scholarly journals Signature-Tagged Mutagenesis of Edwardsiella ictaluri Identifies Virulence-Related Genes, Including a Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 2 Class of Type III Secretion Systems

2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (24) ◽  
pp. 7934-7946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald L. Thune ◽  
Denise H. Fernandez ◽  
Jennifer L. Benoit ◽  
Maria Kelly-Smith ◽  
Matthew L. Rogge ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Edwardsiella ictaluri is the leading cause of mortality in channel catfish culture, but little is known about its pathogenesis. The use of signature-tagged mutagenesis in a waterborne infection model resulted in the identification of 50 mutants that were unable to infect/survive in catfish. Nineteen had minitransposon insertions in miscellaneous genes in the chromosome, 10 were in genes that matched to hypothetical proteins, and 13 were in genes that had no significant matches in the NCBI databases. Eight insertions were in genes encoding proteins associated with virulence in other pathogens, including three in genes involved in lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, three in genes involved in type III secretion systems (TTSS), and two in genes involved in urease activity. With the use of a sequence from a lambda clone carrying several TTSS genes, Blastn analysis of the partially completed E. ictaluri genome identified a 26,135-bp pathogenicity island containing 33 genes of a TTSS with similarity to the Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 class of TTSS. The characterization of a TTSS apparatus mutant indicated that it retained its ability to invade catfish cell lines and macrophages but was defective in intracellular replication. The mutant also invaded catfish tissues in numbers equal to those of invading wild-type E. ictaluri bacteria but replicated poorly and was slowly cleared from the tissues, while the wild type increased in number.

2004 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 4004-4009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gottfried Wilharm ◽  
Verena Lehmann ◽  
Kristina Krauss ◽  
Beatrix Lehnert ◽  
Susanna Richter ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The flagellum is believed to be the common ancestor of all type III secretion systems (TTSSs). In Yersinia enterocolitica, expression of the flagellar TTSS and the Ysc (Yop secretion) TTSS are inversely regulated. We therefore hypothesized that the Ysc TTSS may adopt flagellar motor components in order to use the pathogenicity-related translocon in a drill-like manner. As a prerequisite for this hypothesis, we first tested a requirement for the proton motive force by both systems using the protonophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). Motility as well as type III-dependent secretion of Yop proteins was inhibited by CCCP. We deleted motAB, which resulted in an immotile phenotype. This mutant, however, secreted amounts of Yops to the supernatant comparable to those of the wild type. Translocation of Yops into host cells was also not affected by the motAB deletion. Virulence of the mutant was comparable to that of the wild type in the mouse oral infection model. Thus, the hypothesis that the Ysc TTSS might adopt flagellar motor components was not confirmed. The finding that, in addition to consumption of ATP, Ysc TTSS requires the proton motive force is discussed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 189 (1) ◽  
pp. 198-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Scott Hefty ◽  
Richard S. Stephens

ABSTRACT Many gram-negative bacterial pathogens employ type III secretion systems for infectious processes. Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacteria that encode a conserved type III secretion system that is likely requisite for growth. Typically, genes encoding type III secretion systems are located in a single locus; however, for chlamydiae these genes are scattered throughout the genome. Little is known regarding the gene regulatory mechanisms for this essential virulence determinant. To facilitate identification of cis-acting transcriptional regulatory elements, the operon structure was determined. This analysis revealed 10 operons that contained 37 genes associated with the type III secretion system. Linkage within these operons suggests a role in type III secretion for each of these genes, including 13 genes encoding proteins with unknown function. The transcriptional start site for each operon was determined. In conjunction with promoter activity assays, this analysis revealed that the type III secretion system operons encode σ70-like promoter elements. Transcriptional initiation by a sigma factor responsible for constitutive gene expression indicates that undefined activators or repressors regulate developmental stage-specific expression of chlamydial type III secretion system genes.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (6) ◽  
pp. 1816-1826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly A. Walker ◽  
Virginia L. Miller

ABSTRACT Type III secretion systems (T3SSs) are complex units that consist of many proteins. Often the proteins are encoded as a cohesive unit on virulence plasmids, but several systems have their various components dispersed around the chromosome. The Yersinia enterocolitica Ysa T3SS is such a system, where the apparatus genes, some regulatory genes, and four genes encoding secreted proteins (ysp genes) are contained in a single locus. The remaining ysp genes and at least one additional regulator are found elsewhere on the chromosome. Expression of ysa genes requires conditions of high ionic strength, neutral/basic pH, and low temperatures (26°C) and is stimulated by exposure to solid surfaces. The AraC-like regulator YsaE and the dual-function chaperone/regulator SycB are required to stimulate the sycB promoter, which transcribes sycB and probably yspBCDA as well. The putative phosphorelay proteins YsrRS (located at the distal end of the ysa locus) and RcsB, the response regulator of the RcsBCD phosphorelay system, are required to initiate transcription at the ysaE promoter, which drives transcription of many apparatus genes. In this work, we sought to determine which ysp genes were coordinately regulated with the genes within the ysa locus. We found that six unlinked ysp genes responded to NaCl and required YsaE/SycB, YsrRS, and RcsB for expression. Three ysp genes had unique patterns, one of which was unaffected by all elements tested except NaCl. Thus, while the ysp genes were likely to have been acquired independently, most have acquired a synchronous regulatory pattern.


2005 ◽  
Vol 73 (11) ◽  
pp. 7161-7169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian K. Coombes ◽  
Bryan A. Coburn ◽  
Andrew A. Potter ◽  
Susantha Gomis ◽  
Kuldip Mirakhur ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We have developed a novel ileal loop model for use in calves to analyze the contribution of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium type III secretion systems to disease processes in vivo. Our model involves constructing ileal loops with end-to-end anastamoses to restore the patency of the small intestine, thereby allowing experimental animals to convalesce following surgery for the desired number of days. This model overcomes the time constraint imposed by ligated ileal loop models that have precluded investigation of Salmonella virulence factors during later stages of the infection process. Here, we have used this model to examine the enteric disease process at 24 h and 5 days following infection with wild-type Salmonella and mutants lacking the virulence-associated Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) or SPI-2 type III secretion systems. We show that SPI-2 mutants are dramatically attenuated at 5 days following infection and report a new phenotype for SPI-1 mutants, which induce intestinal pathology in calves similar to wild-type Salmonella in the 5-day ileal loop model. Both of these temporal phenotypes for SPI-1 and SPI-2 mutants were corroborated in a second animal model of enteric disease using streptomycin-pretreated mice. These data delineate novel phenotypes for SPI-1 and SPI-2 mutants in the intestinal phase of bovine and murine salmonellosis and provide working models to further investigate the effector contribution to these pathologies.


2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (18) ◽  
pp. 5911-5918 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Wilson ◽  
Clint Coleman ◽  
Cheryl A. Nickerson

ABSTRACT The engineering of bacterial strains with specific phenotypes frequently requires the use of blocks or “cassettes” of genes that act together to perform a desired function. The potential benefits of utilizing type III secretion systems in this regard are becoming increasingly realized since these systems can be used to direct interactions with host cells for beneficial purposes such as vaccine development, anticancer therapies, and targeted protein delivery. However, convenient methods to clone and transfer type III secretion systems for studies of a range of different types of bacteria are lacking. In addition to functional applications, such methods would also reveal important information about the evolution of a given type III secretion system, such as its ability to be expressed and functional outside of the strain of origin. We describe here the cloning of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium pathogenicity island 2 (SPI-2) type III secretion system onto a vector that can be easily transferred to a range of gram-negative bacterial genera. We found that expression of the cloned SPI-2 system in different Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria (as monitored by SseB protein levels) is dependent on the bacterial strain and growth medium. We also demonstrate that the cloned system is functional for secretion, can direct interactions with macrophages, and can be used as a novel tool to analyze the predicted interaction of SseB with host cells. This work provides a foundation for future applications where the cloned SPI-2 region (or other cloned type III systems) can provide a desired function to an engineered gram-negative strain.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (11) ◽  
pp. 3480-3483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anand Sukhan ◽  
Tomoko Kubori ◽  
Jorge E. Galán

ABSTRACT An essential component of type III secretion systems (TTSS) is a supramolecular structure termed the needle complex. In Salmonella enterica, at least four proteins make up this structure: InvG, PrgH, PrgK, and PrgI. Another protein, PrgJ, is thought to play a role in the assembly of this structure, but its function is poorly understood. We have analyzed the expression and localization of PrgJ and the needle protein PrgI in different S. enterica serovar Typhimurium mutant strains. We found that the levels of PrgI and PrgJ were significantly reduced in a TTSS-deficient invA mutant strain and that the decreased levels were due to protein instability. In addition, we found that PrgJ, although associated with the needle complex in wild-type S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, was absent from needle complexes obtained from an invJ mutant strain, which exhibits very long needle substructures. We suggest that PrgJ is involved in capping the needle substructure of the needle complex.


2010 ◽  
Vol 78 (11) ◽  
pp. 4551-4559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Piñeyro ◽  
Xiaohui Zhou ◽  
Lisa H. Orfe ◽  
Patrick J. Friel ◽  
Kevin Lahmers ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an emerging food- and waterborne pathogen that encodes two type III secretion systems (T3SSs). Previous studies have linked type III secretion system 1 (T3SS1) to cytotoxicity and T3SS2 to intestinal fluid accumulation, but animal challenge models needed to study these phenomena are limited. In this study we evaluated the roles of the T3SSs during infection using two novel animal models: a model in which piglets were inoculated orogastrically and a model in which mice were inoculated in their lungs (intrapulmonarily). The bacterial strains employed in this study had equivalent growth rates and beta-hemolytic activity based on in vitro assays. Inoculation of 48-h-old conventional piglets with 1011 CFU of the wild-type strain (NY-4) or T3SS1 deletion mutant strains resulted in acute, self-limiting diarrhea, whereas inoculation with a T3SS2 deletion mutant strain failed to produce any clinical symptoms. Intrapulmonary inoculation of C57BL/6 mice with the wild-type strain and T3SS2 deletion mutant strains (5 × 105 CFU) induced mortality or a moribund state within 12 h (80 to 100% mortality), whereas inoculation with a T3SS1 deletion mutant or a T3SS1 T3SS2 double deletion mutant produced no mortality. Bacteria were recovered from multiple organs regardless of the strain used in the mouse model, indicating that the mice were capable of clearing the lung infection in the absence of a functional T3SS1. Because all strains had a similar beta-hemolysin phenotype, we surmise that thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) plays a limited role in these models. The two models introduced herein produce robust results and provide a means to determine how different T3SS1 and T3SS2 effector proteins contribute to pathogenesis of V. parahaemolyticus infection.


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