ArticleJournal of bacteriology2013
Pilus gene pool variation and the virulence of Corynebacterium diphtheriae clinical isolates during infection of a nematode.
Article in Journal of bacteriology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
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- Quinolone Resistance and Zoonotic Potential ofAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The Exoproteome and Surfaceome of ToxigenicJournal of proteome research · 2025Article
- Virulence and mutations analysis based on the whole genome of a BrazilianFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Molecular characterization and whole-genome sequencing of Corynebacterium diphtheriae causing skin lesion.European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology · 2024Article
- Phenotypic and molecular characterization and complete genome sequence of a Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain isolated from cutaneous infection in an immunized individual.Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] · 2023Article
- A multiomic approach to defining the essential genome of the globally important pathogen Corynebacterium diphtheriae.PLoS genetics · 2023Article
- Interactions between the Re-Emerging PathogenInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Pan-genomic analysis ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Whole genome sequence of a non-toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain from a hospital in southeastern China.BMC genomic data · 2021Article
- Ribonuclease J-Mediated mRNA Turnover Modulates Cell Shape, Metabolism and Virulence inMicroorganisms · 2021Article
- Corynebacterium diphtheriae Virulence Analyses Using a Caenorhabditis elegans Model.Current protocols in microbiology · 2020Article
- Genetic Manipulation of Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Other Corynebacterium Species.Current protocols in microbiology · 2020Article
- Phylogenomic characterisation of a novel corynebacterial species pathogenic to animals.Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2020Article
- Cell-to-cell interaction requires optimal positioning of a pilus tip adhesin modulated by gram-positive transpeptidase enzymes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- Genome-wide comparison of Corynebacterium diphtheriae isolates from Australia identifies differences in the Pan-genomes between respiratory and cutaneous strains.BMC genomics · 2018Article
- Genomic analyses reveal two distinct lineages ofNew microbes and new infections · 2018Article
- Article
- Adhesion properties of toxigenic corynebacteria.AIMS microbiology · 2018Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae strains cause diphtheria in humans. The toxigenic C. diphtheriae isolate NCTC13129 produces three distinct heterotrimeric pili that contain SpaA, SpaD, and SpaH, making up the shaft structure. The SpaA pili are known to mediate bacterial adherence to pharyngeal epithelial cells. However, to date little is known about the expression of different pili in various clinical isolates and their importance in bacterial pathogenesis. Here, we characterized a large collection of C. diphtheriae clinical isolates for their pilin gene pool by PCR and for the expression of the respective pilins by immunoblotting with antibodies against Spa pilins. Consistent with the role of a virulence factor, the SpaA-type pili were found to be prevalent among the isolates, and most significantly, corynebacterial adherence to pharyngeal epithelial cells was strictly correlated with isolates that were positive for the SpaA pili. By comparison, the isolates were heterogeneous for the presence of SpaD- and SpaH-type pili. Importantly, using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model host for infection, we show here that strain NCTC13129 rapidly killed the nematodes, the phenotype similar to isolates that were positive for toxin and all pilus types. In contrast, isogenic mutants of NCTC13129 lacking SpaA-type pili or devoid of toxin and SpaA pili exhibited delayed killing of nematodes with similar kinetics. Consistently, nontoxigenic or toxigenic isolates that lack one, two, or all three pilus types were also attenuated in virulence. This work signifies the important role of pili in corynebacterial pathogenesis and provides a simple host model to identify additional virulence factors.
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