Éditeur(s) : Wiley-blackwell Publishing, Inc
Résumé : Vibrioses are the predominant bacterial infections in marine shrimp farms. Vibrio nigripulchritudo is an emerging pathogen of the cultured shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris in New Caledonia and other regions in the Indo-Pacific. The molecular determinants of V. nigripulchritudo pathogenicity are unknown; however, molecular epidemiological studies have revealed that recent pathogenic V. nigripulchritudo isolates from New Caledonia all cluster into a monophyletic clade and contain a small plasmid, pB1067. Here, we report that a large plasmid, pA1066 (247 kb), can also serve as a marker for virulent V. nigripulchritudo, and that an ancestral version of this plasmid was likely acquired prior to other virulence-linked markers. Additionally, we demonstrate that pA1066 is critical for the full virulence of V. nigripulchritudo in several newly developed experimental models of infection. Plasmid pB1067 also contributes to virulence; only strains containing both plasmids induced the highest level of shrimp mortality. Thus, it appears that these plasmids, which are absent from non-pathogenic isolates, may be driving forces, as well as markers, for the emergence of a pathogenic lineage of V. nigripulchritudo.
Environmental Microbiology (1462-2912) (Wiley-blackwell Publishing, Inc), 2011-02 , Vol. 13 , N. 2 , P. 296-306

Droits : 2010 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00031/14196/11469.pdf
DOI:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2010.02329.x
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00031/14196/

Éditeur(s) : Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : Vibrio nigripulchritudo is an emerging pathogen of farmed shrimp in New Caledonia and other regions in the Indo-Pacific. The molecular determinants of V. nigripulchritudo pathogenicity are unknown; however, molecular epidemiological studies have suggested that pathogenicity is linked to particular lineages. Here, we performed high-throughput sequencing-based comparative genome analysis of 16 V. nigripulchritudo strains to explore the genomic diversity and evolutionary history of pathogen-containing lineages and to identify pathogen-specific genetic elements. Our phylogenetic analysis revealed three pathogen-containing V. nigripulchritudo clades, including two clades previously identified from New Caledonia and one novel clade comprising putatively pathogenic isolates from septicemic shrimp in Madagascar. The similar genetic distance between the three clades indicates that they have diverged from an ancestral population roughly at the same time and recombination analysis indicates that these genomes have, in the past, shared a common gene pool and exchanged genes. As each contemporary lineage is comprised of nearly identical strains, comparative genomics allowed differentiation of genetic elements specific to shrimp pathogenesis of varying severity. Notably, only a large plasmid present in all highly pathogenic (HP) strains encodes a toxin. Although less/non-pathogenic strains contain related plasmids, these are differentiated by a putative toxin locus. Expression of this gene by a non-pathogenic V. nigripulchritudo strain resulted in production of toxic culture supernatant, normally an exclusive feature of HP strains. Thus, this protein, here termed 'nigritoxin', is implicated to an extent that remains to be precisely determined in the toxicity of V. nigripulchritudo.
Isme Journal (1751-7362) (Nature Publishing Group), 2013-10 , Vol. 7 , N. 10 , P. 1985-1996

Droits : 2013 International Society for Microbial Ecology All rights reserved 1751-7362/13
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00160/27117/28369.pdf
DOI:10.1038/ismej.2013.90
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00160/27117/