Abstract 2271 Molecular characterization of type VI secretion effector-immunity pairs from Salmonella Typhimurium

Bacteria have evolved mechanisms to outcompete other microorganisms for the limited resources of their environments. One such mechanism is the type VI secretion system (T6SS). The T6SS is an efficient nanomachine responsible for the contact-dependent translocation of effector toxins into neighboring prey cells. Salmonella Typhimurium contains a single T6SS present in Salmonella pathogenicity island 6 (SPI-6) that is utilized for interbacterial competition in the host gut microbiota. In addition to the core T6SS genes, there are 4 clusters of noncore genes which are predicted to encode effector-immunity pairs.