Generation of Population-Level Diversity in <i>Anaplasma phagocytophilum msp2/p44</i> Gene Repertoires Through Recombination.

ABSTRACT: Anaplasma phagocytophilum, a tick-borne Rickettsiales, causes an emerging disease among humans and animals called granulocytic anaplasmosis. The organism expresses an immunodominant surface protein, MSP2/P44, that undergoes rapid antigenic variation during single infections due to gene conversion at a single genomic expression site with sequences from one of ~100 transcriptionally silent genes known as "functional pseudogenes". Most studies have indicated that the predominant gene conversion mechanism is the insertion of complete central variable regions (CVRs) into the msp2/p44 expression site via homologous recombination through 5' and 3' conserved regions. This suggests that it is possible that persistent infections by one strain may be self-limiting due to the exhaustion

SUBMITTER: Barbet AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11946796 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature