title: Corynebacterium ulcerans, an emerging human pathogen.
abstract: While formerly known infections of Corynebacterium ulcerans are rare and mainly associated with contact to infected cattle, C. ulcerans has become an emerging pathogen today. In Western Europe, cases of respiratory diphtheria caused by C. ulcerans have been reported more often than infections by Corynebacterium diphtheria, while systemic infections are also increasingly reported. Little is known about factors that contribute to host colonization and virulence of this zoonotic pathogen. Research in this field has received new impetus by the publication of several C. ulcerans genome sequences in the past years. This review gives a comprehensive overview of the basic knowledge of C. ulcerans, as well as the recent advances made in the analysis of putative virulence factors.
authors.affiliation: Professur für Mikrobiologie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hacker
authors.affiliation: Professur für Mikrobiologie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.|Laboratory of Diphtheria and Clinically Important Corynebacteria (LDCIC), Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Camila A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Diphtheria and Clinically Important Corynebacteria (LDCIC), Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Mattos-Guaraldi
authors.affiliation: Professur für Mikrobiologie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Burkovski
authors.affiliation: Centrum für Biotechnologie, Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tauch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D003352:Corynebacterium / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D003354:Corynebacterium Infections / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D006801:Humans; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: Corynebacterium; diphtheria; host–pathogen interaction; mastitis; next-generation sequencing; zoonosis