Effect of the deletion of the lprG and p55 genes on the virulence of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis.

MARIANA N. VIALE , MARÍA A. COLOMBATTI OLIVIERI, NATALIA ALONSO , ROBERTO D. MOYANO, BELÉN IMPERIALE, NORA MORCILLO, MARÍA P. SANTANGELO, WILLIAM DAVIS, MARIA ISABEL ROMANO

VETERINARY MICROBIOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2019

0378-1135

The lprG-p55 operon of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. bovis and M. avium strain D4ER is involved in the transport of toxic compounds. LprG is a lipoprotein that modulates the host immune response against mycobacteria, whereas P55 is an efflux pump that provides resistance to several drugs. In the present work, we evaluated two mutants of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) strain K10: one with a deletion of lprG and the other with a deletion of both lprG and p55. Neither mutant showed altered susceptibility to first-line and second-line antituberculosis drugs or ethidium bromide. Deletion of lprG and of lprG-p55 reduced the replication of MAP in bovine macrophages. However, deletion of lprG-p55, although not that of lprG alone, reduced the replication of MAP in a mouse model. These results clearly indicate that p55 is necessary for the survival of MAP in vivo.