WbaP is required for swarm motility and intramacrophage multiplication of Salmonella Enteritidis spiC mutant by glucose use ability

Salmonella spp. can survive and replicate in macrophage cells to cause persistent infection, SpiC is a necessary T3SS effector, but its pathogenic mechanism is still not known completely. In our study, Salmonella Enteritidis spiC mutant (SE Delta spiC) was found to have stronger swarming motility and intramacrophage hyperproliferation which was closely related to glucose metabolism. SE Delta spiC wbaP::Tn5 mutant was screened out by transposon mutagenesis, which had weaker swarming motility and intramacrophage replication ability than SE Delta spiC in the presence of glucose. Bioinformatics displayed that undecaprenyl-phosphate galactose phosphotransferase (Wbap), encoded by wbaP gene, was a key enzyme for glucose metabolism and Lipopolysaccharide(LPS) synthesis, which confirmed our outcome that Wbap was involved in intramacrophage replication ability by glucose use in addition to swarming motility based on SE Delta spiC. This discovery will further promote the understanding of the interaction between wbaP gene and spiC gene and the intracellular Salmonella replication mechanism.

Automated summary

The research identified that the Salmonella Enteritidis spiC mutant had enhanced swarming motility and intramacrophage hyperproliferation, which was linked to glucose metabolism. This study also revealed the importance of the Wbap enzyme in glucose metabolism and LPS synthesis, shedding light on the mechanisms behind intracellular Salmonella replication.