Spontaneous excision of the O-polysaccharide wbkA glycosyltranferase gene is a cause of dissociation of smooth to rough Brucella colonies.

The brucellae are Gram-negative pathogens that cause brucellosis, a zoonosis of worldwide importance. The genus Brucella includes smooth and rough species that differ in that they carry smooth and rough lipopolysaccharides, respectively. Brucella abortus, B.

Identification of new IS711 insertion sites in Brucella abortus field isolates.

Background: Brucellosis is a zoonosis caused by Brucella spp., a group of highly homogeneous bacteria. The insertion sequence IS711 is characteristic of these bacteria, and occurs in variable numbers and positions, but always constant within a given species.

European 1: a globally important clonal complex of Mycobacterium bovis.

We have identified a globally important clonal complex of Mycobacterium bovis by deletion analysis of over one thousand strains from over 30 countries. We initially show that over 99% of the strains of M. bovis, the cause of bovine tuberculosis, isolated from cattle in the Republic of Ireland and the UK are closely related and are members of a single clonal complex marked by the deletion of chromosomal region RDEu1 and we named this clonal complex European 1 (Eu1).

Genomic island 2 is an unstable genetic element contributing to Brucella lipopolysaccharide spontaneous smooth-to-rough dissociation.

Brucella is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes a worldwide-distributed zoonosis. The genus includes smooth (S) and rough (R) species that differ in the presence or absence, respectively, of the O-polysaccharide of lipopolysaccharide. In S brucellae, the O-polysaccharide is a critical diagnostic antigen and a virulence determinant.