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Nieves C, Vincent AT, Zarantonelli L, Picardeau M, Veyrier FJ, Buschiazzo A. Horizontal transfer of the rfb cluster in Leptospira is a genetic determinant of serovar identity. Life Sci Alliance 2023; 6:6/2/e202201480. [PMID: 36622346 PMCID: PMC9736851 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202201480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Leptospira bacteria comprise numerous species, several of which cause serious disease to a broad range of hosts including humans. These spirochetes exhibit large intraspecific variation, resulting in complex tabulations of serogroups/serovars that crisscross the species classification. Serovar identity, linked to biological/clinical phenotypes, depends on the structure of surface-exposed LPS. Many LPS biosynthesis-encoding genes reside within the chromosomic rfb gene cluster. However, the genetic basis of intraspecies variability is not fully understood, constraining diagnostics/typing methods to cumbersome serologic procedures. We now show that the gene content of the rfb cluster strongly correlates with Leptospira serovar designation. Whole-genome sequencing of pathogenic L. noguchii, including strains of different serogroups, reveals that the rfb cluster undergoes extensive horizontal gene transfer. The rfb clusters from several Leptospira species disclose a univocal correspondence between gene composition and serovar identity. This work paves the way to genetic typing of Leptospira serovars, and to pinpointing specific genes within the distinct rfb clusters, encoding host-specific virulence traits. Further research shall unveil the molecular mechanism of rfb transfer among Leptospira strains and species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Nieves
- Bacterial Symbionts Evolution, Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université du Québec, Laval, Canada
| | - Antony T Vincent
- Bacterial Symbionts Evolution, Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université du Québec, Laval, Canada.,Département des Sciences Animales, Faculté des Sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation, Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada
| | - Leticia Zarantonelli
- Laboratory of Molecular and Structural Microbiology, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Mathieu Picardeau
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR 6047, Biology of Spirochetes Unit, Paris, France.,Integrative Microbiology of Zoonotic Agents, Pasteur International Joint Research Unit, Paris/Montevideo, France/Uruguay
| | - Frédéric J Veyrier
- Bacterial Symbionts Evolution, Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université du Québec, Laval, Canada
| | - Alejandro Buschiazzo
- Laboratory of Molecular and Structural Microbiology, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay .,Integrative Microbiology of Zoonotic Agents, Pasteur International Joint Research Unit, Paris/Montevideo, France/Uruguay
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Caimi K, Ruybal P. Leptospira spp., a genus in the stage of diversity and genomic data expansion. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 2020; 81:104241. [PMID: 32061688 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2020.104241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Revised: 02/09/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Leptospirosis is a widespread global zoonotic bacterial disease with a noteworthy human-animal-ecosystem interface. The disease presents different clinical manifestations and a high mortality and morbidity rates in humans and animals throughout the world. Characterization and correct classification of Leptospira isolates is essential for a better understanding the epidemiological properties of the disease. In the last ten years, molecular typing tools have been developed and applied to this field. These methods together with the availability of hundreds of new whole genome sequences that belong to known and new described species are shaping the understanding and structure of the entire genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Caimi
- Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABiMo), Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - P Ruybal
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica (IMPaM), Facultad de Medicina, Paraguay 2155 Piso: 12, CABA 1121, Argentina
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