Proteome-scale identification and characterization of mitochondria targeting proteins of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis: Potential virulence factors modulating host mitochondrial function

• Mitochondrion is an attractive target for bacterial pathogens.
• 46 MAP proteins as potential candidates likely to target host cell mitochondrion
• 33% of 46 MAP proteins involved in intermediary metabolism and respiration.
• 14 MAP proteins as probable exotoxins showing a putative role as virulence factors
• These may alter mitochondrial physiology and may help the host cell evasion.

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is the etiological agent of Johne's Disease among ruminants. During the course of infection, it expresses a number of proteins for its successful persistence inside the host that cause variety of physiological abnormalities in the host. Mitochondrion is one of the attractive targets for pathogenic bacteria. Employing a proteome-wide sequence and structural signature based approach we have identified 46 M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis proteins as potential targets for the host mitochondrial targeting. These may act as virulence factors modulating mitochondrial physiology for bacterial survival and immune evasion inside the host cells.