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Ahmed, S.;  Singh, S.;  Singh, V.;  Roberts, K.D.;  Zaidi, A.;  Rodriguez-Palacios, A. The Weissella Genus: Clinically Treatable Bacteria. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/39104 (accessed on 06 September 2024).
Ahmed S,  Singh S,  Singh V,  Roberts KD,  Zaidi A,  Rodriguez-Palacios A. The Weissella Genus: Clinically Treatable Bacteria. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/39104. Accessed September 06, 2024.
Ahmed, Sadia, Sargun Singh, Vaidhvi Singh, Kyle D. Roberts, Arsalan Zaidi, Alexander Rodriguez-Palacios. "The Weissella Genus: Clinically Treatable Bacteria" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/39104 (accessed September 06, 2024).
Ahmed, S.,  Singh, S.,  Singh, V.,  Roberts, K.D.,  Zaidi, A., & Rodriguez-Palacios, A. (2022, December 22). The Weissella Genus: Clinically Treatable Bacteria. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/39104
Ahmed, Sadia, et al. "The Weissella Genus: Clinically Treatable Bacteria." Encyclopedia. Web. 22 December, 2022.
The Weissella Genus: Clinically Treatable Bacteria
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This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/microorganisms10122427

Weissella is a genus earlier considered a member of the family Leuconostocaceae, which was reclassified into the family Lactobacillaceae in 1993. There have been studies emphasizing the probiotic and anti-inflammatory potential of various species of Weissella, of which W. confusa and W. cibaria are the most representative. Other species within this genus include: W. paramesenteroides, W. viridescens, W. halotolerans, W. minor, W. kandleri, W. soli, W. ghanensis, W. hellenica, W. thailandensis, W. fabalis, W. cryptocerci, W. koreensis, W. beninensis, W. fabaria, W. oryzae, W. ceti, W. uvarum, W. bombi, W. sagaensis, W. kimchi, W. muntiaci, W. jogaejeotgali, W. coleopterorum, W. hanii, W. salipiscis, and W. diestrammenae.

antimicrobial anti-inflammatory anticancer

1. Introduction

The Weissella genus has begun to take center stage in the past few years owing to its probiotic potential and its many prospective applications, ranging from the healthcare industry to the skin care and food industries. Due to its ability to thrive in stomach acid and bile, adherence to intestinal cells, and its antimicrobial potential against other pathogenic microorganisms including but not limited to Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella typhi, and Salmonella enterica, most Weissella species meet the pre-requisites needed to be classified as a probiotic. The only limitation to its widespread use is the lack of a significant volume of research at the moment and a handful of reported cases of pathogenicity. However, a bulk of these cases are a result of some preexisting disposition or comorbidity associated with the host. Despite such pathogenic potential, researchers set to investigate to what extent this genus is clinically treatable with common antimicrobials in the event of its identification in human infections. Herein, researchers primarily describe the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory potential of Weissella and summarize the commonly used antibiotics in clinical settings where humans were diagnosed and treated/cured of Weissella infections.
The Weissella genus was first considered a member of the family Leuconostocaceae due to their significant shared similarities [1] but later on differentiated into a distinguished genus, which was named ‘Weissella’ after the German microbiologist Norbert Weiss [2]. It was reclassified based on the phenotypic and genotypic analysis by Collins in 1993 [3]. The bacteria in this genus are non-spore-forming, generally non-motile, Gram-positive and catalase-negative [4] in nature that exist as either rods or ovoid-shaped cocci [5] belonging to the phylum Firmicutes and the family Lactobacillaceae. These bacteria are found to thrive in various ecological environments such as soil [6], plants, freshwater lakes [7], spontaneously fermented vegetables, and animal foods [8][9]. They can also be present as commensals on the skin surface and in the saliva and gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals as regular residents. The gastrointestinal tract is particularly thought to be a reservoir for colonization by Weissella [10].

2. Taxonomy and Sources of Isolation

According to the taxonomy database at The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI, txid46255), as of October 2022, Weissella consists of 22 species: Weissella bombi, Weissella ceti, Weissella cibaria, Weissella coleopterorum, Weissella confusa, Weissella diestrammenae, Weissella halotolerans, Weissella hanii, Weissella hellenica, Weissella jogaejeotgali, Weissella kandleri, Weissella koreensis, Weissella minor, Weissella muntiaci, Weissella oryzae, Weissella paramesenteroides, Weissella sagaensis, Weissella salipiscis, Weissella soli, Weissella thailandensis, Weissella uvarum, and Weissella viridescens. However, Teixeira et al. [11] (February 2021) reported that 25 species of Weissella have been validated, whereas Fanelli et al. [12] grouped 26 species of Weissella into 6 phylogenetic clusters. Outside of the NCBI database, six more species are found in the ‘List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature’ database (https://lpsn.dsmz.de/genus/weissella) accessed on 18 October 2022: Weissella beninensis, Weissella cryptocerci, Weissella fabalis, Weissella fabaria, Weissella ghanensis, and Weissella kimchi. Twenty-six of these species are validly published under the International Code of Nomenclature (ICNP), except for Weissella salipiscis. It is to be noted that when taking into consideration the NCBI and LPSN databases together, 28 species of Weissella have been reported (Table 1).
Of the known species of Weissella, two (W. confusa and W. cibaria) have been reported from human or animal clinical infections [13]. However, the metagenome analysis of human fecal samples obtained from IBD patients and controls in the laboratory revealed the presence of several Weissella species (Singh et al. unpublished data). All known species of Weissella and their varied sources of isolation include: meat (W. viridescens, W. halotolerans, W. minor), fermented animal and plant-based food items (W. confusa, W. jogaejeotgali, W. kimchi, W. hellenica, W. thailandensis, W. koreensis, W. ghanensis, W. sagaensis, W. beninensis, W. fabaria, W. fabalis, W. oryzae, W. hanii, and W. salipiscis), animal/insect sources (W. ceti, W. diestrammenae, W. cryptocerci, W. bombi, W. muntiaci, and W. coleopterorum), wine/wine grapes (W. paramesenteroides and W. uvarum), soil (W. soli and W. kandleri), and human samples (W. cibaria).
Table 1. Summary of sources of most common Weissella species.
S. No. Bacterial Name Source Ref.
1 W. viridescens Cured meat [14]
2 W. paramesenteroides Wine [15]
3 W. confusa Fermented Greek sausage [16]
4 W. kandleri Namib desert [17]
5 W. halotolerans Meat products [18]
6 W. minor Meat products [18]
7 W. hellenica Fermented Greek sausage [16]
8 W. thailandensis Fermented fish [19]
9 W. soli Soil [20]
10 W. cibaria Malaysian food and human samples [21]
11 W. koreensis Kimchi [22]
12 W.ghanensis Ghanaian cocoa fermentation [23]
13 W. beninensis Submerged cassava fermentations [24]
14 W. fabaria Ghanaian cocoa fermentation [25]
15 W. ceti Beaked whales [26]
16 W. fabalis Cocoa bean fermentations [27]
17 W. oryzae Fermented rice grains [28]
18 W. diestrammenae Gut of a camel cricket [29]
19 W. uvarum Wine grapes [30]
20 W. cryptocerci Gut of the insect [31]
21 W. bombi Bumble bee gut [32]
22 W. jogaejeotgali Korean fermented seafood [33]
23 W. kimchi Kimchi [34]
24 W. muntiaci Feces of Formosan barking deer [1]
25 W. sagaensis Traditional Chinese yogurt [35]
26 W. hanii kimchi [36]
27 W. salipiscis fermented fish [37]
28 W. coleopterorum Intestine of the diving beetle [38]
As published in the BV-BRC (Bacterial and Viral Bioinformatics Resource Center) database, as of 19 October 2022, the genome for the genus Weissella (Taxonomy Id: 46255) has been reported a total of 448 times, of which the genome for Weissella cibaria has been reported the most (n = 168), followed by Weissella confusa (n = 128) and Weissella paramesentroides (n = 44). The sources of isolation being: human (n = 95), insect (n = 20), avian (n = 9), nonhuman mammal (n = 21), plants, and fermented food sources. The genomes of five species have been reported as isolated from humans: Weissella cibaria, Weissella paramesenteroides, Weissella koreensis, and Weissella confusa. With respect to the genome size, Weissella has a smaller pool of genes compared to other fecal commensal bacteria belonging to the genera Parabacteroides, Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus. As investigated in the laboratory (Singh et al., unpublished), the genome size and the coding sequence (CDS) of the Weissella genus are much smaller than the other fecal bacteria.

3. Safety and Virulence Genes

The safety of W. confusa has always been a controversial subject due to reports of its isolation from human clinical samples. Although not formally assigned to a risk group by the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA), it has been allocated to Risk Group 1 microorganisms by the German Committee for Biological Agents. The American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) recommends using the strain ATCC 10881TM under biosafety level 1 [7], which makes it unlikely to cause disease in healthy individuals.
Some potential virulence determinants, such as hemolysin, collagen, and adhesin, have been discovered in some of the species of the genus Weissella through genome analysis [6], but their role and transferable potential across Weissella are still unknown. As in other lactic acid bacteria (LAB), hemolysin genes are universally present in the genus, but their role in pathogenicity remains unproven. The presence of some adhesins may be a desired characteristic in favor of the probiotic potential of Weissella. For example, a fibronectin-binding protein (FbpA) present in W. cibaria strains inhibits the biofilm formed by S. aureus, thus being protective against S. aureus infections. While there is some evidence to suggest the role of the gut-colonizing potential of FbpA in establishing infection in a host, one cannot ignore that the ability for gut-colonization is essential to the probiotic potential of Weissella, as demonstrated by Wang et al. [39]. Similarly, mucus-binding proteins play a crucial role in the adhesion of probiotic bacteria to the host gut [40].
It is important to establish the safety of bacteria designed for human consumption to ensure that the organisms are well tolerated and do not pose a health threat when properly administered. To evaluate the safety of these organisms, animal models are typically given higher doses than would be administered to a human. Lyophilized W. confusa orally administered to rats at a concentration of 92 × 108 CFU/kg body weight/day for 90 days did not show any evidence of mental or physical ailment when evaluated using a combination of behavioral tests as well as physical examination. Blood cell counts did not show a significant difference in erythrocyte, white blood cell, or lymphocyte concentrations in untreated versus treated rats when controlling for sex [41].

References

  1. Lin, S.-T.; Wang, L.-T.; Wu, Y.-C.; Guu, J.-R.J.; Tamura, T.; Mori, K.; Huang, L.; Watanabe, K. Weissella muntiaci sp. nov., isolated from faeces of Formosan barking deer (Muntiacus reevesi). Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2020, 70, 1578–1584.
  2. Fusco, V.; Quero, G.M.; Cho, G.S.; Kabisch, J.; Meske, D.; Neve, H.; Bockelmann, W.; Franz, C.M.A.P. The genus Weissella: Taxonomy, ecology and biotechnological potential. Front. Microbiol. 2015, 6, 155.
  3. Cheaito, R.A.; Awar, G.; Alkozah, M.; Cheaito, M.A.; El Majzoub, I. Meningitis due to Weissella Confusa. Am. J. Emerg. Med. 2020, 38, 1298.e1–1298.e3.
  4. Baugh, A.V.; Howarth, T.M.; West, K.L.; Kerr, L.E.J.; Love, J.; Parker, D.A.; Fedenko, J.R.; Tennant, R.K. Draft Genome Sequence of Weissella paramesenteroides STCH-BD1, Isolated from Ensiled Sorghum bicolor. Microbiol. Resour. Announc. 2021, 10, e01328-20.
  5. Björkroth, J.; Holzapfel, W. Genera Leuconostoc, Oenococcus and Weissella. Prokaryotes 2006, 4, 267–319.
  6. Rossi, F.; Amadoro, C.; Colavita, G. Members of the Lactobacillus Genus Complex (LGC) as Opportunistic Pathogens: A Review. Microorganisms 2019, 7, 126.
  7. Sturino, J.M. Literature-based safety assessment of an agriculture- and animal-associated microorganism: Weissella confusa. Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 2018, 95, 142–152.
  8. Öz, E.; Kaban, G.; Barış, O.; Kaya, M. Isolation and identification of lactic acid bacteria from pastırma. Food Control 2017, 77, 158–162.
  9. Kang, B.K.; Cho, M.S.; Park, D.S. Red pepper powder is a crucial factor that influences the ontogeny of Weissella cibaria during kimchi fermentation. Sci. Rep. 2016, 6, 28232.
  10. Spiegelhauer, M.R.; Yusibova, M.; Rasmussen, I.K.B.; Fuglsang, K.A.; Thomsen, K.; Andersen, L.P. A case report of polymicrobial bacteremia with Weissella confusa and comparison of previous treatment for successful recovery with a review of the literature. Access Microbiol. 2020, 2, e000119.
  11. Teixeira, C.G.; Fusieger, A.; Milião, G.L.; Martins, E.; Drider, D.; Nero, L.A.; de Carvalho, A.F. Weissella: An Emerging Bacterium with Promising Health Benefits. Probiotics Antimicrob. Proteins 2021, 13, 915–925.
  12. Fanelli, F.; Montemurro, M.; Chieffi, D.; Cho, G.-S.; Franz, C.M.A.P.; Dell’Aquila, A.; Rizzello, C.G.; Fusco, V. Novel Insights Into the Phylogeny and Biotechnological Potential of Weissella Species. Front. Microbiol. 2022, 13, 914036.
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  14. Niven, C., Jr.; Evans, J.B. Lactobacillus viridescens nov. spec., a heterofermentative species that produces a green discoloration of cured meat pigments. J. Bacteriol. 1957, 73, 758–759.
  15. Garvie, E.I. The Growth Factor and Amino Acid Requirements of Species of the Genus Leuconostoc, including Leuconostoc paramesenteroides (sp. nov.) and Leuconostoc oenos. J. Gen. Microbiol. 1967, 48, 439–447.
  16. Collins, M.; Samelis, J.; Metaxopoulos, J.; Wallbanks, S. Taxonomic studies on some Leuconostoc-like organisms from fermented sausages: Description of a new genus Weissella for the Leuconostoc paramesenteroides group of species. J. Appl. Bacteriol. 1993, 75, 595–603.
  17. Holzapfel, W.H.; Van Wyk, E.P. Lactobacillus kandleri sp. nov., a new species of the subgenus betabacterium, with glycine in the peptidoglycan. Zent. Für Bakteriol. Mikrobiol. Hyg. 1982, 3, 495–502.
  18. Kandler, O.; Schillinger, U.; Weiss, N. Lactobacillus halotolerans sp. nov., nom. rev. and Lactobacillus minor sp. nov., nom. rev. Syst. Appl. Microbiol. 1983, 4, 280–285.
  19. Tanasupawat, S.; Shida, O.; Okada, S.; Komagata, K. Lactobacillus acidipiscis sp. nov. and Weissella thailandensis sp. nov., isolated from fermented fish in Thailand. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2000, 50, 1479–1485.
  20. Magnusson, J.; Jonsson, H.; Schnürer, J.; Roos, S. Weissella soli sp. nov., a lactic acid bacterium isolated from soil. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2002, 52, 831–834.
  21. Bjorkroth, J.; Schillinger, U.; Geisen, R.; Weiss, N.; Hoste, B.; Holzapfel, W.H.; Korkeala, H.; Vandamme, P. Taxonomic study of Weissella confusa and description of Weissella cibaria sp. nov., detected in food and clinical samples. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2002, 52, 141–148.
  22. Lee, J.-S.; Lee, K.C.; Ahn, J.-S.; Mheen, T.-I.; Pyun, Y.-R.; Park, Y.-H. Weissella koreensis sp. nov., isolated from kimchi. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2002, 52, 1257–1261.
  23. De Bruyne, K.; Camu, N.; Lefebvre, K.; De Vuyst, L.; Vandamme, P. Weissella ghanensis sp. nov., isolated from a Ghanaian cocoa fermentation. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2008, 58, 2721–2725.
  24. Padonou, S.W.; Schillinger, U.; Nielsen, D.S.; Franz, C.M.A.P.; Hansen, M.; Hounhouigan, J.D.; Nago, M.C.; Jakobsen, M. Weissella beninensis sp. nov., a motile lactic acid bacterium from submerged cassava fermentations, and emended description of the genus Weissella. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2010, 60, 2193–2198.
  25. De Bruyne, K.; Camu, N.; De Vuyst, L.; Vandamme, P. Weissella fabaria sp. nov., from a Ghanaian cocoa fermentation. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2010, 60, 1999–2005.
  26. Vela, A.I.; Fernández, A.; de Quirós, Y.B.; Herráez, P.; Domínguez, L.; Fernández-Garayzábal, J.F. Weissella ceti sp. nov., isolated from beaked whales (Mesoplodon bidens). Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2011, 61, 2758–2762.
  27. Snauwaert, I.; Papalexandratou, Z.; De Vuyst, L.; Vandamme, P. Characterization of strains of Weissella fabalis sp. nov. and Fructobacillus tropaeoli from spontaneous cocoa bean fermentations. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2013, 63, 1709–1716.
  28. Tohno, M.; Kitahara, M.; Inoue, H.; Uegaki, R.; Irisawa, T.; Ohkuma, M.; Tajima, K. Weissella oryzae sp. nov., isolated from fermented rice grains. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2013, 63, 1417–1420.
  29. Oh, S.J.; Shin, N.-R.; Hyun, D.-W.; Kim, P.S.; Kim, J.Y.; Kim, M.-S.; Yun, J.-H.; Bae, J.-W. Weisselladiestrammenae sp. nov., isolated from the gut of a camel cricket (Diestrammena coreana). Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2013, 63, 2951–2956.
  30. Nisiotou, A.; Dourou, D.; Filippousi, M.-E.; Banilas, G.; Tassou, C. Weissella uvarum sp. nov., isolated from wine grapes. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2014, 64, 3885–3890.
  31. Heo, J.; Hamada, M.; Cho, H.; Weon, H.-Y.; Kim, J.-S.; Hong, S.-B.; Kim, S.-J.; Kwon, S.-W. Weissella cryptocerci sp. nov., isolated from gut of the insect Cryptocercus kyebangensis. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2019, 69, 2801–2806.
  32. Praet, J.; Meeus, I.; Cnockaert, M.; Houf, K.; Smagghe, G.; Vandamme, P. Novel lactic acid bacteria isolated from the bumble bee gut: Convivina intestini gen. nov., sp. nov., Lactobacillus bombicola sp. nov., and Weissella bombi sp. nov. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2015, 107, 1337–1349.
  33. Lee, S.-H.; Ku, H.-J.; Ahn, M.-J.; Hong, J.-S.; Shin, H.; Lee, K.C.; Lee, J.-S.; Ryu, S.; Jeon, C.O.; Lee, J.-H. Weissella jogaejeotgali sp. nov., isolated from jogae jeotgal, a traditional Korean fermented seafood. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2015, 65, 4674–4681.
  34. Choi, H.-J.; Cheigh, C.-I.; Kim, S.-B.; Lee, J.-C.; Lee, D.-W.; Choi, S.-W.; Park, J.-M.; Pyun, Y.-R. Weissella kimchii sp. nov., a novel lactic acid bacterium from kimchi. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2002, 52, 507–511.
  35. Li, Y.Q.; Tian, W.L.; Gu, C.T. Weissella sagaensis sp. nov., isolated from traditional Chinese yogurt. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2020, 70, 2485–2492.
  36. Jeong, S.-H.; Jung, J.-H.; Jang, J.; Lee, J.; Chun, J. Weissella hanii sp. nov., from kimchi. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2011. Available online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Info&id=167774&lvl=3&lin=f (accessed on 18 October 2022).
  37. Tanasupawat, S.; Sukontasing, S.; Okada, S.; Komagata, K. Weissella salipiscis sp. nov., from fermented fish (pla-ra) in Thailand. 2006. Available online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Info&id=381421&lvl=3&lin=f (accessed on 18 October 2022).
  38. Hyun, D.-W.; Lee, J.-Y.; Sung, H.; Kim, P.S.; Jeong, Y.-S.; Lee, J.-Y.; Yun, J.-H.; Choi, J.-W.; Han, J.E.; Lee, S.-Y.; et al. Brevilactibacter coleopterorum sp. nov., isolated from the intestine of the dark diving beetle Hydrophilus acuminatus, and Weissella coleopterorum sp. nov., isolated from the intestine of the diving beetle Cybister lewisianus. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2021, 71, 004779.
  39. Wang, L.; Si, W.; Xue, H.; Zhao, X. A fibronectin-binding protein (FbpA) of Weissella cibaria inhibits colonization and infection of Staphylococcus aureus in mammary glands. Cell. Microbiol. 2017, 19, e12731.
  40. Quattrini, M.; Korcari, D.; Ricci, G.; Fortina, M. A polyphasic approach to characterize Weissella cibaria and Weissella confusa strains. J. Appl. Microbiol. 2019, 128, 500–512.
  41. Cupi, D.; Elvig-Jørgensen, S.G. Safety assessment of Weissella confusa—A direct-fed microbial candidate. Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 2019, 107, 104414.
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Subjects: Microbiology
Contributors MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register :
Sadia Ahmed
,
Sargun Singh
,
Vaidhvi Singh
,
Kyle D. Roberts
,
Arsalan Zaidi
,
Alexander Rodriguez-Palacios
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Update Date: 23 Dec 2022
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