Developmental expression of a tandemly repeated, glycine- and serine-rich spore wall protein in the microsporidian

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W Bohne1, D J Ferguson, K Kohler

  • 1Department of Bacteriology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen D-37075, Germany. wbohne@gwdg.de

Infection and Immunity
|March 18, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Microsporidia are opportunistic pathogens. Researchers identified and cloned the Encephalitozoon cuniculi outer spore wall protein 1 (SWP1) gene, revealing its differential expression during infection.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Parasitology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Microsporidia are opportunistic pathogens impacting immunocompromised individuals.
  • Infection involves spore extrusion and injection via polar tubes.
  • The spore wall may play a role in host cell recognition and infection initiation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize proteins of the Encephalitozoon cuniculi spore wall.
  • To investigate the gene encoding an outer spore wall protein (SWP1).
  • To understand the expression patterns of SWP1 during the microsporidian infection cycle.

Main Methods:

  • Monoclonal antibody-based identification of a 51-kDa outer spore wall protein.
  • cDNA expression library immunoscreening to clone the SWP1 gene.
  • Southern analysis to detect SWP1 in related species.
  • Indirect immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy for protein localization.
  • Reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) to analyze gene expression at the mRNA level.

Main Results:

  • A 51-kDa outer spore wall protein (SWP1) was identified in Encephalitozoon cuniculi.
  • The SWP1 gene encodes a novel 450-amino acid protein with unique repetitive elements.
  • SWP1 is a single-copy gene conserved in Encephalitozoon intestinalis and Encephalitozoon hellem.
  • SWP1 expression is induced in early sporonts, suggesting a role in later infection stages.
  • Expression regulation occurs at the mRNA level.

Conclusions:

  • SWP1 is a novel, stage-specific protein of the microsporidian spore wall.
  • The identification and characterization of SWP1 provide insights into microsporidian infection mechanisms.
  • Further study of stage-specific genes is crucial for understanding microsporidian intracellular differentiation.

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