Project description:Comparative proteomics to identify proteins found in the media of Vibrio parahaemolyticus RIMD 2210633 bacteria with an active T6SS2 compared to bacteria with inactive T6SS2. Bacteria with an active T6SS2 are Vibrio parahaemolyticus RIMD 2210633 inwhich hcp1 was deleted to inactivate T6SS1. T6SS2 inactive bacteria are the former strain with an additional deletion in hcp2. Both strains express TfoX from an arabinose-inducible plasmid to induce T6SS2 activity.
Project description:Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram-negative marine bacterium. A limited population of the organisms causes acute gastroenteritis in humans. Almost all of the clinical V. parahaemolyticus isolates exhibit a beta-type hemolysis on Wagatsuma agar, known as the Kanagawa phenomenon (KP). KP is induced by the thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) produced by the organism, and has been considered a crucial marker to distinguish pathogenic strains from non-pathogenic ones. Since 1996, so-called “pandemic clones”, the majority of which belong to serotype O3:K6, have caused worldwide outbreaks of gastroenteritis. In this study, we used a DNA microarray constructed based on the genome sequence of a pandemic V. parahaemolyticus strain RIMD2210633 to examin the genomic composition of 22 strains of V. parahaemolyticus, including both pathogenic (pandemic as well as non-pandemic) and non-pathogenic strains. Over 85% of the RIMD2210633 genes were conserved in all the strains tested. Many of variably present genes formed gene clusters on the genome of RIMD2210633 and were probably acquired through lateral gene transfer. At least 70 genes over 10 loci were specifically present in the pandemic strains when compared with any of the non-pandemic strains, suggesting that the difference between pandemic and non-pandemic strains is not due to a simple genetic event. Only the genes in the 80-kb pathogenicity island (Vp-PAI) on chromosome II, including two tdh genes and a set of genes for the Type III secretion system, were detected only in the KP-positive pathogenic strains. These results strongly suggest that acquisition of this Vp-PAI was crucial for the emergence of V. parahaemolyticus strains that are pathogenic for humans. Keywords: comparative genomic hybridization, CGH
Project description:Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram-negative marine bacterium. Strain RIMD 2210633, the wild type strain of the organism, causes acute gastroenteritis in humans. Human intestinal factor bile often affects the global gene regulation in some species of enteropathogenic bacteria. To determine the genes in V. parahaemolyticus that respond to bile, we investigated the differences in the transcriptomes of the wild type strain and the vtrA-null strain grown in Luria-Bertani medium cultivated with or without 0.04% crude bile. The vtrA gene encodes the previously identified T3SS2 regulator. Our goal is to demonstrate bile regulon controlled by VtrA in V. parahaemolyticus.
Project description:Compare the secreted proteins of a wild-type Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain with those of a mutant in hcp2, rendering the T6SS2 inactive
Project description:Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram-negative marine bacterium. A limited population of the organisms causes acute gastroenteritis in humans. Almost all of the clinical V. parahaemolyticus isolates exhibit a beta-type hemolysis on Wagatsuma agar, known as the Kanagawa phenomenon (KP). KP is induced by the thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) produced by the organism, and has been considered a crucial marker to distinguish pathogenic strains from non-pathogenic ones. Since 1996, so-called âpandemic clonesâ, the majority of which belong to serotype O3:K6, have caused worldwide outbreaks of gastroenteritis. In this study, we used a DNA microarray constructed based on the genome sequence of a pandemic V. parahaemolyticus strain RIMD2210633 to examin the genomic composition of 22 strains of V. parahaemolyticus, including both pathogenic (pandemic as well as non-pandemic) and non-pathogenic strains. Over 85% of the RIMD2210633 genes were conserved in all the strains tested. Many of variably present genes formed gene clusters on the genome of RIMD2210633 and were probably acquired through lateral gene transfer. At least 70 genes over 10 loci were specifically present in the pandemic strains when compared with any of the non-pandemic strains, suggesting that the difference between pandemic and non-pandemic strains is not due to a simple genetic event. Only the genes in the 80-kb pathogenicity island (Vp-PAI) on chromosome II, including two tdh genes and a set of genes for the Type III secretion system, were detected only in the KP-positive pathogenic strains. These results strongly suggest that acquisition of this Vp-PAI was crucial for the emergence of V. parahaemolyticus strains that are pathogenic for humans. Keywords: comparative genomic hybridization, CGH Total 66 test samples were analyzed. Genomic DNA from each test strain and a reference strain (RIMD2210633) were labeled with Cy3 and Cy5, respectively, and were cohybridized on a single array. Labeling and hybridization were performed three times independently.
Project description:The quorum regulatory cascade is poorly characterized in Vibrio parahaemolyticus, in part because swarming and pathogenicity - the hallmark traits of the organism - are repressed by this scheme of gene control. As a consequence, many isolates appear silenced for quorum sensing via phase variation. In these studies, we examine a swarm proficient, virulent strain and find an altered function allele of the central quorum regulator luxO. We use this allele, which produces a constitutively active LuxO, to probe the upstream elements of the pathway and demonstrate their functionality for the first time. We find that the state of luxO affects expression of three small regulatory RNAS (Qrrs) and the activity of a translational fusion in opaR, the central output regulator. We use microarray profiling to determine the OpaR regulon, which was found to encompass ~5.2% of the genome. The quorum sensing proficient strain seems adapted for a sessile, community lifestyle; it is competent to uptake DNA, produces much capsular polysaccharide, has a high level of c-di-GMP, and strongly expresses one type six secretion system. Expressing the entire surface sensing regulon and numerous methyl accepting chemotaxis proteins, the quorum-disrupted cell type seems prepared for a mobile lifestyle. It is also cytotoxic to host cells in co-culture and expresses distinct type six as well as type three secretion systems. Thus, the scope and nature of the genes in the OpaR regulon provide many clues to the distinguishing traits of this Vibrio species as well as to the quite divergent survival strategies of the quorum ON/OFF phase variants