title: The type IV secretion system of Sinorhizobium meliloti strain 1021 is required for conjugation but not for intracellular symbiosis.
abstract: The type IV secretion system (T4SS) of the plant intracellular symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021 is required for conjugal transfer of DNA. However, it is not required for host invasion and persistence, unlike the T4SSs of closely related mammalian intracellular pathogens. A comparison of the requirement for a bacterial T4SS in plant versus animal host invasion suggests an important difference in the intracellular niches occupied by these bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lloret
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Daniele
authors.forename: Graham C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D003227:Conjugation, Genetic; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology; D016962:Sinorhizobium meliloti / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins