Carboxyl-terminal protease regulates Brucella suis morphology in culture and persistence in macrophages and mice.

ABSTRACT: The putative carboxyl-terminal processing protease (CtpA) of Brucella suis 1330 is a member of a novel family of endoproteases involved in the maturation of proteins destined for the cell envelope. The B. suis CtpA protein shared up to 77% homology with CtpA proteins of other bacteria. A CtpA-deficient Brucella strain (1330DeltactpA), generated by allelic exchange, produced smaller colonies on enriched agar plates and exhibited a 50% decrease in growth rate in enriched liquid medium and no growth in salt-free enriched medium compared to the wild-type strain 1330 or the ctpA-complemented strain 1330DeltactpA[pBBctpA]. Electron microscopy revealed that in contrast to the native coccobacillus shape of wild-type strain 1330, strain 1330DeltactpA possessed a spherical shape, an increased cell d

SUBMITTER: Bandara AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1196076 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature