Salmonella Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Salmonella, including details on salmonella typhimurium, food poisoning, infection, treatment.

Virulence attenuation in Salmonella enterica rcsC mutants with constitutive activation of the Rcs system.

García-Calderón CB, García-Quintanilla M, Casadesús J, Ramos-Morales F

Departamento de Genética, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Apartado 1095, 41080 Sevilla, Spain.

Mutations in rcsC that result in constitutive colanic acid capsule synthesis were obtained in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Most rcsC alleles were dominant; however, recessive rcsC alleles were also found, in agreement with the postulated double role (positive and negative) of RcsC on the activation of the RcsB/C phosphorelay system. Salmonella rcsC mutants with constitutive activation of the Rcs system are severely attenuated for virulence in BALB/c mice and their degree of attenuation correlates with the level of Rcs activation. Partial relief of attenuation by a gmm mutation indicates that capsule overproduction is one of the factors leading to avirulence in constitutively activated rcsC mutants.

Published 8 February 2005 in Microbiology, 151: 579-88.
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