. In the present study, an ars replicon was used to transform C. burnetii to ampicillin resistance. Plasmid pSKO(؉)1000 contained the C. burnetii ars sequence cloned into a ColE1-type replicon encoding ␤-lactamase. pSKO(؉)1000 was introduced into C. burnetii by electroporation. Ampicillin-resistant cells were selected, and survivors were examined for the transformed genotype by Southern hybridization. Transformants stably maintained the pSKO(؉)1000 bla DNA sequence in the chromosome as a result of homologous recombination. The recombination event resulted in the duplication of the 5.8-kb ars sequence in the C. burnetii chromosome. The bla gene was also located in an episome. However, an ampicillin resistance plasmid lacking the C. burnetii ars sequence did not stably transform C. burnetii. A biological assay analyzing ␤-lactamase activity of C. burnetii transformants during acid activation in vitro provided evidence for expression of the bla (␤-lactamase) gene.Coxiella burnetii is the etiological agent of human Q fever (9). It is an obligate intracellular bacterium replicating within the acidic phagolysosomes of eukaryotic cells (1,4,15,24). Although C. burnetii becomes metabolically active and synthesizes protein and DNA during in vitro acid activation assays, axenic growth has not been observed (7,15,43). This obligate intracellular parasitism poses difficulties in studying virulence factors associated with this organism. Classical genetic studies involve the mutation of genes to eliminate a virulent phenotype and then complementation using DNA from wild-type organisms to restore virulence; this approach ascertains the contribution of specific genes to virulence. However, these types of studies have been unavailable for C. burnetii, since genetic transformation of this organism has not yet been demonstrated.Information on enzymes produced by C. burnetii and on gene structure within the chromosome and the endogenous plasmid QpHI has been obtained by the cloning and expression of C. burnetii genes in Escherichia coli (19). The use of E. coli as a host for C. burnetii genes was also implemented for the cloning of the C. burnetii chromosomal origin of DNA replication. These origin search techniques resulted in the isolation of a 5.8-kb C. burnetii chromosomal DNA fragment which initiates plasmid DNA replication within E. coli (36). The minimal ars sequence required for plasmid replication in an E. coli polA strain is 403 bp (6, 36); it demonstrates limited similarity to origins of other bacteria (Fig. 1). The ars sequence contains two consensus sequences for the binding of DnaA, an AϩT-rich region, and a potential binding site for integration host factor and for factor of inversion stimulation; these sequences are characteristic of bacterial chromosomal origins (3,12,28). The open reading frames flanking one side of the C. burnetii ars sequence demonstrate similarity to genes located in bacterial origin regions; these open reading frames include rnpA and rpmH genes and genes encoding 9K and 60K proteins (Fig. 1). ...

A Coxiella burnetii chromosomal fragment capable of functioning as an origin for the replication of a kanamycin resistance (Kanr) plasmid was isolated by use of origin search methods utilizing an Escherichia coli host. The 5.8-kb fragment was subcloned into phagemid vectors and was deleted progressively by an exonuclease III-S1 technique. Plasmids containing progressively shorter DNA fragments were then tested for their capability to support replication by transformation of an E. coli polA strain. A minimal autonomous replication sequence (ARS) was delimited to 403 bp. Sequencing of the entire 5.8-kb region revealed that the minimal ARS contained two consensus DnaA boxes, three A + T-rich 21-mers, a transcriptional promoter leading rightwards, and potential integration host factor and factor of inversion stimulation binding sites. Database comparisons of deduced amino acid sequences revealed that open reading frames located around the ARS were homologous to genes often, but not always, found near bacterial chromosomal origins; these included identities with rpmH and rnpA in E. coli and identities with the 9K protein and 60K membrane protein in E. coli and Pseudomonas species. These and direct hybridization data suggested that the ARS was chromosomal and not associated with the resident plasmid QpH1. Two-dimensional agarose gel electrophoresis did not reveal the presence of initiating intermediates, indicating that the ARS did not initiate chromosome replication during laboratory growth of C. burnetii.

Shiga toxin type 1 (Stx1) belongs to the Shiga family of bipartite AB toxins that inactivate eukaryotic 60S ribosomes. The A subunit of Stxs are N-glycosidases that share structural and functional features in their catalytic center and in an internal hydrophobic region that shows strong transmembrane propensity. Both features are conserved in ricin and other ribosomal inactivating proteins. During eukaryotic cell intoxication, holotoxin likely moves retrograde from the Golgi apparatus to the endoplasmic reticulum. The hydrophobic region, spanning residues I224 through N241 in the Stx1 A subunit (Stx1A), was hypothesized to participate in toxin translocation across internal target cell membranes. The TMpred computer program was used to design a series of site-specific mutations in this hydrophobic region that disrupt transmembrane propensity to various degrees. Mutations were synthesized by PCR overlap extension and confirmed by DNA sequencing. Mutants StxAF226Y, A231D, G234E, and A231D-G234E and wild-type Stx1A were expressed in Escherichia coli SY327 and purified by dye-ligand affinity chromatography. All of the mutant toxins were similar to wild-type Stx1A in enzymatic activity, as determined by inhibition of cell-free protein synthesis, and in susceptibility to trypsin digestion. Purified mutant or wild-type Stx1A combined with Stx1B subunits in vitro to form a holotoxin, as determined by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis immunoblotting. StxA mutant A231D-G234E, predicted to abolish transmembrane propensity, was 225-fold less cytotoxic to cultured Vero cells than were the wild-type toxin and the other mutant toxins which retained some transmembrane potential. Furthermore, compared to wild-type Stx1A, A231D-G234E Stx1A was less able to interact with synthetic lipid vesicles, as determined by analysis of tryptophan fluorescence for each toxin in the presence of increasing concentrations of lipid membrane vesicles. These results provide evidence that this conserved internal hydrophobic motif contributes to Stx1 translocation in eukaryotic cells.

Coxiella burnetii can be transformed to ampicillin resistance by electroporation with plasmids encoding beta-lactamase. However, non-plasmid emergence of resistance to ampicillin also develops. To validate the usefulness of the bla gene marker for selection and detection, transformed C. burnetii were examined for beta-lactamase expression by use of immunoblotting after SDS-PAGE. The 29-kDa mature form of the beta-lactamase protein was detected in C. burnetii lysates. Quantitation of these immunoblot signals showed that C. burnetii surprisingly expressed low levels of beta-lactamase. The results validate the use of plasmid-encoded ampicillin resistance as a means for selecting C. burnetii transformants; they also suggest that levels of ampicillin used for selection pressure should be empirically determined and that detection of beta-lactamase by antibody blotting done to confirm transformants.

Those organisms considered to be obligate intracellular bacteria are interesting objects for genetic studies. Little is known about their mechanisms for natural genetic exchange. Many genes from the bacterium Coxiella burnetii, an obligate intraphagolysosomal pathogen, have therefore been cloned and characterized using the heterologous host Escherichia coli. Recently, use of electroporation methodology followed by long-term selection periods have provided initial data on genetic transformation in C. burnetii.