Identification and characterization of a putative serine protease expressed in vivo by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis.

A putative serine protease expressed in vivo by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis was isolated from a lambda gt11 genomic expression library by screening with serum from a naturally infected sheep. The gene was contained in two overlapping clones, which were shown by antibody elution to encode a protein of 34 kDa in M. a. paratuberculosis. The clones were sequenced and database searches detected a motif identical to the active serine site in trypsin, and 30% homology to the putative serine proteases (HtrA proteins) of Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Brucella abortus and Rochalimaea henselae.