1. Determining the role of the SpiC protein in Salmonellatyphimurium infection of the model organism, C. elegans: a phenotypic assayAjay SinghPine Crest SchoolFlorida Atlantic UniversityS

2. Salmonella Outbreaks! 3. BackgroundS Salmonella typhimurium = problem forhumansS Pathogenic gram negative bacteriumS Persistent intestinal infection ifconsumedS Symptoms: S Diarrhea, vomiting, fever, abdominal cramps S Life threatening to those with compromised immune systemsS How does infection occur? 4. Salmonellacontainingvacuole (SCV)Vacuole 5. SIFVacuoleLysosomeSIF 6. VacuoleEffector proteins 7. BackgroundS SpiCS Regulator of T3SS2 translocon proteinsS Has a role in formation of Salmonella induced filaments (SIFs)S Type 3 Secretion System 2 (T3SS2)S Helps with internal replication and survivability of Salmonella within a host cellS Lack of SIFs = attenuated virulence in mammalianstudies 8. Purpose and HypothesisS Purpose: To determine the importance of the role of SpiCprotein in Salmonella tyhpimurium infection using C.elegans as a model organismS Hypothesis: The deletion of SpiC from Salmonellatyphimurium will decrease the virulence and lethality ofthe Salmonella infection. 9. Materials and MethodsS DesignS 3 groups of N2 (Wild type) C. elegans S SpiC Salmonella S Wild-type Salmonella S OP50 (control) (remained uninfected)S Scoring: determining the viability of each wormS Application of Fluorodeoxyuridine (FUdR): sterilization ofexperimental worms to control population 10. Results Data Table for Trial 1Strain Subjects at risk Median lifespan Maximum (# of subjects (days)lifespan (days) censored)N2 OP5062 (18)2332N2 SpiC 72 (8) 2028SalmonellaN2 WT Salmonella 63 (17)2029 11. Results Data Table for Trial 2Strain Subjects at risk Median lifespan Maximum lifespan (# of subjects (days)(days) censored)N2 OP5053 (27)2740N2 SpiC 51 (29)2536SalmonellaN2 WT Salmonella 65 (15)2636 12. Trial 1P-Value N2 OP50 vs. N2 0.0001* SpiC Salmonella N2 OP50 vs. N2