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mBio 2021 Jun 22:e0145721. Epub 2021 Jun 22.

State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China.

Human-pathogenic species employ a plasmid-encoded type III secretion system (T3SS) to negate immune cell function during infection. A critical element in this process is the coordinated regulation of T3SS gene expression, which involves both transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms. LcrQ is one of the earliest identified negative regulators of T3SS, but its regulatory mechanism is still unclear. Read More

Keio J Med 2021 Jun 8. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

Department of Pediatrics, National Hospital Organization Saitama Hospital, Saitama, Japan.

Infection with Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, a known causal pathogen of human bacterial gastroenteritis, causes various symptoms and complications. A previously healthy 7-year-old girl was admitted because of fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. She was initially diagnosed with intussusception by abdominal ultrasonography. Read More

mBio 2021 Jun 1:e0063321. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA.

The iron-sulfur cluster coordinating transcription factor IscR is important for the virulence of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and a number of other bacterial pathogens. However, the IscR regulon has not yet been defined in any organism. To determine the IscR regulon and identify IscR-dependent functions important for virulence, we employed chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of Y. Read More

Infect Immun 2021 May 24. Epub 2021 May 24.

Center for Infectious Diseases and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook NY 11794-5120 USA

Primary infection of C57BL/6 mice with the bacterial pathogen elicits an unusually large H-2K-restricted CD8 T cell response to the endogenous and protective bacterial epitope YopE To better understand the basis for this large response, the model OVA epitope was inserted into YopE in and antigen specific CD8 T cells in mice were characterized after foodborne infection with the resulting strain. The epitope YopE elicited significantly larger CD8 T cell populations in the small intestine, mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), spleen and liver between 7- and 30-days post infection, despite residing in the same protein and having a similar affinity for H-2K as OVA YopE-specific CD8 T cell precursors were ∼4.6 times as abundant as OVA-specific precursors in the MLNs, spleen and other lymph nodes of naïve mice, explaining the dominance of YopE over OVA at early infection times. Read More

Front Microbiol 2021 7;12:626874. Epub 2021 May 7.

Institute of Microbiology and College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

To colonize in the digestive tract of animals and humans, has to deal with reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by host cells and microbiota. However, an understanding of the ROS-scavenging systems and their regulation in this bacterium remains largely elusive. In this study, we identified OxyR as the master transcriptional regulator mediating cellular responses to hydrogen peroxide (HO) in through genomics and transcriptomics analyses. Read More

Microbiol Res 2021 Aug 10;249:126787. Epub 2021 May 10.

State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China. Electronic address:

Zinc homeostasis is crucial for the development and stress resistance of bacteria in the environment. Serial zinc sensing transcriptional regulators, zinc transporters and zinc binding proteins were found to maintain the zinc homeostasis in bacteria. Zur is a zinc uptake regulator that is widely distributed in species, and ZnuABC, as well as the Type VI Secretion System (T6SS4) function in zinc acquisition. Read More

Microb Genom 2021 Apr;7(4)

School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.

Despite the recent advances in sequencing technologies, the complete assembly of multi-chromosome genomes of the , often containing several plasmids, remains challenging. Using a combination of Oxford Nanopore MinION long reads and short Illumina reads, we fully sequenced, closed and curated the genomes of two strains of a primary aquatic pathogen subsp. isolated in Australia. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2021 Jun 17;65(7):e0169020. Epub 2021 Jun 17.

Department of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are an emerging global health threat. New antimicrobials are urgently needed. The injectisome type III secretion system (T3SS), required by dozens of Gram-negative bacteria for virulence but largely absent from nonpathogenic bacteria, is an attractive antimicrobial target. Read More

mBio 2021 04 6;12(2). Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Department of Biomolecular Health Sciences, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands

At the intestinal host-microbe interface, the transmembrane mucin MUC1 can function as a physical barrier as well as a receptor for bacteria. MUC1 also influences epithelial cell morphology and receptor function. Various bacterial pathogens can exploit integrins to infect eukaryotic cells. Read More

J Clin Microbiol 2021 May 19;59(6). Epub 2021 May 19.

German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, Berlin, Germany

is an important pathogen for both humans and animals. It can infect livestock, as well as pets and wild animals. During recent years, a number of reports have described the isolation of from zoo animals, mainly birds and mammals, for which the infection was mostly lethal. Read More

Bull Exp Biol Med 2021 Feb 13;170(4):471-474. Epub 2021 Mar 13.

Far-Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia.

We studied the possibility of formation of mixed-species biofilms by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Listeria monocytogenes with marine saprotrophic bacteria Flavobacterium sp. and Micrococcus luteus isolated from the coastal waters of the Sea of Japan in summer. Model experiments showed that Flavobacterium sp. Read More

FEMS Microbiol Lett 2021 Apr;368(6)

CAS Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Center for Biosafety Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 430071 Wuhan, China.

LcrF is the master regulator that positively regulates the Ysc type III secretion system (T3SS) in Yersinia and shares a high similarity with the DNA-binding domain of the T3SS master regulator ExsA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Based on these features, bioinformatics analysis has predicted a putative LcrF-binding site in its target promoters. Here, we experimentally characterized its binding motif. Read More

Front Microbiol 2021 17;12:641801. Epub 2021 Feb 17.

Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States.

Isolation of the pathogens and from foods typically rely on slow (10-21 day) "cold enrichment" protocols before confirmed results are obtained. We describe an approach that yields results in 39 h that combines an alternative enrichment method with culture on a non-selective medium, and subsequent identification of suspect colonies using elastic light scatter (ELS) analysis. A prototype database of ELS profiles from five species and six other bacterial genera found in pork mince was established, and used to compare similar profiles of colonies obtained from enrichment cultures from pork mince samples seeded with representative strains of and The presumptive identification by ELS using computerised or visual analyses of 83/90 colonies in these experiments as the target species was confirmed by partial 16S rDNA sequencing. Read More

Viruses 2021 02 13;13(2). Epub 2021 Feb 13.

Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Medicum, Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, 00290 Helsinki, Finland.

The bacteriophages fPS-2, fPS-65, and fPS-90, isolated from pig stools, have long contractile tails and elongated heads, and they belong to genus Tequatroviruses in the order . The phages exhibited relatively wide host ranges among and related species. One-step growth curve experiments revealed that the phages have latent periods of 50-80 min with burst sizes of 44-65 virions per infected cell. Read More

Mikrochim Acta 2021 Mar 4;188(4):107. Epub 2021 Mar 4.

Advanced Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering Centre, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, People's Republic of China.

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is an enteric bacterium causing yersiniosis in humans. The existing Yersinia pseudotuberculosis detection methods are time-consuming, requiring a sample pretreatment step, and are unable to discriminate live/dead cells. The current work reports a phage-based electrochemical biosensor for rapid and specific detection of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Read More

BMC Vet Res 2021 Feb 27;17(1):92. Epub 2021 Feb 27.

Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Animal Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.

Background: Between February and April 2016, a slight increase in mortality was observed in a colony consisting of 400 captive Seba's short-tailed bats (Carollia perspicillata). These animals cohabited with other nocturnal animal species in a dome of a private zoo in Switzerland.

Results: Gross and histological analysis of two (14. Read More

Pathogens 2021 Feb 10;10(2). Epub 2021 Feb 10.

National Centre for Biosecurity and Infectious Disease, Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited, Upper Hutt, Wellington 5018, New Zealand.

The rate of yersiniosis in New Zealand (NZ) is high compared with other developed countries, and rates have been increasing over recent years. Typically, >99% of human cases in NZ are attributed to (YE), although in 2014, a large outbreak of 220 cases was caused by . Up until 2012, the most common NZ strain was YE biotype 4. Read More

Virulence 2021 12;12(1):638-653

Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling , Stirling, UK.

Adhesins facilitate bacterial colonization and invasion of host tissues and are considered virulence factors, but their impact on immune-mediated damage as a driver of pathogenesis remains unclear. encodes for a ultivalent dhesion olecule (MAM), a mammalian cell entry (MCE) family protein and adhesin. MAMs are widespread in Gram-negative bacteria and enable enteric bacteria to colonize epithelial tissues. Read More

Trop Med Infect Dis 2021 Feb 2;6(1). Epub 2021 Feb 2.

Department of Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, 71110 Crete, Greece.

spp. are non-spore-forming Gram-negative bacilli. They comprise only three species known to cause disease in humans, namely , and . Read More

Ital J Food Saf 2020 Dec 18;9(4):8527. Epub 2021 Jan 18.

Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale di Puglia e Basilicata, Foggia, Italy.

This paper describes the first confirmed case of a subclinical mastitis caused by in a dairy cow from Italy. Milk samples from an adult cow of the Bruna breed were analyzed accordingly to standard milk cultivation protocols. Bacteriological examinations allowed to isolate atypical Gram-negative rods identified as using biochemical tests. Read More

Infect Immun 2021 Mar 17;89(4). Epub 2021 Mar 17.

Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

Pathogenic spp. depend on the activity of a potent virulence plasmid-encoded / type 3 secretion system (T3SS) to colonize hosts and cause disease. It was recently shown that upregulates the virulence plasmid copy number (PCN) during infection and that the resulting elevated gene dose of plasmid-encoded T3SS genes is essential for virulence. Read More

J Zoo Wildl Med 2020 Nov;51(3):527-538

Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.

Infection with can be difficult to diagnose and treat successfully. Twenty-four cases from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo were identified between 2001 and 2019. Husbandry, medical, and postmortem records for six primates, 10 artiodactyls, and eight birds were reviewed to identify common clinical signs and gross lesions. Read More

Nat Commun 2021 01 18;12(1):423. Epub 2021 Jan 18.

State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, 712100, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.

Bacterial type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) inject toxic effectors into adjacent eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. It is generally thought that this process requires physical contact between the two cells. Here, we provide evidence of contact-independent killing by a T6SS-secreted effector. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2021 Jan 7;21(1):36. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Department of Emergency Medicine, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama-machi, Yufu, Oita, 879-5593, Japan.

Background: Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infection can occur in an immunocompromised host. Although rare, bacteremia due to Y. pseudotuberculosis may also occur in immunocompetent hosts. Read More

EMBO J 2021 Feb 7;40(4):e105202. Epub 2021 Jan 7.

Structure and Function of Proteins, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.

Cytotoxic necrotizing factors (CNFs) are bacterial single-chain exotoxins that modulate cytokinetic/oncogenic and inflammatory processes through activation of host cell Rho GTPases. To achieve this, they are secreted, bind surface receptors to induce endocytosis and translocate a catalytic unit into the cytosol to intoxicate host cells. A three-dimensional structure that provides insight into the underlying mechanisms is still lacking. Read More

Nat Commun 2021 01 4;12(1):86. Epub 2021 Jan 4.

Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02111, USA.

Inflammation and cell death are closely linked arms of the host immune response to infection, which when carefully balanced ensure host survival. One example of this balance is the tightly regulated transition from TNFR1-associated pro-inflammatory complex I to pro-death complex II. By contrast, here we show that a TRIF-dependent complex containing FADD, RIPK1 and caspase-8 (that we have termed the TRIFosome) mediates cell death in response to Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and LPS. Read More

Case Rep Pediatr 2020 27;2020:8846511. Epub 2020 Nov 27.

Department of Pediatrics, Aso Iizuka Hospital, 3-83 Yoshio Town, Iizuka 820-8505, Japan.

() infection complicated with bacteremia rarely occurs. infection is also known to produce various symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease (KD) due to the production of -derived mitogen (YPM), an exotoxin with superantigen activity. Moreover, it causes terminal ileitis and is responsible for appendix swelling. Read More

Ecohealth 2020 Dec 16;17(4):512-522. Epub 2020 Dec 16.

Virology Unit, Finnish Food Authority, Helsinki, Finland.

The northern European wild boar population has increased during the last decade. Highest wild boar numbers in Finland have been reported in the southeastern part near the Russian border. Wild boars may be infected with several human and animal pathogens. Read More

Genomics 2021 Jan 13;113(1 Pt 1):238-244. Epub 2020 Dec 13.

Jamil-ur-Rahman Center for Genome Research, Dr. Panjwani Centre for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, 75270 Karachi, Pakistan.

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis belongs to the family Enterobacteriaceae and is responsible for scarlatinoid fever, food poisoning, post-infectious complications like erythema nodosum/reactive arthritis as well as pseudoappendicitis in children. Genome sequences of the 23 whole genomes from NCBI were utilized for conducting the pan-genomic analysis. Essential proteins from the core region were obtained and drug targets were identified using a hierarchal in silico approach. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2020 Dec 13;13(12). Epub 2020 Dec 13.

Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

In this case, we present an uncommon gastrointestinal infection in an immunocompromised patient that was solely diagnosed because of close collaboration between treating physicians and microbiologists. The patient is a 42-year-old male who underwent heart transplantation 5 years earlier. He presented with fever, weight loss, diarrhoea and tiredness. Read More