Linking point mutations to enhanced virulence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Posted on June 27, 2023   by Sinisa Vidovic

Sinisa Vidovic us behind the scenes of their latest publication 'Comparative genomics uncovered differences between clinical and environmental populations of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in New Zealand' published in Microbial Genomics.

Sinisa Vidovic is a senior scientist at the Plant & Food Research Institute located in Auckland, New Zealand. His research focuses on the processes of microbial adaptations and the emergence of biologically more fit lineages either in the form of multidrug-resistant or highly virulent strains. His recently published paper reveals non-synonymous mutations in thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) that are uniquely associated with the pandemic and outbreak strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus. This study suggests the existence of a more virulent allele of TDH toxin and therefore an enhanced virulence of the pandemic ST36 and outbreak ST50 strains of V. parahaemolyticus. The main finding of this study is an important step forward in understanding the overall virulence capacity of V. parahaemolyticus strains capable to cause large outbreaks worldwide. He anticipates investigating a connection between these unique genomic features of the pandemic/outbreak strains and their enhanced virulence. In other words, he aims to experimentally correlate the unique genomic features with the enhanced virulence phenotype of these pandemic/outbreak strains of V. parahaemolyticus.

The overall goal of this research programme is to gain an understanding of the mechanisms used by highly virulent strains of V. parahaemolyticus to outcompete their counterparts and cause outbreaks worldwide. The findings from these studies may lead to the implementation of mitigation measures designed to reduce the frequencies and severity of vibriosis outbreaks caused by the pandemic strains of V. parahaemolyticus.