title: Gene organization and transcriptional analysis of the tprJ, tprI, tprG, and tprF loci in Treponema pallidum strains Nichols and Sea 81-4.
abstract: The tpr gene family of Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, has recently become the focus of intensive investigation. TprF and TprI sequences are highly conserved among different isolates and are the targets of strong humoral and cellular immune responses of the host, and immunization with a recombinant peptide from the amino terminus of these antigens has been shown to alter significantly lesion development following homologous challenge. This indicates that these antigens are expressed during infection and strongly suggests a key functionality. tprF and tprI are located immediately downstream of the tprG and tprJ genes, respectively, separated by very short intergenic spacers (55 nucleotides for G-F and 56 nucleotides for J-I). Preliminary analysis using gene-specific primers failed to amplify tprJ in the Sea 81-4 isolate. In this study, sequence and transcriptional analysis of these loci showed a similar gene organization in the Nichols and Sea 81-4 strains, a complex pattern of transcription, and the presence of G homopolymeric repeats of variable lengths upstream of the tprF, tprI, tprG, and tprJ transcriptional start sites. However, distinctive features were also identified in the Sea 81-4 isolate, including a tprG-like open reading frame in the tprJ locus, a frameshift and a premature termination in the tprG coding sequence, a longer tprG-tprF intergenic spacer, and absence of cotranscription of the tprG-tprF genes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Box 359779, Harborview Medical Center, 325 Ninth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104-2499, USA.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giacani
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hevner
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Centurion-Lara
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D018272:Porins / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014210:Treponema pallidum / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D018272:Porins; C099361:major outer sheath protein, Treponema