ESAT-6 secretion-independent impact of ESX-1 genes espF and espG1 on virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis largely depends on the secretion of the 6-kD early secreted antigenic target ESAT-6 (EsxA) and the 10-kD culture filtrate protein CFP-10 (EsxB) via the ESX-1/typeVII secretion system. Although gene products from the core RD1 region have been shown to be deeply implicated in this process, less is known about proteins encoded further upstream in the 5' region of the ESX-1 cluster, such as the ESX-1 secretion-associated proteins (Esps) EspF or EspG(1).