Immunological characterization of a protective antigen of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae: identification of the region responsible for protective immunity.

ABSTRACT: The gene encoding a protective protein antigen of the gram-positive bacterium Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, an important veterinary pathogen responsible for erysipelas in swine and a variety of diseases in animals, was cloned and sequenced. The gene encodes a polypeptide of 597 amino acids plus a putative signal sequence of 29 amino acids, resulting in a mature protein with a molecular mass of 69,017 Da. Sequence analysis of the gene product revealed a C-terminal region composed of nine tandem repeats of 20 amino acids and a total sequence that is nearly identical to that of the 64-kDa cell surface protein (SpaA) of the bacterium. Because of this similarity, the protein was designated SpaA.1. In this study, we examined whether the SpaA.1 protein could induce protective antibodies and wheth

SUBMITTER: Shimoji Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC96508 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature