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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #41507
Title: ANALYSES OF TWO REPEATED PALINDROMIC DNA SEQUENCES OF BRUCELLA SPECIES, BRU-RS1 AND BRU-RS2, OCCASIONALLY ASSOCIATED WITH AN INSERTION SEQUENCE

Author
item Halling, Shirley
item Bricker, Betsy

Submitted to: Molecular Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/1994
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Bovine brucellosis causes economic losses due to abortions. Brucella abortus, the bacterium that causes brucellosis has unique genes that may be useful in the development of new diagnostic tests. We report the discovery of repeated genetic elements within the agent. These elements may allow us to develop a diagnostic test to detect sources of infection.

Technical Abstract: Two repeated DNA elements of approximately 100 bp in Brucella spp., designated Bru-RS1 and Bru-RS2, were sequences and analyzed. These elements are approximately 65% similar to each other. By hybridization, Bru-RS1 and Bru-RS2, collectively, occur at least 36 times in brucellae. Hybridization patterns distinguished the brucellae by species. The elements have three copies of a short perfect or nearly perfect repeat. The elements are bounded by perfect or nearly perfect short inverted repeats. A direct copy of the 5' terminal repeat is within the 3' end of the elements. Sequences similar to Bru-RS1 and Bru-RS2 were found in a library, and the sequences amongst family members were found to be slightly divergent. The elements do not appear to be clustered. Elements found at the same loci in two Brucella spp. were highly conserved. Several members of the Bru-RS1 family were truncated, retaining much of the internal repeat, or had small deletions. Bru-RS1 and Bru-RS2 have the potential to form extensive palindromic structures which are similar. A portion of one of the elements in the Bru-RS2 family was found a part of a previously proposed transcription stop signal in B. abortus. Some of the elements abutt IS711 and IS711-like copies.