AcfA Regulates the Virulence and Cell Envelope Stress Response of <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>

<i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i> is a ubiquitous inhabitant of estuarine and marine environments that causes vibriosis in aquatic animals and food poisoning in humans. Accessory colonizing factor (ACF) is employed by <i>Vibrio</i> to assist in the colonization and invasion of h...

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Main Authors: Huan Liu, Huayu Lei, Juanjuan Cao, Zhaobang Xie, Yile Shi, Yanni Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Microorganisms
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/1/7
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author Huan Liu
Huayu Lei
Juanjuan Cao
Zhaobang Xie
Yile Shi
Yanni Zhao
author_facet Huan Liu
Huayu Lei
Juanjuan Cao
Zhaobang Xie
Yile Shi
Yanni Zhao
author_sort Huan Liu
collection DOAJ
description <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i> is a ubiquitous inhabitant of estuarine and marine environments that causes vibriosis in aquatic animals and food poisoning in humans. Accessory colonizing factor (ACF) is employed by <i>Vibrio</i> to assist in the colonization and invasion of host cells leading to subsequent illnesses. In this work, Δ<i>acfA</i>, an in-frame deletion mutant strain lacking the 4th to the 645th nucleotides of the open reading frame (ORF) of the <i>acfA</i> gene, and the complementary strain <i>acfA</i><sup>+</sup> were constructed to decipher the function of AcfA in <i>V. parahaemolyticus</i>. The deletion of <i>acfA</i> had no effect on bacterial growth but resulted in a significant reduction in biofilm formation, hemolytic activity, mucus adhesion, and the accumulated mortality of zebrafish, compared to the wild-type strain and the complementary strain <i>acfA</i><sup>+</sup>. Additionally, AcfA was involved in adapting to stressors, such as H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, EDTA, and acid, in <i>V. parahaemolyticus</i>. Furthermore, RNA-Seq transcriptome analysis was conducted to identify global gene transcription alterations resulting from deletion of the <i>acfA</i> gene. A total of 416 differentially expressed genes were identified in the Δ<i>acfA</i> vs. wild-type comparison, with 238 up-regulated genes and 178 down-regulated genes. The expression of genes associated with the type III secretion system, type VI secretion system, and oligopeptide permeases system were significantly reduced, and yet the expression of genes associated with cell envelope biosynthesis and response regulation system were enhanced dramatically in the absence of the <i>acfA</i> gene compared to the wild-type strain. These findings suggest that AcfA may play a role in the overall success of pathogenesis and the cell envelope stress response of <i>V. parahaemolyticus</i>.
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publisher MDPI AG
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spelling doaj-art-c251e5e1383f4eb6946c35b9b92eca932025-01-24T13:42:16ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072024-12-01131710.3390/microorganisms13010007AcfA Regulates the Virulence and Cell Envelope Stress Response of <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>Huan Liu0Huayu Lei1Juanjuan Cao2Zhaobang Xie3Yile Shi4Yanni Zhao5School of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, No. 6 Xuefu Road, Xi’an 710021, ChinaSchool of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, No. 6 Xuefu Road, Xi’an 710021, ChinaSchool of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, No. 6 Xuefu Road, Xi’an 710021, ChinaSchool of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, No. 6 Xuefu Road, Xi’an 710021, ChinaSchool of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, No. 6 Xuefu Road, Xi’an 710021, ChinaSchool of Food Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, No. 6 Xuefu Road, Xi’an 710021, China<i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i> is a ubiquitous inhabitant of estuarine and marine environments that causes vibriosis in aquatic animals and food poisoning in humans. Accessory colonizing factor (ACF) is employed by <i>Vibrio</i> to assist in the colonization and invasion of host cells leading to subsequent illnesses. In this work, Δ<i>acfA</i>, an in-frame deletion mutant strain lacking the 4th to the 645th nucleotides of the open reading frame (ORF) of the <i>acfA</i> gene, and the complementary strain <i>acfA</i><sup>+</sup> were constructed to decipher the function of AcfA in <i>V. parahaemolyticus</i>. The deletion of <i>acfA</i> had no effect on bacterial growth but resulted in a significant reduction in biofilm formation, hemolytic activity, mucus adhesion, and the accumulated mortality of zebrafish, compared to the wild-type strain and the complementary strain <i>acfA</i><sup>+</sup>. Additionally, AcfA was involved in adapting to stressors, such as H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, EDTA, and acid, in <i>V. parahaemolyticus</i>. Furthermore, RNA-Seq transcriptome analysis was conducted to identify global gene transcription alterations resulting from deletion of the <i>acfA</i> gene. A total of 416 differentially expressed genes were identified in the Δ<i>acfA</i> vs. wild-type comparison, with 238 up-regulated genes and 178 down-regulated genes. The expression of genes associated with the type III secretion system, type VI secretion system, and oligopeptide permeases system were significantly reduced, and yet the expression of genes associated with cell envelope biosynthesis and response regulation system were enhanced dramatically in the absence of the <i>acfA</i> gene compared to the wild-type strain. These findings suggest that AcfA may play a role in the overall success of pathogenesis and the cell envelope stress response of <i>V. parahaemolyticus</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/1/7<i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>AcfAvirulencecell envelope stressbiofilm
spellingShingle Huan Liu
Huayu Lei
Juanjuan Cao
Zhaobang Xie
Yile Shi
Yanni Zhao
AcfA Regulates the Virulence and Cell Envelope Stress Response of <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>
Microorganisms
<i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>
AcfA
virulence
cell envelope stress
biofilm
title AcfA Regulates the Virulence and Cell Envelope Stress Response of <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>
title_full AcfA Regulates the Virulence and Cell Envelope Stress Response of <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>
title_fullStr AcfA Regulates the Virulence and Cell Envelope Stress Response of <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>
title_full_unstemmed AcfA Regulates the Virulence and Cell Envelope Stress Response of <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>
title_short AcfA Regulates the Virulence and Cell Envelope Stress Response of <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>
title_sort acfa regulates the virulence and cell envelope stress response of i vibrio parahaemolyticus i
topic <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i>
AcfA
virulence
cell envelope stress
biofilm
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/1/7
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