Although our attempts to establish the SUMOylation status of Beclin1 in infected cells were not successful, probably due to low infection rates of Brucella, we found that intracellular replication at 48 h post-infection was reduced in the absence of either Beclin1 or PIAS3 suggesting their functions contribute to efficient multiplication (Fig. 6f). The gene discussed is BECN1; the disease is infection.