Comparative genomics and full-length Tprk profiling of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum reinfection.

ABSTRACT: Developing a vaccine against Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, remains a public health priority. Syphilis vaccine design efforts have been complicated by lack of an in vitro T. pallidum culture system, prolific antigenic variation in outer membrane protein TprK, and lack of functional annotation for nearly half of the genes. Understanding the genetic basis of T. pallidum reinfection can provide insights into variation among strains that escape cross-protective immunity. Here, we present comparative genomic sequencing and deep, full-length tprK profiling of two T. pallidum isolates from blood from the same patient that were collected six years apart. Notably, this patient was diagnosed with syphilis four times, with two of these episodes meeting the de

SUBMITTER: Addetia A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7162541 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature