Conserved and acquired: Decoding YbjX and VirK in the pathogenicity of <i>Shigella flexneri</i>.

ABSTRACT: The pathogenicity of Shigella spp. human pathogens responsible for bacillary dysentery, results from the combination of factors encoded both on the chromosome and on the virulence plasmid acquired during pathoadaptation. While many key elements have been extensively investigated, several remain poorly characterized. Among these, YbjX and VirK exhibit high structural similarity and are encoded by genes located on the chromosome and the virulence plasmid, respectively. We provide a molecular and functional characterization of Shigella flexneri YbjX and VirK. We defined the ybjX and virK promoter regions and confirmed that their expression is regulated by the PhoPQ two-component system. Localization studies demonstrated that both proteins are cytoplasmic. In sil

SUBMITTER: Coluccia M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12562796 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature