Complete Type III Secretion System of a Mesophilic Aeromonas hydrophila Strain |
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| Authors: | Silvia Vilches Cecilia Urgell Susana Merino Matilde R Chacn Lara Soler Graciela Castro-Escarpulli Maria Jose Figueras and Juan M Toms |
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| Institution: | Silvia Vilches, Cecilia Urgell, Susana Merino, Matilde R. Chacón, Lara Soler, Graciela Castro-Escarpulli, Maria Jose Figueras, and Juan M. Tomás |
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| Abstract: | We have investigated the existence and genetic organization of a functional type III secretion system (TTSS) in a mesophilic Aeromonas strain by initially using the Aeromonas hydrophila strain AH-3. We report for the first time the complete TTSS DNA sequence of an Aeromonas strain that comprises 35 genes organized in a similar disposition as that in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Using several gene probes, we also determined the presence of a TTSS in clinical or environmental strains of different Aeromonas species: A. hydrophila, A. veronii, and A. caviae. By using one of the TTSS genes (ascV), we were able to obtain a defined insertion mutant in strain AH-3 (AH-3AscV), which showed reduced toxicity and virulence in comparison with the wild-type strain. Complementation of the mutant strain with a plasmid vector carrying ascV was fully able to restore the wild-type toxicity and virulence. |
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