Characterization of Sec-translocon-dependent extracytoplasmic proteins of Rickettsia typhi.

ABSTRACT: As obligate intracellular, vector-borne bacteria, rickettsiae must adapt to both mammalian and arthropod host cell environments. Deciphering the molecular mechanisms of the interactions between rickettsiae and their host cells has largely been hindered by the genetic intractability of these organisms; however, research in other gram-negative pathogens has demonstrated that many bacterial determinants of attachment, entry, and pathogenesis are extracytoplasmic proteins. The annotations of several rickettsial genomes indicate the presence of homologs of the Sec translocon, the major route for bacterial protein secretion from the cytoplasm. For Rickettsia typhi, the etiologic agent of murine typhus, homologs of the Sec-translocon-associated proteins LepB, SecA, and LspA have been functionally

SUBMITTER: Ammerman NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2546805 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature