A type III secretion system is required for Bordetella atropi invasion of host cells in vivo.

ABSTRACT: Bordetella atropi is an intracellular bacterial pathogen that infects the intestinal epithelia of the nematode host Oscheius tipulae. We previously showed that the bacteria use filamentation as a novel cell-to-cell spreading mechanism once inside the intestinal cell. However, how the bacteria invade the host cells and what factors contribute to B. atropi infection process remain unknown. In this study, we investigate the roles of type III (T3SS) and type VI secretion systems (T6SS) in B. atropi pathogenesis, which are employed by many bacterial pathogens, both extracellular and intracellular, to deliver effectors that manipulate host physiology to their advantage. We found that the two T6SSs encoded in B. atropi genome played no obvious roles in the invasion or intracellular spreading. In

SUBMITTER: Tran TD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12923130 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature