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The Challenge of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms pp 135–146Cite as

Brucella Species Synchronize Their Life Cycle to the Gestation Cycle of Their Ruminant Hosts

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Abstract

Brucellosis is a zoonostic disease caused by Gram negative Brucella species bacteria. B. melitensis, B. abortus and B. suis cause third trimester abortions in sheep and goats, cattle and swine, respectively. Serological diagnosis, in the past century, was based upon measurements of agglutinins and complement fixing antibodies while current state of art techniques include ELISA and fluorescence polarization. Our data show that following abortion or normal parturition, Brucella are secreted in the milk of lactating animals prior to development of a detectable humoral response, thereby reducing the reliability of serological diagnosis as the cornerstone of eradication programs. Accordingly, we hypothesized that infection starts as a clandestine invasion of the host by Brucella where, by some as yet unrecognized mechanism, the organisms manage to evade the immune response. Pregnancy then exerts physiological changes on the brucellae organisms that activate their virulence properties, allowing invasion and colonization of the trophoblasts in the third trimester, causing abortion and spread of the organisms to the external environment. Changes in the virulence properties of the bacteria within the blood stream also trigger their invasion of and propagation in the mammary glands, sustaining their secretion in the milk. These dual characteristics of Brucella’s stealth invasion of the host on one hand, and escape via abortive or secretion pathways on the other, demonstrate a unique virulence pattern specifically attainable due to the synchronization of their life cycle to the animal’s gestation cycle.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to Klaus Nielsen and his team for conducting i-ELISA, c-ELISA and FPA on the serum samples. Work in the author’s laboratory was partly supported by Binational Agricultural Research and Development Grant US-3829-06 R.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bacteriology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, P.O. Box 12, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel

    Svetlana Bardenstein & Menachem Banai

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  1. Svetlana Bardenstein
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  2. Menachem Banai
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Correspondence to Menachem Banai .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Israel Institute for Biological Research, Ness-Ziona, 74100, Israel

    Avigdor Shafferman

  2. Israel Institute for Biological Research, P.O. Box 19, Ness-Ziona, 74100, Israel

    Arie Ordentlich

  3. Israel Institute for Biological Research, P.O. Box 19, Ness-Ziona, 74100, Israel

    Baruch Velan

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Bardenstein, S., Banai, M. (2010). Brucella Species Synchronize Their Life Cycle to the Gestation Cycle of Their Ruminant Hosts. In: Shafferman, A., Ordentlich, A., Velan, B. (eds) The Challenge of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9054-6_14

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