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Fogarty EC, Schechter MS, Lolans K, Sheahan ML, Veseli I, Moore RM, Kiefl E, Moody T, Rice PA, Yu MK, Mimee M, Chang EB, Ruscheweyh HJ, Sunagawa S, Mclellan SL, Willis AD, Comstock LE, Eren AM. A cryptic plasmid is among the most numerous genetic elements in the human gut. Cell 2024; 187:1206-1222.e16. [PMID: 38428395 PMCID: PMC10973873 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.01.039] [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: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Plasmids are extrachromosomal genetic elements that often encode fitness-enhancing features. However, many bacteria carry "cryptic" plasmids that do not confer clear beneficial functions. We identified one such cryptic plasmid, pBI143, which is ubiquitous across industrialized gut microbiomes and is 14 times as numerous as crAssphage, currently established as the most abundant extrachromosomal genetic element in the human gut. The majority of mutations in pBI143 accumulate in specific positions across thousands of metagenomes, indicating strong purifying selection. pBI143 is monoclonal in most individuals, likely due to the priority effect of the version first acquired, often from one's mother. pBI143 can transfer between Bacteroidales, and although it does not appear to impact bacterial host fitness in vivo, it can transiently acquire additional genetic content. We identified important practical applications of pBI143, including its use in identifying human fecal contamination and its potential as an alternative approach to track human colonic inflammatory states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily C Fogarty
- Committee on Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Duchossois Family Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | - Matthew S Schechter
- Committee on Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Duchossois Family Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Karen Lolans
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Madeline L Sheahan
- Duchossois Family Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Department of Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Iva Veseli
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Ryan M Moore
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Evan Kiefl
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Thomas Moody
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Phoebe A Rice
- Committee on Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Michael K Yu
- Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Mark Mimee
- Committee on Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Department of Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Eugene B Chang
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Hans-Joachim Ruscheweyh
- Department of Biology, Institute of Microbiology and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, ETH Zurich, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
| | - Shinichi Sunagawa
- Department of Biology, Institute of Microbiology and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, ETH Zurich, Zurich 8093, Switzerland
| | - Sandra L Mclellan
- School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53204, USA
| | - Amy D Willis
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Laurie E Comstock
- Committee on Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Duchossois Family Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Department of Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | - A Murat Eren
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA; Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany; Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, 28359 Bremen, Germany; Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany.
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Fogarty EC, Schechter MS, Lolans K, Sheahan ML, Veseli I, Moore R, Kiefl E, Moody T, Rice PA, Yu MK, Mimee M, Chang EB, Mclellan SL, Willis AD, Comstock LE, Eren AM. A highly conserved and globally prevalent cryptic plasmid is among the most numerous mobile genetic elements in the human gut. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.25.534219. [PMID: 36993556 PMCID: PMC10055365 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.25.534219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Plasmids are extrachromosomal genetic elements that often encode fitness enhancing features. However, many bacteria carry 'cryptic' plasmids that do not confer clear beneficial functions. We identified one such cryptic plasmid, pBI143, which is ubiquitous across industrialized gut microbiomes, and is 14 times as numerous as crAssphage, currently established as the most abundant genetic element in the human gut. The majority of mutations in pBI143 accumulate in specific positions across thousands of metagenomes, indicating strong purifying selection. pBI143 is monoclonal in most individuals, likely due to the priority effect of the version first acquired, often from one's mother. pBI143 can transfer between Bacteroidales and although it does not appear to impact bacterial host fitness in vivo, can transiently acquire additional genetic content. We identified important practical applications of pBI143, including its use in identifying human fecal contamination and its potential as an inexpensive alternative for detecting human colonic inflammatory states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily C Fogarty
- Committee on Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Duchossois Family Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Matthew S Schechter
- Committee on Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Duchossois Family Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Karen Lolans
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Madeline L. Sheahan
- Duchossois Family Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Department of Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - Iva Veseli
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Ryan Moore
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Evan Kiefl
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Thomas Moody
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032 USA
| | - Phoebe A Rice
- Committee on Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | | | - Mark Mimee
- Committee on Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Department of Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Eugene B Chang
- Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Sandra L Mclellan
- School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 53204, USA
| | - Amy D Willis
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Laurie E Comstock
- Duchossois Family Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Department of Microbiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | - A Murat Eren
- Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
- Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
- Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
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Liu L, Chen Y, Yu S, Chen J, Zhou J. Simultaneous transformation of five vectors in Gluconobacter oxydans. Plasmid 2021; 117:102588. [PMID: 34256060 DOI: 10.1016/j.plasmid.2021.102588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Gluconobacter oxydans is an obligate Gram-negative bacterium that belongs to the family Acetobacteraceae. It is one of the most frequently used microorganisms in industrial biotechnology to produce chemicals related to incomplete oxidation. However, the fine-tuning of G. oxydans is hampered by the lack of efficient genetic tools to enable sophisticated metabolic manipulations. Thus, a series of shuttle vectors for G. oxydans inspired by a series of wild-type plasmids in different G. oxydans strains were constructed. Fifteen shuttle vectors were employed to express mCherry in G. oxydans WSH-003 using the replication origin of these wild-type plasmids. Among them, the intensity of fluorescent proteins expressed by p15-K-mCherry was about 10 times that of fluorescent proteins expressed by p5-K-mCherry. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that the relative copy number of p15-K-mCherry reached 19 and had high stability. In contrast, some of the plasmids had a relative copy number of less than 10. The co-expression of multiple shuttle vectors revealed five shuttle vectors that could be transformed into G. oxydans WSH-003 and could express five different fluorescent proteins. The shuttle vectors will facilitate genetic operations for Gluconobacter strains to produce useful compounds more efficiently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Liu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Jiangsu Provisional Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Yue Chen
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Jiangsu Provisional Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Shiqin Yu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Jiangsu Provisional Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Jian Chen
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Jiangsu Provisional Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China
| | - Jingwen Zhou
- National Engineering Laboratory for Cereal Fermentation Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; School of Biotechnology and Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Science Center for Future Foods, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China; Jiangsu Provisional Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214122, China.
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