2023
Production and Purification of Cysteine-Rich Leptospiral Virulence-Modifying Proteins with or Without mCherry Fusion
Chaurasia R, Liang C, How K, Vieira D, Vinetz J. Production and Purification of Cysteine-Rich Leptospiral Virulence-Modifying Proteins with or Without mCherry Fusion. The Protein Journal 2023, 42: 792-801. PMID: 37653175, DOI: 10.1007/s10930-023-10152-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMCherry fusion proteinsFusion proteinMCherry tagGene familyMCherry fusionsProtein productionFluorescent fusion proteinsRecombinant protein expressionRecombinant protein productionVM proteinsSuch proteinsFunctional proteinsCell biologyLike domainFast protein liquid chromatographyLeptospiral virulenceSoluble proteinUnique memberPink coloniesProtein scienceStructural predictionsProtein liquid chromatographyRicin BFunctional studiesProtein
2022
Comparison of the PF07598-Encoded Virulence-Modifying Proteins of L. interrogans and L. borgpetersenii
Vieira D, Chaurasia R, Vinetz J. Comparison of the PF07598-Encoded Virulence-Modifying Proteins of L. interrogans and L. borgpetersenii. Tropical Medicine And Infectious Disease 2022, 8: 14. PMID: 36668921, PMCID: PMC9863803, DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed8010014.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchVM proteinsEukaryotic cellsGene familyEnvironmental nichesDifferent cladesMammalian hostsSeverity of outbreaksVirulence effectsCellular pathogenesisHuman pathogensMediated TransmissionLeptospiral speciesParalogsPathogenic groupsProteinVaccine-mediated preventionSpeciesL. interrogansL. borgpeterseniiProtein exotoxinsNew strainFatal leptospirosisTarget cellsLeptospirosis pathogenesisInfectious diseasesPathogenic Leptospira Evolved a Unique Gene Family Comprised of Ricin B-Like Lectin Domain-Containing Cytotoxins
Chaurasia R, Marroquin AS, Vinetz JM, Matthias MA. Pathogenic Leptospira Evolved a Unique Gene Family Comprised of Ricin B-Like Lectin Domain-Containing Cytotoxins. Frontiers In Microbiology 2022, 13: 859680. PMID: 35422779, PMCID: PMC9002632, DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.859680.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchVM proteinsUnique gene familiesStructural homology searchRecombinant ricin B chainΒ-trefoil domainR-type lectinsCaspase-3 activationHeLa cell surfaceBacterial plasmid DNAGene familyImportant virulence determinantN-terminal fragmentHomology searchCell surface bindingRicin B chainHuman cellsNuclear fragmentationB domainHeLa cellsCell surfaceNuclear translocationVirulence determinantsDNase activityDNase functionProtein
2018
Complete avian malaria parasite genomes reveal features associated with lineage-specific evolution in birds and mammals
Böhme U, Otto TD, Cotton JA, Steinbiss S, Sanders M, Oyola SO, Nicot A, Gandon S, Patra KP, Herd C, Bushell E, Modrzynska KK, Billker O, Vinetz JM, Rivero A, Newbold CI, Berriman M. Complete avian malaria parasite genomes reveal features associated with lineage-specific evolution in birds and mammals. Genome Research 2018, 28: 547-560. PMID: 29500236, PMCID: PMC5880244, DOI: 10.1101/gr.218123.116.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsAvian malaria speciesLTR retrotransposonsHigh-quality draft genome sequenceClades of parasitesComplete LTR retrotransposonsLineage-specific evolutionNovel gene familyOrthologs of genesMalaria parasite genomeAvian malaria parasitesAmino acid divergenceDraft genome sequenceInvasion-related genesAvian lineagesMalaria speciesProtein homologsGene familyMultigene familyPhylogenetic positionTransposable elementsBird speciesParasite genomePhylogenetic analysisGenome sequenceAvian malaria
2016
What Makes a Bacterial Species Pathogenic?:Comparative Genomic Analysis of the Genus Leptospira
Fouts DE, Matthias MA, Adhikarla H, Adler B, Amorim-Santos L, Berg DE, Bulach D, Buschiazzo A, Chang YF, Galloway RL, Haake DA, Haft DH, Hartskeerl R, Ko AI, Levett PN, Matsunaga J, Mechaly AE, Monk JM, Nascimento AL, Nelson KE, Palsson B, Peacock SJ, Picardeau M, Ricaldi JN, Thaipandungpanit J, Wunder EA, Yang XF, Zhang JJ, Vinetz JM. What Makes a Bacterial Species Pathogenic?:Comparative Genomic Analysis of the Genus Leptospira. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 2016, 10: e0004403. PMID: 26890609, PMCID: PMC4758666, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004403.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenes/gene familiesProtein secretion systemComparative genomic analysisSignal peptide motifsCRISPR/Cas systemComputational biology analysisMammalian host adaptationBacterial pathogensWhole-genome analysisSialic acid biosynthesisLeptospira speciesEvolutionary relatednessSaprophytic Leptospira speciesGene familyMetabolic reconstructionGenomic comparisonSecretion motifBacterial virulence factorsHost adaptationSecretion systemGenome analysisAcid biosynthesisGenomic analysisNew insightsMammalian hosts