S. Mesnage et al., The S-layer homology domain as a means for anchoring heterologous proteinson the cell surface of Bacillus anthracis, J APPL MICR, 87(2), 1999, pp. 256-260
Bacillus anthracis synthesizes two S-layer proteins, each containing three
S-laver homology (SLH) motifs towards their amino-terminus. In vitro experi
ments suggested that the three motifs of-each protein were organized as a s
tructural domain sufficient to bind purified cell walls. Chimeric genes enc
oding the SLH domains fused to the levansucrase of Bacillurs subtilis were
constructed and integrated on the chromosome. Cell fractionation and electr
on microscopy studies showed that both heterologous polypeptides were targe
ted to the cell surface. In addition, surface-exposed levansucrase retained
its enzymatic and antigenic properties. Preliminary, results concerning ap
plications of this work are presented.