Understanding the mechanisms utilised by Coxiella burnetii for intracellular replication within the host phagolysosome

Abstract

The human pathogen Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of Q fever, a febrile illness which may lead to chronic disease in a small percentage of infected individuals. C. burnetii is a unique Gram negative intracellular bacterium which replicates within a host cell lysosome derived vacuole, termed the Coxiella containing vacuole (CCV). Currently, the exact mechanisms which allow C. burnetii to replicate within this normally hostile compartment are unknown. In order to understand how C. burnetii survives within this intracellular niche, this research investigated carbon metabolism of both intracellular and axenically cultivated bacteria, using steady state metabolic profiling and 13C stabl..