IDENTIFICATION, CLONING AND INITIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF FEUPQ IN BRUCELLA-SUIS - A NEW SUBFAMILY OF 2-COMPONENT REGULATORY SYSTEMS

To cause disease, Brucella species have to adapt to a range of differe nt environments. Environmental sensing and adaptive responses in bacte ria often involve the concerted action of a two-component regulatory s ystem, consisting of sensor and response regulator components. Amplifi cation and sequence analysis of response regulators from Brucella spec ies identified a response regulator sequence with 96% similarity to Rh izobium leguminosarum FeuP. In R. leguminosarum the FeuPQ two-componen t system is involved in the regulation of iron uptake. A Brucella suis feuP isogenic mutant was constructed but was not attenuated in the mu rine brucellosis model. The survival and multiplication of the mutant in macrophages was also unaffected. The FeuPQ regulon represents a new ly characterised sub-family of response regulators. (C) 1998 Federatio n of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.