Expression of Brucella bp26 Gene and BP26 Protein Used as the Diagnostic Antigen in Indirect ELISA

To investigate the value of the recombinant BP26 protein in the serological diagnosis of sheep brucellosis caused by Brucella melitensis,recombinant BP26 protein was produced in Escherichia Coli and purified for use in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(I-ELISA).In the study,one target fragment bp26 gene was amplified via PCR from the vaccine strain M5-90 and expressed in E.Coli.The results were compared with standard tube agglutination test(STAT) with 42 serum samples.It was found that the positive rates of serum samples revealed by the STAT and iELISA were 30.85%(13/42) and 35.71%(13/42),respectively.These results indicated that the BP26 protein could be expressed successfully in E.Coli and has a good immunity in SDS-PAGE and Western-blot.The recombinant BP26-I-ELISA indicated that the BP26 protein may be an interesting potential as diagnostic antigens for brucellosis.BP26 coated iELISA,which may be equipped with Brucella vaccine M5-90Δbp26 mutant strain.