title: A novel linear plasmid mediates flagellar variation in Salmonella Typhi.
abstract: Unlike the majority of Salmonella enterica serovars, Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi), the etiological agent of human typhoid, is monophasic. S. Typhi normally harbours only the phase 1 flagellin gene (fliC), which encodes the H:d antigen. However, some S. Typhi strains found in Indonesia express an additional flagellin antigen termed H:z66. Molecular analysis of H:z66+ S. Typhi revealed that the H:z66 flagellin structural gene (fljB(z66)) is encoded on a linear plasmid that we have named pBSSB1. The DNA sequence of pBSSB1 was determined to be just over 27 kbp, and was predicted to encode 33 coding sequences. To our knowledge, pBSSB1 is the first non-bacteriophage-related linear plasmid to be described in the Enterobacteriaceae.
authors.affiliation: The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. sgb@sanger.ac.uk
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.forename: Kenneth E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Sanderson
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quail
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Goodhead
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kingsley
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parkhill
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stocker
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dougan
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers; D005407:Flagella / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005408:Flagellin / Q000235:genetics*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012485:Salmonella typhi / Q000235:genetics*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D017931:DNA Primers; D005408:Flagellin