A shift in the virulence potential of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis biovar ovis after passage in a murine host demonstrated through comparative proteomics.
Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis biovar ovis, a facultative intracellular pathogen, is the etiologic agent of caseous lymphadenitis in small ruminants. During the infection process, C. pseudotuberculosis changes its gene expression to resist different types of stresses and to evade the immune system of the host. However, factors contributing to the infectious process of this pathogen are still poorly documented. To better understand the C. pseudotuberculosis infection process and to identify potential factors which could be involved in its virulence, experimental infection was carried out in a murine model using the strain 1002_ovis and followed by a comparative proteomic analysis of the strain before and after passage.



The experimental infection assays revealed that strain 1002_ovis exhibits low virulence potential. However, the strain recovered from the spleen of infected mice and used in a new infection challenge showed a dramatic change in its virulence potential. Label-free proteomic analysis of the culture supernatants of strain 1002_ovis before and after passage in mice revealed that 118 proteins were differentially expressed. The proteome exclusive to the recovered strain contained important virulence factors such as CP40 proteinase and phospholipase D exotoxin, the major virulence factor of C. pseudotuberculosis. Also, the proteome from recovered condition revealed different classes of proteins involved in detoxification processes, pathogenesis and export pathways, indicating the presence of distinct mechanisms that could contribute in the infectious process of this pathogen.



This study shows that C. pseudotuberculosis modifies its proteomic profile in the laboratory versus infection conditions and adapts to the host context during the infection process. The screening proteomic performed us enable identify known virulence factors, as well as potential proteins that could be related to virulence this pathogen. These results enhance our understanding of the factors that might influence in the virulence of C. pseudotuberculosis.
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.|INRA, UMR1253 STLO, 35042, Rennes, France.|Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1253 STLO, 35042, Rennes, France.
Wanderson M
WM
Silva
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Fernanda A
FA
Dorella
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Siomar C
SC
Soares
Waters Corporation, Waters Technologies Brazil, MS Applications Laboratory, Alphaville, São Paulo, Brazil.
Gustavo H M F
GH
Souza
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Thiago L P
TL
Castro
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Núbia
N
Seyffert
Aquacen, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Henrique
H
Figueiredo
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Anderson
A
Miyoshi
INRA, UMR1253 STLO, 35042, Rennes, France.|Agrocampus Ouest, UMR1253 STLO, 35042, Rennes, France.
Yves
Y
Le Loir
Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Pará, Guamá, Belém, Pará, Brazil.
Artur
A
Silva
Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. vasco@icb.ufmg.br.
Vasco
V
Azevedo
D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D003354:Corynebacterium Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D016925:Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D020543:Proteome / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D020543:Proteome; D037521:Virulence Factors
Bacterial label-free proteomic; Bacterial virulence; Caseous lymphadenitis; Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis; Extracellular proteins; Serial passage