The distribution of bmpB, a gene encoding a 29.7 kDa lipoprotein with homology to MetQ, in Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and related species

The distribution of the bmpB gene encoding BmpB, a 29.7 kDa outer membrane lipoprotein of the intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira hyodysenteriae, was investigated. Using PCR, the gene was detected in all the 48 strains of B. hyodysenteriae examined and in Brachyspira innocens strain B256 T, but not in 11 other strains of B. innocens nor in 42 strains of other Brachyspira spp. The gene was sequenced from B. innocens strain B256 T and from 11 strains of B. hyodysenteriae. The B. hyodysenteriae genes shared 97.9–100% nucleotide sequence similarity and had 97.5–99.5% similarity with the gene of B. innocens strain B256 T. Southern hybridisation indicated that bmpB was present on a 1.9 kb HindIII fragment of the B. hyodysenteriae genome and on a 3.1 kb fragment of the B. innocens B256 T genome. The B. innocens lipoprotein did not react in Western blots with monoclonal antibody BJL/SH1 that reacts with the B. hyodysenteriae lipoprotein. The difference in binding with the monoclonal antibody may reside in the replacement of a serine residue with a tyrosine residue at base position 210 in the lipoprotein from B. innocens B256 T. Comparison of the BmpB amino acid sequence with sequences in the SWISS-PROT protein database indicated that it has 33.9–39.9% similarity with the d-methionine binding proteins (MetQ) of a number of pathogenic bacterial species. The bmpB gene was confirmed to be the same as a gene of B. hyodysenteriae that was recently designated “ blpA”.