Monoclonal Antibody Preparation and Epitope Identification for Brucella melitensis Elongation Factor Tu.

ABSTRACT: Elongation factor thermo-unstable (EF-Tu), an abundant multifunctional protein, is pivotal during protein synthesis and is an important antigen. Few studies have addressed the role of this protein in Brucella species, and the epitopes of this protein have not been reported. Here, we describe a monoclonal antibody (McAb), BD₆, for EF-Tu in Brucella melitensis. Using western blotting involving a series of partially overlapping recombinant EF-Tu truncation peptides, a novel linear B-cell epitope, ¹¹⁰QTREHIL¹¹⁶ (EF), was identified. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis revealed that residues Q¹¹⁰, T¹¹¹, R¹¹², I¹¹⁵, and L¹¹⁶ were core residues involved in recognition. Sequence alignment suggested that

SUBMITTER: Zhao N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6705223 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature