title: Formate-tetrahydrofolate ligase is involved in the virulence of Streptococcus suis serotype 2.
abstract: Streptococcus suis is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that causes severe infections in pigs and humans. However, the pathogenesis of S. suis remains unclear. The present study targeted a putative virulence-associated factor (fhs, encoding the formate-tetrahydrofolate ligase) of S. suis. To investigate the role of fhs in the virulence potential of S. suis serotype 2, an fhs deletion mutant (Δfhs) and the corresponding complementation strain (CΔfhs) were generated. The Δfhs mutant displayed similar growth compared to that of the wild-type and complementation strains. Using murine and pig infection models, we demonstrated for the first time that the formate-tetrahydrofolate ligase is required for the full virulence of S. suis 2. Our findings provide a new insight into the pathogenesis of S. suis 2.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Development of Veterinary Diagnostic Products, Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Chengkun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Development of Veterinary Diagnostic Products, Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Jiali
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Development of Veterinary Diagnostic Products, Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Guolin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Development of Veterinary Diagnostic Products, Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Xigong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Development of Veterinary Diagnostic Products, Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Sujing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Jinquan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Development of Veterinary Diagnostic Products, Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
authors.forename: Huanchun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Development of Veterinary Diagnostic Products, Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China. Electronic address: beiwc@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Weicheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005574:Formate-Tetrahydrofolate Ligase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D065288:Serogroup; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D017011:Streptococcus suis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013552:Swine; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors; D005574:Formate-Tetrahydrofolate Ligase
keywords: Formate-tetrahydrofolate ligase; Streptococcus suis; Virulence