Fully Virulent Bacillus Anthracis Does Not Require the Immunodominant Protein BclA for Pathogenesis

摘要

The BclA protein is the immunodominant epitope on the surface of Bacillus anthracis spores; however, its roles in pathogenesis are unclear. We constructed a BclA deletion mutant (bclA) of the fully virulent Ames strain. This derivative retained full virulence in several small animal models of infection despite the bclA deletion.