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Virulence factors of the human opportunistic pathogen Serratia marcescens identified by in vivo screening
Author(s) -
Kurz C.Léopold,
Chauvet Sophie,
Andrès Emmanuel,
Aurouze Marianne,
Vallet Isabelle,
Michel Gérard P.F.,
Uh Mitch,
Celli Jean,
Filloux Alain,
de Bentzmann Sophie,
Steinmetz Ivo,
Hoffmann Jules A.,
Finlay B.Brett,
Gorvel JeanPierre,
Ferrandon Dominique,
Ewbank Jonathan J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.1093/emboj/cdg159
Subject(s) - serratia marcescens , virulence , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , serratia , pathogen , caenorhabditis elegans , transposon mutagenesis , pseudomonas aeruginosa , transposable element , mutant , bacteria , escherichia coli , gene , genetics , pseudomonas
The human opportunistic pathogen Serratia marcescens is a bacterium with a broad host range, and represents a growing problem for public health. Serratia marcescens kills Caenorhabditis elegans after colonizing the nematode's intestine. We used C.elegans to screen a bank of transposon‐induced S.marcescens mutants and isolated 23 clones with an attenuated virulence. Nine of the selected bacterial clones also showed a reduced virulence in an insect model of infection. Of these, three exhibited a reduced cytotoxicity in vitro , and among them one was also markedly attenuated in its virulence in a murine lung infection model. For 21 of the 23 mutants, the transposon insertion site was identified. This revealed that among the genes necessary for full in vivo virulence are those that function in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis, iron uptake and hemolysin produc tion. Using this system we also identified novel conserved virulence factors required for Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenicity. This study extends the utility of C.elegans as an in vivo model for the study of bacterial virulence and advances the molecular understanding of S.marcescens pathogenicity.