Understanding Brucella

Brucella, a genus of gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacteria, causes brucellosis, a zoonotic disease with major agricultural, veterinary, and public‑health implications.^1,2 Because of its global impact across livestock production and human health, Brucella remains a key focus in microbiological research. ATCC supports this work by providing authenticated Brucella strains that enable accurate detection, characterization, and study of host-pathogen interaction studies critical for disease surveillance and control.

The Brucella genus: Key species and their hosts

Brucella species are host-adapted, often targeting reproductive organs and causing infertility and abortions in animals.³ Human infection typically occurs through contact with infected animals, consumption of unpasteurized dairy, or inhalation of aerosols.¹ Among the most significant species:

B. melitensis – primarily affects goats and sheep
B. abortus – targets cattle and is a major cause of bovine brucellosis
B. suis – infects pigs and poses significant zoonotic risk³
B. canis – affects dogs with moderate pathogenicity
B. ovis – infects sheep but is not typically zoonotic³
Wildlife and marine species like B. neotomae, B. ceti, and B. pinnipedialis continue to emerge as organisms of interest due to their evolving host ranges.³

This diversity underscores the need for standardized, authenticated strains to support diagnostics, surveillance, and comparative genomics.

ATCC Brucella strains: Reliable tools for research and diagnostics

ATCC provides a curated selection of authenticated, genome-sequenced Brucella strains that support diagnostics, vaccine development, and agricultural health. A key example is Brucella ovis (ATCC® 25840™), a type strain widely used in agricultural studies and maintained under Biosafety Level 2 conditions for accessible lab use.

These strains support diverse applications,^2,3 including:

Diagnostic assay development and validation
Vaccine research for livestock and humans
Pathogenesis studies, including intracellular survival and immune evasion
Comparative genomics to explore evolutionary relationships and virulence factors

Culturing Brucella: Growth requirements and laboratory considerations

Brucella species are fastidious, requiring enriched media such as Brucella Agar Base or Trypticase Soy Agar supplemented with 5% sheep or horse blood. Selective options include Farrell’s, modified Thayer-Martin, or CITA medium. Cultures are incubated at 35°C in 5–10% CO₂, with colonies appearing in 48–72 hours, though some strains may require up to 21 days. These demanding growth requirements highlight the importance of using authenticated strains to ensure consistency across studies.

Maintaining microbial integrity: ATCC’s cultivation standards

ATCC cultivates Brucella under stringent bioproduction protocols designed to ensure purity, viability, and biosafety. Strains are grown in specialized media that support their slow-growing, intracellular nature, and at each step—from revival to preservation—is overseen by trained biologists. This controlled process ensures that every culture meets rigorous standards for identity and performance, enabling researchers to work with reliable, reproducible materials for downstream applications in microbiology, veterinary science, and infectious disease research.

Advancing Brucella research through trusted biological standards

Brucella remains a daunting pathogen with complex host interactions and significant zoonotic potential.³ ATCC’s authenticated strains provide a robust foundation for advancing diagnostics, improving surveillance, and developing effective control strategies. This confidence is further strengthened by the ATCC Genome Portal (AGP), which pairs authenticated biomaterials with genomic and methylation data to support transparent, reproducible research. Whether the focus is molecular pathogenesis, vaccine development, or agricultural health, these standardized resources enable high-impact, reproducible research.²

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ATCC's Brucella portfolio supports a wide range of applications, from diagnostic assay development and vaccine research to pathogenesis studies and comparative genomics.

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Meet the author

Portrait of Jeanette Rimbey facing the camera, photographed outdoors and wearing a white laboratory coat.

Jeanette Rimbey, MS

ATCC Microbiology Supervisor, Laboratory Operations, ATCC

Jeanette Rimbey is the Supervisor of Microbiology in Laboratory Operations at ATCC, where she leads teams dedicated to producing high-quality microbial reference materials for the global research community. Her scientific background spans bacteriophages, driving research in microbial ecosystems, and antimicrobial therapeutics development, grounding her leadership in both technical depth and strategic insight.

Jeanette oversees a broad portfolio of BSL-1 and BSL-2 production workflows, driving scientific rigor, operational excellence, and continuous improvement. Beyond this, she is driving a culture of mentorship and continuous learning, strengthening collaboration, and advancing process innovation to ensure the consistency and impact of ATCC’s biological materials.

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Infectious Disease Research

ATCC offers an extensive array of microorganisms and nucleic acids that promote research leading to the development of novel methods for detecting, minimizing, and treating infectious diseases.

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Bacteriology and Archaea

ATCC offers a variety of bacterial and archaeal strains with applications in a variety of research and industrial applications. Our growing portfolio includes antimicrobial-resistant strains, quality control organisms for commercial identification systems, a wide selection of extremophile strains, and genomic and synthetic DNA.

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Discover the ATCC Genome Portal

The ATCC Genome Portal is a rapidly growing ISO 9001–compliant database of high-quality reference genomes from authenticated microbial strains in the ATCC collection. Through this cloud-based platform, you can easily access and download meticulously curated whole-genome sequences from your browser or our secure API. With high-quality, annotated data at your fingertips, you can confidently perform bioinformatics analyses and make insightful correlations.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brucellosis, 2024. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/brucellosis/about/index.html
Corbel MJ. Brucellosis in humans and animals. World Health Organization, 2006. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241547130
Godfroid J, et al. Brucellosis at the animal/ecosystem/human interface at the beginning of the 21st century. Prev Vet Med 102(2): 118–131, 2011. PubMed: 21571380
OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health). (2023). Brucellosis (Brucella abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis). Retrieved from https://www.oie.int/en/disease/brucellosis/