Characterization and Production of the Coxiella burnetii Specific O-Antigen Carbohydrate Virenose in Engineered Escherichia coli
Abstract
The Gram-negative bacterium Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of Q fever and has been long regarded as a potential biological warfare agent. Only the phase I strains of C. burnetii are considered pathogenic, and these strains bear a unique O antigen in the lipopolysaccharide. This O-antigen contains the carbohydrate virenose, which is only found in phase I C. burnetii strains, making it a unique biomarker for Q fever. Despite this, the O-antigen carbohydrate virenose remains poorly understood. Virenose serves as a valuable target for detection assays as well as a potential antigen in C. burnetii vaccine development. Although comparative proteomics analysis studies for the biosynthesis of D- or L-enantiomers of virenose in silico have identified a putative biosynthetic route, the complete biosynthetic pathway of virenose has yet to be experimentally determined. We hypothesize that L-virenose biosynthesis can be validated using a non-native host through synthetic engineering of the predicted L-virenose pathway. Here we leverage synthetic biology to characterize the virenose biosynthesis pathway in E coli and assess the ability of this engineered strain to produce the carbohydrate.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 18, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1213230
Entities
People
- Erin E. Antoshak
- Nathan D. McDonald
- Sarah E. Katoski
Organizations
- United States Army Combat Capabilities Development Command