Coxiella burnetii: turning hostility into a home

Abstract

Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of the human disease Q fever, is a unique intracellular bacterial pathogen. Coxiella replicates to high numbers within a pathogen-derived lysosome-like vacuole, thriving within a low pH, highly proteolytic and oxidative environment. In 2009, researchers developed means to axenically culture Coxiella paving the way for the development of tools to genetically manipulate the organism. These advances have revolutionized our capacity to examine the pathogenesis of Coxiella. In recent years, targeted and random mutant strains have been used to demonstrate that the Dot/Icm type IV secretion system is essential for intracellular replication of Coxiella. Current..