Genomic island 2 is an unstable genetic element contributing to Brucella lipopolysaccharide spontaneous smooth-to-rough dissociation.

ABSTRACT: Brucella is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes a worldwide-distributed zoonosis. The genus includes smooth (S) and rough (R) species that differ in the presence or absence, respectively, of the O-polysaccharide of lipopolysaccharide. In S brucellae, the O-polysaccharide is a critical diagnostic antigen and a virulence determinant. However, S brucellae spontaneously dissociate into R forms, a problem in antigen and S vaccine production. Spontaneous R mutants of Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, and Brucella suis carried the chromosomal scar corresponding to genomic island 2 (GI-2) excision, an event causing the loss of the wboA and wboB O-polysaccharide genes, and the predicted excised circular intermediate was identified in B. abortus, B. melitensis, and B. suis cultures. Moreover,

SUBMITTER: Mancilla M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3008527 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature