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Microorganisms
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Vibrio Virulence
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Vibrio Virulence

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology and Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 3561

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Tom Defoirdt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Interests: bacterial pathogens; virulence; virulence regulation; vibrios

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Vibrios are are curved rod shaped Gram-negative Gammaproteobacteria that are widespread in the aquatic environment, both free-living and in association with eukaryotes. Some vibrios are non-pathogenic (either neutral or symbiotic), whereas others are pathogenic to (aquatic) animals and/or humans, and pathogenicity is a strain- rather than a species-characteristic. In many cases of pathogenic vibrios, they are opportunistic pathogens, i.e. non-obligate and/or non-specialised pathogens of a focal host. Indeed, vibrios are able to reproduce outside of a host and are often able to infect various host types. These characteristics contribute to the widespread problems caused by vibrios as they can reach high densities in the environment surrounding the animals. Pathogenic vibrios produce various virulence factors, i.e. compounds or cell structures that enable them to infect their host. These virulence factors are usually strictly regulated so that they are only produced when needed.

This special issue aims to provide a collection of articles with recent insights into virulence factors, virulence genes, virulence regulatory mechanisms and/or the interference with these mechanisms in vibrios that are pathogenic to animals and/or humans. Studies focusing on symbiotic interactions between vibrios and a host will also be considerd. We welcome the submission of research articles, review articles, and short communications related to various aspects of Vibrio-host interactions.

Dr. Tom Defoirdt
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • vibrios
  • pathogenicity
  • virulence factors
  • virulence genes
  • regulatory mechanisms
  • interaction

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 1797 KiB  
Article
Contribution of the Type III Secretion System (T3SS2) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Mitochondrial Stress in Human Intestinal Cells
by Nicolás Plaza, Diliana Pérez-Reytor, Gino Corsini, Katherine García and Ítalo M. Urrutia
Microorganisms 2024, 12(4), 813; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12040813 - 17 Apr 2024
Viewed by 276
Abstract
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an important human pathogen that is currently the leading cause of shellfish-borne gastroenteritis in the world. Particularly, the pandemic strain has the capacity to induce cytotoxicity and enterotoxicity through its Type 3 Secretion System (T3SS2) that leads to massive cell [...] Read more.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an important human pathogen that is currently the leading cause of shellfish-borne gastroenteritis in the world. Particularly, the pandemic strain has the capacity to induce cytotoxicity and enterotoxicity through its Type 3 Secretion System (T3SS2) that leads to massive cell death. However, the specific mechanism by which the T3SS2 induces cell death remains unclear and its contribution to mitochondrial stress is not fully understood. In this work, we evaluated the contribution of the T3SS2 of V. parahaemolyticus in generating mitochondrial stress during infection in human intestinal HT-29 cells. To evaluate the contribution of the T3SS2 of V. parahaemolyticus in mitochondrial stress, infection assays were carried out to evaluate mitochondrial transition pore opening, mitochondrial fragmentation, ATP quantification, and cell viability during infection. Our results showed that the Δvscn1 (T3SS2+) mutant strain contributes to generating the sustained opening of the mitochondrial transition pore. Furthermore, it generates perturbations in the ATP production in infected cells, leading to a significant decrease in cell viability and loss of membrane integrity. Our results suggest that the T3SS2 from V. parahaemolyticus plays a role in generating mitochondrial stress that leads to cell death in human intestinal HT-29 cells. It is important to highlight that this study represents the first report indicating the possible role of the V. parahaemolyticus T3SS2 and its effector proteins involvement in generating mitochondrial stress, its impact on the mitochondrial pore, and its effect on ATP production in human cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vibrio Virulence)
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15 pages, 3407 KiB  
Article
Presence of Zonula Occludens Toxin-Coding Genes among Vibrio parahaemolyticus Isolates of Clinical and Environmental Origin
by Cristian Iribarren, Nicolás Plaza, Sebastián Ramírez-Araya, Diliana Pérez-Reytor, Ítalo M. Urrutia, Elisabetta Suffredini, Teresa Vicenza, Soledad Ulloa, Jorge Fernández, Paola Navarrete, Victor Jaña, Leonardo Pavez, Talía del Pozo, Gino Corsini, Carmen Lopez-Joven and Katherine García
Microorganisms 2024, 12(3), 504; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12030504 - 29 Feb 2024
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Abstract
In recent studies, emphasis has been placed on the zonula occludens toxin (Zot) from the non-toxigenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain PMC53.7 as an agent inducing alterations in the actin cytoskeleton of infected Caco-2 cells and which appears as a relevant virulence factor. Universal zot [...] Read more.
In recent studies, emphasis has been placed on the zonula occludens toxin (Zot) from the non-toxigenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain PMC53.7 as an agent inducing alterations in the actin cytoskeleton of infected Caco-2 cells and which appears as a relevant virulence factor. Universal zot primers were designed by the alignment of different types of zot gene and identification of conserved sequences to investigate the presence in diverse environmental and clinical V. parahaemolyticus isolates, in co-occurrence with virulence factors, such a hemolysins and secretion systems. The study screened a total of 390 isolates from environmental sources from Chile and Italy and 95 Chilean clinical isolates. The results revealed that around 37.2% of Chilean environmental strains and 25.9% of Italian strains, and 24.2% of clinical isolates carried the zot gene. The Zot-C2 cluster was present in 71.4% of Chilean environmental strains but absent in clinical isolates, while the Zot-C4 cluster was identified in 28.6% of environmental and 100% of clinical isolates. Understanding the role of zot in V. parahaemolyticus virulence is crucial, especially considering the risk associated with consuming diverse isolates from bivalves and the co-occurrence with virulence factors such as TDH, TRH or T3SS2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vibrio Virulence)
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14 pages, 2963 KiB  
Article
Roles of Hcp2, a Hallmark of T6SS2 in Motility, Adhesive Capacity, and Pathogenicity of Vibrio alginolyticus
by Shuilong Wu, Jufen Tang, Bei Wang, Jia Cai and Jichang Jian
Microorganisms 2023, 11(12), 2893; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11122893 - 30 Nov 2023
Viewed by 819
Abstract
The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a large secretory device, widely found in Gram-negative bacteria, which plays important roles in virulence, bacterial competition, and environmental adaptation. Vibrio alginolyticus (V. alginolyticus) is an opportunistic pathogen that causes vibriosis in aquaculture animals. [...] Read more.
The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a large secretory device, widely found in Gram-negative bacteria, which plays important roles in virulence, bacterial competition, and environmental adaptation. Vibrio alginolyticus (V. alginolyticus) is an opportunistic pathogen that causes vibriosis in aquaculture animals. V. alginolyticus possesses two type VI secretion systems (named the T6SS1 and T6SS2), but their functions remain largely unclear. In this paper, the roles of the core component of the T6SS2 cluster of V. alginolyticus HY9901, hemolysin-coregulated protein2 coding gene hcp2, are reported. Deletion of hcp2 clearly impaired the swarming motility, adhesive capacity, and pathogenicity of V. alginolyticus against zebrafish. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) found that the abnormal morphology of flagellum filament in the hcp2 mutant strain could be partially restored by hcp2 complementarity. By proteomic and RT-qPCR analysis, we confirmed that the expression levels of flagellar flagellin and assembly-associated proteins were remarkably decreased in an hcp2 mutant strain, compared with the wild-type strain, and could be partially restored with a supply of hcp2. Accordingly, hcp2 had a positive influence on the transcription of flagellar regulons rpoN, rpoS, and fliA; this was verified by RT-qPCR. Taken together, these results suggested that hcp2 was involved in mediating the motility, adhesion, and pathogenicity of Vibrio alginolyticus through positively impacting its flagellar system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vibrio Virulence)
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Review

Jump to: Research

16 pages, 997 KiB  
Review
Non-O1/Non-O139 Vibrio cholerae—An Underestimated Foodborne Pathogen? An Overview of Its Virulence Genes and Regulatory Systems Involved in Pathogenesis
by Quantao Zhang, Thomas Alter and Susanne Fleischmann
Microorganisms 2024, 12(4), 818; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12040818 - 18 Apr 2024
Viewed by 461
Abstract
In recent years, the number of foodborne infections with non-O1 and non-O139 Vibrio cholerae (NOVC) has increased worldwide. These have ranged from sporadic infection cases to localized outbreaks. The majority of case reports describe self-limiting gastroenteritis. However, severe gastroenteritis and even cholera-like symptoms [...] Read more.
In recent years, the number of foodborne infections with non-O1 and non-O139 Vibrio cholerae (NOVC) has increased worldwide. These have ranged from sporadic infection cases to localized outbreaks. The majority of case reports describe self-limiting gastroenteritis. However, severe gastroenteritis and even cholera-like symptoms have also been described. All reported diarrheal cases can be traced back to the consumption of contaminated seafood. As climate change alters the habitats and distribution patterns of aquatic bacteria, there is a possibility that the number of infections and outbreaks caused by Vibrio spp. will further increase, especially in countries where raw or undercooked seafood is consumed or clean drinking water is lacking. Against this background, this review article focuses on a possible infection pathway and how NOVC can survive in the human host after oral ingestion, colonize intestinal epithelial cells, express virulence factors causing diarrhea, and is excreted by the human host to return to the environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vibrio Virulence)
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