Pathogenic diversification of the gut commensal Providencia alcalifaciens via acquisition of a second type III secretion system.

ABSTRACT: Providencia alcalifaciens is a Gram-negative bacterium found in various water and land environments and organisms, including insects and mammals. Some P. alcalifaciens strains encode gene homologs of virulence factors found in pathogenic Enterobacterales members, such as Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Shigella flexneri. Whether these genes are pathogenic determinants in P. alcalifaciens is not known. In this study, we investigated P. alcalifaciens-host interactions at the cellular level, focusing on the role of two type III secretion systems (T3SS) belonging to the Inv-Mxi/Spa family. T3SS_1b is widespread in Providencia spp. and encoded on the chromosome. A large plasmid that is present in a subset of P. alcalifaci

SUBMITTER: Klein JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11477908 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature