| Summary: | The genomic analysis of all subspecies <i>F. tularensis</i>, as found in Gen Bank NCBI, reveals the presence of genes encoding proteins like to the multifunctional RecBCD enzyme complex in <i>E. coli</i> and other bacteria. To date, the role of the <i>recD</i> gene in <i>F. tularensis</i>, which encodes the alpha chain of exonuclease V, in DNA metabolism processes, has not been studied either in vitro or in vivo. <i>F. tularensis</i> subsp. <i>holarctica</i> 15 NIIEG, a vaccine strain, served as the basis to create the <i>F. tularensis</i> 15D strain with <i>recD</i> deletion. The lack of the <i>recD</i> gene suppresses the integration of suicide plasmids with <i>F. tularensis</i> genome fragments into the chromosome. The modified strain showed reduced growth in vitro and in vivo. This study shows that such deletion significantly reduces the virulence of the strain in BALB/c mice.
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