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Fischer MA, Engelgeh T, Rothe P, Fuchs S, Thürmer A, Halbedel S. Listeria monocytogenes genes supporting growth under standard laboratory cultivation conditions and during macrophage infection. Genome Res 2022; 32:1711-1726. [PMID: 36114002 PMCID: PMC9528990 DOI: 10.1101/gr.276747.122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The Gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes occurs widespread in the environment and infects humans when ingested along with contaminated food. Such infections are particularly dangerous for risk group patients, for whom they represent a life-threatening disease. To invent novel strategies to control contamination and disease, it is important to identify those cellular processes that maintain pathogen growth inside and outside the host. Here, we have applied transposon insertion sequencing (Tn-Seq) to L. monocytogenes for the identification of such processes on a genome-wide scale. Our approach identified 394 open reading frames that are required for growth under standard laboratory conditions and 42 further genes, which become necessary during intracellular growth in macrophages. Most of these genes encode components of the translation machinery and act in chromosome-related processes, cell division, and biosynthesis of the cellular envelope. Several cofactor biosynthesis pathways and 29 genes with unknown functions are also required for growth, suggesting novel options for the development of antilisterial drugs. Among the genes specifically required during intracellular growth are known virulence factors, genes compensating intracellular auxotrophies, and several cell division genes. Our experiments also highlight the importance of PASTA kinase signaling for general viability and of glycine metabolism and chromosome segregation for efficient intracellular growth of L. monocytogenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin A Fischer
- FG11 Division of Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Legionella, Robert Koch Institute, 38855 Wernigerode, Germany
| | - Tim Engelgeh
- FG11 Division of Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Legionella, Robert Koch Institute, 38855 Wernigerode, Germany
| | - Patricia Rothe
- FG11 Division of Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Legionella, Robert Koch Institute, 38855 Wernigerode, Germany
| | - Stephan Fuchs
- MF1 Bioinformatic Support, Robert Koch Institute, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Andrea Thürmer
- MF2 Genome Sequencing, Robert Koch Institute, 13353 Berlin, Germany
| | - Sven Halbedel
- FG11 Division of Enteropathogenic Bacteria and Legionella, Robert Koch Institute, 38855 Wernigerode, Germany
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Liu P, Chang H, Xu Q, Wang D, Tang Y, Hu X, Lin M, Liu Z. Peptide Aptamer PA3 Attenuates the Viability of Aeromonas veronii by Hindering of Small Protein B-Outer Membrane Protein A Signal Pathway. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:900234. [PMID: 35663889 PMCID: PMC9159911 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.900234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The small protein B (SmpB), previously acting as a ribosome rescue factor for translation quality control, is required for cell viability in bacteria. Here, our study reveals that SmpB possesses new function which regulates the expression of outer membrane protein A (ompA) gene as a transcription factor in Aeromonas veronii. The deletion of SmpB caused the lower transcription expression of ompA by Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qPCR). Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and DNase I Footprinting verified that the SmpB bound at the regions of −46 to −28 bp, −18 to +4 bp, +21 to +31 bp, and +48 to +59 bp of the predicted ompA promoter (PompA). The key sites C52AT was further identified to interact with SmpB when PompA was fused with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and co-transformed with SmpB expression vector for the fluorescence detection, and the result was further confirmed in microscale thermophoresis (MST) assays. Besides, the amino acid sites G11S, F26I, and K152 in SmpB were the key sites for binding to PompA. In order to further develop peptide antimicrobial agents, the peptide aptamer PA3 was screened from the peptide aptamer (PA) library by bacterial two-hybrid method. The drug sensitivity test showed that PA3 effectively inhibited the growth of A. veronii. In summary, these results demonstrated that OmpA was a good drug target for A. veronii, which was regulated by the SmpB protein and the selected peptide aptamer PA3 interacted with OmpA protein to disable SmpB-OmpA signal pathway and inhibited A. veronii, suggesting that it could be used as an antimicrobial agent for the prevention and treatment of pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- Center for Medical Innovation, School of Basic Medical Science, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning, China
| | - Huimin Chang
- School of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Qi Xu
- School of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Dan Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Yanqiong Tang
- School of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- One Health Institute, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Xinwen Hu
- School of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Min Lin
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhu Liu
- School of Life Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- One Health Institute, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- *Correspondence: Zhu Liu,
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Li H, Ming X, Xu D, Mo H, Liu Z, Hu L, Zhou X. Transcriptome Analysis and Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Reveal Multitarget-Directed Antibacterial Mechanisms of Benzyl Isothiocyanate against Staphylococcus aureus. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2021; 69:11733-11741. [PMID: 34558287 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c03979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus can cause many diseases and has a strong tendency to develop resistance to multiple antibiotics. In this study, benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) was shown to have an excellent inhibitory effect on S. aureus ATCC25923 and methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains, with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 10 μg/mL. Under a scanning electron microscope, shrinkage and lysis of the cellular envelope were observed when exposed to BITC, and a bactericidal mode of BITC against S. aureus was further confirmed through flow cytometry. Additionally, the RNA profiles of S. aureus cells exposed to BITC indicated a violent transcriptional response to BITC. Through Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, it was found that many pathways involving bacterial survival were significantly affected, such as RNA degradation, oxidative phosphorylation, arginine biosynthesis, and so forth. A gene co-expression network was constructed using weighted gene co-expression network analysis, and six biologically meaningful co-expression modules and 125 hub genes were identified from the network. Among them, EfeB, GroES, SmpB, and Lsp were possibly targeted by BITC, leading to the death of S. aureus. Our results indicated a great potential of BITC to be applied in food safety and pharmaceuticals, highlighting its multitarget-directed bactericidal effects on S. aureus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongbo Li
- Department of Food and Bioengineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Shaanxi 710021, China
| | - Xujia Ming
- Department of Food and Bioengineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Shaanxi 710021, China
| | - Dan Xu
- Department of Food and Bioengineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Shaanxi 710021, China
| | - Haizhen Mo
- Department of Food and Bioengineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Shaanxi 710021, China
| | - Zhenbin Liu
- Department of Food and Bioengineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Shaanxi 710021, China
| | - Liangbin Hu
- Department of Food and Bioengineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Shaanxi 710021, China
| | - Xiaohui Zhou
- Department of Pathobiology & Veterinary Science, University of Connecticut, 61 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, United States
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Wang D, Li H, Ma X, Tang Y, Tang H, Hu X, Liu Z. Small RNA AvrA Regulates IscR to Increase the Stress Tolerances in SmpB Deficiency of Aeromonas veronii. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:142. [PMID: 31192158 PMCID: PMC6517841 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00142] [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] [Received: 03/14/2019] [Accepted: 04/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The superbacteria Aeromonas veronii displays not only a strong pathogenicity but also the resistance to nine kinds of antibiotics, resulting in the economic losses and health hazards. Small Protein B (SmpB) plays an important role in protein quality control, virulence, and stress reactions. Transcriptomic data revealed that expressions of the type IV pilus assembly and type VI secretion system (T6SS) proteins were downregulated in SmpB deficiency, indicating that the virulence of A. veronii might be attenuated. Although SmpB deletion decreased colonization in the mouse spleen and liver, LD50 of the smpB mutant was not altered as expected, compared with the wild type. Further, the transcriptomic and quantitative RT-PCR analyses showed that the combination of the downregulated AvrA and the upregulated iron-sulfur protein activator IscR, mediated the oxidative tolerance in smpB deletion. Next a reporter plasmid was constructed in which the promoter of iscR was applied to control the expression of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) gene. When the reporter plasmid was co-expressed with the AvrA expression into E. coli, the relative fluorescence intensity was decreased significantly, suggesting that AvrA bound to iscR mRNA by base pairing, which in turn relieved the inhibition of iscR and intensified the downstream iron-sulfur proteins. Collectively, the smpB mutant exhibited an attenuated virulence in mice and enhanced tolerances to oxidative stress. This study demonstrates the complexity of gene regulation networks mediated by sRNA in systems biology, and also reflects the strong adaptability of superbacteria A. veronii in the process of evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Hong Li
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Xiang Ma
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Yanqiong Tang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Hongqian Tang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Xinwen Hu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
| | - Zhu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, School of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou, China
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