Analysis of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Chitobiose ( chb ) Operon

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ( S. Typhimurium) is an intracellular pathogen that employs specialized virulence factors to survive and replicate within host cells, including a putative chitobiose ( chb) operon traditionally associated with chitin utilization. Because chitin is absent in mammalian hosts, its role during infection remains unclear. Here, we investigate the functional potential of the S. Typhimurium chb operon, with particular focus on ChbF, annotated as a 6-phospho-β-glucosidase. Together, our findings support a possible model in which the S. Typhimurium chb operon functions as a glycan-processing system that targets host-derived LacNAc-containing glycans and establishes a framework for future functional characterization.