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The inverse autotransporters of Yersinia ruckeri,YrInv and YrIlm,contribute to biofilm formation and virulence |
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| Authors: | Agnieszka Wrobel Athanasios Saragliadis Jesús Pérez-Ortega Carolin Sittman Stephan Göttig Krystyna Liskiewicz Maria Helle Spence Kenneth Schneider Jack C Leo Jesús Arenas Dirk Linke |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, 0316 Oslo, Norway;2. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Institute of Biomembranes, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands;3. Institute of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Hospital of Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany;4. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Institute of Biomembranes, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Unit of Microbiology of the Department of Animal Pathology, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain These authors contributed equally to this work. |
| Abstract: | Yersinia ruckeri causes enteric redmouth disease (ERM) that mainly affects salmonid fishes and leads to significant economic losses in the aquaculture industry. An increasing number of outbreaks and the lack of effective vaccines against some serotypes necessitates novel measures to control ERM. Importantly, Y. ruckeri survives in the environment for long periods, presumably by forming biofilms. How the pathogen forms biofilms and which molecular factors are involved in this process, remains unclear. Yersinia ruckeri produces two surface-exposed adhesins, belonging to the inverse autotransporters (IATs), called Y. ruckeri invasin (YrInv) and Y. ruckeri invasin-like molecule (YrIlm). Here, we investigated whether YrInv and YrIlm play a role in biofilm formation and virulence. Functional assays revealed that YrInv and YrIlm promote biofilm formation on different abiotic substrates. Confocal microscopy revealed that they are involved in microcolony interaction and formation, respectively. The effect of both IATs on biofilm formation correlated with the presence of different biopolymers in the biofilm matrix, including extracellular DNA, RNA and proteins. Moreover, YrInv and YrIlm contributed to virulence in the Galleria mellonella infection model. Taken together, we propose that both IATs are possible targets for the development of novel diagnostic and preventative strategies to control ERM. |
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