Strategies of Vibrio parahaemolyticus to acquire nutritional iron during host colonization.

Jorge Velázquez-Román,Héctor M Flores-Villaseñor,Uriel A Angulo-Zamudio,Nidia León-Sicairos,Mireya De La Garza,Adrian Canizalez-Román

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2015.00702

Abstract

Iron is an essential element for the growth and development of virtually all living organisms. As iron acquisition is critical for the pathogenesis, a host defense strategy during infection is to sequester iron to restrict the growth of invading pathogens. To counteract this strategy, bacteria such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus have adapted to such an environment by developing mechanisms to obtain iron from human hosts. This review focuses on the multiple strategies employed by V. parahaemolyticus to obtain nutritional iron from host sources. In these strategies are included the use of siderophores and xenosiderophores, proteases and iron-protein receptor. The host sources used by V. parahaemolyticus are the iron-containing proteins transferrin, hemoglobin, and hemin. The implications of iron acquisition systems in the virulence of V. parahaemolyticus are also discussed.

Highlights

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a halophilic Gram-negative bacterium that naturally inhabits marine and estuarine environments (Gavilan et al, 2013)
As one of the most fundamental aspects of infectious diseases is the microbial acquisition of nutrients in vivo, which positively impacts in virulence as well as antibiotic resistance (Santic and Abu Kwaik, 2013), we suggest that the process of iron acquisition systems used by pathogenic microorganisms may be considered in the concept of ‘nutritional virulence.’
Microbes that live in hostile environments and extracellular spaces of their host must employ different strategies for Fe acquisition to be successful in these niches

Summary

Introduction

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a halophilic Gram-negative bacterium that naturally inhabits marine and estuarine environments (Gavilan et al, 2013). V. parahaemolyticus can survive in a wide variety of niches in a free-swimming state, and its motility is conferred by a single polar flagellum. This bacterium can be found in a sessile state, attached to inert or animate surfaces, such as suspended particulates, zooplankton, fish, and shell-fish (McCarter, 1999). V. parahaemolyticus reproduces via binary fission without a systematic exchange of genes with other individuals of the same species, leading to essentially clonal reproduction (Garcia et al, 2013); only some of these clones cause diarrhea in humans. Strains of V. parahaemolyticus belong to different serogroups and can produce a number of different lipopolysaccharide (O) and capsular (K) antigens, constituting the primary basis for strain classification (Nair et al, 2007; Garcia et al, 2013)

Nutritional iron and virulence in Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Role of Iron in the Virulence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Iron acquisition Systems Used by Pathogenic Microorganisms

Reference for Reference for source Accession source number

Ferric iron transporter Periplasmic ferric iron binding protein

Conclusion

Reference luxP luxQ cqsA

Findings

Protein identity