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Journal of Bacteriology, April 1999, p. 2485-2491, Vol. 181, No. 8
Department of Oral Microbiology,
Received 20 October 1998/Accepted 10 February 1999
Although we are currently unaware of its biological function, the
fibril-like surface structure is a prominent characteristic of the
rough (Rg) genotype of the gram-positive periodontal pathogen Peptostreptococcus micros. The smooth (Sm) type of this
species as well as the smooth variant of the Rg type (RgSm)
lack these structures on their surface. A fibril-specific serum, as
determined by immunogold electron microscopy, was obtained through
adsorption of a rabbit anti-Rg type serum with excess bacteria of the
RgSm type. This serum recognized a 42-kDa protein, which
was subjected to N-terminal sequencing. Both clones of a
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Cloning of fibA, Encoding an Immunogenic
Subunit of the Fibril-Like Surface Structure of
Peptostreptococcus micros

TriplEx
expression library that were selected by immunoscreening with the
fibril-specific serum contained an open reading frame, designated
fibA, encoding a 393-amino-acid protein (FibA). The
15-residue N-terminal amino acid sequence of the 42-kDa antigen was
present at positions 39 to 53 in FibA; from this we conclude that the
mature FibA protein contains 355 amino acids, resulting in a predicted
molecular mass of 41,368 Da. The putative 38-residue signal sequence of
FibA strongly resembles other gram-positive secretion signal sequences. The C termini of FibA and two open reading frames directly upstream and
downstream of fibA exhibited significant sequence homology to the C termini of a group of secreted and surface-located proteins of
other gram-positive cocci that are all presumably involved in anchoring
of the protein to carbohydrate structures. We conclude that FibA is a
secreted and surface-located protein and as such is part of the
fibril-like structures.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Oral Microbiology, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam, van der
Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Phone:
31-20-4448679. Fax: +31-20-4448318. E-mail:
TJM.van_Steenbergen.omb.acta{at}med.vu.nl.
Present address: Department of Oral Biology, College of Dentistry,
Health Science Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610.
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