Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology最新文献

{"title":"Genomic and taxonomic characterization of Niallia pakistanensis sp. nov. NCCP-28^T: a novel antibiotic-resistant and heavy-metal-tolerant bacterium isolated from the legume rhizosphere in Pakistan.","authors":"Sadia Manzoor, Saira Abbas, Sobia Zulfiqar, Dildar Wu, Hong-Chuan Wang, Wen-Jun Li, Muhammad Arshad, Iftikhar Ahmed","doi":"10.1007/s10482-025-02132-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-025-02132-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Soil microbes play a crucial role in biogeochemical cycling and are a valuable resource for discovering novel taxa with environmental applications. This study aimed to explore rhizospheric microbial diversity for potential biotechnological and ecological relevance. The taxonomic placement of strain NCCP-28^T was determined through polyphasic characterization. Isolated from the rhizospheric soil of a legume, strain NCCP-28^T exhibited Gram-positive, motile, aerobic, and rod-shaped cells that produced endospores. Additionally, it tested negative for oxidase but positive for catalase. The cells were grown at a pH range of 6‒10 (optimum of 7.0) or over a 20‒45 °C range (optimum of 30 °C) and could thrive in 0‒10% NaCl (optimum of 1% w/v). Strain NCCP-28^T also tolerated heavy metals, including chromium (450 ppm), copper (300 ppm), and zinc (550 ppm). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain NCCP-28^T is closely related to Niallia nealsonii DSM 15077^T, exhibiting 97.79% sequence similarity. However, strain NCCP-28^T formed a distinct and well-supported clade in the phylogenomic tree, clearly separating it from its nearest relatives. This distinction was further substantiated by whole-genome comparisons, including digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) values, which collectively support the classification of strain NCCP-28^T as a novel species within the genus Niallia. Phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and unknown amino phospholipids were included in the polar lipid profile of the strain. The predominant fatty acids (> 10%) included anteiso-C_15:0, iso-C_15:0, and C_16:0. However, MK-7 and MK-8 are respiratory quinones. Strain NCCP-28^T classified as a distinct species within the genus Niallia based on its phylogenetic, phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic traits and was designated the type strain NCCP-28^T (CGMCC1.62018^T = GDMCC1.4390^T), which was named Niallia pakistanensis sp. nov. These findings emphasize microbial systematics, environmental microbiology, and functional genomics. The ecological origin, genomic insights, and adaptive traits of strain NCCP-28^T support its potential application in environmental sustainability and microbial biotechnology.</p>","PeriodicalId":50746,"journal":{"name":"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology","volume":"118 9","pages":"122"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144700263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterization of pure mycelium materials from different mushroom-forming fungi.","authors":"Jeroen G van den Brandhof, Noortje Hansen, Chen Hou, Sander C Broers, Martin Tegelaar, Han A B Wösten","doi":"10.1007/s10482-025-02133-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10482-025-02133-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pure mycelium materials (PMMs) are a sustainable alternative for a range of non-sustainable products such as textile, leather and meat. So far, properties of PMMs of different fungi have not been systematically assessed. Here, 11 mushroom-forming fungi, of which 10 isolated from nature, were grown in liquid shaken cultures. Schizophyllum commune, Ganoderma resinaceum, and Trametes betulina produced the highest biomass (8.62, 7.58, and 6.94 g L^-1, respectively) when grown as mono-cultures in malt extract broth. Therefore, PMM properties were determined of mono-cultures, mixed-cultures, and co-cultures of these three fungi. The maximum tensile strength of the PMMs of the mono-cultures, mixed-cultures, and co-cultures of S. commune, G. resinaceum, and T. betulina did not show significant differences and ranged between 4.5 to 6.3 MPa. The elongation at break of the different PMMs was generally low and ranged between 0.8 and 1.6%. The Young's modulus of the PMMs also showed relatively small differences ranging between 408 and 710 MPa. The G. resinaceum PMMs showed the lowest water uptake, while the S. commune mono-, mixed- and co-culture PMMs showed the highest water contact angle. Together, it is concluded that the properties of the mono-, mixed-, and co-cultures of S. commune, G. resinaceum, and T. betulina are not very different. These data suggest that the species of mushroom forming fungi does not have a major impact on PMM properties of biomass from liquid shaken cultures.</p>","PeriodicalId":50746,"journal":{"name":"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology","volume":"118 9","pages":"121"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12287172/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144692325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Paenibacillus peoriae: current knowledge and agricultural biotechnology potential of a close relative of P. polymyxa.","authors":"Jakub Dobrzyński, Iryna Kulkova","doi":"10.1007/s10482-025-02135-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10482-025-02135-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Paenibacillus peoriae, a member of the genus Paenibacillus, is a gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium closely related to Paenibacillus polymyxa. This species exhibits a wide range of metabolic capabilities, enabling it to thrive in diverse environments and produce bioactive compounds with potential applications in agriculture and biotechnology. Recent studies reveal its capacity to produce biocontrol agents, such as fusaricidins, polymyxins, and tridecaptins, along with hydrolytic enzymes that inhibit phytopathogens including Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Alternaria, Botrytis, Phytophthora (Oomycota phylum). Additionally, this species was capable of directly promoting plant growth through various mechanisms, such as the production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase activity. P. peoriae strains also produce enzymes like cellulase and protease, essential for various industrial applications, and extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) demonstrating potential in bioremediation and heavy metal removal. Recent studies highlight its ability to synthesize 2,3-butanediol, a valuable industrial compound, further establishing its biotechnological significance. This review consolidates current knowledge on the genome, metabolites, and applications of P. peoriae while identifying research gaps and future directions for maximizing its potential in sustainable agriculture and biotechnology.</p>","PeriodicalId":50746,"journal":{"name":"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology","volume":"118 9","pages":"120"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12287138/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144692326","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Antibacterial and anticancer activities of rhizobacterial lipopeptides against carcinogenic bacteria.","authors":"Nawal E Al-Hazmi","doi":"10.1007/s10482-025-02131-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-025-02131-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rhizosphere-derived lipopeptides, including surfactin, iturin, and fengycin from Bacillus spp., exhibit potent antibacterial and anticancer properties. This study evaluated the antibacterial activity, mechanism of action, anti-biofilm effects, and anticancer potential of these lipopeptides individually and in combination. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria (Bacteroides fragilis, Escherichia coli, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Helicobacter pylori, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Salmonella enterica) was determined using the broth dilution method. Among the single lipopeptides, fengycin demonstrated the strongest antibacterial effect, whereas the combination of all three lipopeptides exhibited the lowest MIC values, reducing bacterial growth by approximately 95% more than chloramphenicol. Mechanistically, lipopeptide treatments increased bacterial membrane permeability, with the three-lipopeptide mixture inducing 60% greater electrolyte leakage than chloramphenicol. Additionally, lipopeptides significantly reduced bacterial DNA content, with the three-lipopeptide combination leading to a 321% greater reduction than chloramphenicol. Biofilm formation was also markedly inhibited, particularly by fengycin and the lipopeptide mixtures. Furthermore, the anticancer activity of lipopeptides was assessed using the MTT assay against gastric, pancreatic, liver, colon, esophageal, and breast cancer cell lines. The three-lipopeptide mixture exhibited the highest cytotoxicity, with IC50 values approximately 82% lower than those of doxorubicin. These findings highlight the potential of rhizosphere lipopeptides as promising antibacterial and anticancer agents, warranting further investigation for therapeutic applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":50746,"journal":{"name":"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology","volume":"118 9","pages":"118"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144683550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Zhengella sedimenti sp. nov. and Phycobacter sedimenti sp. nov., two novel bacteria isolated from coastal sediment with genomic and metabolic analysis.","authors":"Pei-Ran Lin, Li-Jia-Yu Deng, Han-Zhe Zhang, Le Liu, Tian-He Liu, De-Chen Lu, Zong-Jun Du","doi":"10.1007/s10482-025-02120-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-025-02120-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this study, two novel Gram-stain-negative bacterial strains, K97^T and ZM62^T, were isolated from sediment samples collected along the coast of Weihai, China, and described using polyphasic taxonomic techniques. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that strain K97^T exhibited the highest sequence similarity (98.34%) with Phycobacter azelaicus F10^T within the genus Phycobacter, followed by Pseudooceanicola marinus AZO-C^T (97.14%) and Phaeobacter italicus LMG24365^T (96.85%). Strain ZM62^T exhibited the highest sequence similarity (98.53%) with Zhengella mangrovi X9-2-2^T within the genus Zhengella, followed by Phyllobacterium myrsinacearum NBRC 100019^T (96.49%) and Oricola thermophila MEBiC13590^T (96.35%). The respiratory quinone was Q-10 for both strains. The major fatty acid in both strains K97^T and ZM62^T is Summed Feature 8 (C_18:1ω6c/C_18:1ω7c). The main polar lipids for strain K97^T included diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylglycerol (PG), while for strain ZM62^T, the main polar lipids included diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and phosphatidylcholine (PC). Based on the polyphasic taxonomic data, strain K97^T is proposed as a novel species within the genus Phycobacter, for which the name Phycobacter sedimenti is proposed, and the type strain is K97^T (= KCTC 8365^T = MCCC 1H01460^T). Strain ZM62^T is proposed as a novel species within the genus Zhengella, for which the name Zhengella sedimenti is proposed, and the type strain is ZM62^T (= KCTC 8813^T = MCCC 1H01495^T). Additionally, genomic and metabolic analyses revealed that the genus Phycobacter possesses DMSP synthesis and metabolism genes and a complete CMP-KDO pathway, indicating potential symbiosis with algae. Metabolic analysis of strain ZM62^T indicates its potential role in the degradation of xenobiotic compounds, supported by the presence of annotated pathways for aminobenzoate (ko00627) and toluene (ko00623) degradation.</p>","PeriodicalId":50746,"journal":{"name":"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology","volume":"118 9","pages":"117"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144668906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The DR2416/DR2415 two-component system is responsible for the radioresistance of Deinococcus radiodurans.","authors":"Wuzhou Wang, Zhenfang Du, Fei Yang, Shuya He","doi":"10.1007/s10482-025-02125-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-025-02125-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Two-component system (TCS) plays a crucial role in translating stimulus signals into specific adaptive responses and aids prokaryotic organisms in withstanding diverse stresses. Deinococcus radiodurans is renowned for its exceptional radioresistance and has become a valuable model for studying DNA repair, bioremediation and planetary protection space missions. TCSs are well-developed by this bacterium, thus the role in its radioresistance can be envisaged. DR2416 was predicted to be a histidine kinase, and DR2415, a response regulator. Our study revealed that deleting dr2416 or (and) dr2415 reduced D. radiodurans' resistance to various DNA damage agents, including ionizing radiation, hydrogen peroxide, and mitomycin C. The DR2416 protein was situated on the membrane of D. radiodurans. Western blotting analysis revealed that DR2415 was significantly induced by ionizing radiation. The Phos-tag SDS-PAGE assay illustrated that DR2416 could undergo self-phosphorylation at His259 in vitro and subsequently transfer the phosphoryl group to the Asp52 residue of DR2415. The qRT-PCR method showed that the DR2416/DR2415 TCS regulated genes related to DNA double-strand break repair and reactive oxygen species (ROS) removal, including recN (dr1477), sbcC (dr1922), and katE (dra0259). In conclusion, our findings suggested that the DR2416/DR2415 TCS might provide radioresistance to D. radiodurans through DNA damage repair and ROS scavenging mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":50746,"journal":{"name":"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology","volume":"118 9","pages":"116"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144660985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ewingella allii sp. nov. isolated from a diseased onion plant in the Columbia Basin of Washington State, USA.","authors":"Fanele Cabangile Mnguni, Gi Yoon Shin, Lindsey J du Toit, Michael L Derie, Teresa A Coutinho","doi":"10.1007/s10482-025-02116-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10482-025-02116-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Isolation of strain 20WA0182^T from a diseased onion plant grown in the Columbia Basin of Washington State, USA, led to preliminary identification as a member of the genus Ewingella. The strain was characterised as a Gram-stain-negative, facultative anaerobe that is rod-shaped, motile with polar flagella, catalase positive, and oxidase negative. The strain 20WA0182^T isolated was pathogenic to yellow onion bulbs, weakly pathogenic on onion leaves of the cv. Ranchero, and caused a pathogenic response using the red onion bulb scale necrosis assay. Phylogenetic analyses using the 16S rRNA gene and four housekeeping genes, atpD, gyrB, infB, and rpoB, showed that strain 20WA0182^T formed a branch that clustered with E. americana strains, but on a separate node, indicating it is a novel species of this genus. Whole-genome sequencing of strain 20WA0182^T revealed a genome size of 4,604,541 nt, with 25 contigs and a G + C content of 53.8%, strain 20WA0182^T was 99.2% complete. The average nucleotide identity of strain 20WA0182^T compared with E. americana strains scores ranged from 92.85 to 93.96%, below the 95% threshold to classify strains as the same species. Similarly, dDDH scores were 56.0 to 56.2%, less than the 70% threshold required to delineate prokaryotes as the same species. Strain 20WA0182^T and Ewingella sp. CoE-038-23 shared the ANI score above 97.59% and 81.0% dDDH score to be classified as a novel species of Ewingella. As the type strain 20WA0182^T (= BD 3290^T = LMG 33618^T) was pathogenic to onion bulbs and leaves, the name Ewingella allii is proposed. GenBank accession number = JAWUDN000000000.</p>","PeriodicalId":50746,"journal":{"name":"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology","volume":"118 8","pages":"115"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12267313/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144644076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Haematococcus pluvialis culture contaminated with chytrids: growth management and astaxanthin production.","authors":"Zineb Mansouri, Ibtissam Lijassi, Ana Amorim, Aïcha El Aissami, Laila Rhazi, Imane Wahby","doi":"10.1007/s10482-025-02129-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10482-025-02129-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Haematococcus pluvialis Flotow has gained growing interest last years due to its high content of astaxanthin. The quick expansion of its culture worldwide has been accompanied with report of several cases of fungal contamination, mainly with chytrids, causing serious losses in astaxanthin production. Although chemical fungicides efficiently eliminate chytrids contamination, they also affect algal growth. The aim of this study was to test the efficiency of chytrids' contamination treatments without affecting algal cells. For this, agricultural fungicides (hexaconazole and copper oxychloride) have been tested at several concentrations and compared with a green decontamination strategy using calcium chloride biomineralization. Hexaconazole caused microalgae bleaching and chytrids bursting even at the lowest tested concentrations (0.01 ppm). At high concentrations, copper-oxychloride, was toxic for H. pluvialis cells, while the chytrids remained resistant to all concentrations of this fungicide. The cell number increased from 1 × 10⁵ ± 100 to 13 × 10⁵ ± 270 cells/ml with 0.25 ppm copper-oxide chloride after 15 days, but later decreased. Treatment with 150 ppm CaCl₂ induced an increase of astaxanthin after 7 days. One week later, algal growth exceeded 22 × 10⁵ cells/ml and the astaxanthin concentration was 22 times higher than the control. After 30 days, the concentration was 3 times higher than the control. Therefore, CaCl₂ at 150 ppm can be used as effective and economical control agent for commercial production of astaxanthin from H. pluvialis.</p>","PeriodicalId":50746,"journal":{"name":"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology","volume":"118 8","pages":"114"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144644078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Parapedobacter flavus sp. nov., isolated from padding of fermentation bed.","authors":"Rui Wang, Yan-Yan Zheng, Zi-Xuan Liu, Xuan Zhang, You-Jun Liao, Ya-Jing Yu, Ai-Hua Li","doi":"10.1007/s10482-025-02124-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10482-025-02124-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacterium strain, designated as 4-7-4^T, was isolated from the padding of a fermentation bed. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene indicated that it belonged to the genus Parapedobacter and exhibited the closest relationship to P. soli KCTC 12984^T, with a similarity of 96.03%. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization between strain 4-7-4^T and P. soli KCTC 12984^T were 78.6% and 21.6% respectively, both of which were below the thresholds for delineating species, supporting it being a novel species of Parapedobacter. The major polar lipids included phosphatidylethanolamine, unidentified aminolipid and four unidentified lipids. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-7. The major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C_16:1 ω7c and/or C_16:1 ω6c) and iso-C_15:0. The genome of strain 4-7-4^T was 4890729 bp, and the genomic DNA G + C content was 49.8%. In summary, strain 4-7-4^T was identified as a novel species of Parapedobacter, for which the name Parapedobacter flavus sp. nov. was proposed. The type strain was 4-7-4^T (=CGMCC1.10938^T = KCTC 92351^T).</p>","PeriodicalId":50746,"journal":{"name":"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology","volume":"118 8","pages":"112"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144627662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Disabling iron uptake and pilus assembly in uropathogenic Escherichia coli using CRISPR-Cas9: a step towards antivirulence therapy.","authors":"Linu Thomas, Tajo Abraham","doi":"10.1007/s10482-025-02127-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10482-025-02127-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the leading cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs), driven by virulence factors such as iron acquisition systems and adhesive pili. In this study, we employed CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing to functionally inactivate two critical virulence genes-iucD, involved in aerobactin-mediated iron uptake, and papC, encoding the outer membrane usher protein essential for P pilus assembly. Using a clinical UPEC isolate, we introduced premature stop codons via homologous repair templates guided by gene-specific single-guide RNAs. Colony PCR and Sanger sequencing confirmed precise site-specific editing, leading to truncated protein variants. In silico analyses using InterPro and Swiss-Model revealed a complete loss of essential domains in both proteins. Molecular docking studies demonstrated a marked reduction in binding affinities of truncated iucD for NAD(P)H and impaired protein-protein interaction between truncated PapC and PapG. This study highlights the utility of CRISPR-Cas9 as a powerful tool for dissecting bacterial pathogenesis and supports the potential of targeting virulence determinants like iucD and papC as part of an antivirulence strategy for managing UPEC infections.</p>","PeriodicalId":50746,"journal":{"name":"Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology","volume":"118 8","pages":"110"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144592881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}