22Salmonella is a leading cause of food borne illness and poses a major public health 23 problem worldwide. Two type III secretion systems (TTSSs) are responsible for the 24 delivery of a series of bacterial effectors into the infected cells to reprogram host cell 25 functions to promote bacterial invasion and intracellular survival/replication. Nearly half 26of Salmonella genes encode proteins that are annotated as "hypothetical". We 27 hypothesize that some of these hypothetical proteins might be TTSS effectors and 28 participate in Salmonella virulence. In this study, we employed an in silico screen to 29 identify putative TTSS effector proteins and performed a large scale screening of 30Salmonella effectors using a β-lactamase protein translocation reporter assay. We 31 identified 22 novel effectors that have not been previously reported. One of the effector 32 -YggG, is found to be cytotoxic to mammalian cells when overexpressed suggesting 33 interference with mammalian cell functions and survival. Importantly, Salmonella strains 34 lacking YggG has reduced virulence in the mouse infection model. Our study 35 demonstrated that YggG and its protease activity are required for Salmonella virulence 36in the mouse infection model. Surprisingly, no detectable roles in invasion into epithelial 37 cells and no effect on the survival and replication inside cultured macrophages. We 38 speculate that YggG may be involved in altering some aspects of the host immune 39 system to promote infection. Our finding significantly expands the number of known 40Salmonella effectors, and laid a solid foundation in further understanding Salmonella 41 pathogenesis. 42 43 3
Abstract Importance 44Salmonellosis continues to be public health concern in the USA and the world. 45Salmonella delivers a set of bacterial proteins (effectors) into the host cells to invade 46 non-phagocytic cells and to replicate inside the infected cells. Identification and 47 characterization of these effectors are pivotal to the understanding of how Salmonella 48 causes diseases. In addition, Nearly half of Salmonella genes encode proteins that are 49 annotated as "hypothetical". We have identified 22 novel effectors that have not been 50 previously reported. Our finding significantly expands the number of known Salmonella 51 effectors, and laid a solid foundation in further understanding Salmonella pathogenesis. 52 53