The locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) is a moderately conserved

pathogenicity island Pathogenicity islands (PAIs), as termed in 1990, are a distinct class of genomic islands acquired by microorganisms through horizontal gene transfer. Pathogenicity islands are found in both animal and plant pathogens. Additionally, PAIs are found ...

consisting of 35,000 base pairs in the bacteria ''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Esc ...

'' genome. The LEE encodes the

Type III secretion system The type III secretion system (T3SS or TTSS), also called the injectisome, is one of the bacterial secretion systems used by bacteria to secrete their effector proteins into the host's cells to promote virulence and colonisation. The T3SS is a ...

and associated chaperones and effector proteins responsible for attaching and effacing (AE) lesions in the large intestine. These proteins include

intimin Intimin is a virulence factor ( adhesin) of EPEC (''e.g.'' ''E. coli'' O127:H6) and EHEC (''e.g. E. coli'' O157:H7) '' E. coli'' strains. It is an attaching and effacing (A/E) protein, which with other virulence factors is necessary and respons ...

, Tir, EspC, EspF, EspH, and

Map protein A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

. The LEE has a 38% G+C ratio.

See also