Fur-mediated regulation of hydrogen sulfide synthesis, stress response, and virulence in Edwardsiella piscicida

Riyu Zhang; Yifan Bu; Yuanxing Zhang; Sang Ho Choi; Qiyao Wang; Yue Ma; Shuai Shao

doi:10.1016/j.micres.2024.127735

Fur-mediated regulation of hydrogen sulfide synthesis, stress response, and virulence in Edwardsiella piscicida

Microbiol Res. 2024 Apr 25:284:127735. doi: 10.1016/j.micres.2024.127735. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Riyu Zhang¹, Yifan Bu¹, Yuanxing Zhang², Sang Ho Choi³, Qiyao Wang⁴, Yue Ma⁵, Shuai Shao⁶

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
² Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519000, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Maricultured Animal Vaccines, Shanghai, China.
³ National Research Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Toxicology, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Diseases of MOA, Shanghai 200237, China; Shanghai Haosi Marine Biotechnology Co., Ltd, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Maricultured Animal Vaccines, Shanghai, China; Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Diseases of MOA, Shanghai 200237, China. Electronic address: mymarine@ecust.edu.cn.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Maricultured Animal Vaccines, Shanghai, China; Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Diseases of MOA, Shanghai 200237, China. Electronic address: shaoscott@ecust.edu.cn.

PMID: 38678681
DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2024.127735

Abstract

The production of endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is an important phenotype of bacteria. H₂S plays an important role in bacterial resistance to ROS and antibiotics, which significantly contributes to bacterial pathogenicity. Edwardsiella piscicida, the Gram-negative pathogen causing fish edwardsiellosis, has been documented to produce hydrogen sulfide. In the study, we revealed that Ferric uptake regulator (Fur) controlled H₂S synthesis by activating the expression of phsABC operon. Besides, Fur participated in the bacterial defense against ROS and cationic antimicrobial peptides and modulated T3SS expression. Furthermore, the disruption of fur exhibited a significant in vivo colonization defect. Collectively, our study demonstrated the regulation of Fur in H₂S synthesis, stress response, and virulence, providing a new perspective for better understanding the pathogenesis of Edwardsiella.

Keywords: Edwardsiella piscicida; Hydrogen sulfide; fur; in vivo colonization.