Exploring the Link Between Biotin Metabolism and Brucella Virulence: A Study on BioA

The intracellular pathogen Brucella requires biotin for survival, yet the role of its de novo synthesis intermediate enzyme, BioA, in virulence remains undefined. This study investigates the contribution of BioA to the pathogenicity of Brucella abortus.

We constructed a ΔBioA mutant in Brucella abortus 104M via homologous recombination and characterized its phenotype using growth assays, electron microscopy, macrophage infection models, and murine splenic colonization. Virulence gene expression was quantified by RT-qPCR.

The ΔBioA mutant exhibited severe growth auxotrophy in a biotin-deficient medium and displayed damaged outer membrane integrity. Furthermore, intracellular survival in macrophages was reduced by approximately 95% compared to the wild-type strain at 48 h post-infection. Notably, mice infected with the mutant showed a significant decrease in both splenic bacterial loads and spleen weight at 3 weeks, concomitant with a marked downregulation of VirB type IV secretion system (T4SS) genes.

This study is the first to identify BioA as a critical nexus linking biotin metabolism to Brucella virulence. We demonstrate that BioA deficiency attenuates pathogenicity by impairing both structural integrity and the transcription of key virulence-related genes (VirB operon), thereby nominating BioA as a novel and promising target for anti-brucellosis interventions.