Gene Organization and Transcriptional Analysis of thetprJ,tprI,tprG, andtprFLoci inTreponema pallidumStrains Nichols and Sea 81-4

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Abstract
Thetprgene family ofTreponema pallidumsubsp.pallidum, the causative agent of syphilis, has recently become the focus of intensive investigation. TprF and TprI sequences are highly conserved among different isolates and are the targets of strong humoral and cellular immune responses of the host, and immunization with a recombinant peptide from the amino terminus of these antigens has been shown to alter significantly lesion development following homologous challenge. This indicates that these antigens are expressed during infection and strongly suggests a key functionality.tprFandtprIare located immediately downstream of thetprGandtprJgenes, respectively, separated by very short intergenic spacers (55 nucleotides forG-Fand 56 nucleotides forJ-I). Preliminary analysis using gene-specific primers failed to amplifytprJin the Sea 81-4 isolate. In this study, sequence and transcriptional analysis of these loci showed a similar gene organization in the Nichols and Sea 81-4 strains, a complex pattern of transcription, and the presence of G homopolymeric repeats of variable lengths upstream of thetprF,tprI,tprG, andtprJtranscriptional start sites. However, distinctive features were also identified in the Sea 81-4 isolate, including atprG-like open reading frame in thetprJlocus, a frameshift and a premature termination in thetprGcoding sequence, a longertprG-tprFintergenic spacer, and absence of cotranscription of thetprG-tprFgenes.

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