In vivo-selected mutations in methyl-directed mismatch repair suppress the virulence attenuation of Salmonella dam mutant strains following intraperitoneal, but not oral, infection of naïve mice.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium that lacks the DNA adenine methylase (Dam) ectopically expresses multiple genes that are preferentially expressed during infection, is attenuated for virulence, and confers heightened immunity in vaccinated hosts. The safety of dam mutant Salmonella vaccines was evaluated by screening within infected mice for isolates that have an increased capacity to cause disease relative to the attenuated parental strain. Since dam mutant strains are sensitive to the DNA base analog 2-aminopurine (2-AP), we screened for 2-AP-resistant (2-AP(r)) isolates in systemic tissues of mice infected with dam mutant Salmonella. Such 2-AP(r) derivatives were isolated following intraperitoneal but not oral administration and were shown to be competent for infectivity via intraperitoneal but not oral infection of naïve mice. These 2-AP(r) derivatives were deficient in methyl-directed mismatch repair and were resistant to nitric oxide, yet they retained the bile-sensitive phenotype of the parental dam mutant strain. Additionally, introduction of a mutH null mutation into dam mutant cells suppressed the inherent defects in intraperitoneal infectivity and nitric oxide resistance, as well as overexpression of SpvB, an actin cytotoxin required for Salmonella systemic survival. These data suggest that restoration of intraperitoneal virulence of dam mutant strains is associated with deficiencies in methyl-directed mismatch repair that correlate with the production of systemically related virulence functions.