Are type IV pili involved in Vibrio anguillarum virulence towards sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) larvae?

HTML  Download Download as PDF (Size: 403KB)  PP. 30-38  
DOI: 10.4236/as.2013.46A005    5,227 Downloads   7,701 Views  Citations

ABSTRACT

Vibrio anguillarum, an important bacterial fish pathogen, expresses a variety of virulence factors contributing to its ability to cause vibriosis in fish. Many virulence factors of this pathogen remain however unknown. For example, a type IV pilus system was previously reported to be potentially involved in the virulence of this bacterium but no experimental evidence was reported yet. In this study, complete genome sequencing of V. anguillarum strain VIB15, shown to be highly virulent towards sea bass (Dicen- trarchus labrax L.) larvae, revealed the presence of a PilA pilin. A V. anguillarum VIB15 pilA mutant was constructed and the pathogenicity of this mutant was assessed in a gnotobiotic sea bass system developed for virulence screening. Our results suggest that the V. anguillarum pilA gene is not crucial for virulence towards sea bass larvae. Possibly, another type IV pilus system identified in V. anguillarum, showing homology to the mannose-sensitive hemagglutinin pilin of Vibrio cholerae, may complement the pilA mutation. Alternatively, the type IV pilus system has a role in infection of juvenile or adult fish, rather than in the larval phase. As such, further research is required to unravel the potential role of type IV pili in V. anguillarum virulence.

Share and Cite:

Frans, I. , Busschaert, P. , Dierckens, K. , Michiels, C. , Willems, K. , Lievens, B. , Bossier, P. and Rediers, H. (2013) Are type IV pili involved in Vibrio anguillarum virulence towards sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) larvae?. Agricultural Sciences, 4, 30-38. doi: 10.4236/as.2013.46A005.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.