Salmonella pathogenicity island 4 (SPI4) encodes a type I secretion system and the cognate substrate protein, SiiE. We have recently demonstrated that SiiE is a giant nonfimbrial adhesin involved in the adhesion of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to polarized epithelial cells. We also observed that under in vitro culture conditions, the synthesis and secretion of SiiE coincided with the...

Ramularia is a species-rich genus that harbours plant pathogens responsible for yield losses to many important crops, including barley, sugar beet and strawberry. Species of Ramularia are hyphomycetes with hyaline conidiophores and conidia with distinct, thickened, darkened, refractive conidiogenous loci and conidial hila, and Mycosphaerella sexual morphs. Because of its simple morphology and g...

The invasion of intestinal epithelial cells by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is mediated by a type III secretion system (T3SS) encoded on Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1). Expression of the SPI1 T3SS is tightly regulated by the combined action of HilC, HilD, and RtsA, three AraC family members that can independently activate hilA, which encodes the direct regulator of the SPI1...

Infection of intestinal epithelial cells is dependent on the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium pathogenicity island 1 (Spi1)-encoded type III injectisome system and flagellar motility. Thus, the expression of virulence and flagellar genes is subject to tight regulatory control mechanisms in order to ensure the correct spatiotemporal production of the respective gene products. In this work...

DNA adenine methylase (Dam(-)) mutants of Salmonella enterica are attenuated in the mouse model and present multiple virulence-related defects. Impaired interaction of Salmonella Dam(-) mutants with the intestinal epithelium has been tentatively correlated with reduced secretion of pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) effectors. In this study, we show that S. enterica Dam(-) mutants contain lowered l...

Salmonella infection of chickens that leads to potential human foodborne salmonellosis continues to be a concern. Changes in the pH of poultry gastrointestinal tract could influence Salmonella growth and virulence response. In the current study, growth responses of a chicken isolate Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST) to three incremental pH-shifts (6.17-7.35) in continuous cultures (C...

During infection of mammalian hosts, facultative intracellular pathogens have to adjust rapidly to different environmental conditions encountered during passage through the gastrointestinal tract and following uptake into epithelial cells and macrophages. Successful establishment within the host therefore requires the coordinated expression of a large number of virulence genes necessary for the...