| abstract |
Disclosed is a bacterium, or a preparation thereof, wherein the bacterium is an A/E pathogen and comprises a deletion mutation in the bacterial genome in a nucleotide sequence that comprises at least 75% sequence identity to one or more of SEQ ID NOs: 1-3 (nleA), wherein the deletion mutation inactivates expression of the gene encoded by any one of SEQ ID NO:1-3. Also disclosed are methods of attenuating the virulence of an A/E pathogen comprising mutating a nleA gene, methods of treating or preventing infection by an A/E pathogen, and methods of screening for a compound that attenuates the virulence of an A/E pathogen. |