Bioinformatics, genomics and evolution of non-flagellar type-III secretion systems: a Darwinian perspective

Mark J Pallen; Scott A Beatson; Christopher M Bailey

doi:10.1016/j.femsre.2005.01.001

Bioinformatics, genomics and evolution of non-flagellar type-III secretion systems: a Darwinian perspective

FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2005 Apr;29(2):201-29. doi: 10.1016/j.femsre.2005.01.001.

Authors

Mark J Pallen¹, Scott A Beatson, Christopher M Bailey

Affiliation

¹ Bacterial Pathogenesis and Genomics Unit, Division of Immunity and Infection, Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands B15 2TT, UK. m.pallen@bham.ac.uk

PMID: 15808742
DOI: 10.1016/j.femsre.2005.01.001

Abstract

We review the biology of non-flagellar type-III secretion systems from a Darwinian perspective, highlighting the themes of evolution, conservation, variation and decay. The presence of these systems in environmental organisms such as Myxococcus, Desulfovibrio and Verrucomicrobium hints at roles beyond virulence. We review newly discovered sequence homologies (e.g., YopN/TyeA and SepL). We discuss synapomorphies that might be useful in formulating a taxonomy of type-III secretion. The problem of information overload is likely to be ameliorated by launch of a web site devoted to the comparative biology of type-III secretion ().

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Amino Acid Sequence
Bacterial Proteins* / chemistry
Bacterial Proteins* / genetics
Bacterial Proteins* / metabolism
Computational Biology / methods*
Evolution, Molecular*
Flagella / metabolism
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Genomics*
Gram-Negative Bacteria* / genetics
Gram-Negative Bacteria* / metabolism
Gram-Negative Bacteria* / pathogenicity
Molecular Sequence Data
Virulence

Substances

Bacterial Proteins