Abstract
The MgtC is a virulence factor in Salmonella Typhimurium that is required for growth at low-Mg2+ concentrations and intramacrophage survival. This gene is codified in a conserved region of the Salmonella pathogenicity island 3 (SPI-3), and is also present in the chromosome of other Salmonella serovars. In this study we characterized the MgtC factor in S. Typhi, a human specific pathogen, by using mgtC and SPI-3 mutant strains. We found that MgtC is the most important factor codified in the SPI-3 of S. Typhi for growth in low-Mg2+ media and survival within human cells. In addition, by using reporter genes we determined that the low-Mg2+ concentration, acidic media and PhoP regulator induce mgtC expression in S. Typhi. We suggest that MgtC is the most important virulence factor codified in the SPI-3 of S. Typhi.
Highlights
The Salmonella enterica genome has at least five DNA regions associated with pathogenicity, referred to as the Salmonella pathogenicity islands (SPI)
The mgtC sequence seems to encode a virulence factor that has been repeatedly acquired by horizontal gene transfer throughout bacterial evolution, since it has been associated with virulence in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Brucella suis [5,6,7]
The results suggest that MgtC can restore the phenotypes observed in a Salmonella pathogenicity island 3 (SPI-3) mutant strain by itself and can be considered the most important product codified on the S
Summary
The Salmonella enterica genome has at least five DNA regions associated with pathogenicity, referred to as the Salmonella pathogenicity islands (SPI). Typhimurium and contains ten ORFs [1], among which some have been experimentally associated with virulence functions of this bacterium. This is the case for the mgtCB operon, for which there is evidence of involvement in intramacrophage survival and virulence in mice [2,3]. This operon is codified in all Salmonella serovars in a very conserved SPI-3 region [4]. It has been shown that the two-component system PhoP-PhoQ induces the expression of mgtC, in response to low Mg2+ levels and acidic pH [8,10]
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