Identification of the sigmaE regulon of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

The extracytoplasmic function sigma factor, sigma(E), has been shown to play a critical role in virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). The previously optimized two-plasmid system has been used to identify S. Typhimurium promoters recognized by RNA polymerase containing sigma(E). This method allowed identification of 34 sigma(E)-dependent promoters that direct expression of 62 genes in S. Typhimurium, 23 of which (including several specific for S. Typhimurium) have not been identified previously to be dependent upon sigma(E) in Escherichia coli. The promoters were confirmed in S. Typhimurium and transcriptional start points of the promoters were determined by S1-nuclease mapping. All the promoters contained sequences highly similar to the consensus sequence of sigma(E)-dependent promoters. The identified genes belonging to the S. Typhimurium sigma(E)-regulon encode proteins involved in primary metabolism, DNA repair systems and outer-membrane biogenesis, and regulatory proteins, periplasmic proteases and folding factors, proposed lipoproteins, and inner- and outer-membrane proteins with unknown functions. Several of these sigma(E)-dependent genes have been shown to play a role in virulence of S. Typhimurium.