STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERIZATION OF TYPE III AND TYPE IV SECRETION SYSTEM PROTEINS

Abstract

Protein secretion plays an important role in modulating the way bacteria interact with their environment. Bacteria have developed several different secretion systems to secrete the proteins across their own cell membrane and into the host cell cytoplasm. The secreted proteins help the bacteria to survive in these harsh environments and facilitate the host-pathogen interactions to cause the infection. To date seven different secretion systems (Type I to Type VII) have been identified. In this thesis we focused on understanding the regulatory mechanism of regulation of T3SS by the GrlR-GrlA regulatory complex and also understanding the mechanism of recruitment of TDNA-protein complex to the T4SS apparatus by the VirD2 binding protein.