Penetration of the intestinal mucosa at areas of Peyer's patches is an important first step for Salmonella typhimurium to produce lethal systemic disease in mice. However, mutations in genes that are important for intestinal invasion result in only moderately decreased virulence of S. typhimurium for mice. Here we report that combining mutations in invA and lpfC, two genes necessary for entry i...

Accurate enumeration of Salmonella spp. is important for assessing whether this pathogen has survived composting. Recent literature has reported that enumeration of Salmonella spp. using standard microbiological methods has a numbers of disadvantages, particularly the time taken to obtain a result. This research is an attempt to develop a rapid, low-cost detection method that is quantitative, h...

A combined enrichment/ newly developed invA TaqMan® real-time PCR (qPCR) method as a screening assay to detect Salmonella spp. in 500 naturally food matrices is evaluated. DNA template for qPCR was extracted from an overnight pre-enriched sample in buffered peptone water using lysis-guanidine isothiocyanate method. Heterologous internal amplification control (IAC) was incorporated during qPCR a...

Many enteric pathogens are equipped with multiple cell adhesion factors which are important for host tissue colonization and virulence. Y. enterocolitica, a common food-borne pathogen with invasive properties, uses the surface proteins invasin and YadA for host cell binding and entry. In this study, we demonstrate unique cell adhesion and invasion properties of Y. enterocolitica serotype O:3 st...

The genomic sequence of Rickettsia prowazekii, the obligate intracellular bacterium responsible for epidemic typhus, reveals an uncharacterized invasion gene homolog (invA). The deduced protein of 18,752 Da contains a Nudix signature, the specific motif found in the Nudix hydrolase family. To characterize the function of InvA, the gene was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The expre...

The consumption of squab (young unfledged pigeons) as part of the cuisine of many countries, together with the observation that squabs are vectors of zoonotic agents, may make them a public health risk. This study was designed to determine the serotypes, distribution of 11 virulence genes (invA, avrA, ssaQ, mgtC, siiD, sopB, gipA, sodC1, sopE1, spvC, bcfC) and the antimicrobial resistance profi...

The effects of three temperatures (5, 15, and 25 degrees C) on the survival of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in topsoil were investigated in small microcosms by three different techniques: plate counting, invA gene quantification, and invA mRNA quantification. Differences in survival were related to the effect of protozoan predation. Tetracycline-resistant Salmonella serovar Typhimuri...

Downlo rix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression is known to enhance the invasion and metastasis of tumor n previous work based on a proteomic screen, we identified the serpin protease nexin-1 (PN-1) as a ial target of MMP-9. Here, we show that PN-1 is a substrate for MMP-9 and establish a link between egradation by MMP-9 and regulation of invasion. PN-1 levels increased in prostate carcinoma ...