Transposon mutagenesis in Legionella pneumophila. II.--Mutants exhibiting impaired intracellular growth within cultured macrophages and reduced virulence in vivo.
Transposon Tn5 mutants of L. pneumophila were isolated and screened for loss of virulence-associated characteristics. Three mutants were found with normal ability to produce putative pathogenicity determinants and to be endocytosed by guinea pig alveolar macrophages in vitro but with a greatly reduced ability to multiply within them. These mutants showed considerable loss of virulence in an authentic animal model of the pneumonia.
Tully
M
M
Division of Pathology, PHLS Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Porton Down, Salisbury, UK.
Williams
A
A
Fitzgeorge
R B
RB
D000818:Animals; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000502:physiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D016952:Legionella pneumophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008264:Macrophages / Q000502:physiology; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010641:Phenotype; D014774:Virulence
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004269:DNA, Bacterial