bearer of at some time only_in_taxon Brucella virulence factor disposition Brucella melitensis bv. 1 str. 16M BMEII0026 protein VirB2 PMID: 15322008, 16113325 UniProtKB: PR:Q9RPY3 NCBIGene: 1197797 Gene name: virB2 This protein is a Brucella virulence factor. MUTATION: The Brucella abortus virB operon, encoding a type IV secretion system (T4SS), is required for intracellular replication and persistent infection in the mouse model. The products of the first two genes of the virB operon, virB1 and virB2, are predicted to be localized at the bacterial surface. Both mutants were shown to be nonpolar, as demonstrated by their ability to express the downstream gene virB5 during stationary phase of growth in vitro. Both VirB1 and VirB2 were essential for intracellular replication in J774 macrophages. The nonpolar virB2 mutant was unable to cause persistent infection in the mouse model, demonstrating the essential role of VirB2 in the function of the T4SS apparatus during infection [Ref6539:den et al., 2004]. Polar mutations in the virB1 to virB2 intergenic region or in virB2 reduced the detection of VirB5 to a greater extent than they did that of VirB12. A virB1 mutation also eliminates the transcription of virB12 in B suis [Ref6470:Sun et al., 2005]. Molecule Role Annotation: MUTATION: The Brucella abortus virB operon, encoding a type IV secretion system (T4SS), is required for intracellular replication and persistent infection in the mouse model. The products of the first two genes of the virB operon, virB1 and virB2, are predicted to be localized at the bacterial surface. Both mutants were shown to be nonpolar, as demonstrated by their ability to express the downstream gene virB5 during stationary phase of growth in vitro. Both VirB1 and VirB2 were essential for intracellular replication in J774 macrophages. The nonpolar virB2 mutant was unable to cause persistent infection in the mouse model, demonstrating the essential role of VirB2 in the function of the T4SS apparatus during infection [Ref6539:den et al., 2004]. Polar mutations in the virB1 to virB2 intergenic region or in virB2 reduced the detection of VirB5 to a greater extent than they did that of VirB12. A virB1 mutation also eliminates the transcription of virB12 in B suis [Ref6470:Sun et al., 2005]. NCBIProteinAccess:NP_541003.1 LocusTag: BMEII0026 NCBIProteinGI: 17988370