Evidence for the presence in Burkholderia pseudomallei of a type III secretion system-associated gene cluster

J Med Microbiol. 1999 Jul;48(7):649-656. doi: 10.1099/00222615-48-7-649.

Abstract

Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, contains a cluster of putative genes homologous to those encoding HpaP, HrcQ, HrcR, HrcS and HrpV in the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum. In R. solanacearum, these genes form part of a type III secretion-associated pathogenicity island. The order of the genes in B. pseudomallei is directly equivalent to that found in R. solanacearum. The B. pseudomallei proteins share 49.5% (HpaP), 52.6% (HrcQ), 80.0% (HrcR), 72.1% (HrcS) and 46.7% (HrpV) similarity, respectively, with their equivalent R. solanacearum proteins. The presence of type III secretion-associated genes in B. pseudomallei pathogens suggests a possible role for type III secretion systems in the pathogenicity of this organism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Blotting, Southern
  • Burkholderia pseudomallei / chemistry
  • Burkholderia pseudomallei / genetics*
  • Burkholderia pseudomallei / pathogenicity
  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Cosmids / genetics
  • DNA Primers / chemistry
  • DNA, Bacterial / analysis
  • Electrophoresis, Agar Gel
  • Gene Library
  • Humans
  • Melioidosis / microbiology*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Multigene Family / genetics*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • Surface Properties
  • Virulence / genetics

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • DNA Primers
  • DNA, Bacterial

Associated data

  • GENBANK/AF074878