title: The importance of the twin-arginine translocation pathway for bacterial virulence.
abstract: The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway is a prokaryotic transport system that enables the transport of folded proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane. The Tat pathway was originally thought to transport only proteins that bind cofactors in the cytoplasm and, thus, fold before transport, like many proteins related to energy metabolism. However, in recent years it has become clear that the Tat pathway has a broader role and is also an important virulence factor in different bacterial pathogens. Because the Tat pathway is well conserved among important bacterial pathogens and absent from mammalian cells, it could be a target for novel antimicrobial compounds. In this review, we highlight the importance of the Tat system for virulence in several human and plant pathogens.
authors: Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Minderbroedersstraat 10, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
authors: Emmy
authors: E
authors: De Buck
authors: Elke
authors: E
authors: Lammertyn
authors: Jozef
authors: J
authors: Anné
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine / Q000378:metabolism; D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D021381:Protein Transport; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D001120:Arginine