Investigators from Southwest University Zero in on Attenuated Vaccines (Aeromonas Veronii Tolc Modulates Its Virulence and the Immune Response of Freshwater Pearl Mussels, Hyriopsis Cumingii).

A new report from researchers at Southwest University in Chongqing, China explores the virulence factors of the opportunistic pathogen Aeromonas veronii, which causes diseases in aquatic animals. The researchers focused on the gene tolC, which showed significantly different expression levels in two isolates of A. veronii with varying virulence. They constructed a mutant strain of A. veronii with a disrupted tolC gene and found that it exhibited reduced biofilm formation and inhibited response to certain antibiotics. Challenge tests showed that the mutant strain had a significantly higher LD50 than the wild-type strain, indicating reduced virulence. The researchers concluded that tolC is an important virulence factor and their findings provide references for the development of live-attenuated vaccines. [Extracted from the article]