Abstract
Rhodococcus equi is a facultative intracellular bacterium which can cause bronchopneumonia in foals and AIDS patients. In this report we show that the ORF13-protein coded by the virulence associated plasmid of R. equi is clearly homologous to VapE. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed frame shift mutations that shorten the sequence of the ORF13-protein. A theoretical extension of the sequence of ORF13 by the introduction of a single nucleotide yields a translated amino acid sequence that is highly homologous to VapE and other members of the␣Vap family. The data provided in this study indicate that the ORF13-protein is a novel member of the Vap family and is therefore designated VapI.
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The authors acknowledge financial support through the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Schwerpunktprogramm “Intracellular Life Forms”).
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Polidori, M., Haas, A. VapI, a new member of the Rhodococcus equi Vap family. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 90, 299–304 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-006-9073-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-006-9073-y