Reporter Gene Fusions of the Green Fluorescent Protein and Asp24 from Brucella abortus

Abstract

Brucellosis is a serious infection in swine, goats, and cattle that may also infect humans through contact with infected animals. The bacteria, known as Brucella, that causes this disease survive within the host by withstanding the host’s defense mechanisms. The activation of virulence genes aids in their survival. Asp24 has recently been sequenced and identified as the calcium-binding protein in Brucella abortus. As a virulence gene, it is expressed under conditions of low pH and specific intracellular calcium levels. The construction of reporter gene fusions can be used to characterize signals controlling the calcium-binding protein expression within the intracellular environment. This project is aimed at making constructs that can be used in further experiments to study interplay between in vivo conditions and the bacterial factors required for intracellular survival of Brucella.