Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology (한국미생물·생명공학회)
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Functional Identification and Genetic Analysis of O-Antigen Gene Clusters of Food-Borne Pathogen Yersinia enterocolitica O:10 and Other Uncommon Serotypes, Further Revealing Their Virulence Profiles

  • Bin Hu (Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention) ;
  • Jing Wang (TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University) ;
  • Linxing Li (TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University) ;
  • Qin Wang (Disease Prevention and Control Center of Ganzhou District) ;
  • Jingliang Qin (TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University) ;
  • Yingxin Chi (Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention) ;
  • Junxiang Yan (TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University) ;
  • Wenkui Sun (Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention) ;
  • Boyang Cao (TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University) ;
  • Xi Guo (TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University)
  • Received : 2024.02.26
  • Accepted : 2024.06.25
  • Published : 2024.08.28
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Abstract

Yersinia enterocolitica is a globally distributed food-borne gastrointestinal pathogen. The O-antigen variation-determined serotype is an important characteristic of Y. enterocolitica, allowing intraspecies classification for diagnosis and epidemiology purposes. Among the 11 serotypes associated with human yersiniosis, O:3, O:5,27, O:8, and O:9 are the most prevalent, and their O-antigen gene clusters have been well defined. In addition to the O-antigen, several virulence factors are involved in infection and pathogenesis of Y. enterocolitica strains, and these are closely related to their biotypes, reflecting pathogenic properties. In this study, we identified the O-AGC of a Y. enterocolitica strain WL-21 of serotype O:10, and confirmed its functionality in O-antigen synthesis. Furthermore, we analyzed in silico the putative O-AGCs of uncommon serotypes, and found that the O-AGCs of Y. enterocolitica were divided into two genetic patterns: (1) O-AGC within the hemH-gsk locus, possibly synthesizing the O-antigen via the Wzx/Wzy dependent pathway, and (2) O-AGC within the dcuC-galU-galF locus, very likely assembling the O-antigen via the ABC transporter dependent pathway. By screening the virulence genes against genomes from GenBank, we discovered that strains representing different serotypes were grouped according to different virulence gene profiles, indicating strong links between serotypes and virulence markers and implying an interaction between them and the synergistic effect in pathogenicity. Our study provides a framework for further research on the origin and evolution of O-AGCs from Y. enterocolitica, as well as on differences in virulent mechanisms among distinct serotypes.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation General Project (grant number ZR2022MH318), the Tianjin Municipal Natural Science Foundation (grant number 17JCYBJC24300), and the National Key Program for Infectious Diseases of China (grant number 2017ZX10303405).

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