Three pathogenicity islands of Vibrio cholerae can excise from the chromosome and form circular intermediates.

ABSTRACT: Vibrio pathogenicity island-2 (VPI-2) is a 57-kb region integrated at a transfer RNA (tRNA)-serine locus that encompasses VC1758 to VC1809 on the V. cholerae N16961 genome and is present in pandemic isolates. VPI-2 encodes a P4-like integrase, a restriction modification system, a Mu phage-like region, and a sialic acid metabolism region, as well as neuraminidase (VC1784), which is a glycosylhydrolase known to release sialic acid from sialoglycoconjugates to unmask GM1 gangliosides, the receptor for cholera toxin. We examined the tRNA-serine locus among the sequenced V. cholerae genomes and identified five variant VPI-2 regions, four of which retained the sialometabolism region. Three variant VPI-2 regions contained a type three secretion system. By using an inverse nested PCR approach, we

SUBMITTER: Murphy RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2223681 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature