38th Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology

Xenorhabdus spp. are insect pathogenic bacteria vectored by their symbiotic entomopathogenic nematode partners. The role of the flagella regulon in symbiosis and pathogenesis of Xenorhabdus is currently not well understood. The FlhDC master flagellar regulator is involved not only in flagellar production but also in virulence and hemolysin and lipase production. Recent studies have shown that motility, virulence and exoenzyme production are controlled by an integrated network of regulation. Genomic analysis of the flagella regulons in Xenorhabdus nematophila and Xenorhabdus bovienii has revealed that while the basic flagellar gene clusters are conserved many nonflagellar genes located within the flagella regulons are widely divergent. The significance of these findings in the unique life cycle of X. nematophila will be discussed.