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Tao M, Wang J, Li K, Xue Y, Xu X, Du X, He X, Tian X, Zou Z, Hu Z, Islam N, Hu Q. Development of signature-tagged mutagenesis in Riemerella anatipestifer to identify genes essential for survival and pathogenesis. Vet Microbiol 2020; 250:108857. [PMID: 32998086 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2020.108857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Riemerella anatipestifer causes epizootic infectious disease in ducks, geese, turkeys and other birds, and serious economic losses especially to the duck industry. However, little is known about the molecular basis of its pathogenesis. In this study, signature-tagged transposon mutagenesis based on Tn4351 was developed in R. anatipestifer to identify genes essential for survival and pathogenesis. Seventeen tagged Tn4351 random mutation libraries of the R. anatipestifer strain WJ4 containing 5100 mutants were screened for survive using a duckling infection model. Twenty mutants that could not be recovered from the infected ducklings, were identified, and 17 mutated genes were identified by inverse PCR or genome-walking PCR. Of these genes, FIP52_03215, FIP52_04350 and FIP52_09345, were inserted into two mutant strains, and FIP52_03215 and FIP52_03175 were found exclusively on the chromosome of serotype 1 R. anatipestifer strains. Twelve out of 17 genes encoding for proteins were predicted to be involved in amino acid, nucleotide, coenzyme, or lipid transport and metabolism, one gene was predicted to be involved in signal transduction, one gene was predicted to be involved in DNA replication, recombination and repair, the other three genes had an unknown function. Animal experiments showed that the virulence of mutants 16-284, 7-295, 24-231, 9-232 and 19-214 were significantly attenuated compared to that of the wild-type WJ4. Moreover, the median lethal dose of mutant 16-284 was greater than 1010 CFU, and its virulence to ducklings was partially restored when it was complemented with the shuttle expression plasmid pRES-FIP52_09345. The results in this study will be helpful to further study the molecular mechanisms of the pathogenesis of R. anatipestifer infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minjie Tao
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Jialing Wang
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Ke Li
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yafei Xue
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Xinxin Xu
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Xiaoli Du
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Xiaohua He
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Xiangqiang Tian
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Zuocheng Zou
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Zhonghao Hu
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Nazrul Islam
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Qinghai Hu
- Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 518 Ziyue Road, Shanghai 200241, China.
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Périnet S, Jeukens J, Kukavica-Ibrulj I, Ouellet MM, Charette SJ, Levesque RC. Molybdate transporter ModABC is important for Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronic lung infection. BMC Res Notes 2016; 9:23. [PMID: 26758577 PMCID: PMC4710039 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-016-1840-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2015] [Accepted: 01/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mechanisms underlying the success of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in chronic lung infection among cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are poorly defined. The modA gene was previously linked to in vivo competitiveness of P. aeruginosa by a genetic screening in the rat lung. This gene encodes a subunit of transporter ModABC, which is responsible for extracellular uptake of molybdate. This compound is essential for molybdoenzymes, including nitrate reductases. Since anaerobic growth conditions are known to occur during CF chronic lung infection, inactivation of a molybdate transporter could inhibit proliferation through the inactivation of denitrification enzymes. Hence, we performed phenotypic characterization of a modA mutant strain obtained by signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM_modA) and assessed its virulence in vivo with two host models. RESULTS The STM_modA mutant was in fact defective for anaerobic growth and unable to use nitrates in the growth medium for anaerobic respiration. Bacterial growth and nitrate usage were restored when the medium was supplemented with molybdate. Most significantly, the mutant strain showed reduced virulence compared to wild-type strain PAO1 according to a competitive index in the rat model of chronic lung infection and a predation assay with Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae. As the latter took place in aerobic conditions, the in vivo impact of the mutation in modA appears to extend beyond its effect on anaerobic growth. CONCLUSIONS These results support the modABC-encoded transporter as important for the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa, and suggest that enzymatic machinery implicated in anaerobic growth during chronic lung infection in CF merits further investigation as a potential target for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Périnet
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada. .,Département de microbiologie-infectiologie-immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
| | - Julie Jeukens
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada. .,Département de microbiologie-infectiologie-immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
| | - Irena Kukavica-Ibrulj
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada. .,Département de microbiologie-infectiologie-immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
| | - Myriam M Ouellet
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada. .,Département de biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Faculté des Sciences et de Génie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada. .,Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec (CRIUCPQ), Quebec, QC, Canada.
| | - Steve J Charette
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada. .,Département de biochimie, de microbiologie et de bio-informatique, Faculté des Sciences et de Génie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada. .,Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec (CRIUCPQ), Quebec, QC, Canada.
| | - Roger C Levesque
- Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada. .,Département de microbiologie-infectiologie-immunologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
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Lemieux AA, Jeukens J, Kukavica-Ibrulj I, Fothergill JL, Boyle B, Laroche J, Tucker NP, Winstanley C, Levesque RC. Genes Required for Free Phage Production are Essential for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Chronic Lung Infections. J Infect Dis 2015; 213:395-402. [PMID: 26268854 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiv415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2015] [Accepted: 07/31/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes chronic lung infection in patients with cystic fibrosis. The Liverpool Epidemic Strain LESB58 is highly resistant to antibiotics, transmissible, and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Its genome contains 6 prophages and 5 genomic islands. We constructed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based signature-tagged mutagenesis library of 9216 LESB58 mutants and screened the mutants in a rat model of chronic lung infection. A total of 162 mutants were identified as defective for in vivo maintenance, with 11 signature-tagged mutagenesis mutants having insertions in prophage and genomic island genes. Many of these mutants showed both diminished virulence and reduced phage production. Transcription profiling by quantitative PCR and RNA-Seq suggested that disruption of these prophages had a widespread trans-acting effect on the transcriptome. This study demonstrates that temperate phages play a pivotal role in the establishment of infection through modulation of bacterial host gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrée-Ann Lemieux
- Institut de biologie intégrative et des systèmes, Université Laval, Québec City, Canada
| | - Julie Jeukens
- Institut de biologie intégrative et des systèmes, Université Laval, Québec City, Canada
| | - Irena Kukavica-Ibrulj
- Institut de biologie intégrative et des systèmes, Université Laval, Québec City, Canada
| | | | - Brian Boyle
- Institut de biologie intégrative et des systèmes, Université Laval, Québec City, Canada
| | - Jérôme Laroche
- Institut de biologie intégrative et des systèmes, Université Laval, Québec City, Canada
| | - Nicholas P Tucker
- Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Craig Winstanley
- Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool
| | - Roger C Levesque
- Institut de biologie intégrative et des systèmes, Université Laval, Québec City, Canada
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Buckles EL, Luterbach CL, Wang X, Lockatell CV, Johnson DE, Mobley HLT, Donnenberg MS. Signature-tagged mutagenesis and co-infection studies demonstrate the importance of P fimbriae in a murine model of urinary tract infection. Pathog Dis 2015; 73:ftv014. [PMID: 25673667 DOI: 10.1093/femspd/ftv014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Escherichia coli is the leading cause of urinary tract infections (UTIs), one of the most common infections in humans. P fimbria was arguably the first proposed virulence factor for uropathogenic E. coli, based on the capacity of E. coli isolated from UTIs to adhere to exfoliated epithelial cells in higher numbers than fecal strains of E. coli. Overwhelming epidemiologic evidence has been presented for involvement of P fimbriae in colonization. It has been difficult, however, to demonstrate this requirement for uropathogenic strains in animal models of infections or in humans. In this study, a signature-tagged mutagenesis screen identified a P-fimbrial gene (papC) and 18 other genes as being among those required for full fitness of cystitis isolate E. coli F11. A P-fimbrial mutant was outcompeted by the wild-type strain in cochallenge in the murine model of ascending UTI, and this colonization defect could be complemented with the cloned pap operon. To our knowledge, this study is the first to fulfill molecular Koch's postulates in which a pathogenic strain was attenuated by mutation of pap genes and then complemented to restore fitness, confirming P fimbria as a virulence factor in a pathogenic clinical isolate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric L Buckles
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, HSF II, 20 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Courtney L Luterbach
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Xiaolin Wang
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, HSF II, 20 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - C Virginia Lockatell
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, HSF II, 20 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - David E Johnson
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, HSF II, 20 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA Department of Veterans Affairs, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Harry L T Mobley
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Michael S Donnenberg
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, HSF II, 20 Penn Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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Winstanley C, Langille MGI, Fothergill JL, Kukavica-Ibrulj I, Paradis-Bleau C, Sanschagrin F, Thomson NR, Winsor GL, Quail MA, Lennard N, Bignell A, Clarke L, Seeger K, Saunders D, Harris D, Parkhill J, Hancock REW, Brinkman FSL, Levesque RC. Newly introduced genomic prophage islands are critical determinants of in vivo competitiveness in the Liverpool Epidemic Strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Genome Res 2008; 19:12-23. [PMID: 19047519 PMCID: PMC2612960 DOI: 10.1101/gr.086082.108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 259] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates have a highly conserved core genome representing up to 90% of the total genomic sequence with additional variable accessory genes, many of which are found in genomic islands or islets. The identification of the Liverpool Epidemic Strain (LES) in a children's cystic fibrosis (CF) unit in 1996 and its subsequent observation in several centers in the United Kingdom challenged the previous widespread assumption that CF patients acquire only unique strains of P. aeruginosa from the environment. To learn about the forces that shaped the development of this important epidemic strain, the genome of the earliest archived LES isolate, LESB58, was sequenced. The sequence revealed the presence of many large genomic islands, including five prophage clusters, one defective (pyocin) prophage cluster, and five non-phage islands. To determine the role of these clusters, an unbiased signature tagged mutagenesis study was performed, followed by selection in the chronic rat lung infection model. Forty-seven mutants were identified by sequencing, including mutants in several genes known to be involved in Pseudomonas infection. Furthermore, genes from four prophage clusters and one genomic island were identified and in direct competition studies with the parent isolate; four were demonstrated to strongly impact on competitiveness in the chronic rat lung infection model. This strongly indicates that enhanced in vivo competitiveness is a major driver for maintenance and diversifying selection of these genomic prophage genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Craig Winstanley
- Division of Medical Microbiology and Genitourinary Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GA, United Kingdom
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Himpsl SD, Lockatell CV, Hebel JR, Johnson DE, Mobley HLT. Identification of virulence determinants in uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis using signature-tagged mutagenesis. J Med Microbiol 2008; 57:1068-1078. [PMID: 18719175 DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.2008/002071-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The Gram-negative bacterium Proteus mirabilis causes urinary tract infections (UTIs) in individuals with long-term indwelling catheters or those with functional or structural abnormalities of the urinary tract. Known virulence factors include urease, haemolysin, fimbriae, flagella, DsbA, a phosphate transporter and genes involved in cell-wall synthesis and metabolism, many of which have been identified using the technique of signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM). To identify additional virulence determinants and to increase the theoretical coverage of the genome, this study generated and assessed 1880 P. mirabilis strain HI4320 mutants using this method. Mutants with disruptions in genes vital for colonization of the CBA mouse model of ascending UTI were identified after performing primary and secondary in vivo screens in approximately 315 CBA mice, primary and secondary in vitro screens in both Luria broth and minimal A medium to eliminate mutants with minor growth deficiencies, and co-challenge competition experiments in approximately 500 CBA mice. After completion of in vivo screening, a total of 217 transposon mutants were attenuated in the CBA mouse model of ascending UTI. Following in vitro screening, this number was reduced to 196 transposon mutants with a probable role in virulence. Co-challenge competition experiments confirmed significant attenuation for 37 of the 93 transposon mutants tested, being outcompeted by wild-type HI4320. Following sequence analysis of the 37 mutants, transposon insertions were identified in genes including the peptidyl-prolyl isomerases surA and ppiA, glycosyltransferase cpsF, biopolymer transport protein exbD, transcriptional regulator nhaR, one putative fimbrial protein, flagellar M-ring protein fliF and hook protein flgE, and multiple metabolic genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie D Himpsl
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - C Virginia Lockatell
- Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - J Richard Hebel
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - David E Johnson
- Research Service, Department of Veteran Affairs, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.,Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Harry L T Mobley
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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