Identification of novel Coxiella burnetii Icm/Dot effectors and genetic analysis of their involvement in modulating a mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway.

ABSTRACT: Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever, is a human intracellular pathogen that utilizes the Icm/Dot type IVB secretion system to translocate effector proteins into host cells. To identify novel C. burnetii effectors, we applied a machine-learning approach to predict C. burnetii effectors, and examination of 20 such proteins resulted in the identification of 13 novel effectors. To determine whether these effectors, as well as several previously identified effectors, modulate conserved eukaryotic pathways, they were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The effects on yeast growth were examined under regular growth conditions and in the presence of caffeine, a known modulator of the yeast cell wall integrity (CWI) mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway. In the presence of

SUBMITTER: Lifshitz Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4187803 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature