Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 25, 2026

Microscopy-based Assays for High-throughput Screening of Host Factors Involved in Brucella Infection of Hela Cells
Published on: August 5, 2016
What is the nature of the replicative niche of a stealthy bug named Brucella?
Stephan Köhler1, Sylvie Michaux-Charachon, Françoise Porte
1INSERM U-431, Université Montpellier 2, Place E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier, France. kohler@univ-montp2.fr
Abstract:
Brucella spp. are facultatively intracellular bacteria that persist and multiply in the macrophages of their mammalian hosts. The so-called phagosome to which they have adapted is their natural living niche. Characterization of this niche would facilitate an understanding of the true relationship between the host cell and the intracellular bacteria. This Opinion analyses and discusses the characteristic properties and genesis of this vacuole during phagocytosis as deduced from the virulence factors necessary for intracellular multiplication of the pathogen. We conclude that the replicative niche of Brucella spp.--the 'brucellosome'--differs from all other cellular organelles, and that it isolates the pathogen from certain cytoplasmic nutrients. Adaptation to the stress conditions encountered and the use of anaerobic respiration enable brucellae to replicate in the compartment they create.
Related Concept Videos
Bacterial Phylum Chlamydiae
Synthetic Biology
Golden rice
Golden rice is a genetically modified...
Viral Replication: Lysogenic Cycle
Lysogenic Cycle of Bacteriophages
Bacterial Phylum Spirochaetes
CRISPR and crRNAs
The CRISPR-Cas system stores a copy of foreign DNA in the host genome and uses it to identify the foreign DNA upon reinfection. CRISPR-Cas has three different...

