We hypothesized that SslE secretion in E. coli W might play a role in host colonization, and that secretion might be regulated such that more SslE is secreted under conditions that resemble the

mammalian gut. We assessed this conditionality by examining SslE secretion from cultures grown at different KU-57788 chemical structure temperatures and nutrient conditions: 30°C vs. 37°C, and minimal MOPS-glycerol broth vs. rich LB (Figure 2D). We observed secretion of SslE only in cultures grown in LB at 37°C, indicating that either reduced temperature or nutrient limitations are sufficient to block SslE secretion. C-terminal fusions to SslE prevent secretion In their initial characterization of SslE surface display and secretion, Baldi et al. found that C-terminal fusion of a small tetracysteine-containing motif to SslE did not interfere with localization of SslE [9]. This result suggested that the C-terminus of SslE might not be important for the recognition of SslE by T2SSβ, and thus might be a permissive site for polypeptide

fusions. We were interested in testing C-terminal permissiveness for two reasons: first, because it might provide information about the targeting of SslE for secretion (as there are no defined secretory signals for type II secretion substrates), and second, because SslE fusions might be AZD9291 manufacturer useful to anchor other proteins to the cell surface. We therefore independently fused two Selleck MLN2238 plant cell wall degrading enzymes, Cel45A and Pel10A from Cellvibrio japonicus, to the C-terminus of E. coli W SslE and assessed the capacity of these fusion proteins to be PLEK2 secreted or displayed on the cell surface. Both fusions resulted in stable, enzymatically active proteins when expressed in E. coli W. We did not generate fusions to the potentially lipidated

N-terminus of SslE to avoid changes in lipidation that could affect protein localization. We performed all secretion and display experiments side-by-side in wild-type and T2SS-deficient ΔpppA strains, and present the results in Table 1. By following activity of the enzymatic fusions, we found that neither fusion protein was released into the medium under conditions in which we found wild-type SslE to be released. Indeed, extracellular activity of SslE-Cel45A was difficult to detect, though lysed cells released highly active enzyme. Because the substrates for Cel45A (carboxymethyl cellulose) and Pel10A (polygalacturonic acid) are high molecular weight polysaccharides that cannot enter the E. coli cell, we were able to assess surface display of fusion proteins by measuring the enzymatic activity of intact cells as compared to cell lysates. These experiments further demonstrated that the fusion proteins were not displayed on the surface of the cell, but accumulated intracellularly.