Grossar, Daniela and Kilchenmann, Verena and Forsgren, Eva and Charrière, Jean-Daniel and Gauthier, Laurent and Chapuisat, Michel and Dietemann, Vincent
(2020).
Putative determinants of virulence in Melissococcus plutonius, the bacterial agent causing European foulbrood in honeybees.
Virulence. 11
, 554-567
[Journal article]
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Abstract
Melissococcus plutonius is a bacterial pathogen that causes epidemic outbreaks of European foulbrood (EFB) in honey bee populations. The pathogenicity of a bacterium depends on its virulence, and understanding the mechanisms influencing virulence may allow for improved disease control and containment. Using a standardized in vitro assay, we demonstrate that virulence varies greatly among sixteen M. plutonius isolates from five European countries. Additionally, we explore the causes of this variation. In this study, virulence was independent of the multilocus sequence type of the tested pathogen, and was not affected by experimental coinfection with Paenibacillus alvei, a bacterium often associated with EFB outbreaks. Virulence in vitro was correlated with the growth dynamics of M. plutonius isolates in artificial medium, and with the presence of a plasmid carrying a gene coding for the putative toxin melissotoxin A. Our results suggest that some M. plutonius strains showed an increased virulence due to the acquisition of a toxin-carrying mobile genetic element. We discuss whether strains with increased virulence play a role in recent EFB outbreaks.
Authors/Creators: | Grossar, Daniela and Kilchenmann, Verena and Forsgren, Eva and Charrière, Jean-Daniel and Gauthier, Laurent and Chapuisat, Michel and Dietemann, Vincent | ||||
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Title: | Putative determinants of virulence in Melissococcus plutonius, the bacterial agent causing European foulbrood in honeybees | ||||
Year of publishing : | 2020 | ||||
Volume: | 11 | ||||
Page range: | 554-567 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 14 | ||||
ISSN: | 2150-5594 | ||||
Language: | English | ||||
Publication Type: | Journal article | ||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||
Version: | Published version | ||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 | ||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 3 Medical and Health Sciences > 301 Basic Medicine > Microbiology in the medical area | ||||
Keywords: | European foulbrood, EFB, Melissococcus plutonius, virulence, melissotoxin A, honey bee, Apis mellifera | ||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-108975 | ||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-108975 | ||||
Additional ID: |
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ID Code: | 19133 | ||||
Faculty: | NJ - Fakulteten för naturresurser och jordbruksvetenskap | ||||
Department: | (NL, NJ) > Dept. of Ecology (S) > Dept. of Ecology | ||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||
Deposited On: | 09 Dec 2020 07:43 | ||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 15 Jan 2021 19:21 |
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