CLONING AND SEQUENCING OF THE BACTERIOFERRITIN GENE OF BRUCELLA-MELITENSIS 16M STRAIN

The 40 N-terminal amino acids of the 20 kDa antigen A2 from Brucella melitensis were sequenced and showed important similarities with 4 bacterioferritins. A monoclonal antibody raised against this antigen cross-reacted with Escherichia coli bacterioferritin. Hybridization of two sets of degenerate primers with B. melitensis HindIII-digested genomic DNA identified a 3.8 kb fragment, This fragment was shown to contain a bacterioferritin gene (bfr) encoding a 161-amino acid protein, The sequence of the Brucella bacterioferritin is 69% similar to that of E. coli, and many of the ferroxidase centre and haem-ligation residues are conserved.