Putative type IV secretion genes in Bacillus anthracis.
Although the physiology of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, has been studied extensively, we still do not know how toxins are dispatched from the bacterial cell. Here, by means of distant homology and genome context analyses, we identify genes encoding putative type IV secretion system-related elements on the B. anthracis plasmids pXO1 and pXO2 and in the chromosome. We argue that this type IV secretion system-like system could be responsible for anthrax toxin secretion, although we also discuss the possibilities of its involvement in the processes of sporulation, germination or conjugation.
Grynberg
Marcin
M
Department of Genetics, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics PAS, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland. greenb@ibb.waw.pl
Li
Zhanwen
Z
Szczurek
Ewa
E
Godzik
Adam
A
D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019295:Computational Biology; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins