| Brucellosis is an important worldwide zoonosis with significant economic impacts. However, the pathogenic mechanisms of Brucella remain poorly understood. Here, I constructed a large-insert library of Brucella RB51 genomic DNA in E. coli and screened library clones for gain-of-virulence phenotypes using free-living, predatory amoebae as a host model. I also demonstrated that B. abortus RB51 is resistant to predation, exhibits an interesting amoebae-dependent phenotype, and is toxic to murine macrophages. These results provide evidence of a relevant interaction between Brucella and free-living amoebae and show promise for use of amoebae as a model host for virulence gene discovery in Brucella.. |
