Assessing the composition of the plasma membrane of Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum and L. (L.) amazonensis using label-free proteomics.

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania are causative agents of leishmaniasis, a wide range of diseases affecting 12 million people worldwide. The species L. infantum and L. amazonensis are etiologic agents of visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis, respectively. Most proteome analyses of Leishmania have been carried out on whole-cell extracts, but such an approach tends to underrepresent membrane-associated proteins due to their high hydrophobicity and low solubility. Considering the relevance of this category of proteins in virulence, invasiveness and the host-parasite interface, this study applied label-free proteomics to assess the plasma membrane sub-proteome of L. infantum and L. amazonensis. The number of proteins identified in L. infantum and L. amazonensis promastigotes was 1168 and 1455, respectively. After rigorous data processing and mining, 157 proteins were classified as putative plasma membrane-associated proteins, of which 56 proteins were detected in both species, six proteins were detected only in L. infantum and 39 proteins were exclusive to L. amazonensis. The quantitative analysis revealed that two proteins were more abundant in L. infantum, including the glucose transporter 2, and five proteins were more abundant in L. amazonensis. The identified proteins associated with distinct processes and functions. In this regard, proteins of L. infantum were linked to metabolic processes whereas L. amazonensis proteins were involved in signal transduction. Moreover, transmembrane transport was a significant process among the group of proteins detected in both species and members of the superfamily of ABC transporters were highly represented. Interestingly, some proteins of this family were solely detected in L. amazonensis, such as ABCA9. GP63, a well-known virulence factor, was the only GPI-anchored protein identified in the membrane preparations of both species. Finally, we found several proteins with uncharacterized functions, including differentially abundant ones, highlighting a gap in the study of Leishmania proteins. Proteins characterization could provide a better biological understanding of these parasites and deliver new possibilities regarding the discovery of therapeutic targets, drug resistance and vaccine candidates.

Streptococcus agalactiae Sequence Type 283 in Farmed Fish, Brazil.

In 2016 and 2017, we characterized outbreaks caused by Streptococcus agalactiae serotype III sequence type (ST) 283 in Nile tilapia farms in Brazil. Whole-genome multilocus sequence typing clustered the fish isolates together with the zoonotic ST283 and other STs related to cases in humans, frogs, dogs, cattle, and dolphins.

Severe outbreak of Centrocestus formosanus (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) in farm-raised ornamental platies Xiphophorus maculatus.

This report describes a severe outbreak of the gill fluke Centrocestus formosanus in farm-raised platies Xiphophorus maculatus in Brazil, with mortality rate approaching 95%. Typical clinical signs of infection were observed, with microscopic examinations of fresh gills revealing multiple cysts containing a once-folded metacercaria with an X-shaped excretory bladder. The 18S subunit of the metacercariae (BR1) was amplified by PCR, sequenced and analyzed by BLAST. Subsequent phylogenetic analyses revealed that the BR1 isolate was closely related to C. formosanus from Thailand. This is the first report of C. formosanus in ornamental fish in Brazil. Our observations suggest that platies are highly sensitive to this digenetic parasite. Controlling population densities of the parasite's intermediate host, the snail Melanoides tuberculata, would help to reduce outbreaks.

Label-free proteome of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) seminal plasma.

The study aimed to describe the Bubalus bubalis seminal plasma proteome using a label-free shotgun UDMSE approach. A total of 859 nonredundant proteins were identified across five biological replicates with stringent identification. Proteins specifically related to sperm maturation and protection, capacitation, fertilization and metabolic activity were detected in the buffalo seminal fluid. In conclusion, we provide a comprehensive proteomic profile of buffalo seminal plasma, which establishes a foundation for further studies designed to understand regulation of sperm function and discovery of novel biomarkers for fertility. MS data are available in the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD003728.

Secretion of biologically active pancreatitis-associated protein I (PAP) by genetically modified dairy Lactococcus lactis NZ9000 in the prevention of intestinal mucositis.

BACKGROUND: Mucositis is one of the most relevant gastrointestinal inflammatory conditions in humans, generated by the use of chemotherapy drugs, such as 5-fluoracil (5-FU). 5-FU-induced mucositis affects 80% of patients undergoing oncological treatment causing mucosal gut dysfunctions and great discomfort. As current therapy drugs presents limitations in alleviating mucositis symptoms, alternative strategies are being pursued. Recent studies have shown that the antimicrobial pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) has a protective role in intestinal inflammatory processes. Indeed, it was demonstrated that a recombinant strain of Lactococcus lactis expressing human PAP (LL-PAP) could prevent and improve murine DNBS-induced colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes severe inflammation of the colon. Hence, in this study we sought to evaluate the protective effects of LL-PAP on 5-FU-induced experimental mucositis in BALB/c mice as a novel approach to treat the disease. RESULTS: Our results show that non-recombinant L. lactis NZ9000 have antagonistic activity, in vitro, against the enteroinvasive gastrointestinal pathogen L. monocytogenes and confirmed PAP inhibitory effect against Opportunistic E. faecalis. Moreover, L. lactis was able to prevent histological damage, reduce neutrophil and eosinophil infiltration and secretory Immunoglobulin-A in mice injected with 5-FU. Recombinant lactococci carrying antimicrobial PAP did not improve those markers of inflammation, although its expression was associated with villous architecture preservation and increased secretory granules density inside Paneth cells in response to 5-FU inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated for the first time that L. lactis NZ9000 by itself, is able to prevent 5-FU-induced intestinal inflammation in BALB/c mice. Moreover, PAP delivered by recombinant L. lactis strain showed additional protective effects in mice epithelium, revealing to be a promising strategy to treat intestinal mucositis.

Evaluating the efficacy of the new Ion PGM Hi-Q Sequencing Kit applied to bacterial genomes.

Benchtop NGS platforms are constantly evolving to follow new advances in genomics. Thus, the manufacturers are making improvements, such as the recent Ion PGM Hi-Q chemistry. We evaluate the efficacy of this new Hi-Q approach by comparing it with the former Ion PGM kit and the Illumina MiSEQ Nextera 3rd version. The Hi-Q chemistry showed improvement on mapping reads, with 49 errors for 10kbp mapped; in contrast, the former kit had 89 errors. Additionally, there was a reduction of 80% in erroneous variant detection with the Torrent Variant Caller. Also, an enhancement was observed in de novo assembly with a more confident result in whole-genome MLST, with up to 96% of the alleles assembled correctly for both tested microbial genomes. All of these advantages result in a final genome sequence closer to the performance with MiSEQ and will contribute to turn comparative genomic analysis a reliable task.

SIMBA: a web tool for managing bacterial genome assembly generated by Ion PGM sequencing technology.

BACKGROUND: The evolution of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) has considerably reduced the cost per sequenced-base, allowing a significant rise of sequencing projects, mainly in prokaryotes. However, the range of available NGS platforms requires different strategies and software to correctly assemble genomes. Different strategies are necessary to properly complete an assembly project, in addition to the installation or modification of various software. This requires users to have significant expertise in these software and command line scripting experience on Unix platforms, besides possessing the basic expertise on methodologies and techniques for genome assembly. These difficulties often delay the complete genome assembly projects. RESULTS: In order to overcome this, we developed SIMBA (SImple Manager for Bacterial Assemblies), a freely available web tool that integrates several component tools for assembling and finishing bacterial genomes. SIMBA provides a friendly and intuitive user interface so bioinformaticians, even with low computational expertise, can work under a centralized administrative control system of assemblies managed by the assembly center head. SIMBA guides the users to execute assembly process through simple and interactive pages. SIMBA workflow was divided in three modules: (i) projects: allows a general vision of genome sequencing projects, in addition to data quality analysis and data format conversions; (ii) assemblies: allows de novo assemblies with the software Mira, Minia, Newbler and SPAdes, also assembly quality validations using QUAST software; and (iii) curation: presents methods to finishing assemblies through tools for scaffolding contigs and close gaps. We also presented a case study that validated the efficacy of SIMBA to manage bacterial assemblies projects sequenced using Ion Torrent PGM. CONCLUSION: Besides to be a web tool for genome assembly, SIMBA is a complete genome assemblies project management system, which can be useful for managing of several projects in laboratories. SIMBA source code is available to download and install in local webservers at http://ufmg-simba.sourceforge.net .

Comparative genome analysis of Weissella ceti, an emerging pathogen of farm-raised rainbow trout.

BACKGROUND: The genus Weissella belongs to the lactic acid bacteria and includes 18 currently identified species, predominantly isolated from fermented food but rarely from cases of bacteremia in animals. Recently, a new species, designated Weissella ceti, has been correlated with hemorrhagic illness in farm-raised rainbow trout in China, Brazil, and the USA, with high transmission and mortality rates during outbreaks. Although W. ceti is an important emerging veterinary pathogen, little is known about its genomic features or virulence mechanisms. To better understand these and to characterize the species, we have previously sequenced the genomes of W. ceti strains WS08, WS74, and WS105, isolated from different rainbow trout farms in Brazil and displaying different pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns. Here, we present a comparative analysis of the three previously sequenced genomes of W. ceti strains from Brazil along with W. ceti NC36 from the USA and those of other Weissella species. RESULTS: Phylogenomic and orthology-based analyses both showed a high-similarity in the genetic structure of these W. ceti strains. This structure is corroborated by the highly syntenic order of their genes and the neutral evolution inferred from Tajima's D. A whole-genome multilocus sequence typing analysis distinguished strains WS08 and NC36 from strains WS74 and WS105. We predicted 10 putative genomic islands (GEI), among which PAIs 3a and 3b are phage sequences that occur only in WS105 and WS74, respectively, whereas PAI 1 is species specific. CONCLUSIONS: We identified several genes putatively involved in the basic processes of bacterial physiology and pathogenesis, including survival in aquatic environment, adherence in the host, spread inside the host, resistance to immune-system-mediated stresses, and antibiotic resistance. These data provide new insights in the molecular epidemiology and host adaptation for this emerging pathogen in aquaculture.

Development of duplex real-time PCR for the detection of WSSV and PstDV1 in cultivated shrimp.

BACKGROUND: The White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and Penaeus stylirostris penstyldensovirus 1 (previously named Infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus-IHHNV) are two of the most important viral pathogens of penaeid shrimp. Different methods have been applied for diagnosis of these viruses, including Real-time PCR (qPCR) assays. A duplex qPCR method allows the simultaneous detection of two viruses in the same sample, which is more cost-effective than assaying for each virus separately. Currently, an assay for the simultaneous detection of the WSSV and the PstDV1 in shrimp is unavailable. The aim of this study was to develop and standardize a duplex qPCR assay for the simultaneous detection of the WSSV and the PstDV1 in clinical samples of diseased L. vannamei. In addition, to evaluate the performance of two qPCR master mixes with regard to the clinical sensitivity of the qPCR assay, as well as, different methods for qPCR results evaluation. RESULTS: The duplex qPCR assay for detecting WSSV and PstDV1 in clinical samples was successfully standardized. No difference in the amplification of the standard curves was observed between the duplex and singleplex assays. Specificities and sensitivities similar to those of the singleplex assays were obtained using the optimized duplex qPCR. The analytical sensitivities of duplex qPCR were two copies of WSSV control plasmid and 20 copies of PstDV1 control plasmid. The standardized duplex qPCR confirmed the presence of viral DNA in 28 from 43 samples tested. There was no difference for WSSV detection using the two kits and the distinct methods for qPCR results evaluation. High clinical sensitivity for PstDV1 was obtained with TaqMan Universal Master Mix associated with relative threshold evaluation. Three cases of simultaneous infection by the WSSV and the PstDV1 were identified with duplex qPCR. CONCLUSION: The standardized duplex qPCR was shown to be a robust, highly sensitive, and feasible diagnostic tool for the simultaneous detection of the WSSV and the PstDV1 in whiteleg shrimp. The use of the TaqMan Universal Master Mix and the relative threshold method of data analysis in our duplex qPCR method provided optimal levels of sensitivity and specificity.

Synergic Effect of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Lawsonia intracellularis Coinfection: Anatomopathological and Microbiome Evaluation.

Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Lawsonia intracellularis coinfection has been observed in the diagnostic routine; however, no studies have evaluated their interaction. This study aimed to characterize lesions and possible synergisms in experimentally infected pigs. Four groups of piglets, coinfection (CO), B. hyodysenteriae (BRA), L. intracellularis (LAW), and negative control (NEG), were used. Clinical signals were evaluated, and fecal samples were collected for qPCR. At 21 days post infection (dpi), all animals were euthanized. Gross lesions, bacterial isolation, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and fecal microbiome analyses were performed. Diarrhea started at 12 dpi, affecting 11/12 pigs in the CO group and 5/11 pigs in the BRA group. Histopathological lesions were significantly more severe in the CO than the other groups. B. hyodysenteriae was isolated from 11/12 pigs in CO and 5/11 BRA groups. Pigs started shedding L. intracellularis at 3 dpi, and all inoculated pigs tested positive on day 21. A total of 10/12 CO and 7/11 BRA animals tested positive for B. hyodysenteriae by qPCR. A relatively low abundance of microbiota was observed in the CO group. Clinical signs and macroscopic and microscopic lesions were significantly more severe in the CO group compared to the other groups. The presence of L. intracellularis in the CO group increased the severity of swine dysentery.

Exploring the MALDI Biotyper for the Identification of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis biovar Ovis and Equi.

Biochemical, serological, and molecular methods have been developed for the laboratory diagnosis of diseases caused by C. pseudotuberculosis (CP), but the identification of the pathogen and biovars differentiation may be time-consuming, expensive, and confusing compared with other bacteria. This study aimed to evaluate MALDI Biotyper and Overall Genome Relatedness Index (OGRI) analysis to optimize the identification and differentiation of biovars of C. pseudotuberculosis. Out of 230 strains isolated from several hosts and countries, 202 (87.8%) were precisely classified using MALDI Biotyper and the BioNumerics platform. The classification accuracies for the Ovis and Equi biovars were 80 (88.75%) and 82 (92.68%), respectively. When analyzing a sampling of these strains by Average Nucleotide Identity based on BLAST and TETRA analyses using genomic sequence data, it was possible to differentiate 100% of the strains in Equi and Ovis. Our data show that MALDI Biotyper and OGRI analysis help identify C. pseudotuberculosis at the species and biovar levels.

Characterization of a new multidrug-resistant Brazilian K. pneumoniae isolate and 172 Klebsiella spp. sequenced strains: Genomic island, multilocus sequence typing and capsule locus dataset.

The genus Klebsiella comprises species that cause nosocomial and community-acquired infections. A dataset was created to compile the sequence type (ST) and capsule type (K-locus) information predicted for 172 worldwide isolates of Klebsiella spp. whose complete genomes could be retrieved from the GenBank (NCBI) repository. The dataset also includes information related to one multidrug-resistant strain (B31) isolated from a patient who was admitted to an intensive care unit in the Northeast region of Brazil. This strain was phenotypically characterized and submitted to whole-genome sequencing and comparative genomics analysis as we recently reported [1]. The dataset also compiles information on Pathogenicity Islands (PIs), Resistance Islands (RIs) and Miscellaneous Islands (MIS) present in the genome of strain B31. The information provided here may support outbreak prevention policies and future epidemiological studies involving Klebsiella spp.

Comparative genomics with a multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae isolate reveals the panorama of unexplored diversity in Northeast Brazil.

The emergence of community acquired infections increases the public health concern on K. pneumoniae and closely related bacteria among which antimicrobial resistance spreads. We report a multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae isolate, B31, of a patient infected in the community and admitted to an intensive care unit in Northeast Brazil. Antimicrobial susceptibility and genome information were thoroughly investigated to characterize B31 in front of 172 sequenced strains of different countries. Assigned to the Sequence Type 15, which is globally spread, B31 presented extended spectrum beta-lactamase, tigecycline and ciprofloxacin resistance. Genome sequencing revealed most resistance genes being carried by plasmids with high dissemination potential. The absence of main virulence factors, like yersiniabactin and colibactin, apparently suggests a mild pathogenic strain which, on the contrary, persisted and caused severe infection in a previously healthy patient. The present study contributes to unveil the unclear genomic scenario of virulent and multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae in Brazil.

Genomic Characterization of Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli BH100 Sub-strains.

The rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria is a global health problem. Mobile genetic elements like conjugative plasmids, transposons, and integrons are the major players in spreading resistance genes in uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) pathotype. The E. coli BH100 strain was isolated from the urinary tract of a Brazilian woman in 1974. This strain presents two plasmids carrying MDR cassettes, pBH100, and pAp, with conjugative and mobilization properties, respectively. However, its transposable elements have not been characterized. In this study, we attempted to unravel the factors involved in the mobilization of virulence and drug-resistance genes by assessing genomic rearrangements in four BH100 sub-strains (BH100 MG2014, BH100 MG2017, BH100L MG2017, and BH100N MG2017). Therefore, the complete genomes of the BH100 sub-strains were achieved through Next Generation Sequencing and submitted to comparative genomic analyses. Our data shows recombination events between the two plasmids in the sub-strain BH100 MG2017 and between pBH100 and the chromosome in BH100L MG2017. In both cases, IS3 and IS21 elements were detected upstream of Tn21 family transposons associated with MDR genes at the recombined region. These results integrated with Genomic island analysis suggest pBH100 might be involved in the spreading of drug resistance through the formation of resistance islands. Regarding pathogenicity, our results reveal that BH100 strain is closely related to UPEC strains and contains many IS3 and IS21-transposase-enriched genomic islands associated with virulence. This study concludes that those IS elements are vital for the evolution and adaptation of BH100 strain.

Economic appraisal of vaccination against Streptoccocus agalactiae in Nile tilapia farms in Brazil.

Infection with Streptococcus agalactiae causes mortality and major economic losses in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) farming worldwide. In Brazil, serotype strains Ia, Ib and III have been isolated in streptococcosis outbreaks, but serotype Ib is the most prevalent. Vaccination is considered an effective method to prevent economically-important diseases in aquaculture and has been associated with decreased use of antibiotics and improvements in fish survival. We developed a flexible partial-budget model to undertake an economic appraisal of vaccination against Streptococcus agalactiae in Nile tilapia farmed in net cages in large reservoirs. The model considers the benefits and costs that are likely to be associated with vaccination at the farm-level, in one production cycle. We built three epidemiological scenarios of cumulative mortality attributable to S. agalactiae (5%, 10%, and 20%, per production cycle) in a non-vaccinated farm. For each scenario, we applied a stochastic model to simulate the net return of vaccination, given a combination of values of "vaccine efficacy", "gain in feed conversion ratio", "feed price", "fish market price ", and "cost of vaccine dose". In the 20% cumulative mortality scenario, the net return would break-even (benefits ≥ costs) in at least 97.9% of interactions. Should cumulative mortality be lower than 10%, the profitability of vaccination would be more dependent on better feed conversion ratio. The inputs "feed price" and "cost of vaccine" had minor effects on the output, in all pre-vaccination mortality scenarios. Although our simulations are based on conservative values and consider uncertainty about the modeled parameters, we conclude that vaccination against S. agalactiae is likely to be profitable in Nile tilapia farms, under similar production conditions.

Transcriptome and Proteome of Fish-Pathogenic Streptococcus agalactiae Are Modulated by Temperature.

Streptococcus agalactiae is one of the most important pathogens associated with streptococcosis outbreaks in Nile tilapia farms worldwide. High water temperature (above 27°C) has been described as a predisposing factor for the disease in fish. At low temperatures (below 25°C), fish mortalities are not usually observed in farms. Temperature variation can modulate the expression of genes and proteins involved in metabolism, adaptation, and bacterial pathogenicity, thus increasing or decreasing the ability to infect the host. This study aimed to evaluate the transcriptome and proteome of a fish-pathogenic S. agalactiae strain SA53 subjected to in vitro growth at different temperatures using a microarray and label-free shotgun LC-HDMSE approach. Biological triplicates of isolates were cultured in BHIT broth at 22 or 32°C for RNA and protein isolation and submitted for transcriptomic and proteomic analyses. In total, 1,730 transcripts were identified in SA53, with 107 genes being differentially expressed between the temperatures evaluated. A higher number of genes related to metabolism, mainly from the phosphotransferase system (PTS) and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transport system, were upregulated at 32°C. In the proteome analysis, 1,046 proteins were identified in SA53, of which 81 were differentially regulated between 22 and 32°C. Proteins involved in defense mechanisms, lipid transport and metabolism, and nucleotide transport and metabolism were upregulated at 32°C. A higher number of interactions were observed in proteins involved in nucleotide transport and metabolism. We observed a low correlation between the transcriptome and proteome datasets. Our study indicates that the transcriptome and proteome of a fish-adapted S. agalactiae strain are modulated by temperature, particularly showing differential expression of genes/proteins involved in metabolism, virulence factors, and adaptation.

First genome sequencing and comparative analyses of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis strains from Mexico.

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is a pathogenic bacterium which has been rapidly spreading all over the world, causing economic losses in the agricultural sector and sporadically infecting humans. Six C. pseudotuberculosis strains were isolated from goats, sheep, and horses with distinct abscess locations. For the first time, Mexican genomes of this bacterium were sequenced and studied in silico. All strains were sequenced using Ion Personal Genome Machine sequencer, assembled using Newbler and SPAdes software. The automatic genome annotation was done using the software RAST and in-house scripts for transference, followed by manual curation using Artemis software and BLAST against NCBI and UniProt databases. The six genomes are publicly available in NCBI database. The analysis of nucleotide sequence similarity and the generated phylogenetic tree led to the observation that the Mexican strains are more similar between strains from the same host, but the genetic structure is probably more influenced by transportation of animals between farms than host preference. Also, a putative drug target was predicted and in silico analysis of 46 strains showed two gene clusters capable of differentiating the biovars equi and ovis: Restriction Modification system and CRISPR-Cas cluster.

The Druggable Pocketome of Corynebacterium diphtheriae: A New Approach for in silico Putative Druggable Targets.

Diphtheria is an acute and highly infectious disease, previously regarded as endemic in nature but vaccine-preventable, is caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae (Cd). In this work, we used an in silico approach along the 13 complete genome sequences of C. diphtheriae followed by a computational assessment of structural information of the binding sites to characterize the "pocketome druggability." To this end, we first computed the "modelome" (3D structures of a complete genome) of a randomly selected reference strain Cd NCTC13129; that had 13,763 open reading frames (ORFs) and resulted in 1,253 (∼9%) structure models. The amino acid sequences of these modeled structures were compared with the remaining 12 genomes and consequently, 438 conserved protein sequences were obtained. The RCSB-PDB database was consulted to check the template structures for these conserved proteins and as a result, 401 adequate 3D models were obtained. We subsequently predicted the protein pockets for the obtained set of models and kept only the conserved pockets that had highly druggable (HD) values (137 across all strains). Later, an off-target host homology analyses was performed considering the human proteome using NCBI database. Furthermore, the gene essentiality analysis was carried out that gave a final set of 10-conserved targets possessing highly druggable protein pockets. To check the target identification robustness of the pipeline used in this work, we crosschecked the final target list with another in-house target identification approach for C. diphtheriae thereby obtaining three common targets, these were; hisE-phosphoribosyl-ATP pyrophosphatase, glpX-fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase II, and rpsH-30S ribosomal protein S8. Our predicted results suggest that the in silico approach used could potentially aid in experimental polypharmacological target determination in C. diphtheriae and other pathogens, thereby, might complement the existing and new drug-discovery pipelines.

Mutation of the Surface Layer Protein SlpB Has Pleiotropic Effects in the Probiotic Propionibacterium freudenreichii CIRM-BIA 129.

Propionibacterium freudenreichii is a beneficial Gram-positive bacterium, traditionally used as a cheese-ripening starter, and currently considered as an emerging probiotic. As an example, the P. freudenreichii CIRM-BIA 129 strain recently revealed promising immunomodulatory properties. Its consumption accordingly exerts healing effects in different animal models of colitis, suggesting a potent role in the context of inflammatory bowel diseases. This anti-inflammatory effect depends on surface layer proteins (SLPs). SLPs may be involved in key functions in probiotics, such as persistence within the gut, adhesion to host cells and mucus, or immunomodulation. Several SLPs coexist in P. freudenreichii CIRM-BIA 129 and mediate immunomodulation and adhesion. A mutant P. freudenreichii CIRM-BIA 129ΔslpB (CB129ΔslpB) strain was shown to exhibit decreased adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells. In the present study, we thoroughly analyzed the impact of this mutation on cellular properties. Firstly, we investigated alterations of surface properties in CB129ΔslpB. Surface extractable proteins, surface charges (ζ-potential) and surface hydrophobicity were affected by the mutation. Whole-cell proteomics, using high definition mass spectrometry, identified 1,288 quantifiable proteins in the wild-type strain, i.e., 53% of the theoretical proteome predicted according to P. freudenreichii CIRM-BIA 129 genome sequence. In the mutant strain, we detected 1,252 proteins, including 1,227 proteins in common with the wild-type strain. Comparative quantitative analysis revealed 97 proteins with significant differences between wild-type and mutant strains. These proteins are involved in various cellular process like signaling, metabolism, and DNA repair and replication. Finally, in silico analysis predicted that slpB gene is not part of an operon, thus not affecting the downstream genes after gene knockout. This study, in accordance with the various roles attributed in the literature to SLPs, revealed a pleiotropic effect of a single slpB mutation, in the probiotic P. freudenreichii. This suggests that SlpB may be at a central node of cellular processes and confirms that both nature and amount of SLPs, which are highly variable within the P. freudenreichii species, determine the probiotic abilities of strains.

Transcriptome analysis of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis biovar Equi in two conditions of the environmental stress.

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis has been widely studied in an effort to understand its biological evolution. Transcriptomics has revealed possible candidates for virulence and pathogenicity factors of strain 1002 (biovar Ovis). Because C. pseudotuberculosis is classified into two biovars, Ovis and Equi, it was interesting to assess the transcriptional profile of biovar Equi strain 258, the causative agent of ulcerative lymphangitis. The genome of this strain was re-sequenced; the reassembly was completed using optical mapping technology, and the sequence was subsequently re-annotated. Two growth conditions that occur during the host infection process were simulated for the transcriptome: the osmotic and acid medium. Genes that may be associated with the microorganism's resilience under unfavorable conditions were identified through RNAseq, including genes present in pathogenicity islands. The RT-qPCR was performed to confirm the results in biological triplicate for each condition for some genes. The results extend our knowledge of the factors associated with the spread and persistence of C. pseudotuberculosis during the infection process and suggest possible avenues for studies related to the development of vaccines, diagnosis, and therapies that might help minimize damage to agribusinesses.