Virginia Tech

Bioinformatics sheds light on evolutionary origin of Rickettsia virulence genes

Published in Medical Letter on the CDC and FDA, March 29th, 2009

Scientists from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the University of Louisville have revealed that genes for a specific type of molecular secretion system in Rickettsia, a structure that is linked in many cases to virulence, have been conserved over many years of evolution.

The scientists compared the gene sequences of 13 Rickettsia species to detect a highly conserved type IV secretion system. Type IV secretion systems are membrane-spanning transporters that can act as syringes that inject virulence factors into the cells of their hosts (eukaryotes). Once introduced, these virulence factors...

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Source: Medical Letter on the CDC and FDA (2009-03-29)

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