Dataset Information

Multi-genome identification and characterization of chlamydiae-specific type III secretion substrates: the Inc proteins.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacteria that multiply in a vacuolar compartment, the inclusion. Several chlamydial proteins containing a bilobal hydrophobic domain are translocated by a type III secretion (TTS) mechanism into the inclusion membrane. They form the family of Inc proteins, which is specific to this phylum. Based on their localization, Inc proteins likely play important roles in the interactions between the microbe and the host. In this paper we sought to identify and analyze, using bioinformatics tools, all putative Inc proteins in published chlamydial genomes, including an environmental species.

Results

Inc proteins contain at least one bilobal hydrophobic domain made of two transmembrane helices separated by a loop of less than 30 amino acids. Using bioinformatics tools we identified 537 putative Inc proteins across seven chlamydial proteomes. The amino-terminal segment of the putative Inc proteins was recognized as a functional TTS signal in 90% of the C. trachomatis and C. pneumoniae sequences tested, validating the data obtained in silico. We identified a macro domain in several putative Inc proteins, and observed that Inc proteins are enriched in segments predicted to form coiled coils. A surprisingly large proportion of the putative Inc proteins are not constitutively translocated to the inclusion membrane in culture conditions.

Conclusions

The Inc proteins represent 7 to 10% of each proteome and show a great degree of sequence diversity between species. The abundance of segments with a high probability for coiled coil conformation in Inc proteins support the hypothesis that they interact with host proteins. While the large majority of Inc proteins possess a functional TTS signal, less than half may be constitutively translocated to the inclusion surface in some species. This suggests the novel finding that translocation of Inc proteins may be regulated by as-yet undetermined mechanisms.

SUBMITTER: Dehoux P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3048545 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Multi-genome identification and characterization of chlamydiae-specific type III secretion substrates: the Inc proteins.

Dehoux Pierre P Flores Rhonda R Dauga Catherine C Zhong Guangming G Subtil Agathe A

BMC genomics 20110216

<h4>Background</h4>Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacteria that multiply in a vacuolar compartment, the inclusion. Several chlamydial proteins containing a bilobal hydrophobic domain are translocated by a type III secretion (TTS) mechanism into the inclusion membrane. They form the family of Inc proteins, which is specific to this phylum. Based on their localization, Inc proteins likely play important roles in the interactions between the microbe and the host. In this paper we sought to i ...[more]

PMID: 21324157

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Project description:Edwardsiella ictaluri, a major pathogen in channel catfish aquaculture, encodes a type III secretion system (T3SS) that is essential for intracellular replication and virulence. Previous work identified three putative T3SS effectors in E. ictaluri, and in silico analysis of the E. ictaluri genome identified six additional putative effectors, all located on the chromosome outside the T3SS pathogenicity island. To establish active translocation by the T3SS, we constructed translational fusions of each effector to the amino-terminal adenylate cyclase (AC) domain of the Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase toxin CyaA. When translocated through the membrane of the Edwardsiella-containing vacuole (ECV), the cyclic AMP produced by the AC domain in the presence of calmodulin in the host cell cytoplasm can be measured. Results showed that all nine effectors were translocated from E. ictaluri in the ECV to the cytoplasm of the host cells in the wild-type strain but not in a T3SS mutant, indicating that translocation is dependent on the T3SS machinery. This confirms that the E. ictaluri T3SS is similar to the Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 T3SS in that it translocates effectors through the membrane of the bacterial vacuole directly into the host cell cytoplasm. Additional work demonstrated that both initial acidification and subsequent neutralization of the ECV were necessary for effector translocation, except for two of them that did not require neutralization. Single-gene mutants constructed for seven of the individual effectors were all attenuated for replication in CCO cells, but only three were replication deficient in head kidney-derived macrophages (HKDM). IMPORTANCE The bacterial pathogen Edwardsiella ictaluri causes enteric septicemia of catfish (ESC), an economically significant disease of farm-raised channel catfish. Commercial catfish production accounts for the majority of the total fin fish aquaculture in the United States, with almost 300,000 tons produced annually, and ESC is the leading cause of disease loss in the industry. We have demonstrated the survival and replication of E. ictaluri within channel catfish cells and identified a secretion system that is essential for E. ictaluri intracellular replication and virulence. We have also identified nine proteins encoded in the E. ictaluri genome that we believe are actively transferred from the bacterium to the cytoplasm of the host cell and act to manipulate host cell physiology to the advantage of the bacterium. The data presented here confirm that the proteins are actually transferred during an infection, which will lead to further work on approaches to preventing or controlling ESC.

Dataset Information

Multi-genome identification and characterization of chlamydiae-specific type III secretion substrates: the Inc proteins.

Background

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Multi-genome identification and characterization of chlamydiae-specific type III secretion substrates: the Inc proteins.

Similar Datasets

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