The 40 N-terminal amino acids of the 20 kDa antigen A2 from Brucella m
elitensis were sequenced and showed important similarities with 4 bact
erioferritins. A monoclonal antibody raised against this antigen cross
-reacted with Escherichia coli bacterioferritin. Hybridization of two
sets of degenerate primers with B. melitensis HindIII-digested genomic
DNA identified a 3.8 kb fragment, This fragment was shown to contain
a bacterioferritin gene (bfr) encoding a 161-amino acid protein, The s
equence of the Brucella bacterioferritin is 69% similar to that of E.
coli, and many of the ferroxidase centre and haem-ligation residues ar
e conserved.