Transcriptome analysis of heat resistance regulated by quorum sensing system in Glaesserella parasuis

Establishment and validation of a simple and accurate qPCR detection method for Haemophilus parasuis

As an infectious disease that poses a significant threat to the rapidly growing pig breeding industry, the detection of Haemophilus parasuis (HPS) is often compromised by various interfering substances present in the test sample during quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The rapid detection of HPS is important for the isolation of infectious pigs and their treatment. We designed and optimized a rapid qPCR test to detect the INFB gene of HPS in clinical and environmental samples on pig farms. The method was evaluated for its specificity, sensitivity, repeatability, anti-interference capability, and its ability to detect HPS in clinical samples. The results indicated that the method was specific for the detection of HPS when evaluated against pathogens and intestinal probiotics found in pig farms. By using a seven-fold dilution series of the recombinant plasmid DNA in triplicate, it was determined that the lowest limit of detection (LOD) for this method was less than 10 copies/µL. The results of inter-batch and intra-batch repeatability tests showed that the coefficient of variation (CV) was consistently below 1%. Furthermore, the impact of 14 endogenous and exogenous interfering substances on the Ct values detected by the HPS qPCR was found to be less than 5% when compared to the Ct values obtained in the absence of interfering substances. A total of 248 clinical samples were analyzed using the HPS qPCR, commercial kits, and corresponding national standards, yielding positive rates of 9.27%, 6.05%, and 9.27%, respectively. Notably, the positive and negative percent agreement between the detection method developed in this research and the national standard was 100%. These findings demonstrate that the established detection method is suitable for epidemiological research on HPS and for diagnosing clinical samples containing interfering substances, thereby providing essential technical support for the prevention and control of HPS.

Transcriptome Reveals Regulation of Quorum Sensing of Hafnia alvei H4 on the Coculture System of Hafnia alvei H4 and Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC13525

In the food industry, foodborne spoilage bacteria often live in mixed species and attach to each other, leading to changes in spoilage characteristics. Quorum sensing (QS) has been reported to be a regulating mechanism for food spoiling by certain kinds of bacteria. Here, the contents of biofilm, extracellular polysaccharides, and biogenic amines in the coculture system of Hafnia alvei H4 and Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC13525 were significantly reduced when the QS element of H. alvei H4 was deleted, confirming that QS of H. alvei H4 is involved in the dual-species interactions. Then, transcriptomics was used to explore the regulatory mechanism at the mRNA molecular level. The deletion of the QS element decreased the transcript levels of genes related to chemotaxis, flagellar assembly, and the two-component system pathway of H. alvei H4 in the coculture system. Furthermore, a total of 732 DEGs of P. fluorescens ATCC13525 were regulated in the dual species, which were primarily concerned with biofilm formation, ATP-binding cassette transporters, and amino acid metabolism. Taken together, the absence of the QS element of H. alvei H4 weakened the mutual cooperation of the two bacteria in the coculture system, making it a good target for managing infection with H. alvei and P. fluorescens.