Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41212467›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology2026

Comparison of virulence factors genes between exoU and exoS Pseudomonas aeruginosa in microbial keratitis.

Tanzina Akter, Fiona Stapleton, Jake Ireland, Mark Willcox

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases : official publication of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Tanzina AkterSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. t.akter@unsw.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2971-9364
Fiona StapletonSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7203-5443
Jake IrelandElectron Microscope Unit, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4697-595X
Mark WillcoxSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3842-7563

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThis study aimed to investigate differences in virulence factors between exoU and exoS lineages of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from microbial keratitis (MK).

methodInitially, the whole genome sequence (WGS) data of 20 exoU and 19 exoS P. aeruginosa keratitis isolates from India and Australia retrieved from NCBI genome database was assessed for the presence of different virulence genes using the Virulence Factors Database (VFDB). To confirm the VFDB results, a separate set of keratitis isolates consisting of 148 P. aeruginosa (36 from India and 112 from Australia) were screened by PCR for the presence of exoU, exoS, and the virulence genes found to be significantly different in the VFDB analysis. Flagellar length was measured by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and phospholipase D (PLD) activity was determined by Amplex Red Phospholipase D Assay Kit.

resultsFrom 327 virulence-associated genes, the VFDB analysis identified significant differences in four virulence factor genes pilA, pldA, algP, and flaG between the exoU and exoS groups (all p < 0.05).When combining PCR and VFDB data from 187 keratitis isolates, pldA (83.6% vs. 31.8%, p < 0.01) and flaG (80% vs. 55.3%, p < 0.01) showed significantly higher prevalence in the exoU than the exoS. Similar trends were observed among Australian isolates while within the Indian isolates, only pldA (77.3% vs. 35.3%, p < 0.01) differed significantly. No association was found between flagellar length and flaG, but PLD activity correlated with the presence of the pldA.

conclusionThe pldA and flaG genes might be relevant virulence factors for the exoU group, potentially associated with the severity of MK.

Indexed as

ADP Ribose TransferasesBacterial ProteinsBacterial ToxinsKeratitisPseudomonas aeruginosaPseudomonas InfectionsVirulence FactorsAustraliaFlagellaHumansIndiaPhospholipase DVirulenceWhole Genome SequencingADP Ribose TransferasesBacterial ProteinsBacterial Toxinsexoenzyme SPhospholipase Dpseudomonas exoprotein A protein, Pseudomonas aeruginosaVirulence FactorsExoSExoUFlaGMicrobial keratitisPldAPseudomonas aeruginosaVirulence factors

Identifiers

PMID41212467
PMCPMC12988974

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.