Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 29, 2026
12:18
An Allelotyping PCR for Identifying Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis, Hadar, Heidelberg, and Typhimurium
Published on: July 22, 2011
24.2K
Salmonella Typhi shdA: pseudogene or allelic variant?
I M Urrutia1, J A Fuentes1, L M Valenzuela1
1Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Andres Bello, República 217, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
Summary
The Salmonella Typhi shdA gene, previously thought to be a pseudogene, is functional. It plays a role in bacterial adherence and invasion, similar to its Salmonella Typhimurium counterpart.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacterial Pathogenesis
- Genomics
Background:
- ShdA from Salmonella Typhimurium (ShdASTm) is an outer membrane protein crucial for bacterial colonization.
- The homologous shdA gene in Salmonella Typhi (shdASTy) was presumed non-functional due to mutations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functionality of the shdASTy gene.
- To compare the functional roles of shdASTy and ShdASTm.
Main Methods:
- Construction and analysis of Salmonella Typhi ΔshdA mutants.
- Assessing bacterial adherence and invasion in vitro.
- Heterologous expression of shdASTy in Escherichia coli.
Main Results:
- Salmonella Typhi ΔshdA mutants exhibited impaired adherence and invasion.
- ShdASTm functionally complemented the S. Typhi ΔshdA mutant.
- The shdASTy gene encodes a detectable protein.
Conclusions:
- The shdASTy gene is a functional allele, not a pseudogene.
- ShdASTy and ShdASTm share equivalent functions in bacterial adherence and invasion.
