A putative transcription regulator involved in the virulence attenuation of an acriflavine-resistant vaccine strain of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, the causative agent of swine erysipelas

Here, we examine the effects of LOM(Low virulence of Miyagi) strains isolated from pigs (Jeju LOM strains) of Jeju Island, where vaccination with a live attenuated classical swine fever (CSF) LOM vaccine strain was stopped. The circulation of the Jeju LOM strains was mainly caused by a commercial swine erysipelas (Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae) vaccine mixed with a LOM vaccine strain, which was inoculated into pregnant sows of 20 pig farms in 2014. The Jeju LOM strain was transmitted to 91 pig farms from 2015 to 2018. A histopathogenic investigation was performed for 25 farms among 111 farms affected by the Jeju LOM strain and revealed pigs infected with the Jeju LOM strain in combination with other pathogens, which resulted in the abortion of fetuses and mortality in suckling piglets. Histopathologic examination and immunohistochemical staining identified CSF-like lesions. Our results also confirm that the main transmission factor for the Jeju LOM strain circulation is the vehicles entering/exiting farms and slaughterhouses. Probability estimates of transmission between cohabiting pigs and pigs harboring the Jeju LOM strain JJ16LOM-YJK08 revealed that immunocompromised pigs showed horizontal transmission (r = 1.22). In a full genome analysis, we did not find genetic mutation on the site that is known to relate to pathogenicity between Jeju LOM strains (2014–2018) and the commercial LOM vaccine strain. However, we were not able to determine whether the Jeju LOM strain (2014–2018) is genetically the same virus as those of the commercial LOM vaccine due to several genetic variations in structure and non-structure proteins. Therefore, further studies are needed to evaluate the pathogenicity of the Jeju LOM strain in pregnant sow and SPF pigs and to clarify the characteristics of Jeju LOM and commercial LOM vaccine strains.

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The Genome of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, the Causative Agent of Swine Erysipelas, Reveals New Insights into the Evolution of Firmicutes and the Organism's Intracellular Adaptations

Journal of Bacteriology ◽

10.1128/jb.01500-10 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 193 (12) ◽

pp. 2959-2971 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Y. Ogawa ◽

T. Ooka ◽

F. Shi ◽

Y. Ogura ◽

K. Nakayama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Causative Agent ◽

Erysipelothrix Rhusiopathiae ◽

Swine Erysipelas

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Antimicrobial Susceptibilities of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Isolated from Pigs with Swine Erysipelas in Japan, 1988-1998

Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series B ◽

10.1046/j.1439-0450.2001.00427.x ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 115-126 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

K. Yamamoto ◽

M. Kijima ◽

H. Yoshimura ◽

T. Takahashi

Keyword(s):

Erysipelothrix Rhusiopathiae ◽

Antimicrobial Susceptibilities ◽

Swine Erysipelas

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Clonal Lineages of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Responsible for Acute Swine Erysipelas in Japan Identified by Using Genome-Wide Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism Analysis

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00130-17 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 83 (11) ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Yohsuke Ogawa ◽

Kazumasa Shiraiwa ◽

Yoshitoshi Ogura ◽

Tadasuke Ooka ◽

Sayaka Nishikawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Polymorphism Analysis ◽

Whole Genome ◽

Sequencing Analysis ◽

Erysipelothrix Rhusiopathiae ◽

Single Nucleotide ◽

Content Type ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Wide Range ◽

Swine Erysipelas ◽

Lineage Iv

ABSTRACTErysipelothrix rhusiopathiaecauses swine erysipelas, an important infectious disease in the swine industry. In Japan, the incidence of acute swine erysipelas due toE. rhusiopathiaeserovar 1a has recently increased markedly. To study the genetic relatedness of the strains from the recent cases, we analyzed 34E. rhusiopathiaeserovar 1a swine isolates collected between 1990 and 2011 and further investigated the possible association of the live Koganei 65-0.15 vaccine strain (serovar 1a) with the increase in cases. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis revealed no marked variation among the isolates; however, sequencing analysis of a hypervariable region in the surface-protective antigen A gene (spaA) revealed that the strains isolated after 2007 exhibited the samespaAgenotype and could be differentiated from older strains. Phylogenetic analysis based on genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) revealed that the Japanese strains examined were closely related, showing a relatively small number of SNPs among them. The strains were classified into four major lineages, with Koganei 65-0.15 (lineage III) being phylogenetically separated from the other three lineages. The strains isolated after 2007 and the two older strains constituted one major lineage (lineage IV) with a specificspaAgenotype (M203/I257-SpaA), while the recent isolates were further divided into two geographic groups. The remaining older isolates belonged to either lineage I, with the I203/L257-SpaA type, or lineage II, with the I203/I257-SpaA type. These results indicate that the recent increased incidence of acute swine erysipelas in Japan is associated with two sublineages of lineage IV, which have independently evolved in two different geographic regions.IMPORTANCEUsing large-scale whole-genome sequence data fromErysipelothrix rhusiopathiaeisolates from a wide range of hosts and geographic origins, a recent study clarified the existence of three distinct clades (clades 1, 2, and 3) that are found across multiple continents and host species, representing both livestock and wildlife, and an “intermediate” clade between clade 2 and the dominant clade 3 within the species. In this study, we found that theE. rhusiopathiaeJapanese strains examined exhibited remarkably low levels of genetic diversity and confirmed that all of the Japanese and Chinese swine isolates examined in this study belong to clonal lineages within the intermediate clade. We report thatspaAgenotyping ofE. rhusiopathiaestrains is a practical alternative to whole-genome sequencing analysis of theE. rhusiopathiaeisolates from eastern Asian countries.

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Transcriptomic Analysis of the Brucella melitensis Rev.1 Vaccine Strain in an Acidic Environment: Insights Into Virulence Attenuation

Frontiers in Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fmicb.2019.00250 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Mali Salmon-Divon ◽

Tamar Zahavi ◽

David Kornspan

Keyword(s):

Vaccine Strain ◽

Brucella Melitensis ◽

Transcriptomic Analysis ◽

Acidic Environment ◽

Virulence Attenuation

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Prevalence of Met-203 type spaA variant in Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae isolates and the efficacy of swine erysipelas vaccines in Japan

Biologicals ◽

10.1016/j.biologicals.2013.12.002 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 109-113 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Mariko Uchiyama ◽

Kinya Yamamoto ◽

Mariko Ochiai ◽

Tsukasa Yamamoto ◽

Fumiya Hirano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Erysipelothrix Rhusiopathiae ◽

Swine Erysipelas

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Genomic Analysis of an Attenuated Chlamydia abortus Live Vaccine Strain Reveals Defects in Central Metabolism and Surface Proteins

Infection and Immunity ◽

10.1128/iai.00189-09 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 77 (9) ◽

pp. 4161-4167 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

L. S. Burall ◽

A. Rodolakis ◽

A. Rekiki ◽

G. S. A. Myers ◽

P. M. Bavoil

Keyword(s):

Pyruvate Kinase ◽

Vaccine Strain ◽

Genomic Analysis ◽

Live Vaccine ◽

Surface Proteins ◽

Comparative Genomic ◽

Temperature Sensitive ◽

Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽

Chlamydia Abortus ◽

Virulence Attenuation

ABSTRACT Comparative genomic analysis of a wild-type strain of the ovine pathogen Chlamydia abortus and its nitrosoguanidine-induced, temperature-sensitive, virulence-attenuated live vaccine derivative identified 22 single nucleotide polymorphisms unique to the mutant, including nine nonsynonymous mutations, one leading to a truncation of pmpG, which encodes a polymorphic membrane protein, and two intergenic mutations potentially affecting promoter sequences. Other nonsynonymous mutations mapped to a pmpG pseudogene and to predicted coding sequences encoding a putative lipoprotein, a sigma-54-dependent response regulator, a PhoH-like protein, a putative export protein, two tRNA synthetases, and a putative serine hydroxymethyltransferase. One of the intergenic mutations putatively affects transcription of two divergent genes encoding pyruvate kinase and a putative SOS response nuclease, respectively. These observations suggest that the temperature-sensitive phenotype and associated virulence attenuation of the vaccine strain result from disrupted metabolic activity due to altered pyruvate kinase expression and/or alteration in the function of one or more membrane proteins, most notably PmpG and a putative lipoprotein.

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Francisella tularensis Type A Strains Cause the Rapid Encystment of Acanthamoeba castellanii and Survive in Amoebal Cysts for Three Weeks Postinfection

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.01829-09 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 75 (23) ◽

pp. 7488-7500 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Sahar H. El-Etr ◽

Jeffrey J. Margolis ◽

Denise Monack ◽

Richard A. Robison ◽

Marissa Cohen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Host Range ◽

Francisella Tularensis ◽

Vaccine Strain ◽

Causative Agent ◽

Acanthamoeba Castellanii ◽

Broad Host Range ◽

Live Vaccine Strain ◽

Environmental Persistence ◽

Virulent Strains ◽

Bioterrorism Agent

ABSTRACT Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of the zoonotic disease tularemia, has recently gained increased attention due to the emergence of tularemia in geographical areas where the disease has been previously unknown and to the organism's potential as a bioterrorism agent. Although F. tularensis has an extremely broad host range, the bacterial reservoir in nature has not been conclusively identified. In this study, the ability of virulent F. tularensis strains to survive and replicate in the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii was explored. We observe that A. castellanii trophozoites rapidly encyst in response to F. tularensis infection and that this rapid encystment phenotype is caused by factor(s) secreted by amoebae and/or F. tularensis into the coculture medium. Further, our results indicate that in contrast to the live vaccine strain LVS, virulent strains of F. tularensis can survive in A. castellanii cysts for at least 3 weeks postinfection and that the induction of rapid amoeba encystment is essential for survival. In addition, our data indicate that pathogenic F. tularensis strains block lysosomal fusion in A. castellanii. Taken together, these data suggest that interactions between F. tularensis strains and amoebae may play a role in the environmental persistence of F. tularensis.

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