This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mahenthiralingam, E.
Right arrow Articles by Stokes, R. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mahenthiralingam, E.
Right arrow Articles by Stokes, R. W.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infect Immun, August 1998, p. 3626-3634, Vol. 66, No. 8
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Site-Directed Mutagenesis of the 19-Kilodalton Lipoprotein Antigen Reveals No Essential Role for the Protein in the Growth and Virulence of Mycobacterium intracellulare

Eshwar Mahenthiralingam,1 2 3 Britt-Inger Marklund,4 Lucy A. Brooks,1 2 3 Debbie A. Smith,5 Gregory J. Bancroft,5 and Richard W. Stokes1 2 3 6 *

Division of Infectious and Immunological Diseases, B.C. Children's Hospital,1 Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network,2 and Departments of Paediatrics3 and Pathology,6 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden4; and Immunology Unit, Department of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom5

Received 7 November 1997/Returned for modification 31 March 1998/Accepted 11 May 1998

The mycobacterial 19-kilodalton antigen (19Ag) is a highly expressed, surface-associated glycolipoprotein which is immunodominant in infected patients and has little homology with other known proteins. To investigate the pathogenic significance of the 19Ag, site-directed mutagenesis of the Mycobacterium intracellulare 19Ag gene was carried out by using a suicide vector-based strategy. Allelic replacement of the 19Ag gene of a mouse-avirulent M. intracellulare strain, 1403, was achieved by double-crossover homologous recombination with a gentamicin resistance gene-mutated allele. Unfortunately, an isogenic 19Ag was not achievable in the mouse-virulent strain, D673. However, a 19Ag mutant was successfully constructed in M. intracellulare FM1, a chemically mutagenized derivative of strain D673. FM1 was more amenable to genetic manipulation and susceptible to site-directed mutagenesis of the 19Ag gene yet retained the virulent phenotype of the parental strain. No deleterious effects of 19Ag gene mutation were observed during in vitro growth of M. intracellulare. Virulence assessment of the isogenic 19Ag mutants in a mouse infection model demonstrated that the antigen plays no essential role in the growth of M. intracellulare in vivo. Site-directed mutagenesis of the 19Ag gene demonstrated that it plays no essential role in growth and pathogenicity of M. intracellulare; however, the exact nature of its biological function remains unknown.


* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Div. of Infectious and Immunological Diseases, Dept. of Paediatrics, Univ. of British Columbia, Rm. 304, The Research Institute, 950 West 28th Ave., Vancouver, B.C., Canada V5Z 4H4. Phone: (604) 875-2466. Fax: (604) 875-2226. E-mail: rstokes{at}cbdn.ca.


Infect Immun, August 1998, p. 3626-3634, Vol. 66, No. 8
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Carroll, P., Pashley, C. A., Parish, T. (2008). Functional Analysis of GlnE, an Essential Adenylyl Transferase in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. J. Bacteriol. 190: 4894-4902 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Goude, R., Amin, A. G., Chatterjee, D., Parish, T. (2008). The Critical Role of embC in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. J. Bacteriol. 190: 4335-4341 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Amin, A. G., Goude, R., Shi, L., Zhang, J., Chatterjee, D., Parish, T. (2008). EmbA is an essential arabinosyltransferase in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Microbiology 154: 240-248 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Eoh, H., Brown, A. C., Buetow, L., Hunter, W. N., Parish, T., Kaur, D., Brennan, P. J., Crick, D. C. (2007). Characterization of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis 4-Diphosphocytidyl-2-C-Methyl-D-Erythritol Synthase: Potential for Drug Development. J. Bacteriol. 189: 8922-8927 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Parish, T., Roberts, G., Laval, F., Schaeffer, M., Daffe, M., Duncan, K. (2007). Functional Complementation of the Essential Gene fabG1 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Mycobacterium smegmatis fabG but Not Escherichia coli fabG. J. Bacteriol. 189: 3721-3728 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hara, H., Eltis, L. D., Davies, J. E., Mohn, W. W. (2007). Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals a Bifurcated Terephthalate Degradation Pathway in Rhodococcus sp. Strain RHA1. J. Bacteriol. 189: 1641-1647 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dasgupta, A., Datta, P., Kundu, M., Basu, J. (2006). The serine/threonine kinase PknB of Mycobacterium tuberculosis phosphorylates PBPA, a penicillin-binding protein required for cell division. Microbiology 152: 493-504 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Curry, J. M., Whalan, R., Hunt, D. M., Gohil, K., Strom, M., Rickman, L., Colston, M. J., Smerdon, S. J., Buxton, R. S. (2005). An ABC Transporter Containing a Forkhead-Associated Domain Interacts with a Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase and Is Required for Growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Mice. Infect. Immun. 73: 4471-4477 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Patrauchan, M. A., Florizone, C., Dosanjh, M., Mohn, W. W., Davies, J., Eltis, L. D. (2005). Catabolism of Benzoate and Phthalate in Rhodococcus sp. Strain RHA1: Redundancies and Convergence. J. Bacteriol. 187: 4050-4063 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Otero, J., Jacobs, W. R. Jr., Glickman, M. S. (2003). Efficient Allelic Exchange and Transposon Mutagenesis in Mycobacterium avium by Specialized Transduction. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 5039-5044 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Smith, I. (2003). Mycobacterium tuberculosis Pathogenesis and Molecular Determinants of Virulence. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 16: 463-496 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Parish, T., Smith, D. A., Kendall, S., Casali, N., Bancroft, G. J., Stoker, N. G. (2003). Deletion of Two-Component Regulatory Systems Increases the Virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Infect. Immun. 71: 1134-1140 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Parish, T., Stoker, N. G. (2002). The common aromatic amino acid biosynthesis pathway is essential in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Microbiology 148: 3069-3077 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dullaghan, E. M., Malloff, C. A., Li, A. H., Lam, W. L., Stokes, R. W. (2002). Two-dimensional bacterial genome display: a method for the genomic analysis of mycobacteria. Microbiology 148: 3111-3117 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Parish, T., Stoker, N. G. (2000). glnE Is an Essential Gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. J. Bacteriol. 182: 5715-5720 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Musser, J. M., Amin, A., Ramaswamy, S. (2000). Negligible Genetic Diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Host Immune System Protein Targets: Evidence of Limited Selective Pressure. Genetics 155: 7-16 [Abstract] [Full Text]