• 미생물학회지
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• 제26권3호
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• pp.262-269
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• 1988

한국에서 분리한 Yersinia enterocolitica의 병원성 여부를 조사하기 위하여 지가응집 시험, 칼슘 의존성 시험, HeLa 세포 침투시험, Sereny 시험, Crystal violet 결합시험과 plasmid의 전기영동을 실시하여 다음과 같은 결과를 얻었다. 병원성 Y. enterocolitica는 자가응집, 칼슘 의존성, crystal violet 결합시험에서 양성반을을, 비병원성 균주는 음성반응을 각각 나타내었다. 그러나 양성반응은 $37^{\circ}C$에서만 나타나 병원성의 발현이 온도에 의존됨을 알 수 있었다. Sereny 시험에서 혈청형 0:8인 표준균주만이 양성반응을 보인 반면에 혈청형 0:3, 0:9인 실험균주들은 대부분 음성반응을 나타내어 Y. enterocolitica의 병원성은 혈청형에 따라 실험동물에서 다르게 발현됨을 알 수가 있었다. HeLa 세포 침투시험에서 실험균주 모두가 양성반응을 보여 병원성 균주를 구분하기에는 부적합하였다. 대부분의 병원성 균주는 36-38Mdal의 plasmid를 가지고 있었으나 비병원성 균주는 없었으며, plasmid가 자가응집 및 칼슘 의존성, crystal violet 결합에 관여함을 알 수가 있었다.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.125-135
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• 2016

Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative bacteria that is responsible for gastritis in human. Its spiral flagellated body helps in locomotion and colonization in the host environment. It is capable of living in the highly acidic environment of the stomach with the help of acid adaptive genes. The genome of H. pylori 26695 strain contains 1,555 coding genes that encode 1,445 proteins. Out of these, 340 proteins are characterized as hypothetical proteins (HP). This study involves extensive analysis of the HPs using an established pipeline which comprises various bioinformatics tools and databases to find out probable functions of the HPs and identification of virulence factors. After extensive analysis of all the 340 HPs, we found that 104 HPs are showing characteristic similarities with the proteins with known functions. Thus, on the basis of such similarities, we assigned probable functions to 104 HPs with high confidence and precision. All the predicted HPs contain representative members of diverse functional classes of proteins such as enzymes, transporters, binding proteins, regulatory proteins, proteins involved in cellular processes and other proteins with miscellaneous functions. Therefore, we classified 104 HPs into aforementioned functional groups. During the virulence factors analysis of the HPs, we found 11 HPs are showing significant virulence. The identification of virulence proteins with the help their predicted functions may pave the way for drug target estimation and development of effective drug to counter the activity of that protein.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.232-242
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• 2021

Glomerella leaf spot (GLS) is a severe infectious disease of apple whose infective area is growing gradually and thus poses a huge economic threat to the world. Different species of Colletotrichum including Colletotrichum gloeosporioides are responsible for GLS. For efficient GLS control, it is important to understand the mechanism by which the cruciferous crops and C. gloeosporioides interact. Arginine is among one of the several types of amino acids, which plays crucial role in biochemical and physiological functions of fungi. The arginine biosynthesis pathway involved in virulence among plant pathogenic fungi is poorly understood. In this study, CgCPS1 gene encoding carbamoyl phosphate synthase involved in arginine biosynthesis has been identified and inactivated experimentally. To assess the effects of CgCPS1, we knocked out CgCPS1 in C. gloeosporioides and evaluated its effects on virulence and stress tolerance. The results showed that deletion of CgCPS1 resulted in loss of pathogenicity. The ∆cgcps1 mutants showed slow growth rate, defects in appressorium formation and failed to develop lesions on apple leaves and fruits leading to loss of virulence while complementation strain (CgCPS1-C) fully restored its pathogenicity. Furthermore, mutant strains showed extreme sensitivity to high osmotic stress displaying that CgCPS1 plays a vital role in stress response. These findings suggest that CgCPS1 is major factor that mediates pathogenicity in C. gloeosporioides by encoding carbamoyl phosphate that is involved in arginine biosynthesis and conferring virulence in C. gloeosporioides.

• 한국미생물·생명공학회지
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• 제47권2호
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• pp.310-316
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• 2019

Distribution of Salmonella enterica serovars and their associated virulence determinants is wide-spread among food animals, which are continuously implicated in periodic salmonellosis outbreaks globally. The aim of this study was to determine and evaluate the diversity of five Salmonella serovar virulence genes (invA, pefA, cdtB, spvC and iroN) isolated from food animals and humans. Using standard microbiological techniques, Salmonella spp. were isolated from the feces of humans and three major food animals. Virulence determinants of the isolates were assayed using PCR. Clonal relatedness of the dominant serovar was determined via pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) using the restriction enzyme, Xbal. Seventy one Salmonella spp. were isolated and serotyped into 44 serovars. Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS; 68) accounted for majority (95.8%) of the Salmonella serovars. Isolates from chicken (34) accounted for 47.9% of all isolates, out of which S. Budapest (14) was predominant (34.8%). However, the dominant S. Budapest serovars showed no genetic relatedness. The invA gene located on SPI-1 was detected in all isolates. Furthermore, 94% of the isolates from sheep harbored the spvC genes. The iroN gene was present in 50%, 100%, 88%, and 91% of isolates from human, chicken, sheep, and cattle, respectively. The pefA gene was detected in 18 isolates from chicken and a single isolate from sheep. Notably, having diverse Salmonella serovars containing plasmid encoded virulence genes circulating the food chain is of public health significance; hence, surveillance is required.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제37권1호
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• pp.36-46
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• 2021

Acidovorax citrulli (Ac) is the causal agent of bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) in watermelon, a disease that poses a serious threat to watermelon production. Because of the lack of resistant cultivars against BFB, virulence factors or mechanisms need to be elucidated to control the disease. Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase is the enzyme involved in glycerol production from glucose during glycolysis. In this study, we report the functions of a putative glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in Ac (GlpdAc) using comparative proteomic analysis and phenotypic observation. A glpdAc knockout mutant, AcΔglpdAc(EV), lost virulence against watermelon in two pathogenicity tests. The putative 3D structure and amino acid sequence of GlpdAc showed high similarity with glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenases from other bacteria. Comparative proteomic analysis revealed that many proteins related to various metabolic pathways, including carbohydrate metabolism, were affected by GlpdAc. Although AcΔglpdAc(EV) could not use glucose as a sole carbon source, it showed growth in the presence of glycerol, indicating that GlpdAc is involved in glycolysis. AcΔglpdAc(EV) also displayed higher cell-to-cell aggregation than the wild-type bacteria, and tolerance to osmotic stress and ciprofloxacin was reduced and enhanced in the mutant, respectively. These results indicate that GlpdAc is involved in glycerol metabolism and other mechanisms, including virulence, demonstrating that the protein has pleiotropic effects. Our study expands the understanding of the functions of proteins associated with virulence in Ac.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• 제24권6호
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• pp.82.1-82.12
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• 2023

Background: The current conventional serotyping based on antigen-antisera agglutination could not provide a better understanding of the potential pathogenicity of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Brancaster. Surveillance data from Malaysian poultry farms indicated an increase in its presence over the years. Objective: This study aims to investigate the virulence determinants and antimicrobial resistance in S. Brancaster isolated from chickens in Malaysia. Methods: One hundred strains of archived S. Brancaster isolated from chicken cloacal swabs and raw chicken meat from 2017 to 2022 were studied. Two sets of multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were conducted to identify eight virulence genes associated with pathogenicity in Salmonella (invasion protein gene [invA], Salmonella invasion protein gene [sipB], Salmonella-induced filament gene [sifA], cytolethal-distending toxin B gene [cdtB], Salmonella iron transporter gene [sitC], Salmonella pathogenicity islands gene [spiA], Salmonella plasmid virulence gene [spvB], and inositol phosphate phosphatase gene [sopB]). Antimicrobial susceptibility assessment was conducted by disc diffusion method on nine selected antibiotics for the S. Brancaster isolates. S. Brancaster, with the phenotypic ACSSuT-resistance pattern (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulphonamides, and tetracycline), was subjected to PCR to detect the corresponding resistance gene(s). Results: Virulence genes detected in S. Brancaster in this study were invA, sitC, spiA, sipB, sopB, sifA, cdtB, and spvB. A total of 36 antibiogram patterns of S. Brancaster with a high level of multidrug resistance were observed, with ampicillin exhibiting the highest resistance. Over a third of the isolates displayed ACSSuT-resistance, and seven resistance genes (β-lactamase temoneira [bla_TEM], florfenicol/chloramphenicol resistance gene [floR], streptomycin resistance gene [strA], aminoglycoside nucleotidyltransferase gene [ant(3")-Ia], sulfonamides resistance gene [sul-1, sul-2], and tetracycline resistance gene [tetA]) were detected. Conclusion: Multidrug-resistant S. Brancaster from chickens harbored an array of virulence-associated genes similar to other clinically significant and invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars, placing it as another significant foodborne zoonosis.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제40권2호
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• pp.151-159
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• 2024

Bacterial soft rot caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc) is one of the most severe diseases in radish cultivation. To control this plant disease, the most effective method has been known to cultivate resistant cultivars. Previously, we developed an efficient bioassay method for investigating resistance levels with 21 resistant and moderately resistant cultivars of radish against a strain Pcc KACC 10421. In this study, our research expanded to investigate the resistance of radish cultivars against six Pcc strains, KACC 10225, KACC 10421, ATCC 12312, ATCC 15713, LY34, and ECC 301365. To this end, the virulence of the six Pcc strains was determined based on the development of bacterial soft rot in seedlings of four susceptible radish cultivars. The results showed that the Pcc strains exhibited different virulence in the susceptible cultivars. To explore the race differentiation of Pcc strains corresponding to the resistance in radish cultivars, we investigated the occurrence of bacterial soft rot caused by the six Pcc strains on the 21 resistant and moderate resistant cultivars. Our results showed that the average values of the area under the disease progress curve were positively correlated with the virulence of the strains and the number of resistant cultivars decreased as the virulence of Pcc strains increased. Taken together, our results suggest that the resistance to Pcc of the radish cultivars commercialized in Korea is more likely affected by the virulence of Pcc strains rather than by race differentiation of Pcc.

• 한국식품위생안전성학회지
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.248-256
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• 2008

본 연구는 축산물 유래 L. monocytogenes에 대한 역학적 연구로서 분리균의 hemolysin(LLO) 및 lecithinase(LCP)생산성, Congo red dye(CRA)흡수성 및 hemolysin activity를 조사하는 한편 inlA, inlBV, actA, hlyA, plcA 및 plcB의 virulence gene을 PCR법으로 분석하였다. LLO, LCP 및 CRA의 양성률은 L. monocytogenes의 경우 68균주 중 각각 100%, 94.1% 및 77.9%이었고, L. ivanovii와 L. seeligeri를 제외한 다른 Listeria spp.(L. innocua, L. gray, L. murrayi, L. welchimeri)는 음성이었다. LLO와 LCP간에는 통계적인 유의성은 없었으나 CRA는 약간 낮게 나타났으며(p<0.05), serotype 1/2b 및 4b 간에도 유의성이 인정되지 않았다. 면양적혈구에 대한 용혈성(MHU)에서 L. monocytogenes의 경우 2배에서 16배까지 다양한 반응을 보였으나 L. ivanovii와 L. seeligeri를 제외한 다른 Listeria spp.는 음성이었다. hemolysin activity(HU)는 L. monocytogenes의 경우 대부분의 균주가 1.0 HU/mg 이상이었으나 다른 Listeria spp.는 대부분 0.04 HU/mg 이하였다. PCR 증폭하여 virulence gene을 분석한 결과 모든 L. monocytogenes는 각기 예상한 크기의 PCR 증폭산물이 검출되어 hlyA, plcA, plcB, inlA 및 inlB gene을 보유하고 있음이 확인되었으나 다른 Listeria spp.는 어떠한 증폭산물도 보이지 않았다. 또한 actA gene에 대한 증폭산물은 385bp와 268bp 크기의 2종류로 각각 57.4%와 42.6%의 분포를 나타내었다. actA gene의 size 분포에서 국내산 쇠고기, 닭고기, 유가공장에서는 큰 size가 많았는데 반하여 미국산 수입쇠고기에서는 작은 size가 많은 것으로 나타났다.

• 한국동물위생학회지
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• 제41권3호
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• pp.157-163
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• 2018

In order for monitoring of pathogenic bacterial contamination in the freshly slaughtered poultry meats produced in Gyeong-Nam province, we first isolated 4 strains of Salmonella spp. and 32 strains of Enterococcus faecalis from the total 164 samples, then we analyzed potential virulence gene profiles of the bacterial isolates by PCR using species-specific primer. The potential virulence genes we selected in this study were stn, invA, fimA, spvR, and spvC for the isolates of Salmonella spp. and those of esp, cylM, cylA, cylB, gelE, fsrA, fsrB, and fsrC were for the isolates of E. faecalis. The PCR results showed that all 5 virulence genes were detected simultaneously in the all isolates of Salmonella spp. However, there was a diverse occurrence pattern of the virulence genes in the case of E. faecalis. The gene for enterococcal surface protein (esp) was not detected among the isolates (0/32), and the haemolysin gene prevalence rate of cylA, cylB, and cylM were 3.1% (1/32), 9.3% (3/32), and 9.3% (3/32), respectively. Moreover, the genes of gelE, fsrA, fsrB, and fsrC that associated with gelatinase activity were detected in the rate of 53.1% (17/32), 53.1% (17/32), 53.1% (17/32), and 53.1% (17/32), respectively. In conclusion, in the isolates of Salmonella spp., all possessed 5 virulence genes tested, suggesting that they are all related with each other clonally. However, in the case of E. faecalis isolates, the occurrence of the haemolysin genes (cylM, cylA, cylB) and the gelatinase genes (gelE, fsrABC) was highly variable among the isolates.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제31권3호
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• pp.368-379
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• 2021

Two virulence factors of Helicobacter pylori, cagA and vacA, have been known to play a role in the development of severe gastric symptoms. However, they are not always associated with peptic ulcer or gastric cancer. To predict the disease outcome more accurately, it is necessary to understand the risk of severe symptoms linked to other virulence factors. Several other virulence factors of H. pylori have also been reported to be associated with disease outcomes, although there are many controversial descriptions. H. pylori isolates from Koreans may be useful in evaluating the relevance of other virulence factors to clinical symptoms of gastric diseases because the majority of Koreans are infected by toxigenic strains of H. pylori bearing cagA and vacA. In this study, a total of 116 H. pylori strains from Korean patients with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, and gastric cancers were genotyped. The presence of virulence factors vacAs1c, alpA, babA2, hopZ, and the extremely strong vacuolating toxin was found to contribute significantly to the development of severe gastric symptoms. The genotype combination vacAs1c/alpA/babA2 was the most predictable determinant for the development of severe symptoms, and the presence of babA2 was found to be the most critical factor. This study provides important information on the virulence factors that contribute to the development of severe gastric symptoms and will assist in predicting clinical disease outcomes due to H. pylori infection.