Sequence, cloning, expression and characterisation of the 81-kDa surface membrane protein (P80) of Mycoplasma agalactiae

Mycoplasma agalactiae, the causative agent of contagious agalactia in small ruminants, produces a protein, named P80, that is detectable in all wild-t ype isolates examined to date and that appears expressed during the early p hase of infection. We describe here the identification, cloning and express ion of the gene encoding P80 (ma-mp81). The deduced amino acid sequence is consistent with a hydrophobic and basic protein that possesses a lipoprotei n signal peptide. Sequence analysis of gene ma-mp81 suggests that P80 is a membrane lipoprotein that shows significant homology with other putative li poproteins of M. pneumoniae. An internal 1-kb fragment of ma-mp81 was expre ssed in Escherichia coli as a 6XHis-tagged protein. The purified recombinan t protein greatly reacted with polyclonal anti-P80 sera raised in lamb. (C) 2001 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.