“…B. abortus has the ability to enter and replicate inside mammalian cells (Gorvel & Moreno, 2002), which enables immune evasion and can reduce efficacy of antimicrobial therapies. There are several molecular features of the B. abortus cell that play a role in its ability to infect and replicate in mammalian hosts (Atluri et al, 2011, Batut et al, 2004, Byndloss & Tsolis, 2016, Celli, 2006, de Figueiredo et al, 2015, Gorvel, 2008, including smooth lipopolysaccharide (Lapaque et al, 2005, Cardoso et al, 2006, Conde-Alvarez et al, 2012, Smith, 2018, the type IV secretion system (Byndloss & Tsolis, 2016, O'Callaghan et al, 1999, Delrue et al, 2001, den Hartigh et al, 2008, and secreted protein effectors (de Barsy et al, 2011, Myeni et al, 2013, Spera et al, 2013. Here, we report a functional and structural analysis of envelope integrity protein A (EipA), a protein required for B. abortus envelope stress resistance and infection.…”