The family of leptospiral immunoglobulin-like (lig) genes comprises ligA, ligB and ligC. This study used PCR to demonstrate the presence of lig genes among serovars from a collection of leptospiral strains and clinical isolates. Whilst ligA and ligC appeared to be present in a limited number of pathogenic serovars, the ligB gene was distributed ubiquitously among all pathogenic strains. None of...

The search for novel antigens suitable for improved vaccines and diagnostic reagents against leptospirosis led to the identification of LigA and LigB. LigA and LigB expression were not detectable at the translation level but were detectable at the transcription level in leptospires grown in vitro. Lig genes were present in pathogenic serovars of Leptospira, but not in non-pathogenic Leptospira ...

Plant betalain pigments are intriguing because they are restricted to the Caryophyllales and are mutually exclusive with the more common anthocyanins. However, betalain biosynthesis is poorly understood compared to that of anthocyanins. In this study, betalain production and betalain-related genes were characterized in Parakeelya mirabilis (Montiaceae). RT-PCR and transcriptomics identified thr...

The complement system consists of more than 40 proteins that participate in the inflammatory response and in pathogen killing. Complement inhibitors are necessary to avoid the excessive consumption and activation of this system on host cells. Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by spirochetes from the genus Leptospira. Pathogenic leptospires are able to escape from complement activatio...

BACKGROUND The microscopic agglutination test (MAT), the standard method for serological diagnosis of leptospirosis, may present limitations regarding its sensitivity. Current studies suggest that Leptospira immunoglobulin-like (Lig) proteins and LipL32 are of particular interest as serodiagnostic markers since they are present only in pathogenic species of the Leptospira genus. The purpose of ...

Leptospira spp. are pathogenic spirochetes that cause the zoonotic disease leptospirosis. Leptospiral immunoglobulin (Ig)-like protein B (LigB) contributes to the binding of Leptospira to extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin, fibrinogen, laminin, elastin, tropoelastin and collagen. A high-affinity Fn-binding region of LigB has been localized to LigBCen2, which contains the partial ...

A multiprotein DNA processing complex isolated from Deinococcus radiodurans contains the DNA repair protein PprA, an ATP-type DNA repair ligase (LigB) encoded by the drB0100 gene, and protein kinase activity. An ATP-dependent DNA end-joining activity was detected in the complex. To elucidate the function of the drB0100 gene, we generated the deletion mutant for the DR_B0100 ORF. The mutant exhi...

Transcripts of Leptospira 16S rRNA, FlaB, LigB, LipL21, LipL32, LipL36, LipL41, and OmpL37 were quantified in the blood of susceptible (hamsters) and resistant (mice) animal models of leptospirosis. We first validated adequate reference genes and then evaluated expression patterns in vivo compared to in vitro cultures. LipL32 expression was downregulated in vivo and differentially regulated in ...

There is an urgent need for improved diagnosis of leptospirosis, an emerging infectious disease which imparts a large disease burden in developing countries. We evaluated the use of Leptospira immunoglobulin (Ig)-like (Lig) proteins as a serodiagnostic marker for leptospirosis. Lig proteins have bacterial immunoglobulin-like (Big) tandem repeat domains, a moiety found in virulence factors in ot...