Identification of the origin of replications and partial characterization of plasmid pRK100

Complete sequence of classic F-type plasmid pRK100 shows unique conservation over time and geographic location

Plasmids exhibit great diversity of gene content and host ranges and are famous for quick adaptation to the genetic background of the bacterial host cell. In addition to observing ever evolving plasmids, some plasmids have conserved backbones: a stable core composition and arrangement of genes in addition to variable regions. There are a few reports of extremely conserved plasmids. Here we report the complete sequence of pRK100 plasmid - a large, well-characterized conjugative F-like plasmid found in an Escherichia coli strain isolated from a urinary tract infection patient in 1990. The sequence shows that the 142 kb-long pRK100 plasmid is nearly identical to plasmids circulating in distant geographical locations and found in different host E. coli strains between 2007 and 2017. We also performed additional functional characterization of pRK100. Our results showed that pRK100 does not have a strong pathogenicity phenotype in porcine primary bladder epithelial cell culture. Moreover, the conjugation of pRK100 seems to strongly depend on recipient characteristics. These observations and identification of the pRK100 plasmid in different strain genotypes leave the extreme sequence conservation and broad distribution of this plasmid unexplained.

Escherichia coli: an old friend with new tidings

Escherichia coli is one of the most-studied microorganisms worldwide but its characteristics are continually changing. Extraintestinal E. coli infections, such as urinary tract infections and neonatal sepsis, represent a huge public health problem. They are caused mainly by specialized extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains that can innocuously colonize human hosts but can also cause disease upon entering a normally sterile body site. The virulence capability of such strains is determined by a combination of distinctive accessory traits, called virulence factors, in conjunction with their distinctive phylogenetic background. It is conceivable that by developing interventions against the most successful ExPEC lineages or their key virulence/colonization factors the associated burden of disease and health care costs could foreseeably be reduced in the future. On the other hand, one important problem worldwide is the increase of antimicrobial resistance shown by bacteria. As underscored in the last WHO global report, within a wide range of infectious agents including E. coli, antimicrobial resistance has reached an extremely worrisome situation that ‘threatens the achievements of modern medicine’. In the present review, an update of the knowledge about the pathogenicity, antimicrobial resistance and clinical aspects of this ‘old friend’ was presented.

Mix and match of KPC-2 encoding plasmids in Enterobacteriaceae-comparative genomics

We performed comparative sequence analysis of 3 blaKPC-2 encoding plasmids to examine evolution of these plasmids and their dissemination. We found that all of them have an IncN replicon with a newly determined IncN plasmid sequence type (ST), ST15. The 2 Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPN) plasmids also harbor an IncF2A1-B1- replicon. The blaKPC-2 is located in the Tn4401c transposon with a newly discovered mutation in the P2 promoter. Screening of the 27 additional blaKPC-2 carrying plasmids from Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli (EC), and K. pneumoniae showed that: all KPN and EC plasmids are IncN plasmids belonging to ST15; 4/7 KPN and 1/6 EC plasmids contain an additional IncF2A1-B1- replicon; all Enterobacter plasmids belong to neither IncN nor IncF2A1-B1- replicon plasmids; 6/7 KPN and 2/5 EC plasmids carry the mutated P2 promoter. Study of the blaKPC-2 environment, transposon, pMLST, and Inc group suggests transposon and plasmid inter- and intra-species dissemination and evolution.

Regulation of bacterial conjugation: balancing opportunity with adversity

Conjugative plasmids are involved in the dissemination of important traits such as antibiotic resistance, virulence determinants and metabolic pathways involved in adapting to environmental niches, a process termed horizontal or lateral gene transfer. Conjugation is the process of transferring DNA from a donor to a recipient cell with the establishment of the incoming DNA and its cargo of genetic traits within the transconjugant. Conjugation is mediated by self-transmissible plasmids as well as phage-like sequences that have been integrated into the bacterial chromosome, such as integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) that now include conjugative transposons. Both conjugative plasmids and ICEs can mediate the transfer of mobilizable elements by sharing their conjugative machinery. Conjugation can either be induced, usually by small molecules or peptides or by excision of the ICE from the host chromosome, or it can be tightly regulated by plasmid- and host-encoded factors. The transfer potential of these transfer regions depends on the integration of many signals in response to environmental and physiological cues. This review will focus on the mechanisms that influence transfer potential in these systems, particularly those of the IncF incompatibility group.

Chloramphenicol- and tetracycline-resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) exhibit reduced virulence potential

It is well documented that uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates resistant to nalidixic acid have reduced virulence potential. Our goal was to assess whether UPEC isolates resistant to chloramphenicol, tetracycline and streptomycin also exhibit reduced virulence potential. Among 110 human UPEC isolates, the prevalences of the virulence factors fimH, papC, papGII, papGIII, sfa/focDE, afa, hlyA, cnf1, usp, ibeA, fyuA, iroN, iucD, ireA, and K1 and K5 capsules as well as of pathotypes, phylogenetic groups, O antigens and a pathogenicity island (PAI) marker were compared between chloramphenicol-, tetracycline-, streptomycin- and, as a control, nalidixic acid-resistant and -susceptible strains. Our findings show that among human UPEC isolates, not only nalidixic acid-resistant but also chloramphenicol- and tetracycline-resistant isolates have reduced virulence potential compared with susceptible strains. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a statistically significant reduction in virulence traits among chloramphenicol- and tetracycline-resistant isolates.

Complete DNA sequence of a ColBM plasmid from avian pathogenic Escherichia coli suggests that it evolved from closely related ColV virulence plasmids

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC), an extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli causing colibacillosis in birds, is responsible for significant economic losses for the poultry industry. Recently, we reported that the APEC pathotype was characterized by possession of a set of genes contained within a 94-kb cluster linked to a ColV plasmid, pAPEC-O2-ColV. These included sitABCD, genes of the aerobactin operon, hlyF, iss, genes of the salmochelin operon, and the 5' end of cvaB of the ColV operon. However, the results of gene prevalence studies performed among APEC isolates revealed that these traits were not always linked to ColV plasmids. Here, we present the complete sequence of a 174-kb plasmid, pAPEC-O1-ColBM, which contains a putative virulence cluster similar to that of pAPEC-O2-ColV. These two F-type plasmids share remarkable similarity, except that they encode the production of different colicins; pAPEC-O2-ColV contains an intact ColV operon, and pAPEC-O1-ColBM encodes the colicins B and M. Interestingly, remnants of the ColV operon exist in pAPEC-O1-ColBM, hinting that ColBM-type plasmids may have evolved from ColV plasmids. Among APEC isolates, the prevalence of ColBM sequences helps account for the previously observed differences in prevalence between genes of the "conserved" portion of the putative virulence cluster of pAPEC-O2-ColV and those genes within its "variable" portion. These results, in conjunction with Southern blotting and probing of representative ColBM-positive strains, indicate that this "conserved" cluster of putative virulence genes is primarily linked to F-type virulence plasmids among the APEC isolates studied.

High Prevalence of Multidrug Resistance and Random Distribution of Mobile Genetic Elements Among Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) of the Four Major Phylogenetic Groups

One hundred and ten UTI Escherichia coli strains, from Ljubljana, Slovenia, were analyzed for antibiotic resistances, mobile DNA elements, serotype, and phylogenetic origin. A high prevalence of drug resistance and multidrug resistance was found. Twenty-six percent of the isolates harbored a class 1 integron, while a majority of the strains (56%) harbored rep sequences characteristic of F-like plasmids. int as well as rep sequences were found to be distributed in a random manner among strains of the four major phylogenetic groups indicating that all groups have a similar tendency to acquire and maintain mobile genetic elements frequently associated with resistance determinants.

Characterization of the opposing roles of H-NS and TraJ in transcriptional regulation of the F-plasmid tra operon

The transfer (tra) operon of the conjugative F plasmid of Escherichia coli is a polycistronic 33-kb operon which encodes most of the proteins necessary for F-plasmid transfer. Here, we report that transcription from PY, the tra operon promoter, is repressed by the host nucleoid-associated protein, H-NS. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicate that H-NS binds preferentially to the tra promoter region, while Northern blot and transcriptional fusion analyses indicate that transcription of traY, the first gene in the tra operon, is derepressed in an hns mutant throughout growth. The plasmid-encoded regulatory protein TraJ is essential for transcription of the tra operon in wild-type Escherichia coli; however, TraJ is not necessary for plasmid transfer or traY operon transcription in an hns mutant. This indicates that H-NS represses transcription from PY directly and not indirectly via its effects on TraJ levels. These results suggest that TraJ functions to disrupt H-NS silencing at PY, allowing transcription of the tra operon.

DNA sequence and comparative genomics of pAPEC-O2-R, an avian pathogenic Escherichia coli transmissible R plasmid

In this study, a 101-kb IncF plasmid from an avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strain (APEC O2) was sequenced and analyzed, providing the first completed APEC plasmid sequence. This plasmid, pAPEC-O2-R, has functional transfer and antimicrobial resistance-encoding regions. The resistance-encoding region encodes resistance to eight groups of antimicrobial agents, including silver and other heavy metals, quaternary ammonium compounds, tetracycline, sulfonamides, aminoglycosides, trimethoprim, and beta-lactam antimicrobial agents. This region of the plasmid is unique among previously described IncF plasmids in that it possesses a class 1 integron that harbors three gene cassettes and a heavy metal resistance operon. This region spans 33 kb and is flanked by the RepFII plasmid replicon and an assortment of plasmid maintenance genes. pAPEC-O2-R also contains a 32-kb transfer region that is nearly identical to that found in the E. coli F plasmid, rendering it transferable by conjugation to plasmid-less strains of bacteria, including an APEC strain, a fecal E. coli strain from an apparently healthy bird, a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain, and a uropathogenic E. coli strain from humans. Differences in the G+C contents of individual open reading frames suggest that various regions of pAPEC-O2-R had dissimilar origins. The presence of pAPEC-O2-R-like plasmids that encode resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents and that are readily transmissible from APEC to other bacteria suggests the possibility that such plasmids may serve as a reservoir of resistance genes for other bacteria of animal and human health significance.