| Title |
Predicting Genetic Traits and Epitope Analysis of apxIVA in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae |
| Author |
Min-Kyoung Shin, Seung-Bin Cha, Won-Jung Lee, and Han Sang Yoo* |
| Address |
Department of Infectious Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine and Brain Korea 21 Program for Veterinary Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea |
| Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 49(3),462-468, 2011,
|
| DOI |
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| Key Words |
Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, RTX toxins, ApxIV, sequences |
| Abstract |
Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae causes a severe hemorrhagic pneumonia in pigs. Fifteen serotypes of A. pleuropneumoniae express four different Apx toxins that belong to the pore-forming repeats-in-toxin (RTX) group of toxins. ApxIV, which is conserved and up-regulated in vivo, could be an excellent candidate for the development of a protective cross-serotype immunity vaccine, and could aid in the differential diagnosis of diseases caused by A. pleuropneumoniae. We identified and sequenced apxIVA from A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 2 isolated in Korea (Kor-ApxIVA). The Kor-ApxIVA was closely related to Switzerland (AF021919), China (CP000687), and China (GQ332268), showing 98.6%, 98.4%, and 97.2% amino acid homology, respectively. The level of amino acid homology, however, was higher than the nucleotide homology. The structural characteristics of ApxIVA showed RTX proteins, including N-terminal hydrophobic domains, signature sequences for potential acylation sites, and repeated glycine-rich nonapeptides in the C-terminal region of the protein. Thirty glycine-rich nonapeptides with the consensus sequence, L/V-X-G-G-X-G-N/D-D-X, were found in the C-terminus of the Kor-ApxIVA. In addition, the Kor-ApxIVA was predicted for the linear B-cell epitopes and conserved domains with determined peptide sequences. This genetic analysis of the Kor-ApxIVA might be an important foundation for future biological and functional research on ApxIVA. |
