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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Advances in the Research on Leptospira and Leptospirosis
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Advances in the Research on Leptospira and Leptospirosis

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Public Health Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2025 | Viewed by 4759

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Eliete Caló Romero

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Bacteriología, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Sao Paulo 01246-902, SP, Brazil
Interests: leptospirosis; Leptospira
Dr. Antônio José Magaldi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Clinical Hospital, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Interests: leptospirosis; Leptospira

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Leptospirosis is a neglected and re-emerging disease with high morbidity and mortality in humans and animals and is one of the most widespread zoonotic diseases worldwide. Human infections occur through direct contact with the urine of infected animals, such as rodents, livestock, and domesticated pets, and exposure through water or soil. Increasing temperature and extreme weather events, due to global climate change, can prolong the survival of leptospires in the environment, expanding the geographical distribution of these bacteria. Clinical illness in humans can range from a mild, self-limiting acute febrile illness to a severe, life-threatening condition with multiple organ dysfunction. No effective human vaccine is currently available. The pathogenesis of severe leptospirosis is poorly understood, and studies should focus on identifying potential biomarkers for diagnostic and therapeutic targets and prognostic applications. This Special Issue solicits manuscripts on One Health approach, perspectives, challenges, pathology, clinical cases, vaccine development, genomics, and recent advances in the diagnostics of leptospirosis. We welcome both original research articles and comprehensive review papers.

Dr. Eliete Caló Romero
Dr. Antônio José Magaldi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • leptospirosis
  • zoonoses
  • environmental exposure
  • epidemiology
  • pathogenesis
  • clinical cases
  • diagnosis
  • genomics
  • serology
  • vaccine
  • One Health

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2096 KiB  
Article
The Toxin of VapBC-1 Toxin-Antitoxin Module from Leptospira interrogans Is a Ribonuclease That Does Not Arrest Bacterial Growth but Affects Cell Viability
by Deborah K. Damiano, Bruna O. P. Azevedo, George S. C. Fernandes, Aline F. Teixeira, Viviane M. Gonçalves, Ana L. T. O. Nascimento and Alexandre P. Y. Lopes
Microorganisms 2024, 12(8), 1660; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12081660 - 13 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1428
Abstract
Bacterial ubiquitous Toxin-Antitoxin (TA) systems are considered to be important survival mechanisms during stress conditions. In regular environmental conditions, the antitoxin blocks the toxin, whereas during imbalanced conditions, the antitoxin concentration decreases, exposing the bacteria cell to a range of toxic events. The [...] Read more.
Bacterial ubiquitous Toxin-Antitoxin (TA) systems are considered to be important survival mechanisms during stress conditions. In regular environmental conditions, the antitoxin blocks the toxin, whereas during imbalanced conditions, the antitoxin concentration decreases, exposing the bacteria cell to a range of toxic events. The most evident consequence of this disequilibrium is cell growth arrest, which is the reason why TAs are generally described as active in the function of bacterial growth kinetics. Virulence-associated proteins B and C (VapBC) are a family of type II TA system, in which VapC is predicted to display the toxic ribonuclease activity while VapB counteracts this activity. Previously, using in silico data, we designated four VapBC TA modules in Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni, the main etiological agent of human leptospirosis in Brazil. The present study aimed to obtain the proteins and functionally characterize the VapBC-1 module. The expression of the toxin gene vapC in E. coli did not decrease the cell growth rate in broth culture, as was expected to happen within active TA modules. However, interestingly, when the expression of the toxin was compared to that of the complexed toxin and antitoxin, cell viability was strongly affected, with a decrease of three orders of magnitude in colony forming unity (CFU). The assumption of the affinity between the toxin and the antitoxin was confirmed in vivo through the observation of their co-purification from cultivation of E. coli co-expressing vapB-vapC genes. RNAse activity assays showed that VapC-1 cleaves MS2 RNA and ribosomal RNA from L. interrogans. Our results indicate that the VapBC-1 module is a potentially functional TA system acting on targets that involve specific functions. It is very important to emphasize that the common attribution of the functionality of TA modules cannot be defined based merely on their ability to inhibit bacterial growth in a liquid medium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Research on Leptospira and Leptospirosis)
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11 pages, 4786 KiB  
Communication
Exploring Leptospira interrogans FDAARGOS_203: Insights into AMR and Anti-Phage Defense
by Pavlo Petakh, Valentyn Oksenych and Oleksandr Kamyshnyi
Microorganisms 2024, 12(3), 546; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12030546 - 8 Mar 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2168
Abstract
Leptospira, which are known to be important disease-causing agents transmitted between animals and humans, result in significant illness and, in some cases, significant death in human populations. This purpose of this study was to examine the genomic structure of Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni [...] Read more.
Leptospira, which are known to be important disease-causing agents transmitted between animals and humans, result in significant illness and, in some cases, significant death in human populations. This purpose of this study was to examine the genomic structure of Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni strain FDAARGOS_203 to identify the specific genetic factors that contribute to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and defense against phages. The genome, consisting of two contigs totaling 4,630,574 base pairs, underwent thorough examination for protein-coding sequences, transfer RNA genes, and ribosomal RNA genes. A total of twenty-two antibiotic resistance genes that specifically target essential cellular processes such as cell wall synthesis, DNA replication, and protein synthesis have been identified. Significant among these were gidB, gdpD, and ggsA, each involved in separate aspects of antibiotic resistance. In addition, the investigation explored the defense mechanisms of bacteriophages, revealing the presence of defense islands that contain a range of anti-phage systems, including RM_Type_IV, PrrC, Borvo, CAS_Class1-Subtype-IC, and CAS_Class1-Subtype-IB. This comprehensive genomic analysis enhances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that determine Leptospira’s ability to adapt to various environments. The identified genetic factors linked to AMR and defense against phages not only enhance our scientific comprehension, but also provide a basis for focused interventions to reduce the impact of leptospirosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Research on Leptospira and Leptospirosis)
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