Identification of some main Streptococcus iniae associated proteins: relationship

The surface-associated proteins play a key role in bacterial physiology and pathogenesis, and are the major targets in the development of new vaccines. These proteins contribute to the adaptation of bacteria to different hosts and environments. To study differences at the genomic level, we first sequenced the whole genome of Streptococcus iniae from fish (IUSA-1 strain) and compared it to Streptococcus iniae from human (9117 strain), revealing a high similitude between both strains. To gain further insights into host- and environment-specific differences, we then studied proteins in silico and by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. This approach successfully identified 54 secreted and surface proteins, including several proteins involved in cell wall synthesis and transport of solutes, as well as proteins with yet unknown function. These proteins highlight as interesting targets for further investigation in the interaction between Streptococcus iniae and its environment. Results reported in this study have shown a first analysis about the predicted and experimental associated proteins of Streptococcus iniae isolated from two different hosts: human and fish.