Role of Dual Flagella in the Pathogenesis of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Abstract

Vibrio parahaemolyticus possesses two flagella systems: polar and lateral flagella for swimming in liquid and swarming on solid surfaces or in viscous environments. To elucidate the pathogenic role of these dual flagella systems, we constructed single-and double-deletion mutants of the lafA and flhAB flagellum genes and investigated their biofilm formation, cell adhesion, and colonization of the small intestine of suckling mice. The double-mutant strain was more impaired in biofilm formation than either of the single-mutant strains. In addition, the lafA, flhAB, and double-mutant strains showed 40%, 45%, and 60%, respectively, lower adherence to HeLa cells than the wild-type strain. Moreover, the lafA, flhAB, and double-mutant strains exhibited 49%, 5.6 and 6.7 times, respectively, lower colonization in a competition assay than the wild-type strain. These findings indicated that polar flagella were more important than lateral flagella for the pathogenesis of V. parahaemolyticus.

Draft genome sequence of non-shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157 NCCP15738

“…3 , Additional file 3 : Table S3). Lateral flagella have no effect on pathogenicity, but the polar flagellum is important in the pathogenesis of V. parahaemolyticus [ 36 ]. Therefore, we can suppose that the polar flagellum of NCCP15738 is the major machinery for swarming and has a pathogenic effect.…”