Open AccessDisruption of the mycobacterial cell entry gene of Mycobacterium bovis BCG results in a mutant that exhibits a reduced invasiveness for epithelial cells
Author(s) -
Flesselles Bruno,
Anand Naveen N,
Remani Jack,
Loosmore Sheena M,
Klein Michel H
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1999.tb13738.x
Subject(s) - mycobacterium bovis , microbiology and biotechnology , mutant , biology , mycobacterium tuberculosis , internalization , mycobacterium , gene , homologous recombination , cell , bacteria , tuberculosis , genetics , medicine , pathology
Mycobacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex have the ability to invade and replicate in non‐phagocytic cells, an event that requires the presence of bacterial surface components capable of triggering a cell response and the subsequent internalization of the microorganism. In this study, we report the sequencing of the mycobacterial cell entry gene ( mce ) of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette‐Guérin (BCG) and the generation and characterization of a mutant BCG strain with an inactivated mce gene, by homologous recombination with double cross‐over. This mutant strain does not express the mycobacterial cell entry protein (Mce) and exhibits a reduced ability to invade the non‐phagocytic epithelial cell line HeLa as compared to wild‐type BCG.