{"title":"Investigation of virulence factors and genes associated with biofilm and protease in <i>Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</i> isolates in Bushehr, Iran.","authors":"Neda Shadvar, Forough Yousefi, Afshin Barazesh, Saeed Tajbakhsh","doi":"10.18502/ijm.v17i4.19229","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the virulence factors and genes associated with biofilm and protease in <i>Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</i> in Bushehr, Iran.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Eighty-seven <i>S. maltophilia</i> isolates (67 clinical and 20 environmental isolates) were studied. The isolates were assessed for the production of virulence factors including several enzymes and biofilm. To detect <i>rmlA, rpfF, spgM, smf-1, StmPr1</i> 868 bp, <i>StmPr1</i> 1621 bp, and <i>StmPr2</i> genes, PCR and sequencing were performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>All isolates (100%) produced DNase, hemolysin, protease, lipase, and hyaluronidase. Seventy-eight (89.7%) isolates were gelatinase producers, and 85 (97.7%) isolates were lecithinase producers. All isolates were biofilm producers: 79 (90.8%) isolates produced strong biofilm, 5 (5.7%) isolates produced moderate biofilm, and 3 (3.5%) isolates produced weak biofilm. The frequency of <i>smf-1, rmlA, rpfF,</i> and <i>spgM</i> was 93.1%, 86.2%, 26.4%, and 59.8%, respectively. The frequency of protease genes including <i>StmPr1</i> 868 bp, <i>StmPr1</i> 1621 bp, and <i>StmPr2</i> was 12.6%, 41.4%, and 18.4%, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our findings revealed a high frequency of isolates that produce DNase, hemolysin, protease, gelatinase, lipase, lecithinase, hyaluronidase, and biofilm. All isolates that harbored <i>spgM</i> or <i>rpfF</i> or both genes were strong biofilm producers. Notably, the presence of isolates that lacked <i>spgM</i> and <i>rpfF</i> genes but produced strong biofilm indicates that in addition to these two genes, other genes or factors may play a role in the production of strong biofilm. Based on this research, <i>S. maltophilia</i> in our area possesses the capability to produce several factors that could play roles in pathogenicity.</p>","PeriodicalId":14633,"journal":{"name":"Iranian Journal of Microbiology","volume":"17 4","pages":"559-568"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12331456/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Iranian Journal of Microbiology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v17i4.19229","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background and objectives: This study aimed to investigate the virulence factors and genes associated with biofilm and protease in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in Bushehr, Iran.
Materials and methods: Eighty-seven S. maltophilia isolates (67 clinical and 20 environmental isolates) were studied. The isolates were assessed for the production of virulence factors including several enzymes and biofilm. To detect rmlA, rpfF, spgM, smf-1, StmPr1 868 bp, StmPr1 1621 bp, and StmPr2 genes, PCR and sequencing were performed.
Results: All isolates (100%) produced DNase, hemolysin, protease, lipase, and hyaluronidase. Seventy-eight (89.7%) isolates were gelatinase producers, and 85 (97.7%) isolates were lecithinase producers. All isolates were biofilm producers: 79 (90.8%) isolates produced strong biofilm, 5 (5.7%) isolates produced moderate biofilm, and 3 (3.5%) isolates produced weak biofilm. The frequency of smf-1, rmlA, rpfF, and spgM was 93.1%, 86.2%, 26.4%, and 59.8%, respectively. The frequency of protease genes including StmPr1 868 bp, StmPr1 1621 bp, and StmPr2 was 12.6%, 41.4%, and 18.4%, respectively.
Conclusion: Our findings revealed a high frequency of isolates that produce DNase, hemolysin, protease, gelatinase, lipase, lecithinase, hyaluronidase, and biofilm. All isolates that harbored spgM or rpfF or both genes were strong biofilm producers. Notably, the presence of isolates that lacked spgM and rpfF genes but produced strong biofilm indicates that in addition to these two genes, other genes or factors may play a role in the production of strong biofilm. Based on this research, S. maltophilia in our area possesses the capability to produce several factors that could play roles in pathogenicity.
期刊介绍：
The Iranian Journal of Microbiology (IJM) is an international, multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed journal that provides rapid publication of the most advanced scientific research in the areas of basic and applied research on bacteria and other micro-organisms, including bacteria, viruses, yeasts, fungi, microalgae, and protozoa concerning the development of tools for diagnosis and disease control, epidemiology, antimicrobial agents, clinical microbiology, immunology, Genetics, Genomics and Molecular Biology. Contributions may be in the form of original research papers, review articles, short communications, case reports, technical reports, and letters to the Editor. Research findings must be novel and the original data must be available for review by the Editors, if necessary. Studies that are preliminary, of weak originality or merely descriptive as well as negative results are not appropriate for the journal. Papers considered for publication must be unpublished work (except in an abstract form) that is not under consideration for publication anywhere else, and all co-authors should have agreed to the submission. Manuscripts should be written in English.
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