ArticleBMC microbiology2004
The vaa locus of Mycoplasma hominis contains a divergent genetic islet encoding a putative membrane protein.
Article in BMC microbiology, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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10 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- MUREAPLEXE: A multiplex recombinant antigen-based ELISA expanding the serological detection spectrum of urogenital mycoplasmas.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2026Article
- Mycoplasma hominis as an Infectious Agent of the Human Prostate Carcinoma Cell Line LNCaP.Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · 2025Article
- A genome-wide investigation ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Correlation between the Colony Phenotype and Amino Acid Sequence of the Variable Vaa Antigen in Clinical Isolates of Mycoplasma hominis.Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · 2024Article
- Improved transformation efficiency inMicrobiology spectrum · 2023Article
- Generation of Mycoplasma hominis gene-targeted mutants by targeting-induced local lesions in genomes (TILLING).BMC genomics · 2018Article
- Identification of a gene in Mycoplasma hominis associated with preterm birth and microbial burden in intraamniotic infection.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2015Article
- Diversity of Mycoplasma hominis clinical isolates from Bordeaux, France, as assessed by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis.BMC microbiology · 2013Article
- Life on arginine for Mycoplasma hominis: clues from its minimal genome and comparison with other human urogenital mycoplasmas.PLoS genetics · 2009Article
- Distinctive repertoire of contingency genes conferring mutation- based phase variation and combinatorial expression of surface lipoproteins in Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum of the Mycoplasma mycoides phylogenetic cluster.Journal of bacteriology · 2006Article
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5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Mycoplasma hominis vaa gene encodes a highly variable, surface antigen involved in the adhesion to host cells. We have analysed the structure of the vaa locus to elucidate the genetic basis for variation of vaa.
resultsMapping of vaa on existing physical maps of five M. hominis isolates by pulsed field gel electrophoresis revealed that vaa is located in a genomic region containing the majority of other characterized membrane protein genes of M. hominis. Sequencing of an 11 kb region containing the vaa locus of M. hominis isolate 132 showed the presence of conserved housekeeping genes at the borders of the region, uvrA upstream and the hitABL operon downstream to vaa. Analysis of 20 M. hominis isolates revealed that the vaa upstream region was conserved whereas the downstream region was highly variable. In isolate 132 this region contained an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a putative 160 kDa membrane protein. Homologous ORFs were present in half of the isolates, whereas this ORF, termed vmp (variable membrane protein), was deleted from the locus in the remaining isolates. Compellingly, the conserved upstream region and variable downstream region of vaa correlates with the genetic structure of vaa itself which consists of a conserved 5' end and a variable 3' end containing a variable number of exchangeable sequence cassettes.
conclusionOur data demonstrate that the vaa locus contains a divergent genetic islet, and indicate pronounced intraspecies recombination. The high variability level of the locus indicate that it is a chromosomal 'hot spot', presumably important for sustaining diversity and a high adaptation potential of M. hominis.
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