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Infection and Immunity, October 2005, p. 6860-6867, Vol. 73, No. 10
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.10.6860-6867.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Homologues of Insecticidal Toxin Complex Genes in Yersinia enterocolitica Biotype 1A and Their Contribution to Virulence

Sharon M. Tennant,1 Narelle A. Skinner,2 Angela Joe,1 and Roy M. Robins-Browne1,2*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne,1 Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia2

Received 11 April 2005/ Returned for modification 25 May 2005/ Accepted 11 July 2005

Yersinia enterocolitica is an enteric pathogen that consists of six biotypes: 1A, 1B, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Strains of the latter five biotypes can carry a virulence plasmid, known as pYV, and several well-characterized chromosomally encoded virulence determinants. Y. enterocolitica strains of biotype 1A lack the virulence-associated markers of pYV-bearing strains and were once considered to be avirulent. There is growing epidemiological, clinical, and experimental evidence, however, to suggest that some biotype 1A strains are virulent and can cause gastrointestinal disease. To identify potential virulence genes of pathogenic strains of Y. enterocolitica biotype 1A, we used genomic subtractive hybridization to determine genetic differences between two biotype 1A strains: an environmental isolate, Y. enterocolitica IP2222, and a clinical isolate, Y. enterocolitica T83. Among the Y. enterocolitica T83-specific genes we identified were three, tcbA, tcaC, and tccC, that showed homology to the insecticidal toxin complex (TC) genes first discovered in Photorhabdus luminescens. The Y. enterocolitica T83 TC gene homologues were expressed by Y. enterocolitica T83 and were significantly more prevalent among clinical biotype 1A strains than other Yersinia isolates. Inactivation of the TC genes in Y. enterocolitica T83 resulted in mutants which were attenuated in the ability to colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of perorally infected mice. These results indicate that products of the TC gene complex contribute to the virulence of some strains of Y. enterocolitica biotype 1A, possibly by facilitating their persistence in vivo.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. Phone: 61 3 8344 8275. Fax: 61 3 8344 8276. E-mail: r.browne{at}unimelb.edu.au.

Editor: J. B. Bliska

Infection and Immunity, October 2005, p. 6860-6867, Vol. 73, No. 10
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.10.6860-6867.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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