Molecular and functional characterization of the Salmonella typhimurium invasion genes invB and invC: homology of InvC to the F0F1 ATPase family of proteins

Functional and molecular analysis of the invC and invB genes of the inv genetic locus in Salmonella typhimurium shows that the invC protein is homologous to the catalytic beta subunit of F(sub 0)F(sub 1) ATPase protein family and mediates ATPase activities. Mutations in the invC gene block the S. typhimurium cells from entering the intestinal epithelial cells and result in a protein without ATPase functions while invB gene mutations do not affect the influx. invC protein catalyzes the protein export system of the S. typhimurium inv locus, which is essential for the entry of the bacterial cells into the mammalian cells.