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Characterization of the Coxiella burnetii suc B Gene Encoding an Immunogenic Dihydrolipoamide Succinyltransferase
Author(s) -
Van Nguyen Sa,
To Ho,
Yamaguchi Tsuyoshi,
Fukushi Hideto,
Hirai Katsuya
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
microbiology and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1348-0421
pISSN - 0385-5600
DOI - 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1999.tb02465.x
Subject(s) - biology , coxiella burnetii , gene , q fever , homology (biology) , escherichia coli , genomic library , microbiology and biotechnology , antiserum , genomic dna , restriction enzyme , virology , antigen , genetics , peptide sequence
The Coxiella burnetii sucB gene encoding the dihydrolipoamide succinyltransferase (E2o) enzyme was cloned by immunological screening of a λ EMBL3 genomic library prepared from strain Nine Mile DNA and sequenced. The homology of the cloned gene product to the counterpart in Escherichia coli was 54.3%, but the homology of the N‐terminal region was only 42%. The gene was expressed in E. coli as an independent unit from its own promoter, producing an immunoreactive protein of about 50 kDa on SDS‐PAGE which reacted with antisera from laboratory animals and sera from human patients with acute Q fever. The study results suggest that the C. burnetii E2o enzyme may serve as a potential target antigen for diagnostic assays for Q fever.