Bacterial virulence genes
OwnerJohn Kroll, Paul Langford +4inventors
InventorsJohn Kroll, Paul Langford, Janine Bosse, Amanda Beddek, Andrew Rycroft, Brian Sheehan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An attenuated Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae bacterium has a mutation in a gene required for bacterial virulence. Vaccines based upon the bacterium are provided, as are isolated virulence genes and polypeptides and uses thereof.
Claims21
1-40. (canceled)
An attenuated Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae bacterium.
An attenuated bacterium having a mutation in a gene comprising a nucleotide sequence which is capable of hybridising to any one of the nucleotide sequences defined by SEQ ID NO:1-56, under conditions of moderate to high stringency.
An isolated polynucleotide, selected from the group consisting of:
- a polynucleotide encoding a gene product which is naturally involved in (e.g. required for) the virulence of A. pleuropneumoniae;
- a polynucleotide encoding a gene product which is not naturally found in A. pleuropneumoniae, but whose expression therein is capable of modulating (e.g. of decreasing) the virulence of that bacterium;
- a polynucleotide which is not naturally found in A. pleuropneumoniae but which is capable of modulating the virulence of that bacterium by its direct interaction with A. pleuropneumoniae virulence genes or gene products;
- and
- a polynucleotide comprising (a) a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO.:
- 1-56;
- (b) a nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide which is encoded by the nucleotide sequence recited in (a);
- (c) a nucleotide sequence which hybridizes to the nucleotide sequence of (a) and/or (b), or to its complement, under conditions of moderate to high stringency;
- or (d) a fragment of any one of the nucleotide sequences of (a)-(c), which fragment retains an immunological property and/or a biological activity of the recited nucleotide sequence of (a)-(c).
An isolated A. pleuropneumoniae virulence polypeptide.
A method for identifying an anti-bacterial agent which is capable of modulating the function of an A. pleuropneumoniae virulence gene, or of a homologous gene in a related species, comprising:
- screening potential agents for their ability to interfere with the expression and/or biological activity in a host bacterium of the gene products encoded by the nucleotide sequences set forth in any one of SEQ ID NO:.1-56.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.