Structural investigation of rhamnose-rich polysaccharides from Streptococcus dysgalactiae bovine mastitis isolate

Structural variations and roles of rhamnose-rich cell wall polysaccharides in Gram-positive bacteria

Rhamnose-rich cell wall polysaccharides (Rha-CWPSs) have emerged as crucial cell wall components of numerous Gram-positive, ovoid-shaped bacteria—including streptococci, enterococci, and lactococci—of which many are of clinical or biotechnological importance. Rha-CWPS are composed of a conserved polyrhamnose backbone with side-chain substituents of variable size and structure. Because these substituents contain phosphate groups, Rha-CWPS can also be classified as polyanionic glycopolymers, similar to wall teichoic acids, of which they appear to be functional homologs. Recent advances have highlighted the critical role of these side-chain substituents in bacterial cell growth and division, as well as in specific interactions between bacteria and infecting bacteriophages or eukaryotic hosts. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the structure and biosynthesis of Rha-CWPS in several ovoid-shaped bacterial species. We emphasize the role played by multicomponent transmembrane glycosylation systems in the addition of side-chain substituents of various sizes as extracytoplasmic modifications of the polyrhamnose backbone. We provide an overview of the contribution of Rha-CWPS to cell wall architecture and biogenesis and discuss current hypotheses regarding their importance in the cell division process. Finally, we sum up the critical roles that Rha-CWPS can play as bacteriophage receptors or in escaping host defenses, roles that are mediated mainly through their side-chain substituents. From an applied perspective, increased knowledge of Rha-CWPS can lead to advancements in strategies for preventing phage infection of lactococci and streptococci in food fermentation and for combating pathogenic streptococci and enterococci.

Screening of in vitro antimicrobial effects of Helicteres isora extract against Staphylococcus aureus

Background and Aim

Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen causing contagious mastitis in cows that need novel treatment rather than antibiotic therapy. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial activity of Helicteres isora extracts against S. aureus isolated from subclinical and clinical mastitis cows using an in vitro model.

Materials and Methods

H. isora pods were extracted using the following solvents: Distilled water, ethanol, acetone, and methanol. The antimicrobial activity of each extract was determined by the disk diffusion method and broth microdilution assay to assess the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC).

Results

The ethanolic extract of H. isora exhibited the largest inhibition zones against S. aureus (31.05±1.20 mm), followed by the aqueous, methanolic, and acetone extracts, respectively (26.34±1.15, 24.23±0.50, and 22.46±1.53). The ethanolic extract also had a strong inhibitory effect on S. aureus, with MIC and MBC of 0.13 and 0.52 mg/mL, respectively.

Conclusion

This study revealed that H. isora is a potential alternative natural antibacterial agent against S. aureus infection. The antimicrobial activity of H. isora is most likely mediated by phytochemical constituents.

Cell wall polysaccharides of Gram positive ovococcoid bacteria and their role as bacteriophage receptors

Gram-positive bacterial cell walls are characterised by the presence of a thick peptidoglycan layer which provides protection from extracellular stresses, maintains cell integrity and determines cell morphology, while it also serves as a foundation to anchor a number of crucial polymeric structures. For ovococcal species, including streptococci, enterococci and lactococci, such structures are represented by rhamnose-containing cell wall polysaccharides, which at least in some instances appear to serve as a functional replacement for wall teichoic acids. The biochemical composition of several streptococcal, lactococcal and enterococcal rhamnose-containing cell wall polysaccharides have been elucidated, while associated functional genomic analyses have facilitated the proposition of models for individual biosynthetic pathways. Here, we review the genomic loci which encode the enzymatic machinery to produce rhamnose-containing, cell wall-associated polysaccharide (Rha cwps) structures of the afore-mentioned ovococcal bacteria with particular emphasis on gene content, biochemical structure and common biosynthetic steps. Furthermore, we discuss the role played by these saccharidic polymers as receptors for bacteriophages and the important role phages play in driving Rha cwps diversification and evolution.

Molecular basis for recognition of the Group A Carbohydrate backbone by the PlyC streptococcal bacteriophage endolysin

Endolysins are peptidoglycan (PG) hydrolases that function as part of the bacteriophage (phage) lytic system to release progeny phage at the end of a replication cycle. Notably, endolysins alone can produce lysis without phage infection, which offers an attractive alternative to traditional antibiotics. Endolysins from phage that infect Gram-positive bacterial hosts contain at least one enzymatically active domain (EAD) responsible for hydrolysis of PG bonds and a cell wall binding domain (CBD) that binds a cell wall epitope, such as a surface carbohydrate, providing some degree of specificity for the endolysin. Whilst the EADs typically cluster into conserved mechanistic classes with well-defined active sites, relatively little is known about the nature of the CBDs and only a few binding epitopes for CBDs have been elucidated. The major cell wall components of many streptococci are the polysaccharides that contain the polyrhamnose (pRha) backbone modified with species-specific and serotype-specific glycosyl side chains. In this report, using molecular genetics, microscopy, flow cytometry and lytic activity assays, we demonstrate the interaction of PlyCB, the CBD subunit of the streptococcal PlyC endolysin, with the pRha backbone of the cell wall polysaccharides, Group A Carbohydrate (GAC) and serotype c-specific carbohydrate (SCC) expressed by the Group A Streptococcus and Streptococcus mutans, respectively.

Synthesis of α-D-GalpN3-(1-3)-D-GalpN3: α- and 3-O-selectivity using 3,4-diol acceptors

The motif α-D-GalpNAc-(1-3)-D-GalpNAc is very common in Nature and hence its synthesis highly relevant. The synthesis of its azido precursor has been studied and optimized in terms of steps, yields and selectivity. It has been found that glycosylation of the 3,4-diol acceptor is an advantage over the use of a 4-O-protected acceptor and that both regio- and anomeric selectivity is enhanced by bulky 6-O-protective groups. The acceptors and donors are made from common building blocks, limiting protective manipulations, and in this context, unavoidable side reactions.

Biofilm production and other virulence factors in Streptococcus spp. isolated from clinical cases of bovine mastitis in Poland

Background

Mastitis is a common disease in dairy cattle throughout the world and causes considerable economic losses each year. An important aetiological agent of this disease is bacteria of the genus Streptococcus; hence, exploring the mechanisms of virulence in these bacteria is an extremely important step for the development of effective prevention programmes. The purpose of our study was to determine the ability to produce biofilm and the occurrence of selected invasiveness factors among bacteria of the genus Streptococcus isolated from cattle with the clinical form of mastitis in northeastern Poland.

Results

Most of the isolates analysed demonstrated an ability to produce biofilm (over 70%). Virulence genes were searched for in the three most common streptococci in our experiment: S. agalactiae, S. uberis and S. dysgalactiae. For S. agalactiae, only four genes were confirmed: rib (33%), cylE (78%), bca (37%), and cfb (100%). The genes pavA, scpB, bac and lmb were not present in any of the tested strains. The dominant serotypes of the species were Ia (n = 8) and II (n = 8), in addition to some strains that were not classified in any of the groups (n = 6). Out of the eight selected genes for S. uberis (sua, pauA/skc, gapC, cfu, lbp, hasA, hasB, hasC), only one was not found (lbp). Finally, two genes were chosen for S. dysgalactiae (eno and napr), and their presence was confirmed in 76% and 86% of the strains, respectively.

Conclusions

The experiment showed that strains of Streptococcus spp. isolated from dairy cattle with clinical cases of mastitis in the northeastern part of Poland possess several invasiveness factors that can substantially affect the course of the disease, and this should be considered when developing targeted prevention programmes.

Another Brick in the Wall: a Rhamnan Polysaccharide Trapped inside Peptidoglycan of Lactococcus lactis

Polysaccharides are ubiquitous components of the Gram-positive bacterial cell wall. In Lactococcus lactis, a polysaccharide pellicle (PSP) forms a layer at the cell surface. The PSP structure varies among lactococcal strains; in L. lactis MG1363, the PSP is composed of repeating hexasaccharide phosphate units. Here, we report the presence of an additional neutral polysaccharide in L. lactis MG1363 that is a rhamnan composed of α-l-Rha trisaccharide repeating units. This rhamnan is still present in mutants devoid of the PSP, indicating that its synthesis can occur independently of PSP synthesis. High-resolution magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (HR-MAS NMR) analysis of whole bacterial cells identified a PSP at the surface of wild-type cells. In contrast, rhamnan was detected only at the surface of PSP-negative mutant cells, indicating that rhamnan is located underneath the surface-exposed PSP and is trapped inside peptidoglycan. The genetic determinants of rhamnan biosynthesis appear to be within the same genetic locus that encodes the PSP biosynthetic machinery, except the gene tagO encoding the initiating glycosyltransferase. We present a model of rhamnan biosynthesis based on an ABC transporter-dependent pathway. Conditional mutants producing reduced amounts of rhamnan exhibit strong morphological defects and impaired division, indicating that rhamnan is essential for normal growth and division. Finally, a mutation leading to reduced expression of lcpA, encoding a protein of the LytR-CpsA-Psr (LCP) family, was shown to severely affect cell wall structure. In lcpA mutant cells, in contrast to wild-type cells, rhamnan was detected by HR-MAS NMR, suggesting that LcpA participates in the attachment of rhamnan to peptidoglycan.IMPORTANCE In the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria, the peptidoglycan sacculus is considered the major structural component, maintaining cell shape and integrity. It is decorated with other glycopolymers, including polysaccharides, the roles of which are not fully elucidated. In the ovococcus Lactococcus lactis, a polysaccharide with a different structure between strains forms a layer at the bacterial surface and acts as the receptor for various bacteriophages that typically exhibit a narrow host range. The present report describes the identification of a novel polysaccharide in the L. lactis cell wall, a rhamnan that is trapped inside the peptidoglycan and covalently bound to it. We propose a model of rhamnan synthesis based on an ABC transporter-dependent pathway. Rhamnan appears as a conserved component of the lactococcal cell wall playing an essential role in growth and division, thus highlighting the importance of polysaccharides in the cell wall integrity of Gram-positive ovococci.

Phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Streptococcus spp. isolated from cases of clinical mastitis in dairy cattle in Poland

Mastitis of dairy cattle is one of the most frequently diagnosed diseases worldwide. The main etiological agents of mastitis are bacteria of the genus Streptococcus spp., in which several antibiotic resistance mechanisms have been identified. However, detailed studies addressing this problem have not been conducted in northeastern Poland. Therefore, the aim of our study was to analyze, on phenotypic and genotypic levels, the antibiotic resistance pattern of Streptococcus spp. isolated from clinical cases of mastitis from dairy cattle in this region of Poland. The research was conducted using 135 strains of Streptococcus (Streptococcus uberis, n = 53; Streptococcus dysgalactiae, n = 41; Streptococcus agalactiae, n = 27; other streptococci, n = 14). The investigation of the antimicrobial susceptibility to 8 active substances applied in therapy in the analyzed region, as well as a selected bacteriocin (nisin), was performed using the minimum inhibitory concentration method. The presence of selected resistance genes (n = 14) was determined via PCR. We also investigated the correlation between the presence of resistance genes and the antimicrobial susceptibility of the examined strains in vitro. The highest observed resistance of Streptococcus spp. was toward gentamicin, kanamycin, and tetracycline, whereas the highest susceptibility occurred toward penicillin, enrofloxacin, and marbofloxacin. Additionally, the tested bacteriocin showed high efficacy. The presence of 13 analyzed resistance genes was observed in the examined strains [gene mef(A) was not detected]. In most strains, at least one resistance gene, mainly responsible for resistance to tetracyclines [tet(M), tet(K), tet(L)], was observed. However, a relationship between the presence of a given resistance gene and antimicrobial susceptibility on the phenotypic level was not always observed.