AUTHOR=Liu Ming , Yan Meiying , Liu Lizhang , Chen Sheng 

TITLE=Characterization of a novel zinc transporter ZnuA acquired by Vibrio parahaemolyticus through horizontal gene transfer

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=3

YEAR=2013

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2013.00061

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2013.00061

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</italic> is a clinically important foodborne pathogen that causes acute gastroenteritis worldwide. It has been shown that horizontal gene transfer (HGT) contributes significantly to virulence development of <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic>. In this study, we identified a novel <italic>znuA</italic> homolog (<italic>vpa1307</italic>) that belongs to a novel subfamily of ZnuA, a bacterial zinc transporter. The <italic>vpa1307</italic> gene is located upstream of the <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> pathogenicity island (Vp-PAIs) in both <italic>tdh</italic>-positive and <italic>trh</italic>-positive <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> strains. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the exogenous origin of <italic>vpa1307</italic> with 40% of <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> clinical isolates possessing this gene. The expression of <italic>vpa1307</italic> gene in <italic>V. parahaemolyticus</italic> clinical strain VP3218 is induced under zinc limitation condition. Gene deletion and complementation assays confirmed that <italic>vpa1307</italic> contributes to the growth of VP3218 under zinc depletion condition and that conserved histidine residues of Vpa1307 contribute to its activity. Importantly, <italic>vpa1307</italic> contributes to the cytotoxicity of VP3218 in HeLa cells and a certain degree of virulence in murine model. These results suggest that the horizontally acquired <italic>znuA</italic> subfamily gene, <italic>vpa1307</italic>, contributes to the fitness and virulence of <italic>Vibrio</italic> species.</p>