title: The controversial nature of the Weissella genus: technological and functional aspects versus whole genome analysis-based pathogenic potential for their application in food and health.
abstract: Despite the use of several Weissella (W.) strains for biotechnological and probiotic purposes, certain species of this genus were found to act as opportunistic pathogens, while strains of W. ceti were recognized to be pathogenic for farmed rainbow trout. Herein, we investigated the pathogenic potential of weissellas based on in silico analyses of the 13 whole genome sequences available to date in the NCBI database. Our screening allowed us to find several virulence determinants such as collagen adhesins, aggregation substances, mucus-binding proteins, and hemolysins in some species. Moreover, we detected several antibiotic resistance-encoding genes, whose presence could increase the potential pathogenicity of some strains, but should not be regarded as an excluding trait for beneficial weissellas, as long as these genes are not present on mobile genetic elements. Thus, selection of weissellas intended to be used as starters or for biotechnological or probiotic purposes should be investigated regarding their safety aspects on a strain to strain basis, preferably also by genome sequencing, since nucleotide sequence heterogeneity in virulence and antibiotic resistance genes makes PCR-based screening unreliable for safety assessments. In this sense, the application of W. confusa and W. cibaria strains as starter cultures or as probiotics should be approached with caution, by carefully selecting strains that lack pathogenic potential.
authors.affiliation: Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaén , Jaén, Spain.
authors.forename: Hikmate
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abriouel
authors.affiliation: Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaén , Jaén, Spain.
authors.forename: Leyre Lavilla
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Lerma
authors.affiliation: Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaén , Jaén, Spain.
authors.forename: María Del Carmen
authors.initials: Mdel C
authors.lastname: Casado Muñoz
authors.affiliation: Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaén , Jaén, Spain.
authors.forename: Beatriz Pérez
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Montoro
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Max Rubner-Institut , Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kabisch
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Max Rubner-Institut , Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Rohtraud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pichner
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Max Rubner-Institut , Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Gyu-Sung
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Max Rubner-Institut , Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Horst
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Neve
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy , Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fusco
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Max Rubner-Institut , Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Charles M A P
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Franz
authors.affiliation: Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaén , Jaén, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gálvez
authors.affiliation: Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Jaén , Jaén, Spain.
authors.forename: Nabil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Benomar
keywords: Weissella; antibiotic resistance; genome; in silico analysis; virulence