SummaryThe severity of infections caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium varies depending on the host species. Numerous virulence genes have been identified in S . Typhimurium, largely from studies in mice, but their roles in infections of other species remain unclear. In the most comprehensive survey of its kind, through the use of signaturetagged mutagenesis of S. Typhimurium we have identified mutants that were unable to colonize calf intestines, mutants unable to colonize chick intestines and mutants unable to colonize both species. The type three secretion systems encoded on Salmonella pathogenicity islands (SPIs) 1 and 2 were required for efficient colonization of cattle. However, disruption of these secretion systems only caused a minor defect in S . Typhimurium colonization of chicks. Transposon insertions in SPI-4 compromised S . Typhimurium colonization of cattle, but not chicks. This is the first data confirming a role for SPI-4 in pathogenesis. We have also been able to ascribe a role in colonization for cell surface polysaccharides, cell envelope proteins, and many 'housekeeping' genes and genes of unknown function. We conclude that S . Typhimurium uses different strategies to colonize calves and chicks. This has major implications for vaccine design.

Chickens, pigs, and cattle are key reservoirs of Salmonella enterica, a foodborne pathogen of worldwide importance. Though a decade has elapsed since publication of the first Salmonella genome, thousands of genes remain of hypothetical or unknown function, and the basis of colonization of reservoir hosts is ill-defined. Moreover, previous surveys of the role of Salmonella genes in vivo have focused on systemic virulence in murine typhoid models, and the genetic basis of intestinal persistence and thus zoonotic transmission have received little study. We therefore screened pools of random insertion mutants of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium in chickens, pigs, and cattle by transposon-directed insertion-site sequencing (TraDIS). The identity and relative fitness in each host of 7,702 mutants was simultaneously assigned by massively parallel sequencing of transposon-flanking regions. Phenotypes were assigned to 2,715 different genes, providing a phenotype–genotype map of unprecedented resolution. The data are self-consistent in that multiple independent mutations in a given gene or pathway were observed to exert a similar fitness cost. Phenotypes were further validated by screening defined null mutants in chickens. Our data indicate that a core set of genes is required for infection of all three host species, and smaller sets of genes may mediate persistence in specific hosts. By assigning roles to thousands of Salmonella genes in key reservoir hosts, our data facilitate systems approaches to understand pathogenesis and the rational design of novel cross-protective vaccines and inhibitors. Moreover, by simultaneously assigning the genotype and phenotype of over 90% of mutants screened in complex pools, our data establish TraDIS as a powerful tool to apply rich functional annotation to microbial genomes with minimal animal use.

Type III secretion systems (T3SS) are conserved in many pathogenic gram-negative bacteria. Small molecules that specifically target T3SS in Yersinia and Chlamydia spp. have recently been identified. Here we show that two such compounds inhibit Salmonella T3SS-1, preventing secretion of T3SS-1 effectors, invasion of cultured epithelial cells, and enteritis in vivo.

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Here we report that Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium pathogenicity island 4 carries a type I secretion system (siiCDF) which secretes an ∼600-kDa protein (encoded by siiE). SiiE is surface expressed, and its production is regulated by HilA. SiiE and SiiF influence colonization in cattle and the invasion of bovine enterocytes.