Project description:Tenacibaculum maritimum, the etiological agent of tenacibaculosis in marine fish, constitutively secretes extracellular products (ECPs), which play a main role in virulence. However, their protein content has not been yet comprehensively studied. In this study a collection of 64 T. maritimum strains belonging to the four serotypes described so far (O1 to O4) was used to analyse the prevalence of extracellular proteolytic and lipolytic activities related to virulence. Results showed the existence of a large heterogeneity of the enzymatic capacity among serotype O4 isolates. Most notably, the ECPs of T. maritimum SP9.1 belonging to serotype O4 contain a large amount of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), which were characterized by electron microscopy and purified by successive steps of filtration and centrifugation. Total protein content of ECPs, and the proteins associated to OMVs and soluble fraction of the ECPs (S-ECPs) were identified by nLC-TIMS-QTOF. A total of 641 proteins were identified in ECPs including some virulence related factors, which were mainly found in one of the fractions, either in OMVs or S-ECPs. Outer membrane proteins such as TonB-dependent transporters and the T9SS-related proteins PorP, PorT and SprA appeared to be mainly associated with OMVs. By contrast, putative virulence factors such as sialidase SiaA, chondroitinase CslA, sphingomyelinase Sph, ceramidase Cer and collagenase Col were found only in the S-ECPs. These findings demonstrate that T. maritimum release, through surface blebbing, outer membrane vesicles that are enriched specifically in TonB-dependent siderophore transporters and proteins of the type IX secretion system. Interestingly, our results also showed that OMVs could play a role in virulence by promoting surface adhesion, biofilm formation, and maximizing cytotoxic effects of the ECPs. The T. maritimum secretome analysis provides insights into the extracellular products function and can constitute the basis for future studies aimed to elucidate the role of OMVs in the pathogenesis of fish tenacibaculosis.
Project description:Tenacibaculum finnmarkense is a novel Gram-negative, aerobic bacterial strain causing skin ulcers in Atlantic salmon. This is an emerging pathogen, which may cause serious problems to aquaculture. The study was designed to compare the life stages (smolt and posmolt) and to assess effects of environment (fresh and brackis water) on the course of disease and salmon responses to the pathogen.
Project description:A strategy for vaccine design involves identifying proteins that could be involved in the pathogen-host interaction. The aim of this proteomic study was to determine how iron limitation affects the protein expression of Tenacibaculum dicentrarchi, with a primary focus on virulence factors and proteins associated with iron uptake. Our findings revealed differences in the proteins expressed by the type strain CECT 7612T and the Chilean strain TdCh05 of T. dicentrarchi. Nonetheless, both share a common response to iron deprivation, with an increased expression of proteins associated with iron oxidation and reduction metabolism, siderophore transport, heme compound biosynthesis, and iron transporters under iron limitation. Proteins involved in gliding motility, such as GldL and SprE, were also upregulated in both strains. A negative differential regulation of metabolic proteins, particularly those associated with amino acid biosynthesis, was observed under iron limitation, reflecting the impact of iron availability on bacterial metabolism. Additionally, the TdCh05 strain exhibited unique proteins associated with gliding motility machinery and phage infection control compared to the type strain. These groups of proteins have been identified as virulence factors within the Flavobacteriaceae family, including the genus Tenacibaculum. These results build upon our previous report on iron acquisition mechanisms and could lay the groundwork for future studies aimed at elucidating the role of some of the described proteins in the infectious process of tenacibaculosis, as well as in the development of potential vaccines.