Puentes Corral, BeatrizSouto Rodríguez, AlbaBalado Dacosta, MiguelRodríguez, JaimeRodríguez Osorio, CarlosJiménez González, CarlosLemos Ramos, Manuel Luis2025-09-162025-09-162025-02-01Puentes, B., Souto, A., Balado, M., Rodríguez, J., Osorio, C. R., Jiménez, C. & Lemos, M. L. (2025). Microbial Pathogenesis 199 107218 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpath.2024.1072180882-4010https://hdl.handle.net/10347/42833In this study, we identified and analyzed a novel genomic island (GI), named pddGI-1, located on chromosome II of certain strains of the marine pathogen Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae (Pdd). This GI shares structural similarities with other GIs found in Vibrio species, such as the Vibrio seventh pandemic island-II (VSP-II) of V. cholerae. The pddGI-1 island is a mosaic of gene blocks that encode functions related to ROS defense, anaerobic energy metabolism, and restriction-modification (RM) systems. Notably, pddGI-1 also includes a complete vibrioferrin siderophore system, enabling the bacteria to thrive in low-iron environments. Vibrioferrin was chemically identified from cell-free supernatants of Pdd RG91. Additionally, a pvsD mutant deficient in vibrioferrin biosynthesis was generated and analyzed. The results suggest that Pdd strains harbouring pddGI-1 gain a distinct growth advantage under iron-limited conditions. These findings, along with previous research, highlight the significant heterogeneity in iron assimilation systems among Pdd strains.eng© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0/).Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselaeSiderophoresVibrioferrinGenomic islandsVirulencejournal article10.1016/j.micpath.2024.107218open access