Dorman C J, Porter M E
Department of Microbiology, Moyne Institute of Preventive Medicine, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Republic of Ireland.
Mol Microbiol. 1998 Aug;29(3):677-84. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.1998.00902.x.
Shigella flexneri is the causative agent of bacillary dysentery and is a facultative intracellular pathogen. Its virulence regulon is subject to tight control by several mechanisms involving the products of over 20 genes and an array of environmental signals. The reguIon is carried on a plasmid that is prone to instability and to integration into the chromosome, with associated silencing of the virulence genes. Closely related regulons are found in other species of Shigella and in enteroinvasive Escherichia coli. A wealth of detailed information is now available on the Shigella virulence gene control circuits, and it is becoming clear that these share many features with regulatory systems found in other bacterial pathogens. All of this makes the S. flexneri virulence gene control system a very attractive topic for those interested in the nature of gene regulatory networks in bacteria.
福氏志贺菌是细菌性痢疾的病原体，是一种兼性细胞内病原体。其毒力调节子受到多种机制的严格调控，这些机制涉及20多个基因的产物和一系列环境信号。该调节子位于一个易于不稳定并整合到染色体中的质粒上，同时伴随毒力基因的沉默。在其他志贺菌属物种和侵袭性大肠杆菌中也发现了密切相关的调节子。现在有大量关于志贺菌毒力基因控制回路的详细信息，并且越来越清楚的是，这些回路与其他细菌病原体中的调节系统有许多共同特征。所有这些使得福氏志贺菌毒力基因控制系统成为对细菌基因调控网络性质感兴趣的人非常有吸引力的研究课题。
