Using_TraDIS_to_perform_genetic_interaction_screens_for_S__Typhimurium_sRNAs_in_cell_models_of_infection

Salmonella Typhimurium is a major human pathogen, and additionally serves as a model system for the study of both intracellular pathogens and bacterial small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs). Over the last decade, it has become increasingly clear that sRNAs play central roles in the regulation of a number of cellular processes, including quorum sensing, metabolism, and various stress responses. However, the contribution of sRNAs to virulence remains largely unexplored. Recent and preliminary RNA-seq and TraDIS data from our lab and others suggests that a number of sRNAs are induced during infection of both epithelial and immune cells, and furthermore that their deletion leads to measurable replication phenotypes in whole animal model systems. However, these experiments leave the mechanisms underlying these phenotypes largely unexplained. We have used the TraDIS method to perform genetic interaction screens for S. Typhimurium sRNAs in cell models of infection, which will provide direct insight in to the processes affected by sRNA regulation during infection.