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Aeromonas veronii and aerolysin are important for the pathogenesis of motile aeromonad septicemia in cyprinid fish
Author(s) -
Ran Chao,
Qin Chubin,
Xie Mingxu,
Zhang Jinxiong,
Li Jie,
Xie Yadong,
Wang Yibing,
Li Shuning,
Liu Lihui,
Fu Xiaozhe,
Lin Qiang,
Li Ningqiu,
Liles Mark R.,
Zhou Zhigang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.14390
Subject(s) - aerolysin , aeromonas veronii , biology , aeromonas hydrophila , virulence , microbiology and biotechnology , zebrafish , pathogenesis , aeromonas , immunology , gene , genetics , bacteria
Summary Aeromonas species are ubiquitous inhabitants of freshwater environments, and are responsible for fish motile aeromonad septicemia (MAS). A. hydrophila is implicated as the primary etiologic agent of MAS. Here, we analysed MAS epidemiological data for cyprinid fish in southern China, and found that A. veronii infections dominated. Consistent with this observation, A. veronii isolates were generally more virulent than A. hydrophila isolates when infecting germ‐free zebrafish larvae via continuous immersion challenge. Through in vivo screening of the transposon library of the A. veronii strain Hm091, aerolysin was identified as the key virulence factor. Further results indicated that A. veronii Hm091 aerolysin disrupts the intestinal barrier of zebrafish, enabling systematic invasion by not only A. veronii Hm091 in a mono‐infection, but also A. hydrophila NJ‐1 in a mixed infection. Moreover, the differences in aerolysin expression and activity were the major contributor to the observed differences between the A. veronii and A. hydrophila strains regarding invasion efficacy via intestine. Together, our results provide new insights into the aetiology and pathogenesis of Aeromonas infections, and highlight the importance of A. veronii ‐targeted treatments in future efforts against MAS.