Abstract
As in other bacterial pathogens, the virulence determinants of Listeria species are clustered in genomic islands scattered along the chromosome. This review summarizes current knowledge about the structure, distribution and role in pathogenesis of Listeria virulence loci. Hypotheses about the mode of acquisition and evolution of these loci in this group of Gram-positive bacteria are presented and discussed.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Review
MeSH terms
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Animals
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Bacterial Proteins / classification
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Bacterial Proteins / genetics
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Bacterial Proteins / physiology
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Chromosomes, Bacterial / genetics
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Evolution, Molecular
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Humans
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Listeria / genetics*
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Listeria / pathogenicity*
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Listeriosis / microbiology
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Multigene Family
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Virulence / genetics
Substances
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Bacterial Proteins
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internalin protein, Bacteria