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Pathogenicity Factors (pathogenicity + factor)
Selected AbstractsStarch-like exopolysaccharide produced by the filamentous fungi Ophiostoma ulmi and O. novo-ulmiFOREST PATHOLOGY, Issue 2 2007R. Jeng Summary This paper describes the chemical and biochemical properties of exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by Ophiostoma ulmi and O. novo-ulmi isolates, the Dutch elm disease (DED) fungi. Some of EPS have been considered as pathogenicity factor in the DED complex. The selected isolates grow well and produce EPS in a medium containing various types of carbon and nitrogen sources. EPS obtained from potato dextrose broth (PDB) medium appeared to be opaque, firm and stained purple blue with iodine-potassium iodide solution, whereas those from yeast extract (YE) medium were less opaque, jelly-like and remained unchanged in iodine solution. The selected fungal isolates produced much higher molecular weight EPS from the medium containing YE than from PDB. The results of this study suggest that high molecular weight compounds produced by O. ulmi (W9) and O. novo-ulmi (R136) are not involved in DED pathogenesis. Spectrometric analysis of acid-digested EPS obtained from PDB and YE revealed the presence of a monomer similar to glucose used as a standard. Thin layer chromatography indicated that glucan-1,4- , -glucosidase (glucoamylase) only hydrolyses EPS from PDB media and releases glucose. The results strongly indicate that isolates of O. ulmi and O. novo-ulmi produce starch-like EPS from PDB medium. The EPS obtained from YE medium lacked this characteristic. The biological significance and the potential use of these EPS are discussed. [source] HrpN of Erwinia amylovora functions in the translocation of DspA/E into plant cellsMOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2008ANA M. BOCSANCZY SUMMARY The type III secretion system (T3SS) is required by plant pathogenic bacteria for the translocation of certain bacterial proteins to the cytoplasm of plant cells or secretion of some proteins to the apoplast. The T3SS of Erwinia amylovora, which causes fire blight of pear, apple and other rosaceous plants, secretes DspA/E, which is an indispensable pathogenicity factor. Several other proteins, including HrpN, a critical virulence factor, are also secreted by the T3SS. Using a CyaA reporter system, we demonstrated that DspA/E is translocated into the cells of Nicotiana tabacum,Xanthi'. To determine if other T3-secreted proteins are needed for translocation of DspA/E, we examined its translocation in several mutants of E. amylovora strain Ea321. DspA/E was translocated by both hrpW and hrpK mutants, although with some delay, indicating that these two proteins are dispensable in the translocation of DspA/E. Remarkably, translocation of DspA/E was essentially abolished in both hrpN and hrpJ mutants; however, secretion of DspA/E into medium was not affected in any of the mentioned mutants. In contrast to the more virulent strain Ea273, secretion of HrpN was abolished in a hrpJ mutant of strain Ea321. In addition, HrpN was weakly translocated into plant cytoplasm. These results suggest that HrpN plays a significant role in the translocation of DspA/E, and HrpJ affects the translocation of DspA/E by affecting secretion or stability of HrpN. Taken together, these results explain the critical importance of HrpN and HrpJ to the development of fire blight. [source] DspA/E, a type III effector of Erwinia amylovora, is required for early rapid growth in Nicotiana benthamiana and causes NbSGT1-dependent cell deathMOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 3 2007CHANG-SIK OH SUMMARY DspA/E is a pathogenicity factor of Erwinia amylovora that is translocated into the plant cell cytoplasm through an Hrp type III secretion system. Transient expression of dspA/E in Nicotiana benthamiana or yeast induced cell death, as it does in N. tabacum and apple as described previously. DspA/E-induced cell death in N. benthamiana was not inhibited by coexpression of AvrPtoB of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, which inhibits programmed cell death (PCD) induced by several other elicitors in plants. Silencing of NbSGT1, the expression of which is required for PCD mediated by several resistance proteins of plants, prevented DspA/E-induced cell death in N. benthamiana. However, silencing of NbRAR1, or two MAP kinase kinase genes, which are required for PCD associated with many resistance genes in plants, did not prevent cell death induced by DspA/E. Silencing of NbSGT1 also compromised non-host resistance against E. amylovora. E. amylovora grew rapidly within the first 24 h after infiltration in N. benthamiana, and DspA/E was required for this early rapid growth. However, bacterial cell numbers decreased after 24 h in TRV-vector-transformed plants, whereas a dspA/E mutant strain grew to high populations in NbSGT1 -silenced plants. Our results indicate that DspA/E enhances virulence of E. amylovora in N. benthamiana, but the bacteria are then recognized by the plant, resulting in PCD and death of bacterial cells or restriction of bacterial cell growth. [source] Shigella spp. and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli pathogenicity factorsFEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 1 2005Claude Parsot Abstract Bacteria of Shigella spp. (S. boydii, S. dysenteriae, S. flexneri and S. sonnei) and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) are responsible for shigellosis in humans, a disease characterized by the destruction of the colonic mucosa that is induced upon bacterial invasion. Shigella spp. and EIEC strains contain a virulence plasmid of ,220 kb that encodes determinants for entry into epithelial cells and dissemination from cell to cell. This review presents the current model on mechanisms of invasion of the colonic epithelium by these bacteria and focuses on their pathogenicity factors, particularly the virulence plasmid-encoded type III secretion system. [source] Ambient pH controls the expression of endopolygalacturonase genes in the necrotrophic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorumFEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 2 2003Pascale Cotton Abstract In the necrotrophic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, secretion of polygalacturonases (PGs) and decrease of the environmental pH via oxalic acid production are considered as the main pathogenicity determinants. In order to evaluate the relationship between these two aspects of the infection process, we analyzed the expression of the endoPG-encoding genes pg1,3. Transcription of pg1,3 was not carbon regulated but was strictly controlled by pH and highly favored in a narrow range of acidic pH. During plant infection, a pH gradient was established in relation to oxalic acid secretion. Transcripts of pg1,3 were localized to the zone of colonization of healthy tissues while transcripts of genes encoding other lytic enzymes were restricted to the more acidic zones of the infected tissues. Our results show that progressive acidification of the ambient medium by the fungus is a major strategy for the sequential expression of pathogenicity factors. [source] Distribution of type III secretion systems in Vibrio parahaemolyticus from the northern Gulf of MexicoJOURNAL OF APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010N.F. Noriea III Abstract Aims:, Two well-characterized Vibrio parahaemolyticus pathogenicity factors , thermostable direct haemolysin (TDH) and TDH - related haemolysin , are produced by strains containing the tdh and trh genes, respectively. Most strains of V. parahaemolyticus contain two nonredundant type III secretion systems (T3SS), T3SS1 and T3SS2, both of which contribute to pathogenicity. Furthermore, a recent study has revealed two distinct lineages of the V. parahaemolyticus T3SS2: T3SS2, and T3SS2,. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of these pathogenicity factors in environmental isolates of V. parahaemolyticus. Methods and Results:, We collected 130 V. parahaemolyticus isolates (TCBS agar) containing tdh and/or trh (determined by colony hybridization) from sediment, oyster and water in the northern Gulf of Mexico and screened them and 12 clinical isolates (PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis) for pathogenicity factors tdh, trh, T3SS1, T3SS2, and T3SS2,. The majority of potential pathogens were detected in the sediment, including all tdh,/trh+ isolates. T3SS2, components were detected in all tdh+/trh, isolates and zero of 109 trh+ isolates. One T3SS2, gene, vopB2, was found in all tdh+/trh, clinical strains but not in any of the 130 environmental strains. Fluorescence in situ hybridization adapted for individual gene recognition (RING-FISH) was used to confirm the presence/absence of vopB2. T3SS2, was found in all tdh,/trh+ isolates and in no tdh+/trh, isolates. Conclusions:, The combination of haemolysins found in each isolate consistently corresponded to the presence and type of T3SS detected. The vopB2 gene may represent a novel marker for identifying increased virulence among strains. Significance and Impact of the Study:, This is the first study to confirm the presence of T3SS2, genes in V. parahaemolyticus strains isolated from the Gulf of Mexico and one of the few that examines the distribution and co-existence of tdh, trh, T3SS1, T3SS2, and T3SS2, in a large collection of environmental strains. [source] Mycotoxins: pathogenicity factors or virulence factors?MYCOSES, Issue 2 2008Herbert Hof [source] 2-DE proteomic approach to the Botrytis cinerea secretome induced with different carbon sources and plant-based elicitorsPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 12 2010Francisco Javier Fernández-Acero Abstract Botrytis cinerea is a phytopathogenic fungus infecting a number of crops (tomatoes, grapes and strawberries), which has been adopted as a model system in molecular phytopathology. B. cinerea uses a wide variety of infection strategies, which are mediated by a set of genes/proteins called pathogenicity/virulence factors. Many of these factors have been described as secreted proteins, and thus the study of this sub-proteome, the secretome, under changing circumstances can help us to understand the roles of these factors, possibly revealing new loci for the fight against the pathogen. A 2-DE, MALDI TOF/TOF-based approach has been developed to establish the proteins secreted to culture media supplemented with different carbon sources and plant-based elicitors (in this study: glucose, cellulose, starch, pectin and tomato cell walls). Secreted proteins were obtained from the culture media by deoxycholate-trichloroacetic acid/phenol extraction, and 76 spots were identified, yielding 95 positive hits that correspond to 56 unique proteins, including several known virulence factors (i.e. pectin methyl esterases, xylanases and proteases). The observed increases in secretion of proteins with established virulence-related functions indicate that this in vitro -induction/proteome-mining approach is a promising strategy for discovering new pathogenicity factors and dissecting infection mechanisms in a discrete fashion. [source] Infection-associated type IV secretion systems of Bartonella and their diverse roles in host cell interactionCELLULAR MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 8 2008Christoph Dehio Summary Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) are transporters of Gram-negative bacteria that mediate interbacterial DNA transfer, and translocation of virulence factors into eukaryotic host cells. The ,-proteobacterial genus Bartonella comprises arthropod-borne pathogens that colonize endothelial cells and erythrocytes of their mammalian reservoir hosts, thereby causing long-lasting intraerythrocytic infections. The deadly human pathogen Bartonella bacilliformis holds an isolated position in the Bartonella phylogeny as a sole representative of an ancestral lineage. All other species evolved in a separate ,modern' lineage by radial speciation and represent highly host-adapted pathogens of limited virulence potential. Unlike B. bacilliformis, the species of the modern lineage encode at least one of the closely related T4SSs, VirB/VirD4 or Vbh. These VirB-like T4SSs represent major host adaptability factors that contributed to the remarkable evolutionary success of the modern lineage. At the molecular level, the VirB/VirD4 T4SS was shown to translocate several effector proteins into endothelial cells that subvert cellular functions critical for establishing chronic infection. A third T4SS, Trw, is present in a sub-branch of the modern lineage. Trw does not translocate any known effectors, but produces multiple variant pilus subunits critically involved in the invasion of erythrocytes. The T4SSs laterally acquired by the bartonellae have thus adopted highly diverse functions during infection, highlighting their versatility as pathogenicity factors. [source] | ||||||||||