Transcriptional profile of Mycobacterium tuberculosis mycP1-eccE1 deletion mutant

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a slow-growing intracellular bacterium with the ability to induce host cell death and persist indefinitely in the human body. This pathogen uses the specialised ESX-1 secretion system to secrete virulence factors and potent immunogenic effectors required for disease progression. ESX-1 is a multi-subunit apparatus with a membrane complex that is predicted to form a pore in the cytoplasmic membrane. In M. tuberculosis this complex is made of five membrane proteins: EccB1, EccCa1, EccCb1, EccD1, EccE1. In this study, we have characterised the membrane component EccE1, and we found that deletion of eccE1 leads to disruption of ESX-1 secretion and attenuation of M. tuberculosis ex vivo. Overall design: In this study, we have characterized the membrane component EccE1, and we found that deletion of eccE1 leads to disruption of ESX-1 secretion and attenuation of M. tuberculosis ex vivo.