Detection of Bacillus anthracis spore germination in vivo by bioluminescence imaging

Infection and Immunity
Patrick SanzAlison D O'Brien

Abstract

We sought to visualize the site of Bacillus anthracis spore germination in vivo. For that purpose, we constructed a reporter plasmid with the lux operon under control of the spore small acid-soluble protein B (sspB) promoter. In B. subtilis, sspB-driven synthesis of luciferase during sporulation results in incorporation of the enzyme in spores. We observed that B. anthracis Sterne transformed with our sspBp::lux plasmid was only luminescent during germination. In contrast, Sterne transformed with a similarly constructed plasmid with lux expression under control of the protective antigen promoter displayed luminescence only during vegetative growth. We then infected A/J mice intranasally with spores that harbored the germination reporter. Mice were monitored for up to 14 days with the Xenogen In Vivo Imaging System. While luminescence only became evident in live animals at 18 h, dissection after sacrificing infected mice at earlier time points revealed luminescence in lung tissue at 30 min after intranasal infection. Microscopic histochemical and immunofluorescence studies on luminescent lung sections and imprints revealed that macrophages were the first cells in contact with the B. anthracis spores. By 6 h after infection, poly...Continue Reading

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