RfaB, a galactosyltransferase, contributes to the resistance to detergent and the virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis.

In this study, a deletion mutant of rfaB (DeltarfaB) was observed to be susceptible to sodium dodecyl sulfate and less tolerant to bile salts. In addition, pre-incubation in 10% bile salts increased bacterial tolerance to 30% bile salts. We also showed that the DeltarfaB mutant invaded HeLa cells less than the wild type and resulted in a lower ratio of intracellular bacteria. Competitive infection of mice showed that the DeltarfaB mutant was defective in the colonization of host organs and was cleared more quickly in fecal shedding. Transforming of a plasmid containing a wild-type allele of rfaB (pRB3-rfaB) partially rescued the defect of the DeltarfaB mutant. The results suggest that RfaB, which is responsible to add the glycosyl residue to the core lipopolysaccharide, contributes to the tolerance to detergent and the virulence of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis.