Obtainment, via recombinant DNA, of two Mycoplasma gallisepticum cytadhesins

Abstract

Mycoplasmas, known as the simplest self-replicating organisms, are distinguished phenotypically from other bacteria by their minute size and total lack of cell wall. The poultry industry is affected by several species of mycoplasmas but Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is the most economically significant one. The attachment of mycoplasmas to the host respiratory epithelial cells constitutes a critical step in the pathway leading to infection and disease, and it is achieved by lipoproteins localized on the bacterial surface. GapA and CrmA proteins showed to be critical in this adhesion process, as well as in further disease development. In this work, the molecular cloning of these genes coding for both proteins, as well as their expression, purification and immunogenic response induced by the obtained products, are described. Only a fragment of gapA gene was cloned, while crmA was full lenfht cloned as designed. In both cases, the obtained recombinant proteins were fragmented but this fact did not affect the purification process by the Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography (IMAC). At the end of the process, the final products conserved their antigenic properties. These recombinant products could be used for future studies related to the pathogenic mechanisms of this bacterium.