Purification and Characteriztion of the Type III Secretion System Protein from Burkholderia mallei.

摘要

Burkholderia mallei is a Gram-negative zoonotic pathogen of solipeds that can also secondarily infect human hosts causing glanders. The bacterium is highly infectious and has been considered in the past as a potential biological weapon. In Western Europe and North America, glanders has been eradicated, but it persists in other areas. The two major bacterial virulence systems, the type III (T3SS) and type VI (T6SS) secretion systems, have been studied and found to be essential for the virulence in animal models of the disease. B. mallei has two T3SSs that are plant-like and animal-like, but only the latter is essential for virulence in animal models of glanders. In this study, we have expressed, purified, and measured the catalytic activity of the B. mallei BsaS ATPase in an in vitro assay.