Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 13, 2026

DNA Fingerprinting of Mycobacterium leprae Strains Using Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) - Fragment Length Analysis (FLA)
09:39

DNA Fingerprinting of Mycobacterium leprae Strains Using Variable Number Tandem Repeat (VNTR) - Fragment Length Analysis (FLA)

Published on: July 15, 2011

Gene rearrangements in the vsa locus of Mycoplasma pulmonis

X Shen1, J Gumulak, H Yu

  • 1Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-0019, USA.

Journal of Bacteriology
|April 27, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Mycoplasma pulmonis vsa genes encode V-1 lipoproteins involved in host interactions. DNA inversions regulate V-1 protein production, with a proposed model involving the vrs box.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Mycoplasma pulmonis vsa genes encode V-1 lipoproteins implicated in host cell interactions.
  • Previous work characterized six vsa genes in M. pulmonis strain KD735-15.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the vsa gene locus in M. pulmonis.
  • To investigate vsa gene homologs in a different M. pulmonis strain (CT).
  • To elucidate the mechanism of V-1 protein phase variation.

Main Methods:

  • Genomic library construction and screening using vsa-specific probes.
  • Southern hybridization and genomic cloning.
  • DNA sequence analysis of vsa recombination products.

Main Results:

  • Assembled a 20-kb contig containing 11 vsa genes and a novel ORF.
  • Identified vsa homologs and unique genes (vsaG, vsaH) in strain CT.
  • Proposed a model for DNA inversion-mediated regulation of V-1 protein production via the vrs box.

Conclusions:

  • The vsa locus is complex and contains genes with potential roles in pathogenesis.
  • Strain-specific variations in vsa gene content exist.
  • Site-specific DNA inversions regulate V-1 lipoprotein expression through a proposed vrs box mechanism.

More Related Videos

A Fluorescence-based Method to Study Bacterial Gene Regulation in Infected Tissues07:10

A Fluorescence-based Method to Study Bacterial Gene Regulation in Infected Tissues

Published on: February 19, 2019

Multi-Locus Sequencing for Strain Typing of Toxoplasma gondii11:09

Multi-Locus Sequencing for Strain Typing of Toxoplasma gondii

Published on: May 26, 2026

Related Concept Videos

Viral Recombination00:57

Viral Recombination

Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.
Viral Mutations00:36

Viral Mutations

A mutation is a change in the sequence of bases of DNA or RNA in a genome. Some mutations occur during replication of the genome due to errors made by the polymerase enzymes that replicate DNA or RNA. Unlike DNA polymerase, RNA polymerase is prone to errors because it is not capable of “proofreading” its work. Viruses with RNA-based genomes, like HIV, therefore accrue mutations faster than viruses with DNA-based genomes. Because mutation and recombination provide the raw material for adaptive...
Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation02:53

Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation

Because the DNA segments are cut and reorganized in a direction-specific manner, site-specific recombination has emerged as an efficient genetic engineering technique. Flippase and Cyclization recombinases or Flp and Cre, respectively, are two members of the tyrosine recombinase family derived from bacteriophages, that are used to mediate site-specific DNA insertions, deletions, and targeted expression of proteins in mammalian cell lines.
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease01:29

Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a widespread pathogen that primarily targets infants and young children but also poses a serious health risk to elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Belonging to the Pneumoviridae family, RSV is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus within the Pneumovirus genus. Its global health burden is significant, with millions of cases annually resulting in hospitalizations and mortality, particularly in resource-limited settings. Although most...