Yersinia pseudotuberculosis type III secretion is reliant upon an authentic N‐terminal YscX secretor domain

• Certain Gram‐negative bacteria use type III secretion systems to deliver effectorproteins into eukaryotic cells, serving either parasitic or mutualistic roles inside the hostcell. About 25 structural proteins are needed to assemble and deliver effector proteins.Collections of these proteins are quite well characterized, although the function ofsome continues to remain obscure. This is true for the Yersinia Ysc‐Yop systemcomponents YscX, a secreted substrate and YscY, its cognate non‐secreted chaperone.Despite recent evidence suggesting that they might coordinate Yop substrate secretion,YscX and YscY remain poorly characterized. To further investigate the function of theseproteins in the enteropathogen Y. pseudotuberculosis, we explored correlationsbetween the YscX N‐terminal segment, YscX secretion, as well as the secretion of otherYops. Analysis of a series of chimeric substrates in which the extreme YscX N‐terminushad been exchanged with equivalent functional secretion signals of other Ysc‐Yopsubstrates revealed that this segment contains non‐redundant information needed forYscX function, which includes permitting surface polymerization of the YscF needle andYops secretion. Further, in cis deletion of the YscX N‐terminus and ectopic expression ofepitope tagged YscX variants again correlated stable YscX production but not secretionto the type III secretion of Yops. Despite this, the first 5 codons were determined toconstitute a minimal signal capable of promoting secretion of the signalless ‐lactamasereporter. Hence, YscX does contain a fully equipped N‐terminal secretor domain topromote secretion of self. Nevertheless, the primary role of this N‐terminal segmentmust be to assemble an operational secretion system, and this occurs independently ofYscX secretion.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Mikrobiologi inom det medicinska området (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Microbiology in the medical area (hsv//eng)

Keyword

mikrobiologi

Microbiology

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

ovr (subject category)