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Huang L, Guo F, Li X, Wang M, Zhu D, Wang M, Jia R, Chen S, Zhao X, Zhang S, Gao Q, Yang Q, Wu Y, Huang J, Tian B, Ou X, Sun D, Mao S, Zhang L, Yu Y, Götz F, Cheng A, Liu M. Functional characterization of two TolC in the resistance to drugs and metals and in the virulence of Riemerella anatipestifer. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0130823. [PMID: 38038982 PMCID: PMC10734528 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01308-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Riemerella anatipestifer (RA) is a notorious duck pathogen, characterized by a multitude of serotypes that exhibit no cross-reaction with one another. Moreover, RA is resistant to various antibacterial agents. Consequently, understanding the mechanisms behind resistance and identifying potential targets for drug development have become pressing needs. In this study, we show that the two TolC proteins play a role in the resistance to different drugs and metals and in the virulence. The results suggest that TolCA has a wider range of efflux substrates than TolCB. Except for gentamicin, neither TolCA nor TolCB was involved in the efflux of the other tested antibiotics. Strikingly, TolCA but not TolCB enhanced the frequency of resistance-conferring mutations. Moreover, TolCA was involved in RA virulence. Given its conservation in RA, TolCA has potential as a drug target for the development of therapeutics against RA infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Huang
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
- College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China
| | - Fang Guo
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiao Li
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Mengying Wang
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Dekang Zhu
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Mingshu Wang
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Renyong Jia
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Shun Chen
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xinxin Zhao
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Shaqiu Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Qun Gao
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Qiao Yang
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Ying Wu
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Juan Huang
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Bin Tian
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xumin Ou
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Di Sun
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Sai Mao
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Ling Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - YanLing Yu
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Friedrich Götz
- Microbial Genetics, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anchun Cheng
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
| | - Mafeng Liu
- Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, Chengdu, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China
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Williams CL, Neu HM, Alamneh YA, Reddinger RM, Jacobs AC, Singh S, Abu-Taleb R, Michel SLJ, Zurawski DV, Merrell DS. Characterization of Acinetobacter baumannii Copper Resistance Reveals a Role in Virulence. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:16. [PMID: 32117089 PMCID: PMC7015863 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Acinetobacter baumannii is often highly drug-resistant and causes severe infections in compromised patients. These infections can be life threatening due to limited treatment options. Copper is inherently antimicrobial and increasing evidence indicates that copper containing formulations may serve as non-traditional therapeutics against multidrug-resistant bacteria. We previously reported that A. baumannii is sensitive to high concentrations of copper. To understand A. baumannii copper resistance at the molecular level, herein we identified putative copper resistance components and characterized 21 strains bearing mutations in these genes. Eight of the strains displayed a copper sensitive phenotype (pcoA, pcoB, copB, copA/cueO, copR/cusR, copS/cusS, copC, copD); the putative functions of these proteins include copper transport, oxidation, sequestration, and regulation. Importantly, many of these mutant strains still showed increased sensitivity to copper while in a biofilm. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry revealed that many of these strains had defects in copper mobilization, as the mutant strains accumulated more intracellular copper than the wild-type strain. Given the crucial antimicrobial role of copper-mediated killing employed by the immune system, virulence of these mutant strains was investigated in Galleria mellonella; many of the mutant strains were attenuated. Finally, the cusR and copD strains were also investigated in the murine pneumonia model; both were found to be important for full virulence. Thus, copper possesses antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant A. baumannii, and copper sensitivity is further increased when copper homeostasis mechanisms are interrupted. Importantly, these proteins are crucial for full virulence of A. baumannii and may represent novel drug targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin L Williams
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Heather M Neu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Yonas A Alamneh
- Wound Infections Department, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - Ryan M Reddinger
- Wound Infections Department, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - Anna C Jacobs
- Wound Infections Department, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - Shweta Singh
- Wound Infections Department, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - Rania Abu-Taleb
- Wound Infections Department, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - Sarah L J Michel
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Daniel V Zurawski
- Wound Infections Department, Bacterial Diseases Branch, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD, United States
| | - D Scott Merrell
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, United States
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Martínez-Torró C, Torres-Puig S, Monge M, Sánchez-Alba L, González-Martín M, Marcos-Silva M, Perálvarez-Marín A, Canals F, Querol E, Piñol J, Pich OQ. Transcriptional response to metal starvation in the emerging pathogen Mycoplasma genitalium is mediated by Fur-dependent and -independent regulatory pathways. Emerg Microbes Infect 2019; 9:5-19. [PMID: 31859607 PMCID: PMC6968530 DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2019.1700762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Transition metals participate in numerous enzymatic reactions and they are essential for survival in all living organisms. For this reason, bacterial pathogens have evolved dedicated machineries to effectively compete with their hosts and scavenge metals at the site of infection. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms controlling metal acquisition in the emerging human pathogen Mycoplasma genitalium. We observed a robust transcriptional response to metal starvation, and many genes coding for predicted lipoproteins and ABC-transporters were significantly up-regulated. Transcriptional analysis of a mutant strain lacking a metalloregulator of the Fur family revealed the activation of a full operon encoding a putative metal transporter system and a gene coding for a Histidine-rich lipoprotein (Hrl). We recognized a conserved sequence with dyad symmetry within the promoter region of the Fur-regulated genes. Mutagenesis of the predicted Fur operator within the hrl promoter abrogated Fur- and metal-dependent expression of a reporter gene. Metal starvation still impelled a strong transcriptional response in the fur mutant, demonstrating the existence of Fur-independent regulatory pathways controlling metal homeostasis. Finally, analysis of metal accumulation in the wild-type strain and the fur mutant by ICP-MS revealed an important role of Fur in nickel acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Martínez-Torró
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sergi Torres-Puig
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Monge
- Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Lucía Sánchez-Alba
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Martín
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marina Marcos-Silva
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alex Perálvarez-Marín
- Biophysics Unit, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesc Canals
- Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Enrique Querol
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jaume Piñol
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Oscar Q Pich
- Institut de Biotecnologia i Biomedicina and Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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