Host Specificity of Microbial Pathogens

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology and Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 14 March 2025 | Viewed by 2108

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Translational Medicine, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Interests: host specificity; metagenomics; microbial genomics; molecular epidemiology; strain typing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Host specificity is a fundamental characteristic of many pathogens, which refers to their ability to infect or live within specific host species or groups of species. For example, the human papilloma virus and the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi are specific to humans, while the parasitic tapeworm, Echinococcus granulosus, infects only canids (dogs, foxes, and wolves) and ungulates (hoofed animals).

Understanding host specificity is critical in the study of infectious diseases, as it can provide insights into the mechanisms of pathogen transmission and the potential risks of zoonotic diseases. For instance, a pathogen that is specific to a certain host species may pose a lower risk to humans compared to a pathogen with a broad host range. Moreover, knowledge of host specificity is essential for developing effective disease control and prevention strategies, as well as for predicting and responding to outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases.

This Special Issue is dedicated to all aspects of host specificity research, with special emphasis on the following topics:

  1. Mechanisms underlying host specificity and pathogen adaptation to different host species;
  2. Factors influencing host specificity, such as host immune system, genetic diversity, and environmental conditions;
  3. Implications of host specificity for disease emergence, transmission, and control;
  4. Comparative studies on host specificity among different types of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites;
  5. Evolutionary and ecological aspects of host specificity, including coevolution and host-switching events;
  6. Methodological approaches for studying host specificity, such as experimental infections, genomic analyses, and ecological modeling.

We welcome submissions from researchers across all disciplines and areas of expertise, as well as studies that integrate multiple approaches and scales of analysis. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive view of host specificity in infectious diseases, and to promote the development of innovative strategies for disease prevention and control.

Dr. Ye Feng
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 2575 KiB  
Article
Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection Induces the Formation of Tunneling Nanotubes
by Jie Wang, Kun-Te Shang, Qiong-Hong Ma, Zhao-Ying Dong, Yi-Hong Chen and Yu-Feng Yao
Microorganisms 2023, 11(8), 1916; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11081916 - 28 Jul 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1627
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is human specific virus. The intercellular transmission of HSV-1 is essential in its pathogenesis. The tunneling nanotube (TNT), a new mode connecting distant cells, has been found to play an important role in the spread of various [...] Read more.
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is human specific virus. The intercellular transmission of HSV-1 is essential in its pathogenesis. The tunneling nanotube (TNT), a new mode connecting distant cells, has been found to play an important role in the spread of various viruses like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and influenza virus. However, whether HSV-1 can be transmitted through TNTs has not been confirmed. The purpose of this study was to clarify this, and further to determine the effect of inhibiting the actin-related protein 2/3 (Arp2/3) complex on the intercellular transmission of HSV-1. A scanning electron microscope and fluorescence microscope detected the formation of TNTs between HSV-1 infected cells. Envelope glycoprotein D (gD) and envelope glycoprotein E (gE) of HSV-1 and viral particles were observed in TNTs. Treatment with CK666, an inhibitor of the Arp2/3 complex, reduced the number of TNTs by approximately 40–80%. At the same time, the DNA level of HSV-1 in cells and the number of plaque formation units (PFU) were also reduced by nearly 30%. These findings indicated that TNT contributes to HSV-1 transmission and that the inhibition of the Arp2/3 complex could impair HSV-1 transmission, which not only provides a novel insight into the transmission mode of HSV-1, but also a putative new antiviral target. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Host Specificity of Microbial Pathogens)
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