L-Sorbose utilization by virulent Escherichia coli and Shigella: different metabolic adaptation of pathotypes

Combined engineering of l-sorbose dehydrogenase and fermentation optimization to increase 2-keto-l-gulonic acid production in Escherichia coli

One-step fermentation to produce 2-keto-l-gulonic acid (2-KLG), the precursor of vitamin C, is a long-term goal. Improvement of the enzyme's activity through engineering could benefit 2-KLG production. This study aimed to conduct a semi-rational design of l-sorbose dehydrogenase (SDH) through structure-directed, to screen mutants that could enhance the 2-KLG titer. First, the predicted structure of SDH was obtained using AlphaFold2. The key mutation sites in the substrate pocket were identified by Ala scanning. Subsequently, the mutant V336I/V368A was obtained by iterative saturation mutagenesis, which increased the yield of 2-KLG 1.9-fold. Finally, 5.03 g/L of 2-KLG was obtained by a two-stage temperature control fermentation method, and the conversion rate was 50%. Furthermore, experiments showed that knockdown of the l-sorbose-associated phosphotransferase system delays 2-KLG production. The results show that the production of 2-KLG was effectively increased through a combination of SDH engineering and fermentation optimization.

A Nanopore-Based Saccharide Sensor

Saccharides play critical roles in many forms of cellular activities. Saccharide structures are however complicated and similar, setting a technical hurdle for direct identification. Nanopores, which are emerging single molecule tools sensitive to minor structural differences between analytes, can be engineered to identity saccharides. A hetero-octameric Mycobacterium smegmatis porin A nanopore containing a phenylboronic acid was prepared, and was able to clearly identify nine monosaccharide types, including D-fructose, D-galactose, D-mannose, D-glucose, L-sorbose, D-ribose, D-xylose, L-rhamnose and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine. Minor structural differences between saccharide epimers can also be distinguished. To assist automatic event classification, a machine learning algorithm was developed, with which a general accuracy score of 0.96 was achieved. This sensing strategy is generally suitable for other saccharide types and may bring new insights to nanopore saccharide sequencing.

Genomic diversity and fitness of E. coli strains recovered from the intestinal and urinary tracts of women with recurrent urinary tract infection

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in women, and recurrence is a major clinical problem. Most UTIs are caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). UPEC are generally thought to migrate from the gut to the bladder to cause UTI. UPEC form specialized intracellular bacterial communities in the bladder urothelium as part of a pathogenic mechanism to establish a foothold during acute stages of infection. Evolutionarily, such a specific adaptation to the bladder environment would be predicted to result in decreased fitness in other habitats, such as the gut. To examine this prediction, we characterized 45 E. coli strains isolated from the feces and urine of four otherwise healthy women with recurrent UTI. Multilocus sequence typing and whole genome sequencing revealed that two patients maintained a clonal population in both these body habitats throughout their recurrent UTIs, whereas the other two exhibited a wholesale shift in the dominant UPEC strain colonizing both sites. In vivo competition studies in mouse models, using isolates taken from one of the patients with a wholesale population shift, revealed that the strain that dominated her last UTI episode had increased fitness in both the gut and the bladder relative to the strain that dominated in preceding episodes. Increased fitness correlated with differences in the strains' gene repertoires and carbohydrate and amino acid utilization profiles. Thus, UPEC appear capable of persisting in both the gut and urinary tract without a fitness trade-off, emphasizing the need to widen our consideration of potential reservoirs for strains causing recurrent UTI.

The Analysis of Multiple Genome Comparisons in Genus Escherichia and Its Application to the Discovery of Uncharacterised Metabolic Genes in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073

A survey of a complete gene synteny comparison has been carried out between twenty fully sequenced strains from the genus Escherichia with the aim of finding yet uncharacterised genes implicated in the metabolism of uropathogenic strains of E. coli (UPEC). Several sets of adjacent colinear genes have been identified which are present in all four UPEC included in this study (CFT073, F11, UTI89, and 536), annotated with putative metabolic functions, but are not found in any other strains considered. An operon closely homologous to that encoding the L-sorbose degradation pathway in Klebsiella pneumoniae has been identified in E. coli CFT073; this operon is present in all of the UPEC considered, but only in 7 of the other 16 strains. The operon's function has been confirmed by cloning the genes into E. coli DH5α and testing for growth on L-sorbose. The functional genomic approach combining in silico and in vitro work presented here can be used as a basis for the discovery of other uncharacterised genes contributing to bacterial survival in specific environments.

Complete genome sequence and comparative metabolic profiling of the prototypical enteroaggregative Escherichia coli strain 042

BACKGROUND

Escherichia coli can experience a multifaceted life, in some cases acting as a commensal while in other cases causing intestinal and/or extraintestinal disease. Several studies suggest enteroaggregative E. coli are the predominant cause of E. coli-mediated diarrhea in the developed world and are second only to Campylobacter sp. as a cause of bacterial-mediated diarrhea. Furthermore, enteroaggregative E. coli are a predominant cause of persistent diarrhea in the developing world where infection has been associated with malnourishment and growth retardation.

METHODS

In this study we determined the complete genomic sequence of E. coli 042, the prototypical member of the enteroaggregative E. coli, which has been shown to cause disease in volunteer studies. We performed genomic and phylogenetic comparisons with other E. coli strains revealing previously uncharacterised virulence factors including a variety of secreted proteins and a capsular polysaccharide biosynthetic locus. In addition, by using Biolog Phenotype Microarrays we have provided a full metabolic profiling of E. coli 042 and the non-pathogenic lab strain E. coli K-12. We have highlighted the genetic basis for many of the metabolic differences between E. coli 042 and E. coli K-12.

CONCLUSION

This study provides a genetic context for the vast amount of experimental and epidemiological data published thus far and provides a template for future diagnostic and intervention strategies.