Engineering bright and genetically stable fluorescent Streptococcus suis strains for functional in vitro and in vivo applications
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Date
2026-03-05
Authors
Saralegui Remón, LuisGarcía López, Carla
Jurado Romero, Paula
Bosch Díaz, Camila
Van Setten, Marga
Wessel, Vloet
Bermúdez, Rocío
Marín Alcalá, Clara María
Arenas, Jesús
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier B.V.
Typology
artículo originalAbstract
Streptococcus suis is a major cause of streptococcal infections in pigs and an emerging zoonotic pathogen, resulting in substantial economic losses in the swine production industry. The limited efficacy of current vaccine strategies and the rise in antimicrobial resistance have intensified efforts to investigate the biology and pathogenesis of the microorganism as a basis for developing alternative control strategies. In this work, we engineered a genetically stable S. suis strain producing a superfolder green fluorescent protein that may serve to study this pathogen in a variety of in vitro and in vivo assays. Multiple S. suis strains from different genetic backgrounds were successfully transformed, exhibiting strong and stable fluorescence without compromising bacterial growth. Fluorescence intensity remained consistent over 15 serial passages in culture without the need for antibiotic selection, supporting its suitability for long-term experiments. The fluorescent strains were nicely distinguishable by fluorescence microscopy and enabled the detailed study of various biological aspects, including biofilm formation, interactions with eukaryotic cells, and differential growth. In murine infection models, the engineered strains caused streptococcal disease, unlike unencapsulated mutant derivatives, and were detected in internal organs via fluorescence microscopy. Altogether, this work provides a valuable tool for advancing research into S. suis.
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Bibliographic citation
Saralegui, L., García, C., Jurado, P., Bosch, C., van Setten, M., Wessel, V., Bermúdez, R., Marín, C., & Arenas, J. (2026). Engineering bright and genetically stable fluorescent Streptococcus suis strains for functional in vitro and in vivo applications. Veterinary Microbiology, 316, 110964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2026.110964
AGROVOC subjects
Streptococcus suisCerdo
Organismo patógeno
Biofilm (microbiología)
Infección
Enfermedad bacteriana
Sponsorship
This work was supported by the Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Española de Investigación MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and, as appropriate, by ERDF A way of making Europe by the European Union or by the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR (Grant agreement PID2023–146823OB-I00), and fSs (Grant agreement 1600001704) funded by WBVR to Jesús Arenas. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.