Table 2 Typical virulence factors investigated in this study and their disease–relevance

Aerolysin

aerA

Aeromonas spp.

Cytolytic pore-forming

[25]

Alveolysin

alo

Bacillus anthracis

Pore-forming

[26]

Dermonecrotic toxin

dnt

Bordetella pertussis

Stimulating the assembly of actin stress fibers and focal adhesions

[27, 28]

Pertussis toxin subunit 1

ptxA

Bo. pertussis

Causing disruption of host cellular regulation

[28]

Type IV secretion system protein Ptl

ptlCH

Bo. pertussis

Secretion of pertussis toxin

[28]

Chlamydia protein associating with death domains

CADD

Chlamydia trachomatis (trachoma, urethritis, etc.)

Inducing cell apoptosis

[29]

Perfringolysin O

pfo

Clostridium perfringens (food poisoning)

Pore-forming

[30]

Glucosyltransferase toxin B

toxB

Cl. sordellii

Cl. difficile (diarrhea)

Cytopathic effects

[31]

Zeta toxin family protein

ZETA

Coxiella sp. DG_40

Inhibiting cell wall biosynthesis

[32]

Shiga toxin 1

stx1

Escherichia coli (diarrhea)

Shigella dysenteriae (Shigellosis)

Haemolytic uraemic syndrome

[20]

Toxin CdiA

cdiA

E. coli

Yersinia pestis (plaque)

Decreasing aerobic respiration and ATP levels

[33]

Shiga-like toxin 2

stx2

Enterobacteria phage 933 W

E. coli

Haemolytic uraemic syndrome

[34]

Repeats-in toxin

rtxA

Legionella pneumophila (Legionnaries’ disease)

Aeromonas dhakensis (gastroenteritis, septicemia)

Adherence and pore forming

[35, 36]

Cholera toxin secretion protein EpsF

epsF

Le. pneumophila

Toxin secretion

[37]

Toxin secretion ATP binding protein

LwT1SS

Le. waltersii

Toxin secretion

[38]

1-phosphatidylinositol phosphodiesterase

PLC

Listeria monocytogenes (listeriosis)

Lysis of the phagolysosomal membrane

[39]

Listeriolysin O

hly

Li. monocytogenes (listeriosis)

Pore forming, hemolysin

[40, 41]

Outer membrane channel protein CpnT

cpnT

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Nutrient uptake

[42]

RNA interferase

mazF/pemK/ndoA/relE/relK/relG/yoeB/higB/mvpA

Proteus vulgaris (wound infections)

My. tuberculosis (tuberculosis)

E. coli

Cleavage of cellular mRNAs, inhibiting growth

[43,44,45,46,47,48]

Hemolytic phospholipase C

plcH

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

Cl. perfringens (food poisoning)

Membrane-damaging

[49]

ADP-ribosyltransferase toxin

exoS

Ps. aeruginosa

Inhibition of phagocytosis

[50]

Ornithine carbamoyltransferase

argK

Ps. savastanoi

Promoting survival and pathogenicity

[51]

Exoenzyme U

exoU

Ps. aeruginosa

Membrane-lytic and cytotoxic

[52]

Exotoxin A

ETA

Ps. aeruginosa (eye and wound infections)

ADP-ribosylating eukaryotic elongation factor 2

[53]

Mono(ADP-ribosyl)transferase

spvB

Salmonella dublin (gastroenteritis)

ADP-ribosylating, destabilizing cytoskeleton

[54]

Adenylate cyclase

cyaA

Sa. choleraesuis (typhoid fever)

Bo. pertussis (whooping cough)

Ba. anthracis (anthrax)

Pore-forming with cAMP-elevating activity

[55]

Endonuclease VapC

vapC

Shigella flexneri (diarrhea)

Sa. Dublin

My. Tuberculosis

Coxiella burnetii (Q fever)

tRNase activities

[45]

Leucotoxin

luk

Staphylococcus aureus (sinusitis, skin abscess)

Lysis of leukocytes

[56]

Exfoliative toxin

ET

St. aureus

Proteolytic activity

[57]