title: Erp, an extracellular protein family specific to mycobacteria.
abstract: Erp (exported repeated protein) was originally characterized as a virulence factor in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and was thought to be present only in Mycobacterium leprae and members of the TB complex. Here it is shown that Erp is a ubiquitous extracellular protein found in all of the mycobacterial species tested. Erp proteins have a modular organization and contain three domains: a highly conserved amino-terminal domain which includes a signal sequence, a central variable region containing repeats based on the motif PGLTS, and a conserved carboxy-terminal domain rich in proline and alanine. The number and fidelity of PGLTS repeats of the central region differ considerably between mycobacterial species. This region is, however, identical in all of the clinical M. tuberculosis strains tested. In addition, it is shown here that a Mycobacterium smegmatis erp::aph mutant displays altered colony morphology which is complemented by all the Erp orthologues tested. The genome sequence flanking the erp gene includes cell-wall-related ORFs and displays extensive conservation between saprophytic and pathogenic mycobacteria.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Génétique Mycobactérienne1, and Unité de Bactériologie Moléculaire et Médicale2, Institut Pasteur, F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Mendonça-Lima
authors.affiliation: Unité de Génétique Mycobactérienne1, and Unité de Bactériologie Moléculaire et Médicale2, Institut Pasteur, F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Picardeau
authors.affiliation: Unité de Génétique Mycobactérienne1, and Unité de Bactériologie Moléculaire et Médicale2, Institut Pasteur, F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Raynaud
authors.affiliation: Unité de Génétique Mycobactérienne1, and Unité de Bactériologie Moléculaire et Médicale2, Institut Pasteur, F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rauzier
authors.affiliation: Unité de Génétique Mycobactérienne1, and Unité de Bactériologie Moléculaire et Médicale2, Institut Pasteur, F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Yves-Olivier
authors.initials: YO
authors.lastname: Goguet de la Salmonière
authors.affiliation: Unité de Génétique Mycobactérienne1, and Unité de Bactériologie Moléculaire et Médicale2, Institut Pasteur, F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biotecnologia, CICV-INTA, Moron, Argentina3.
authors.forename: Fabiana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bigi
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Biotecnologia, CICV-INTA, Moron, Argentina3.
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cataldi
authors.affiliation: Unité de Génétique Mycobactérienne1, and Unité de Bactériologie Moléculaire et Médicale2, Institut Pasteur, F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gicquel
authors.affiliation: Unité de Génétique Mycobactérienne1, and Unité de Bactériologie Moléculaire et Médicale2, Institut Pasteur, F-75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Reyrat
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C096737:ERP protein, Mycobacterium tuberculosis; D008565:Membrane Proteins