Publication:
Sporulation is dispensable for the vegetable-associated life cycle of the human pathogen Bacillus cereus

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Date

2021-05-06

Authors

Antequera-Gómez, María Luisa
Díaz-Martínez, Luis
Guadix, Juan Antonio
Sánchez-Tévar, Ana María
Sopeña-Torres, Sara
Hierrezuelo, Jesús
Doan, Hung K.
Leveau, Johan H. J.
deVicente, Antonio
Romero, Diego

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John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology
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Abstract

Bacillus cereus is a common food-borne pathogen that is responsible for important outbreaks of food poisoning in humans. Diseases caused by B. cereus usually exhibit two major symptoms, emetic or diarrheic, depending on the toxins produced. It is assumed that after the ingestion of contaminated vegetables or processed food, spores of enterotoxigenic B. cereus reach the intestine, where they germinate and produce the enterotoxins that are responsible for food poisoning. In our study, we observed that sporulation is required for the survival of B. cereus in leaves but is dispensable in ready-to-eat vegetables, such as endives. We demonstrate that vegetative cells of B. cereus that are originally impaired in sporulation but not biofilm formation are able to reach the intestine and cause severe disorders in a murine model. Furthermore, our findings emphasise that the number of food poisoning cases associated with B. cereus is underestimated and suggest the need to revise the detection protocols, which are based primarily on spores and toxins.

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Medical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals
Medical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Biological Factors::Toxins, Biological::Enterotoxins
Medical Subject Headings::Disciplines and Occupations::Natural Science Disciplines::Biological Science Disciplines::Biology::Microbiology::Environmental Microbiology::Food Microbiology
Medical Subject Headings::Phenomena and Processes::Physiological Phenomena::Physiological Processes::Growth and Development::Morphogenesis::Metamorphosis, Biological::Life Cycle Stages
Medical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Rodentia::Muridae::Murinae::Mice
Medical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Plants::Plants, Edible::Vegetables
Medical Subject Headings::Organisms::Bacteria::Endospore-Forming Bacteria::Gram-Positive Endospore-Forming Bacteria::Gram-Positive Endospore-Forming Rods::Bacillaceae::Bacillus::Bacillus cereus
Medical Subject Headings::Diseases::Chemically-Induced Disorders::Poisoning::Foodborne Diseases
Medical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Primates::Haplorhini::Catarrhini::Hominidae::Humans
Medical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Chemical Actions and Uses::Pharmacologic Actions::Physiological Effects of Drugs::Emetics
Medical Subject Headings::Diseases::Animal Diseases::Disease Models, Animal
Medical Subject Headings::Health Care::Environment and Public Health::Public Health::Disease Outbreaks
Medical Subject Headings::Anatomy::Digestive System::Gastrointestinal Tract::Intestines
Medical Subject Headings::Anatomy::Plant Structures::Plant Components, Aerial::Plant Leaves
Medical Subject Headings::Organisms::Organism Forms::Spores

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Keywords

Bacillus cereus, Emetics, Enterotoxins, Spores, Food poisoning, Eméticos, Enterotoxinas, Esporas, Enfermedades transmitidas por los alimentos

Citation

Antequera-Gómez ML, Díaz-Martínez L, Guadix JA, Sánchez-Tévar AM, Sopeña-Torres S, Hierrezuelo J, et al. Sporulation is dispensable for the vegetable-associated life cycle of the human pathogen Bacillus cereus. Microb Biotechnol. 2021 Jul;14(4):1550-1565