Shigellosis is a global human health problem and the incidence is highest among children. In the present work, main Shigella virulence genes was examined by PCR and compared to symptoms of pediatric shigellosis. Thirty Shigella isolates were identified from an etiologic study at which 1,339 children ranging 0-10 years old were enrolled. S. flexneri was the most frequent species reaching 60.0% o...

Type IV secretion systems (T4SS) can mediate the translocation of bacterial virulence proteins into host cells. The plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens uses a T4SS to deliver a VirD2-single stranded DNA complex as well as the virulence proteins VirD5, VirE2, VirE3, and VirF into host cells so that these become genetically transformed. Besides plant cells, yeast and fungi can efficiently be...

Agrobacterium represents the only natural example of transkingdom transfer of genetic information, from bacteria to plants. Before the bacterial transferred DNA (T-DNA) can integrate into the plant genome, it should be targeted to and bind the host chromatin. However, the T-DNA association with the host chromatin has not been demonstrated. Here, we study T-DNA binding to plant nucleosomes in vi...

Agrobacterium genetically transforms its hosts by transferring a segment of DNA (T-DNA) into the host cell and integrating it into the host genome. Integration requires a close interaction between T-DNA, which is packaged into a nucleoprotein complex (T-complex) by bacterial virulence (Vir) proteins, and the host chromatin. This interaction is facilitated by the host protein VIP 1, which binds ...

Using Shigella flexneri 2a YSH6000, we isolated 304 independent Tn5 insertion mutants in the 230-kilobase invasion plasmid, pMYSH6000. The site of each Tn5 insertion was assigned to 23 SalI fragments on the previously made SalI cleavage map of pMYSH6000. Among the 304 insertions, 150 were negative in expression of four phenotypes examined (mouse Sereny test [Ser], invasion into epithelial cells...

The Agrobacterium T-DNA transporter belongs to a growing class of evolutionarily conserved transporters, called type IV secretion systems (T4SSs). VirB4, 789 aa, is the largest T4SS component, providing a rich source of possible structural domains. Here, we use a variety of bioinformatics methods to predict that the C-terminal domain of VirB4 (including the Walker A and B nucleotide-binding mot...

Yersinia enterocolitica is an important foodborne pathogen that causes illness in humans and animals. Y. enterocolitica is also the most heterogeneous species of the genus and is divided into distinct serotypes and over six biotypes. Y. enterocolitica biotype 1A strains are classically considered as nonpathogenic; however, some biotype 1A isolates have been considered as causative of gastrointe...