Project description:Brucella spp. is an intracellular pathogen in vivo. The intracellular B. melitensis transcriptome was determined by initially enriched and then amplified B. melitensis RNA from total RNA of B. melitensis-infected HeLa cells. Analysis of microarray results identified 161 and 115 genes differentially expressed at 4 and 12 h p.i., respectively. Most of the genes (78%) differentially expressed were down-regulated at the earliest time point, but up-regulated (75%) at 12 h p.i. The analysis of the results indicates that Brucella undergo an adaptation period during the first 4 h p.i. that is overcome by 12 h p.i., permitting Brucella to replicate intracellularly. Specific genes and biological processes identified in this study will further help elucidate how Brucella act during the early infectious process to their eventual benefit and to the detriment of the naïve host. Keywords: Time course study of intracellular B. melitensis gene expression
