Autotransporter Proteins

This review focuses on the function of the Escherichia coli and Salmonella autotransporters for which a considerable amount of literature is available. Members of the serine protease autotransporters of the Enterobacteriaceae (SPATEs) family are proteins from E. coli and Shigella spp., which, like the Neisseria and Haemophilus influenzae IgA1 proteases and Hap, possess a consensus serine protease motif. The largest subfamily of autotransporters is defined by the AidA conserved domain COG3468 and consists of members from a diverse range of animal and plant pathogens including E. coli, S. enterica, Yersinia pestis. This subfamily, which is composed of more than 55 proteins, possesses some of the best-characterized autotransporter proteins including the S. flexneri mediator of motility IcsA, the major phase-variable E. coli outer membrane protein antigen 43 (Ag43) and the diffuse adhering E. coli (DAEC) adhesin AIDA-I, from which this subfamily derives its name. Another member of the AIDA-I family, and one of the most studied autotransporter proteins, is IcsA. The autotransporter pathway is emerging as the most common mechanism of protein translocation across the gram-negative outer membrane.