Characterizing the type 6 secretion system (T6SS) of E. cloacae SBP-8 and its role in pathogenesis and bacterial competition

Despite the relevance of E. cloacae as an opportunistic pathogen, very little is known about its pathogenicity mechanism and the factors influencing its virulence. The mechanism of E. cloacae pathogenicity appears to be complex and multifactorial, with the presence of different putative virulence factors whose role is still not clear in the development of the disease. In this study, we systematically investigated the role of T6SS (type six secretion system) of E. cloacae SBP-8, an environmental isolate, in eukaryotic and bacterial cell interaction. Analysis of the genome sequence of E. cloacae SBP-8 revealed the presence of sets of genes coding for the expression of one complete T6SS cluster, which is similar to T6SS-1 cluster of E. cloacae ATCC 13047 (clinical isolates). In addition, an Hcp effector protein was detected in the secretome, and this secretion depended on ClpV, an Atpase of T6SS, confirming that strain SBP-8 produces functional T6SS. Deletion of T6SS-associated gene clpV did not induce any significant change in the life span and rate of colonization in C. elegans. No major significant change was observed in the expression profiling of antimicrobial genes (clec-60, clec-85, clec-87 and lys-1) and toll-like receptor (toll-1) gene, involved in stimulating an immune response against the pathogen. No difference in the ability to invade and proliferate in intestinal cells and phagocytosis by macrophages was observed. In addition, we demonstrated that the ability of E. cloacae SBP-8 to out-compete Escherichia coli was reliant upon its T6SS in contact-dependent manner. Our results show that T6SS of the environmental isolates is required for interbacterial competition but not for invasion and proliferation inside host cells. •E. cloacae SBP-8 possesses a functional and active type VI secretion system (T6SS).•Deletion of clpV in E. cloacae SBP-8 shows slight or no reduction in virulence in C . elegans.•T6SS of E. cloacae does not impact host immune response, invasion, or survival.•T6SS enables SBP-8 to out-compete E. coli through contact.