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Anaplasma marginale major surface protein 3 is encoded by a polymorphic, multigene family.
Title | Anaplasma marginale major surface protein 3 is encoded by a polymorphic, multigene family. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 1997 |
Authors | Alleman, AR, Palmer, GH, McGuire, TC, McElwain, TF, Perryman, LE, Barbet, AF |
Journal | Infect Immun |
Volume | 65 |
Issue | 1 |
Pagination | 156-63 |
Date Published | 1997 Jan |
ISSN | 0019-9567 |
Keywords | Amino Acid Sequence, Anaplasma, Antigens, Bacterial, Bacterial Proteins, Base Sequence, Chromosomes, Bacterial, Conserved Sequence, Gene Dosage, Genes, Bacterial, Genetic Heterogeneity, Molecular Sequence Data, Multigene Family, Polymorphism, Genetic, Recombinant Proteins, Restriction Mapping |
Abstract | The immunodominant surface protein, MSP3, is structurally and antigenically polymorphic among strains of Anaplasma marginale. In this study we show that a polymorphic multigene family is at least partially responsible for the variation seen in MSP3. The A. marginale msp3 gene msp3-12 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. With msp3-12 as a probe, multiple, partially homologous gene copies were identified in the genomes of three A. marginale strains. These copies were widely distributed throughout the chromosome. Sequence analysis of three unique msp3 genes, msp3-12, msp3-11, and msp3-19, revealed both conserved and variant regions within the open reading frames. Importantly, msp3 contains amino acid blocks related to another polymorphic multigene family product, MSP2. These data, in conjunction with data presented in previous studies, suggest that multigene families are used to vary important antigenic surface proteins of A. marginale. These findings may provide a basis for studying antigenic variation of the organism in persistently infected carrier cattle. |
Alternate Journal | Infect. Immun. |
PubMed ID | 8975906 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC174570 |