EspH is a hypervirulence factor for Mycobacterium marinum and essential for the secretion of the ESX-1 substrates EspE and EspF
Fig 9
EspH-mutant strain is hypervirulent in zebrafish larvae.
A-C. Systemic M. marinum WT infection (red) of Tg(fli:GFP) larvae with green fluorescent blood vessels was followed over time, representative images are shown in A. 1dpi, B. 2dpi, C. 4dpi. Larvae were stained with anti-L-plastin to label phagocytic cells (cyan). D-F. Representative images of systemic infection with M. marinum ΔespH over time in D. 1dpi, E. 2dpi, F. 4dpi. Scale bar = 50 μm.