Pathogenic Gammaproteobacteria: Novel Insights into Virulence Mechanisms and Therapeutic Intervention

Despite significant medical advances over the past 25 years, infectious diseases remain a major global health challenge, disproportionately affecting low-income regions and vulnerable populations such as children, elderly, and immunocompromised patients. According to the World Health Organization, infectious diseases were among the top three leading causes of death worldwide in 2021, with respiratory infections ranking first in many low-income countries. The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) further compounds this burden.

Gammaproteobacteria include some of the most clinically significant Gram-negative bacteria: Escherichia coli, a leading cause of infections worldwide; Klebsiella pneumoniae, a frequent cause of pneumonia; Pseudomonas aeruginosa, known for its multidrug resistance and extensive virulence factors; Vibrio cholerae, responsible for millions of cholera cases annually; Salmonella enterica, causing over 10 million cases of typhoid fever per year; and Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. Rising drug resistance in these species highlights the limitations of current antibiotic therapies, implying that new approaches are urgently needed. Promising strategies include disrupting bacterial virulence mechanisms, strengthening host immune defences, and developing new targets for therapies that selectively eliminate pathogens while preserving the host microbiota.

This Research Topic will focus on advancing understanding of Gammaproteobacteria pathogens, including their virulence, antimicrobial resistance, and host–pathogen interactions. The goal is to highlight mechanistic discoveries that can guide the development of next-generation interventions aimed at reducing disease burden and addressing the escalating AMR crisis.

To gather further insights into this broad and complex field, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following sub-themes:

o Mechanisms for virulence factor production and regulation
o Sensing host factors and patho-adaptation
o Interplay between antimicrobial resistance and virulence
o Strategies of bacterial pathogens to evade or modulate host immune responses
o Effect of inhibiting virulence factors on disease outcome
o Models of host-pathogen interactions and their manipulation
o Discovery of novel therapeutic targets
o Development of novel treatment options
o Effect of polymicrobial interactions on bacterial virulence and disease outcomes

In this Research Topic we welcome the following article types: Mini Review, Original Research, Review, Systematic Review.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Enterobacteriaceae, Vibrionaceae, Pseudomonadaceae, Virulence inhibition, Molecular mechanisms of virulence, Host-pathogen interactions, Novel therapeutic targets, non-canonical treatments

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.