bacteria inAcanthamoeba castellanii. Calnexin recruitment was restored by SidCLloor its orthologues SidCLpnand SdcALpn. Conversely, calnexin recruitment was restored by SidCLloinL. pneumophilalackingsidCandsdcA. Together, biochemical, genetic, and cell biological data indicate that SidCLlois anL. longbeachaeeffector that binds through a P4C domain with high affinity to PtdIns(4)Pon LCVs, promotes ER recruitment to the LCV, and thus plays a role in pathogen-host interactions.

scholarly journals Using an Optimal Set of Features with a Machine Learning-Based Approach to Predict Effector Proteins forLegionella pneumophila

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhila Esna Ashari ◽  
Kelly A. Brayton ◽  
Shira L. Broschat
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Secretion Systems ◽  
Type Iv ◽  
Optimal Set

AbstractType IV secretion systems exist in a number of bacterial pathogens and are used to secrete effector proteins directly into host cells in order to change their environment making the environment hospitable for the bacteria. In recent years, several machine learning algorithms have been developed to predict effector proteins, potentially facilitating experimental verification. However, inconsistencies exist between their results. Previously we analysed the disparate sets of predictive features used in these algorithms to determine an optimal set of 370 features for effector prediction. This work focuses on the best way to use these optimal features by designing three machine learning classifiers, comparing our results with those of others, and obtaining de novo results. We chose the pathogenLegionella pneumophilastrain Philadelphia-1, a cause of Legionnaires’ disease, because it has many validated effector proteins and others have developed machine learning prediction tools for it. While all of our models give good results indicating that our optimal features are quite robust, Model 1, which uses all 370 features with a support vector machine, has slightly better accuracy. Moreover, Model 1 predicted 760 effector proteins, more than any other study, 315 of which have been validated. Although the results of our three models agree well with those of other researchers, their models only predicted 126 and 311 candidate effectors.

Structural basis of ubiquitin recognition by a bacterial OTU deubiquitinase LotA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norihiro Takekawa ◽  
Tomoko Kubori ◽  
Tomoya Iwai ◽  
Hiroki Nagai ◽  
Katsumi Imada
Keyword(s):  
Enzymatic Activity ◽  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Catalytic Domain ◽  
Docking Simulation ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Ubiquitin Chain ◽  
Lota Lota

Pathogenic bacteria have acquired a vast array of eukaryotic-like proteins via intimate interaction with host cells. Bacterial effector proteins that function as ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinases (DUBs) are remarkable examples of such molecular mimicry. LotA, a Legionella pneumophila effector, belongs to the ovarian tumor (OTU) superfamily, which regulates diverse ubiquitin signals by their DUB activities. LotA harbors two OTU domains that have distinct reactivities; the first one is responsible for the cleavage of the K6-linked ubiquitin chain, and the second one shows an uncommon preference for long chains of ubiquitin. Here, we report the crystal structure of a middle domain of LotA (LotA M ), which contains the second OTU domain. LotA M consists of two distinct subdomains, a catalytic domain having high structural similarity with human OTU DUBs and an extended helical lobe (EHL) domain, which is characteristically conserved only in Legionella OTU DUBs. The docking simulation of LotA M with ubiquitin suggested that hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions between the EHL of LotA M and the C-terminal region of ubiquitin are crucial for the binding of ubiquitin to LotA M . The structure-based mutagenesis demonstrated that the acidic residue in the characteristic short helical segment termed the ‘helical arm’ is essential for the enzymatic activity of LotA M . The EHL domain of the three Legionella OTU DUBs, LotA, LotB, and LotC, share the ‘helical arm’ structure, suggesting that the EHL domain defines the Lot-OTUs as a unique class of DUBs. Importance To successfully colonize, some pathogenic bacteria hijack the host ubiquitin system. Legionella OTU-like-DUBs (Lot-DUBs) are novel bacterial deubiquitinases found in effector proteins of L. pneumophila . LotA is a member of Lot-DUBs and has two OTU domains (OTU1 and OTU2). We determined the structure of a middle fragment of LotA (LotA M ), which includes OTU2. LotA M consists of the conserved catalytic domain and the Legionella OTUs-specific EHL domain. The docking simulation with ubiquitin and the mutational analysis suggested that the acidic surface in the EHL is essential for enzymatic activity. The structure of the EHL differs from those of other Lot-DUBs, suggesting that the variation of the EHL is related to the variable cleaving specificity of each DUB.

scholarly journals A Novel Legionella Genomic Island Encodes a Copper-Responsive Regulatory System and a Single Icm/Dot Effector Protein Transcriptionally Activated by Copper

mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marika Linsky ◽  
Yevgeniya Vitkin ◽  
Gil Segal
Keyword(s):  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Horizontal Gene Transfer ◽  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Genomic Island ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Secretion System ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Effector Protein ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACT The intracellular pathogen Legionella pneumophila utilizes the Icm/Dot type IV secretion system to translocate >300 effector proteins into host cells during infection. The regulation of some of these effector-encoding genes was previously shown to be coordinated by several global regulators, including three two-component systems (TCSs) found in all the Legionella species examined. Here, we describe the first Legionella genomic island encoding a single Icm/Dot effector and a dedicated TCS, which regulates its expression. This genomic island, which we named Lci, undergoes horizontal gene transfer in the Legionella genus, and the TCS encoded from this island (LciRS) is homologous to TCSs that control the expression of various metal resistance systems found in other bacteria. We found that the L. pneumophila sensor histidine kinase LciS is specifically activated by copper via a unique, small periplasmic sensing domain. Upon activation by LciS, the response regulator LciR directly binds to a conserved regulatory element and activates the expression of the adjacently located lciE effector-encoding gene. Thus, LciR represents the first local regulator of effectors identified in L. pneumophila. Moreover, we found that the expression of the lciRS operon is repressed by the Fis1 and Fis3 regulators, leading to Fis-mediated effects on copper induction of LciE and silencing of the expression of this genomic island in the absence of copper. This island represents a novel type of effector regulation in Legionella, shedding new light on the ways by which the Legionella pathogenesis system evolves its effector repertoire and expands its activating signals. IMPORTANCE Legionella pneumophila is an intracellular human pathogen that utilizes amoebae as its environmental host. The adaptation of L. pneumophila to the intracellular environment requires coordination of expression of its multicomponent pathogenesis system, which is composed of a secretion system and effector proteins. However, the regulatory factors controlling the expression of this pathogenesis system are only partially uncovered. Here, we discovered a novel regulatory system that is activated by copper and controls the expression of a single effector protein. The genes encoding both the regulatory system and the effector protein are located on a genomic island that undergoes horizontal gene transfer within the Legionella genus. This regulator-effector genomic island represents the first reported case of local regulation of effectors in Legionella. The discovery of this regulatory mechanism is an important step forward in the understanding of how the regulatory network of effectors functions and evolves in the Legionella genus.

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