21115658

not annotated - annotated - LINNAEUS only

Interbacterial macromolecular transfer by the Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis type IV secretion system.

We report here the first demonstration of intra- and interspecies conjugative plasmid DNA transfer for Campylobacter fetus. Gene regions carried by a Campylobacter coli plasmid were identified that are sufficient for conjugative mobilization to Escherichia coli and C. fetus recipients. A broader functional range is predicted. Efficient DNA transfer involves the virB9 and virD4 genes of the type IV bacterial secretion system encoded by a pathogenicity island of C. fetus subsp. venerealis. Complementation of these phenotypes from expression constructions based on the promoter of the C. fetus surface antigen protein (sap) locus was temperature dependent, and a temperature regulation of the sap promoter was subsequently confirmed under laboratory conditions. Gene transfer was sensitive to surface or entry exclusion functions in potential recipient cells carrying IncPalpha plasmid RP4 implying functional relatedness to C. fetus proteins. The virB/virD4 locus is also known to be involved in bacterial invasion and killing of cultured human cells in vitro. Whether specifically secreted effector proteins contribute to host colonization and infection activities is currently unknown. Two putative effector proteins carrying an FIC domain conserved in a few bacterial type III and type IV secreted proteins of pathogens were analyzed for secretion by the C. fetus or heterologous conjugative systems. No evidence for interbacterial translocation of the Fic proteins was found.



Ann file

T1	Species 46 83	Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis

N1 Reference T1 Taxonomy:196

T2 Species 215 234 Campylobacter fetus

N2 Reference T2 Taxonomy:196

T3 Species 262 280 Campylobacter coli

N3 Reference T3 Taxonomy:195

T4 Species 357 373 Escherichia coli

N4 Reference T4 Taxonomy:562

T5 Species 378 386 C. fetus

N5 Reference T5 Taxonomy:196

T6 Species 577 603 C. fetus subsp. venerealis

N6 Reference T6 Taxonomy:196

T7 Species 700 708 C. fetus

N7 Reference T7 Taxonomy:196

T8 Species 1040 1048 C. fetus

N8 Reference T8 Taxonomy:196

T9 Species 1155 1160 human

N9 Reference T9 Taxonomy:9606

T10 Species 1474 1482 C. fetus

N10 Reference T10 Taxonomy:196