{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T18:06:46Z","timestamp":1789150006311,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":89,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789084800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002848","name":"Agencia Nacional de Investigaci\u00f3n y Desarrollo","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["1230018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1230018"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002848","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["1230018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1230018"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05btm5233","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int. J. Mol. Sci.","IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Brucella abortus is an intracellular pathogen that must withstand oxidative stress and other hostile conditions encountered within host cells. Here, we investigated the contribution of BAB2_0534, a gene encoding a putative multicopper oxidase, to bacterial adaptation and persistence. Deletion of BAB2_0534 impaired pigment production in the presence of the melanin precursors L-DOPA and homogentisic acid, supporting a role for BAB2_0534 in phenolic substrate oxidation and melanin-like pigment biosynthesis. The mutant also exhibited increased susceptibility to oxidative stress and reduced survival with macrophages, indicating that BAB2_0534 contribute to intracellular adaptation. In vivo, mice infected with the \u0394BAB2_0534 mutant showed significantly reduced splenic bacterial burdens compared with animals infected with the wild-type or complemented strains, demonstrating impaired persistence during infection. Consistently, Fontana\u2013Masson-positive pigment was detected in tissues from wild-type-infected animals but was markedly reduced following infection with the mutant. Collectively, these findings support a model in which BAB2_0534-associated multicopper oxidase activity and pigment production contribute to oxidative stress resistance and intracellular persistence of B. abortus. This study characterizes BAB2_0534 as a previously unrecognized component of the adaptive mechanisms underlying Brucella persistence.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27188105","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T17:14:59Z","timestamp":1789146899000},"page":"8105","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Putative Multicopper Oxidase Encoded by BAB2_0534 Promotes Melanin-Like Pigment Production and Intracellular Adaptation in Brucella abortus"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0312-0860","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto F.","family":"Coloma-Rivero","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Universidad de Concepci\u00f3n, Concepci\u00f3n 4030000, Chile"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-5106-3323","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vicente","family":"Arriagada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Universidad de Concepci\u00f3n, Concepci\u00f3n 4030000, 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