Studies are in progress to elucidate the genetic basis of tissue tropism and host adaptation.
A second project concerns the role of fimbriae and type III secretion systems in diarrheal disease using the calf model. Colonization of murine Peyer's patches by S. enterica . Consecutive stages of Peyer's patch colonization and S. enterica virulence genes required during infection are described in boxes 1 through 6. Fimbrial filaments originate from the poles of the bacterial cell. The lpf fimbrial operon mediates adhesion of Salmonella typhimurium to murine Peyer's patches.