Type II secretion systems (T2SS) and the evolutionarily related type IV pili (T4P) are important virulence determinants in many Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. However, the roles of T2SS and T4P in the virulence of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli have not been determined.
Center for Infectious Diseases, Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America.
