AUTHOR=Guo Lili , Dai Huilin , Feng Saixiang , Zhao Yongda 

TITLE=Contribution of GalU to biofilm formation, motility, antibiotic and serum resistance, and pathogenicity of Salmonella Typhimurium

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1149541

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2023.1149541

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p><italic>Salmonella</italic> Typhimurium is the leading cause of foodborne illnesses in China, resulting in major epidemics and economic losses in recent years. Uridine diphosphate–glucose pyrophosphorylase <italic>galU</italic> plays an important role in thebiosynthesis of the bacterial envelope. Herein, we evaluated the role of <italic>galU</italic> in <italic>S</italic>. Typhimurium infection in chicken. </p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A <italic>galU</italic> gene mutant was successfully constructed by red homologous recombination technology, and biological characteristics were studied.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The <italic>galU</italic> mutant strain had a rough phenotype;was defective in biofilm formation, autoagglutination, and motility; exhibited greater sensitivity to most antibiotics, serum, and egg albumen; and had lowercapacity for adhesion to chicken embryo fibroblasts cell line (DF-1). The <italic>galU</italic> mutant showed dramatically attenuated pathogenicity in chicken embryos (100,000-fold), BALB/c mice (420-fold), and chicks (100-fold).</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>The results imply that <italic>galU</italic> is an important virulence factor in the pathogenicity of <italic>S.</italic> Typhimurium, and it may serve a target for the development of veterinary drugs, providing a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of <italic>S.</italic> Typhimurium.</p></sec>