Y.Enterocolitica (O:9) YopD

Yersinia enterocolitica is a Gram-negative, bacillus-shaped bacterium belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family . It is known for causing yersiniosis, a zoonotic disease that affects humans and various animals such as cattle, deer, pigs, and birds . Y. enterocolitica is motile at temperatures between 22-29°C but becomes non-motile at normal human body temperature .

Y. enterocolitica is a heterogeneous group of strains classified by biotyping into six biogroups based on phenotypic characteristics and by serotyping into more than 57 “O” serogroups based on their O (lipopolysaccharide or LPS) surface antigen . Among these, serogroups O:3, O:5,27, O:8, and O:9 are most frequently isolated from human samples . In many European countries, serogroup O:3 is the most common, followed by O:9, while serogroup O:8 is mostly detected in the United States .

The pathogenicity of Y. enterocolitica is attributed to various virulence factors, including the plasmid of Yersinia virulence (pYV), which is a significant marker . These factors enable the bacteria to invade a host, colonize it, evade the immune response, and grow under unfavorable conditions .

YopD (Yersinia outer protein D) is one of the key virulence factors encoded by the pYV plasmid . It plays a crucial role in the translocation of Yersinia outer proteins (Yops) into host cells, which is essential for the bacteria’s ability to cause disease . YopD, along with other Yops, helps the bacteria evade the host’s immune response and establish infection .

Recombinant YopD from Yersinia enterocolitica (O:9) is produced using Escherichia coli as the expression system . The recombinant protein is a glycosylated polypeptide chain with a calculated molecular mass of 34,603 Daltons . It is expressed with a 10xHis tag at the N-terminus and purified using proprietary chromatographic techniques .

Recombinant YopD is used in laboratory research to study the immunological functions of Y. enterocolitica . It binds to IgG, IgM, and IgA-type human antibodies and is used in immunodot tests with positive/negative sera panels . The protein is supplied in a sterile filtered clear solution and is stable when stored at 4°C for short-term use or frozen at -20°C for long-term storage .