Biotechnology Institute (ARG) Angel Cataldi
WP-3 Leader

Institution and Expertise
The Biotechnology Institute belongs to the Agriculture and Veterinary Research Center (CICVyA) of the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INTA). The main research of the Institute is focused on plant and animal diseases. In the veterinary field, research is centered on major livestock diseases in Argentina such as brucelosis, bovine tuberculosis, parasitic diseases and viral diseases such as foot and mouth diseases and herpes virus infections. The Institute's objective is to obtain a better understanding of virulence mechanisms and host-microorganism interactions and, in an applied frame, to elaborate diagnostic methods and vaccines suitable for use in local conditions.
The Institute is equipped with central facilities for washing and sterilization, freezers, electrophoresis, incubators, computing, laminar flux cabinets, radioactivity handling, sonication, incubators for bacterial, insect, plant and mammalian cells, microscopy and CICVyA counts. The institute has P3 and P2 boxes for performing infectious disease experiements with cattle and laboratory animals.

Personnel involved
Angel Cataldi is member of of the LatinoAmerican and Caribbean Tuberculosis Network (RELACTB), a United Nations University collaborative Network of researchers working Tuberculosis.

Dr. Alberto Guglielmone group has extensive experience in hemoparasite epidemiology, diagnosis and vaccine testing.
Dr. Fabiana Bigi, PhD, experience in BCG heterologous expression
Dr. Marisa Farber, PhD, experience in parasitic antigen gene cloning and expression and
evaluation of immune response
Dr. Susana Echaide, PhD, experience in experiemental vaccine testing

Ongoing projects and previous collaboration
Brigitte Gicquel, Institut Pasteur (Partner 6) is a permanent invited fellow of RELACTB. Both groups exchange ideas and material to identify and characterize the M. tuberculosis protein Erp or P36. Angel Cataldi performed during four years his post doctoral training at the Institut Pasteur. Angel Cataldi is coordinator of a Molecular Epidemiology of Cattle Infectious diseases project of Procisur, an IICA (Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura) organization. Odir Dellagostin (partner 2) is a member of this Molecular Epidemiology team.

Publications
1. F. Bigi, J. C. Fisanotti, M. I. Romano, Alito, O. Taboga and A. Cataldi. 1999. Expression of M. Bovis P36 Gene in M. smegmatis and in the Baculovirus/Insect cells system. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research 32: 29-37.
2. Guglielmone, A.A. 1995. Epidemiology of babesiosis and anaplasmosis in South and Central America. Vet. Parasitol. 57:109-119.
3. Romano, M. I., A., Alicia , Bigi, F., Fisanotti, J.C., and Cataldi, A. Genetic characterisation of mycobacteria isolated from marine mammals. Vet. Microbiol. 1995 47: 89-98.
4. Paveto, C., Pereira, C. Espinosa J., Montagna, AE, Farber, M., Esteva M, Flawiá M.M, Torres H.N.1995 The Nitric Oxide Transduction Pathway in Trypanosoma cruzi. Journal of Biological Chemistry, , 270: 16576-16579.
5. Guglielmone AA, Lugaresi CI, Volpogni MM, Anziani OS, Vanzini VR. 1997 Babesial antibody dynamics after cattle immunisation with live vaccines, measured with an indirect immunofluorescence test. Vet Parasitol Jun;70(1-3):33-9.