Characterising the role of metabolic enzymes in the pathogenesis of Coxiella burnetii

Abstract

Coxiella burnetii is a Gram-negative intracellular pathogen that replicates in a highly acidic and oxidative lysosome-derived vacuole known as the Coxiella-containing vacuole (CCV). The relatively recent identification of axenic medium that supports C. burnetii replication and the development of improved genetic tools has advanced knowledge of this pathogen and facilitated the identification of virulence factors. A previously conducted transposon mutant library screen using a human cell line identified a number of genes that appeared to be required for intracellular replication, including genes encoding metabolic enzymes such as nadB and sdrA. To investigate the role of nadB and sdrA in C. b..