Abstract

Despite the use of several Weissella (W.) strains for biotechnological and probioticpurposes, certain species of this genus were found to act as opportunistic pathogens,while strains of W. ceti were recognized to be pathogenic for farmed rainbow trout.Herein, we investigated the pathogenic potential of weissellas based on in silico analysesof the 13 whole genome sequences available to date in the NCBI database. Ourscreening allowed us to find several virulence determinants such as collagen adhesins,aggregation substances, mucus-binding proteins, and hemolysins in some species.Moreover, we detected several antibiotic resistance-encoding genes, whose presencecould increase the potential pathogenicity of some strains, but should not be regardedas an excluding trait for beneficial weissellas, as long as these genes are not present onmobile genetic elements. Thus, selection of weissellas intended to be used as startersor for biotechnological or probiotic purposes should be investigated regarding theirsafety aspects on a strain to strain basis, preferably also by genome sequencing, sincenucleotide sequence heterogeneity in virulence and antibiotic resistance genes makesPCR-based screening unreliable for safety assessments. In this sense, the applicationof W. confusa and W. cibaria strains as starter cultures or as probiotics should beapproached with caution, by carefully selecting strains that lack pathogenic potential.

Autore Pugliese

• Fusco Vincenzina

Tutti gli autori

• Abriouel H.; Lerma L.L.; del Carmen Casado M.; Montoro B.P.; Kabish J.; Pichner R.; Cho G.-S.; Neve H.; Fusco V.; Franz C.M.A.P.; Galvez A.; Benomar N.

Titolo volume/Rivista

Frontiers in microbiology

Anno di pubblicazione

2015

ISSN

1664-302X

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

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Numero di citazioni Scopus

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Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

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Settori ERC

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Codici ASJC

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