An analysis of type-III secretion gene clusters in Chromobacterium violaceum.
Chromobacterium violaceum is an environmental Gram-negative bacterium that is common in soil and water in tropical and sub-tropical regions. It is also a model organism for studying quorum-sensing and is a rare but deadly human pathogen. Recent completion of the genome sequence of C. violaceum strain ATCC 12472 revealed the presence of genes associated with type-III secretion systems (TTSSs). One of these systems resembles the Spi-1 system found in Salmonella enterica, whereas another is similar to the Spi-2 system from the same organism. Here, we present a detailed analysis and a fresh annotation of the two gene clusters. Moreover, we highlight the presence of several genes encoding putative type-III effector proteins that lead us to predict that this organism can manipulate vesicular trafficking, the actin cytoskeleton and apoptotic pathways within mammalian cells to its own advantage.
Bacterial Pathogenesis and Genomics Unit, Division of Immunity and Infection, Institute for Biomedical Research, Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT UK.
Helen J
HJ
Betts
Roy R
RR
Chaudhuri
Mark J
MJ
Pallen
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002861:Chromobacterium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005810:Multigene Family; D021381:Protein Transport; D019779:Salmonella enterica / Q000235:genetics; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D001426:Bacterial Proteins