Expression of Anaplasma marginale major surface protein 2 operon-associated proteins during mammalian and arthropod infection.

ABSTRACT: The antigenically variant major surface protein 2 (MSP2) of Anaplasma marginale is expressed from a 3.5-kb operon that contains, in a 5'-to-3' direction, four open reading frames, opag3, opag2, opag1, and msp2. This operon structure was shown to be conserved among genotypically and phenotypically distinct A. marginale, A. ovis, and A. centrale strains. The individual OpAG amino acid sequences are highly conserved among A. marginale strains, with identities ranging from 95 to 99%. OpAG2 and OpAG3 were expressed by all examined A. marginale strains during the acute rickettsemia in the mammalian host and, like MSP2, localize to the bacterial surface. OpAG2 and OpAG3 were also expressed in an infected Ixodes scapularis tick cell line. In contrast, the same A. marginale strains expressed only O

SUBMITTER: Lohr CV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC130398 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature