title: The Agr-Like Quorum Sensing System Is Required for Pathogenesis of Necrotic Enteritis Caused by Clostridium perfringens in Poultry.
abstract: Clostridium perfringensencodes at least two different quorum sensing (QS) systems, the Agr-like and LuxS, and recent studies have highlighted their importance in the regulation of toxin production and virulence. The role of QS in the pathogenesis of necrotic enteritis (NE) in poultry and the regulation of NetB, the key toxin involved, has not yet been investigated. We have generated isogenicagrB-null and complemented strains from parent strain CP1 and demonstrated that the virulence of theagrB-null mutant was strongly attenuated in a chicken NE model system and restored by complementation. The production of NetB, a key NE-associated toxin, was dramatically reduced in theagrBmutant at both the transcriptional and protein levels, though not in aluxSmutant. Transwell assays confirmed that the Agr-like QS system controls NetB production through a diffusible signal. Global gene expression analysis of theagrBmutant identified additional genes modulated by Agr-like QS, including operons related to phospholipid metabolism and adherence, which may also play a role in NE pathogenesis. This study provides the first evidence that the Agr-like QS system is critical for NE pathogenesis and identifies a number of Agr-regulated genes, most notablynetB, that are potentially involved in mediating its effects. The Agr-like QS system thus may serve as a target for developing novel interventions to prevent NE in chickens.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.|Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Dion
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lepp
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Iman
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mehdizadeh Gohari
authors.affiliation: Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.|Hubei Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.|Beijing Agro-Biotechnology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hongzhuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Xianhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Hai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Prescott
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
authors.forename: Shao-Ping
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China myxie@ncu.edu.cn Joshua.Gong@agr.gc.ca.
authors.forename: Ming-Yong
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Guelph Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Guelph, Ontario, Canada myxie@ncu.edu.cn Joshua.Gong@agr.gc.ca.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004751:Enteritis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D008297:Male; D009336:Necrosis; D009876:Operon; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D053038:Quorum Sensing; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004768:Enterotoxins; C534774:NetB protein, Clostridium perfringens; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: Agr-like quorum sensing; Clostridium perfringens; LuxS; NetB; VirS/VirR; necrotic enteritis; poultry; quorum sensing