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Kollerová S, Jouvet L, Smelková J, Zunk-Parras S, Rodríguez-Rojas A, Steiner UK. Phenotypic resistant single-cell characteristics under recurring ampicillin antibiotic exposure in Escherichia coli. mSystems 2024:e0025624. [PMID: 38920373 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00256-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Non-heritable, phenotypic drug resistance toward antibiotics challenges antibiotic therapies. Characteristics of such phenotypic resistance have implications for the evolution of heritable resistance. Diverse forms of phenotypic resistance have been described, but phenotypic resistance characteristics remain less explored than genetic resistance. Here, we add novel combinations of single-cell characteristics of phenotypic resistant E. coli cells and compare those to characteristics of susceptible cells of the parental population by exposure to different levels of recurrent ampicillin antibiotic. Contrasting expectations, we did not find commonly described characteristics of phenotypic resistant cells that arrest growth or near growth. We find that under ampicillin exposure, phenotypic resistant cells reduced their growth rate by about 50% compared to growth rates prior to antibiotic exposure. The growth reduction is a delayed alteration to antibiotic exposure, suggesting an induced response and not a stochastic switch or caused by a predetermined state as frequently described. Phenotypic resistant cells exhibiting constant slowed growth survived best under ampicillin exposure and, contrary to expectations, not only fast-growing cells suffered high mortality triggered by ampicillin but also growth-arrested cells. Our findings support diverse modes of phenotypic resistance, and we revealed resistant cell characteristics that have been associated with enhanced genetically fixed resistance evolution, which supports claims of an underappreciated role of phenotypic resistant cells toward genetic resistance evolution. A better understanding of phenotypic resistance will benefit combatting genetic resistance by developing and engulfing effective anti-phenotypic resistance strategies. IMPORTANCE Antibiotic resistance is a major challenge for modern medicine. Aside from genetic resistance to antibiotics, phenotypic resistance that is not heritable might play a crucial role for the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Using a highly controlled microfluidic system, we characterize single cells under recurrent exposure to antibiotics. Fluctuating antibiotic exposure is likely experienced under common antibiotic therapies. These phenotypic resistant cell characteristics differ from previously described phenotypic resistance, highlighting the diversity of modes of resistance. The phenotypic characteristics of resistant cells we identify also imply that such cells might provide a stepping stone toward genetic resistance, thereby causing treatment failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Kollerová
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Lionel Jouvet
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Julia Smelková
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | | | | | - Ulrich K Steiner
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Biological Institute, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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2
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Ngo HG, Mohiuddin SG, Ananda A, Orman MA. UNRAVELING CRP/cAMP-MEDIATED METABOLIC REGULATION IN ESCHERICHIA COLI PERSISTER CELLS. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.10.598332. [PMID: 38915711 PMCID: PMC11195080 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.10.598332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
A substantial gap persists in our comprehension of how bacterial metabolism undergoes rewiring during the transition to a persistent state. Also, it remains unclear which metabolic mechanisms become indispensable for persister cell survival. To address these questions, we directed our efforts towards persister cells in Escherichia coli that emerge during the late stationary phase. These cells have been recognized for their exceptional resilience and are commonly believed to be in a dormant state. Our results demonstrate that the global metabolic regulator Crp/cAMP redirects the metabolism of these antibiotic-tolerant cells from anabolism to oxidative phosphorylation. Although our data indicates that persisters exhibit a reduced metabolic rate compared to rapidly growing exponential-phase cells, their survival still relies on energy metabolism. Extensive genomic-level analyses of metabolomics, proteomics, and single-gene deletions consistently emphasize the critical role of energy metabolism, specifically the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, electron transport chain (ETC), and ATP synthase, in sustaining the viability of persisters. Altogether, this study provides much-needed clarification regarding the role of energy metabolism in antibiotic tolerance and highlights the importance of using a multipronged approach at the genomic level to obtain a broader picture of the metabolic state of persister cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han G. Ngo
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, TX, 77204
| | - Sayed Golam Mohiuddin
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, TX, 77204
| | - Aina Ananda
- Department of Biology, Monmouth University, NJ, 07764
| | - Mehmet A. Orman
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, TX, 77204
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3
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Korczak L, Majewski P, Iwaniuk D, Sacha P, Matulewicz M, Wieczorek P, Majewska P, Wieczorek A, Radziwon P, Tryniszewska E. Molecular mechanisms of tigecycline-resistance among Enterobacterales. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2024; 14:1289396. [PMID: 38655285 PMCID: PMC11035753 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1289396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The global emergence of antimicrobial resistance to multiple antibiotics has recently become a significant concern. Gram-negative bacteria, known for their ability to acquire mobile genetic elements such as plasmids, represent one of the most hazardous microorganisms. This phenomenon poses a serious threat to public health. Notably, the significance of tigecycline, a member of the antibiotic group glycylcyclines and derivative of tetracyclines has increased. Tigecycline is one of the last-resort antimicrobial drugs used to treat complicated infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria or even pan-drug-resistant (PDR) bacteria. The primary mechanisms of tigecycline resistance include efflux pumps' overexpression, tet genes and outer membrane porins. Efflux pumps are crucial in conferring multi-drug resistance by expelling antibiotics (such as tigecycline by direct expelling) and decreasing their concentration to sub-toxic levels. This review discusses the problem of tigecycline resistance, and provides important information for understanding the existing molecular mechanisms of tigecycline resistance in Enterobacterales. The emergence and spread of pathogens resistant to last-resort therapeutic options stands as a major global healthcare concern, especially when microorganisms are already resistant to carbapenems and/or colistin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukasz Korczak
- Department of Microbiological Diagnostics and Infectious Immunology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
| | - Piotr Majewski
- Department of Microbiological Diagnostics and Infectious Immunology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
| | - Dominika Iwaniuk
- Department of Microbiological Diagnostics and Infectious Immunology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
| | - Pawel Sacha
- Department of Microbiological Diagnostics and Infectious Immunology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
| | | | - Piotr Wieczorek
- Department of Microbiological Diagnostics and Infectious Immunology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
| | | | - Anna Wieczorek
- Department of Microbiological Diagnostics and Infectious Immunology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
| | - Piotr Radziwon
- Regional Centre for Transfusion Medicine, Bialystok, Poland
| | - Elzbieta Tryniszewska
- Department of Microbiological Diagnostics and Infectious Immunology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland
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4
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Lan F, Saba J, Ross TD, Zhou Z, Krauska K, Anantharaman K, Landick R, Venturelli OS. Massively parallel single-cell sequencing of diverse microbial populations. Nat Methods 2024; 21:228-235. [PMID: 38233503 PMCID: PMC11089590 DOI: 10.1038/s41592-023-02157-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Single-cell genetic heterogeneity is ubiquitous in microbial populations and an important aspect of microbial biology; however, we lack a broadly applicable and accessible method to study this heterogeneity in microbial populations. Here, we show a simple, robust and generalizable method for high-throughput single-cell sequencing of target genetic loci in diverse microbes using simple droplet microfluidics devices (droplet targeted amplicon sequencing; DoTA-seq). DoTA-seq serves as a platform to perform diverse assays for single-cell genetic analysis of microbial populations. Using DoTA-seq, we demonstrate the ability to simultaneously track the prevalence and taxonomic associations of >10 antibiotic-resistance genes and plasmids within human and mouse gut microbial communities. This workflow is a powerful and accessible platform for high-throughput single-cell sequencing of diverse microbial populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freeman Lan
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
| | - Jason Saba
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Tyler D Ross
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Zhichao Zhou
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Katie Krauska
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | - Robert Landick
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Ophelia S Venturelli
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
- Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
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5
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Fernández-García L, Song S, Kirigo J, Battisti ME, Petersen ME, Tomás M, Wood TK. Toxin/antitoxin systems induce persistence and work in concert with restriction/modification systems to inhibit phage. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0338823. [PMID: 38054715 PMCID: PMC10783111 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03388-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE To date, there are no reports of phage infection-inducing persistence. Therefore, our results are important since we show for the first time that a phage-defense system, the MqsRAC toxin/antitoxin system, allows the host to survive infection by forming persister cells, rather than inducing cell suicide. Moreover, we demonstrate that the MqsRAC system works in concert with restriction/modification systems. These results imply that if phage therapy is to be successful, anti-persister compounds need to be administered along with phages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Fernández-García
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
- Microbiology Department of Hospital A Coruña (CHUAC), Microbiology Translational and Multidisciplinary (MicroTM)-Research Institute Biomedical A Coruña (INIBIC) and University of A Coruña (UDC), A Coruña, Spain
| | - Sooyeon Song
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
- Department of Animal Science, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju-Si, Jellabuk-Do, South Korea
- Agricultural Convergence Technology, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju-Si, Jellabuk-Do, South Korea
| | - Joy Kirigo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Michael E. Battisti
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Maiken E. Petersen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
- Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - María Tomás
- Microbiology Department of Hospital A Coruña (CHUAC), Microbiology Translational and Multidisciplinary (MicroTM)-Research Institute Biomedical A Coruña (INIBIC) and University of A Coruña (UDC), A Coruña, Spain
| | - Thomas K. Wood
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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6
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Windels EM, Cool L, Persy E, Swinnen J, Matthay P, Van den Bergh B, Wenseleers T, Michiels J. Antibiotic dose and nutrient availability differentially drive the evolution of antibiotic resistance and persistence. THE ISME JOURNAL 2024; 18:wrae070. [PMID: 38691440 PMCID: PMC11102087 DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Effective treatment of bacterial infections proves increasingly challenging due to the emergence of bacterial variants that endure antibiotic exposure. Antibiotic resistance and persistence have been identified as two major bacterial survival mechanisms, and several studies have shown a rapid and strong selection of resistance or persistence mutants under repeated drug treatment. Yet, little is known about the impact of the environmental conditions on resistance and persistence evolution and the potential interplay between both phenotypes. Based on the distinct growth and survival characteristics of resistance and persistence mutants, we hypothesized that the antibiotic dose and availability of nutrients during treatment might play a key role in the evolutionary adaptation to antibiotic stress. To test this hypothesis, we combined high-throughput experimental evolution with a mathematical model of bacterial evolution under intermittent antibiotic exposure. We show that high nutrient levels during antibiotic treatment promote selection of high-level resistance, but that resistance mainly emerges independently of persistence when the antibiotic concentration is sufficiently low. At higher doses, resistance evolution is facilitated by the preceding or concurrent selection of persistence mutants, which ensures survival of populations in harsh conditions. Collectively, our experimental data and mathematical model elucidate the evolutionary routes toward increased bacterial survival under different antibiotic treatment schedules, which is key to designing effective antibiotic therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Etthel M Windels
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Lloyd Cool
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Eline Persy
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Janne Swinnen
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Paul Matthay
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bram Van den Bergh
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tom Wenseleers
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Michiels
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
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7
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Zhang K, Potter RF, Marino J, Muenks CE, Lammers MG, Dien Bard J, Dingle TC, Humphries R, Westblade LF, Burnham CAD, Dantas G. Comparative genomics reveals the correlations of stress response genes and bacteriophages in developing antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus saprophyticus. mSystems 2023; 8:e0069723. [PMID: 38051037 PMCID: PMC10734486 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00697-23] [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: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Staphylococcus saprophyticus is the second most common bacteria associated with urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women. The antimicrobial treatment regimen for uncomplicated UTI is normally nitrofurantoin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), or a fluoroquinolone without routine susceptibility testing of S. saprophyticus recovered from urine specimens. However, TMP-SMX-resistant S. saprophyticus has been detected recently in UTI patients, as well as in our cohort. Herein, we investigated the understudied resistance patterns of this pathogenic species by linking genomic antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) content to susceptibility phenotypes. We describe ARG associations with known and novel SCCmec configurations as well as phage elements in S. saprophyticus, which may serve as intervention or diagnostic targets to limit resistance transmission. Our analyses yielded a comprehensive database of phenotypic data associated with the ARG sequence in clinical S. saprophyticus isolates, which will be crucial for resistance surveillance and prediction to enable precise diagnosis and effective treatment of S. saprophyticus UTIs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kailun Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- The Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Robert F. Potter
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Jamie Marino
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, USA
| | - Carol E. Muenks
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Matthew G. Lammers
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Jennifer Dien Bard
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Tanis C. Dingle
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Romney Humphries
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Lars F. Westblade
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, USA
| | - Carey-Ann D. Burnham
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Gautam Dantas
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- The Edison Family Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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8
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Usui M, Yoshii Y, Thiriet-Rupert S, Ghigo JM, Beloin C. Intermittent antibiotic treatment of bacterial biofilms favors the rapid evolution of resistance. Commun Biol 2023; 6:275. [PMID: 36928386 PMCID: PMC10020551 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04601-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial antibiotic resistance is a global health concern of increasing importance and intensive study. Although biofilms are a common source of infections in clinical settings, little is known about the development of antibiotic resistance within biofilms. Here, we use experimental evolution to compare selection of resistance mutations in planktonic and biofilm Escherichia coli populations exposed to clinically relevant cycles of lethal treatment with the aminoglycoside amikacin. Consistently, mutations in sbmA, encoding an inner membrane peptide transporter, and fusA, encoding the essential elongation factor G, are rapidly selected in biofilms, but not in planktonic cells. This is due to a combination of enhanced mutation rate, increased adhesion capacity and protective biofilm-associated tolerance. These results show that the biofilm environment favors rapid evolution of resistance and provide new insights into the dynamic evolution of antibiotic resistance in biofilms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaru Usui
- Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Safety, Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Hokkaido, Japan.
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, UMR CNRS 6047, Genetics of Biofilms Laboratory, 75015, Paris, France.
| | - Yutaka Yoshii
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, UMR CNRS 6047, Genetics of Biofilms Laboratory, 75015, Paris, France
| | - Stanislas Thiriet-Rupert
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, UMR CNRS 6047, Genetics of Biofilms Laboratory, 75015, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Marc Ghigo
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, UMR CNRS 6047, Genetics of Biofilms Laboratory, 75015, Paris, France
| | - Christophe Beloin
- Institut Pasteur, Université de Paris Cité, UMR CNRS 6047, Genetics of Biofilms Laboratory, 75015, Paris, France.
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9
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Huemer M, Mairpady Shambat S, Hertegonne S, Bergada-Pijuan J, Chang CC, Pereira S, Gómez-Mejia A, Van Gestel L, Bär J, Vulin C, Pfammatter S, Stinear TP, Monk IR, Dworkin J, Zinkernagel AS. Serine-threonine phosphoregulation by PknB and Stp contributes to quiescence and antibiotic tolerance in Staphylococcus aureus. Sci Signal 2023; 16:eabj8194. [PMID: 36595572 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.abj8194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus can cause infections that are often chronic and difficult to treat, even when the bacteria are not antibiotic resistant because most antibiotics act only on metabolically active cells. Subpopulations of persister cells are metabolically quiescent, a state associated with delayed growth, reduced protein synthesis, and increased tolerance to antibiotics. Serine-threonine kinases and phosphatases similar to those found in eukaryotes can fine-tune essential bacterial cellular processes, such as metabolism and stress signaling. We found that acid stress-mimicking conditions that S. aureus experiences in host tissues delayed growth, globally altered the serine and threonine phosphoproteome, and increased threonine phosphorylation of the activation loop of the serine-threonine protein kinase B (PknB). The deletion of stp, which encodes the only annotated functional serine-threonine phosphatase in S. aureus, increased the growth delay and phenotypic heterogeneity under different stress challenges, including growth in acidic conditions, the intracellular milieu of human cells, and abscesses in mice. This growth delay was associated with reduced protein translation and intracellular ATP concentrations and increased antibiotic tolerance. Using phosphopeptide enrichment and mass spectrometry-based proteomics, we identified targets of serine-threonine phosphorylation that may regulate bacterial growth and metabolism. Together, our findings highlight the importance of phosphoregulation in mediating bacterial quiescence and antibiotic tolerance and suggest that targeting PknB or Stp might offer a future therapeutic strategy to prevent persister formation during S. aureus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Huemer
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Srikanth Mairpady Shambat
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sanne Hertegonne
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Judith Bergada-Pijuan
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Chun-Chi Chang
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sandro Pereira
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alejandro Gómez-Mejia
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lies Van Gestel
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Julian Bär
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Clément Vulin
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sibylle Pfammatter
- Functional Genomics Center Zurich, ETH/University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Timothy P Stinear
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ian R Monk
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jonathan Dworkin
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Annelies S Zinkernagel
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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10
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Microfluidic dose-response platform to track the dynamics of drug response in single mycobacterial cells. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19578. [PMID: 36379978 PMCID: PMC9666435 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24175-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Preclinical analysis of drug efficacy is critical for drug development. However, conventional bulk-cell assays statically assess the mean population behavior, lacking resolution on drug-escaping cells. Inaccurate estimation of efficacy can lead to overestimation of compounds, whose efficacy will not be confirmed in the clinic, or lead to rejection of valuable candidates. Time-lapse microfluidic microscopy is a powerful approach to characterize drugs at high spatiotemporal resolution, but hard to apply on a large scale. Here we report the development of a microfluidic platform based on a pneumatic operating principle, which is scalable and compatible with long-term live-cell imaging and with simultaneous analysis of different drug concentrations. We tested the platform with mycobacterial cells, including the tubercular pathogen, providing the first proof of concept of a single-cell dose-response assay. This dynamic in-vitro model will prove useful to probe the fate of drug-stressed cells, providing improved predictions of drug efficacy in the clinic.
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11
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Sulaiman JE, Long L, Qian PY, Lam H. Proteome profiling of evolved methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains with distinct daptomycin tolerance and resistance phenotypes. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:970146. [PMID: 35992709 PMCID: PMC9386379 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.970146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a highly dangerous pathogen, and daptomycin has been increasingly used to treat its infections in clinics. Recently, several groups have shown that tolerance and resistance of microbes can evolve rapidly under cyclic antibiotic exposure. We have previously shown that the same tolerance and resistance development occurs in MRSA treated with daptomycin in an adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiment. In the present study, we performed proteomic analysis to compare six daptomycin-tolerant and resistant MRSA strains that were evolved from the same ancestral strain. The strain with a higher tolerance level than the others had the most different proteome and response to antibiotic treatment, resembling those observed in persister cells, which are small subpopulations of bacteria that survive lethal antibiotics treatment. By comparing the proteome changes across strains with similar phenotypes, we identified the key proteins that play important roles in daptomycin tolerance and resistance in MRSA. We selected two candidates to be confirmed by gene overexpression analysis. Overexpression of EcsA1 and FabG, which were up-regulated in all of the tolerant evolved strains, led to increased daptomycin tolerance in wild-type MRSA. The proteomics data also suggested that cell wall modulations were implicated in both resistance and tolerance, but in different ways. While the resistant strains had peptidoglycan changes and a more positive surface charge to directly repel daptomycin, the tolerant strains possessed different cell wall changes that do not involve the peptidoglycan nor alterations of the surface charge. Overall, our study showed the differential proteome profiles among multiple tolerant and resistant strains, pinpointed the key proteins for the two phenotypes and revealed the differences in cell wall modulations between the daptomycin-tolerant/resistant strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordy Evan Sulaiman
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lexin Long
- Department of Ocean Science and Hong Kong Branch of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Pei-Yuan Qian
- Department of Ocean Science and Hong Kong Branch of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou, China
| | - Henry Lam
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
- *Correspondence: Henry Lam,
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12
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Mutation in the Two-Component System Regulator YycH Leads to Daptomycin Tolerance in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus upon Evolution with a Population Bottleneck. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0168722. [PMID: 35913149 PMCID: PMC9431245 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01687-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) is a useful tool to study the evolution of antibiotic tolerance in bacterial populations under diverse environmental conditions. The role of population bottlenecks in the evolution of tolerance has been investigated in Escherichia coli, but not in a more clinically relevant pathogen, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In this study, we used ALE to evolve MRSA under repetitive daptomycin treatment and incorporated population bottlenecks following antibiotic exposure. We observed that the populations finally attained a tolerance mutation in the yycH gene after 2 weeks of evolution with population bottlenecks, and additional mutations in yycI and several other genes further increased the tolerance level. The tolerant populations also became resistant to another glycopeptide antibiotic, vancomycin. Through proteomics, we showed that yycH and yycI mutations led to the loss of function of the proteins and downregulated the WalKR two-component system and the downstream players, including the autolysin Atl and amidase Sle1, which are important for cell wall metabolism. Overall, our study offers new insights into the evolution of daptomycin tolerance under population bottlenecking conditions, which are commonly faced by pathogens during infection; the study also identified new mutations conferring daptomycin tolerance and revealed the proteome alterations in the evolved tolerant populations. IMPORTANCE Although population bottlenecks are known to influence the evolutionary dynamics of microbial populations, how such bottlenecks affect the evolution of tolerance to antibiotics in a clinically relevant methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) pathogen are still unclear. Here, we performed in vitro evolution of MRSA under cyclic daptomycin treatment and applied population bottlenecks following the treatment. We showed that under these experimental conditions, MRSA populations finally attained mutations in yycH, yycI, and several other genes that led to daptomycin tolerance. The discovered yycH and yycI mutations caused early termination of the genes and loss of function of the proteins, and they subsequently downregulated the expression of proteins controlled by the WalKR two-component system, such as Atl and Sle1. In addition, we compared our proteomics data with multiple studies on distinct daptomycin-tolerant MRSA mutants to identify proteins with a consistent expression pattern that could serve as biological markers for daptomycin tolerance in MRSA.
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13
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Perault A, Turlan C, Eynard N, Vallé Q, Bousquet-Mélou A, Giraud E. Repeated Exposure of Escherichia coli to High Ciprofloxacin Concentrations Selects gyrB Mutants That Show Fluoroquinolone-Specific Hyperpersistence. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:908296. [PMID: 35707170 PMCID: PMC9189390 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.908296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that not only resistance, but also tolerance/persistence levels can evolve rapidly in bacteria exposed to repeated antibiotic treatments. We used in vitro evolution to assess whether tolerant/hyperpersistent Escherichia coli ATCC25922 mutants could be selected under repeated exposure to a high ciprofloxacin concentration. Among two out of three independent evolution lines, we observed the emergence of gyrB mutants showing an hyperpersistence phenotype specific to fluoroquinolones, but no significant MIC increase. The identified mutation gives rise to a L422P substitution in GyrB, that is, outside of the canonical GyrB QRDR. Our results indicate that mutations in overlooked regions of quinolone target genes may impair the efficacy of treatments via an increase of persistence rather than resistance level, and support the idea that, in addition to resistance, phenotypes of tolerance/persistence of infectious bacterial strains should receive considerations in the choice of antibiotic therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurore Perault
- INTHERES, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, ENVT, Toulouse, France
| | - Catherine Turlan
- Service d’Ingénierie Génétique du LMGM (SIG-LMGM-CBI), CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - Nathalie Eynard
- Service d’Ingénierie Génétique du LMGM (SIG-LMGM-CBI), CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - Quentin Vallé
- INTHERES, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, ENVT, Toulouse, France
| | | | - Etienne Giraud
- INTHERES, Université de Toulouse, INRAE, ENVT, Toulouse, France
- *Correspondence: Etienne Giraud,
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14
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Zheng EJ, Andrews IW, Grote AT, Manson AL, Alcantar MA, Earl AM, Collins JJ. Modulating the evolutionary trajectory of tolerance using antibiotics with different metabolic dependencies. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2525. [PMID: 35534481 PMCID: PMC9085803 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30272-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic tolerance, or the ability of bacteria to survive antibiotic treatment in the absence of genetic resistance, has been linked to chronic and recurrent infections. Tolerant cells are often characterized by a low metabolic state, against which most clinically used antibiotics are ineffective. Here, we show that tolerance readily evolves against antibiotics that are strongly dependent on bacterial metabolism, but does not arise against antibiotics whose efficacy is only minimally affected by metabolic state. We identify a mechanism of tolerance evolution in E. coli involving deletion of the sodium-proton antiporter gene nhaA, which results in downregulated metabolism and upregulated stress responses. Additionally, we find that cycling of antibiotics with different metabolic dependencies interrupts evolution of tolerance in vitro, increasing the lifetime of treatment efficacy. Our work highlights the potential for limiting the occurrence and extent of tolerance by accounting for antibiotic dependencies on bacterial metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica J Zheng
- Program in Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Ian W Andrews
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
- Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Alexandra T Grote
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Abigail L Manson
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Miguel A Alcantar
- Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ashlee M Earl
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - James J Collins
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
- Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
- Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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15
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Sulaiman JE, Long L, Qian PY, Lam H. Proteomics and Transcriptomics Uncover Key Processes for Elasnin Tolerance in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. mSystems 2022; 7:e0139321. [PMID: 35076266 PMCID: PMC8788329 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.01393-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Elasnin is a new antibiofilm compound that was recently reported to have excellent activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilms. In this study, we established that elasnin also has antibacterial activity against growing S. aureus planktonic cells. To explore elasnin's potential as an antibiotic, we applied adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) and produced evolved strains with elevated elasnin tolerance. Interestingly, they were more sensitive toward daptomycin and lysostaphin. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that all of the evolved strains possessed a single point mutation in a putative phosphate transport regulator. Subsequently, they exhibited increased intracellular phosphate (Pi) and polyphosphate levels. Inhibition of the phosphate transport regulator gene changed the phenotype of the wild type to one resembling those observed in the evolved strains. Proteomics and transcriptomics analyses showed that elasnin treatment resulted in the downregulation of many proteins related to cell division and cell wall synthesis, which is important for the survival of growing exponential-phase cells. Other downregulated processes and factors were fatty acid metabolism, glycolysis, the two-component system, RNA degradation, and ribosomal proteins. Most importantly, transport proteins and proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation and the phosphotransferase system were more upregulated in the evolved strain than in the ancestral strain, indicating that they are important for elasnin tolerance. Overall, this study showed that elasnin has antibacterial activity against growing S. aureus cells and revealed the altered processes due to elasnin treatment and those associated with its tolerance. IMPORTANCE Besides the excellent antibiofilm properties of elasnin, we discovered that it can also kill growing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) planktonic cells. We subjected MRSA cells to an in vitro evolution experiment, and the resulting evolved strains exhibited increased elasnin tolerance, reduced growth rate, loss of pigmentation, and an increased proportion of small-colony formation, and they became more sensitive toward daptomycin and lysostaphin. Through multiomics analysis, we uncovered the affected processes in growing S. aureus planktonic cells following elasnin treatment, including the downregulation of cell wall synthesis, cell division, and some genes/proteins for the two-component system. These findings suggest that elasnin suppressed processes important for the cells' survival and adaptation to environmental stresses, making it an ideal drug adjuvant candidate. Overall, our study provides new insights into the mechanism of elasnin in S. aureus planktonic cells and pointed out the potential application of elasnin in clinics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordy Evan Sulaiman
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lexin Long
- Department of Ocean Science and Hong Kong Branch of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
| | - Pei-Yuan Qian
- Department of Ocean Science and Hong Kong Branch of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China
| | - Henry Lam
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
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16
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Sulaima JE, Lam H. Proteomics in antibiotic resistance and tolerance research: Mapping the resistome and the tolerome of bacterial pathogens. Proteomics 2022; 22:e2100409. [PMID: 35143120 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.202100409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance, the ability of a microbial pathogen to evade the effects of antibiotics thereby allowing them to grow under elevated drug concentrations, is an alarming health problem worldwide and has attracted the attention of scientists for decades. On the other hand, the clinical importance of persistence and tolerance as alternative mechanisms for pathogens to survive prolonged lethal antibiotic doses has recently become increasingly appreciated. Persisters and high-tolerance populations are thought to cause the relapse of infectious diseases, and provide opportunities for the pathogens to evolve resistance during the course of antibiotic therapy. Although proteomics and other omics methodology have long been employed to study resistance, its applications in studying persistence and tolerance are still limited. However, due to the growing interest in the topic and recent progress in method developments to study them, there have been some proteomic studies that yield fresh insights into the phenomenon of persistence and tolerance. Combined with the studies on resistance, these collectively guide us to novel molecular targets for the potential drugs for the control of these dangerous pathogens. In this review, we surveyed previous proteomic studies to investigate resistance, persistence, and tolerance mechanisms, and discussed emerging experimental strategies for studying these phenotypes with a combination of adaptive laboratory evolution and high-throughput proteomics. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordy Evan Sulaima
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Henry Lam
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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17
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Bugs on Drugs: A Drosophila melanogaster Gut Model to Study In Vivo Antibiotic Tolerance of E. coli. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10010119. [PMID: 35056568 PMCID: PMC8780219 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10010119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
With an antibiotic crisis upon us, we need to boost antibiotic development and improve antibiotics’ efficacy. Crucial is knowing how to efficiently kill bacteria, especially in more complex in vivo conditions. Indeed, many bacteria harbor antibiotic-tolerant persisters, variants that survive exposure to our most potent antibiotics and catalyze resistance development. However, persistence is often only studied in vitro as we lack flexible in vivo models. Here, I explored the potential of using Drosophila melanogaster as a model for antimicrobial research, combining methods in Drosophila with microbiology techniques: assessing fly development and feeding, generating germ-free or bacteria-associated Drosophila and in situ microscopy. Adult flies tolerate antibiotics at high doses, although germ-free larvae show impaired development. Orally presented E. coli associates with Drosophila and mostly resides in the crop. E. coli shows an overall high antibiotic tolerance in vivo potentially resulting from heterogeneity in growth rates. The hipA7 high-persistence mutant displays an increased antibiotic survival while the expected low persistence of ΔrelAΔspoT and ΔrpoS mutants cannot be confirmed in vivo. In conclusion, a Drosophila model for in vivo antibiotic tolerance research shows high potential and offers a flexible system to test findings from in vitro assays in a broader, more complex condition.
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18
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Verstraete L, Van den Bergh B, Verstraeten N, Michiels J. Ecology and evolution of antibiotic persistence. Trends Microbiol 2021; 30:466-479. [PMID: 34753652 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2021.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Bacteria have at their disposal a battery of strategies to withstand antibiotic stress. Among these, resistance is a well-known mechanism, yet bacteria can also survive antibiotic attack by adopting a tolerant phenotype. In the case of persistence, only a small fraction within an isogenic population switches to this antibiotic-tolerant state. Persistence depends on the ecological niche and the genetic background of the strains involved. Furthermore, it has been shown to be under direct and indirect evolutionary pressure. Persister cells play a role in chronic infections and the development of resistance, and therefore a better understanding of this phenotype could contribute to the development of effective antibacterial therapies. In the current review, we discuss how ecological and evolutionary forces shape persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Verstraete
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium
| | - B Van den Bergh
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium
| | - N Verstraeten
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium
| | - J Michiels
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium.
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19
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Hare PJ, LaGree TJ, Byrd BA, DeMarco AM, Mok WWK. Single-Cell Technologies to Study Phenotypic Heterogeneity and Bacterial Persisters. Microorganisms 2021; 9:2277. [PMID: 34835403 PMCID: PMC8620850 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9112277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic persistence is a phenomenon in which rare cells of a clonal bacterial population can survive antibiotic doses that kill their kin, even though the entire population is genetically susceptible. With antibiotic treatment failure on the rise, there is growing interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial phenotypic heterogeneity and antibiotic persistence. However, elucidating these rare cell states can be technically challenging. The advent of single-cell techniques has enabled us to observe and quantitatively investigate individual cells in complex, phenotypically heterogeneous populations. In this review, we will discuss current technologies for studying persister phenotypes, including fluorescent tags and biosensors used to elucidate cellular processes; advances in flow cytometry, mass spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, and microfluidics that contribute high-throughput and high-content information; and next-generation sequencing for powerful insights into genetic and transcriptomic programs. We will further discuss existing knowledge gaps, cutting-edge technologies that can address them, and how advances in single-cell microbiology can potentially improve infectious disease treatment outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia J. Hare
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biophysics, UConn Health, Farmington, CT 06032, USA; (P.J.H.); (T.J.L.); (B.A.B.); (A.M.D.)
- School of Dental Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT 06032, USA
| | - Travis J. LaGree
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biophysics, UConn Health, Farmington, CT 06032, USA; (P.J.H.); (T.J.L.); (B.A.B.); (A.M.D.)
| | - Brandon A. Byrd
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biophysics, UConn Health, Farmington, CT 06032, USA; (P.J.H.); (T.J.L.); (B.A.B.); (A.M.D.)
- School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT 06032, USA
| | - Angela M. DeMarco
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biophysics, UConn Health, Farmington, CT 06032, USA; (P.J.H.); (T.J.L.); (B.A.B.); (A.M.D.)
| | - Wendy W. K. Mok
- Department of Molecular Biology & Biophysics, UConn Health, Farmington, CT 06032, USA; (P.J.H.); (T.J.L.); (B.A.B.); (A.M.D.)
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20
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Brauner A, Balaban NQ. Quantitative biology of survival under antibiotic treatments. Curr Opin Microbiol 2021; 64:139-145. [PMID: 34715469 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 08/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The mathematical formulation for the dynamics of growth reduction and/or killing under antibiotic treatments has a long history. Even before the extensive use of antibiotics, attempts to model the killing dynamics of biocides were made [1]. Here, we review relatively simple quantitative formulations of the two main modes of survival under antibiotics, resistance and tolerance, as well as their heterogeneity in bacterial populations. We focus on the two main types of heterogeneity that have been described: heteroresistance and antibiotic persistence, each linked to the variation in a different parameter of the antibiotic response dynamics. Finally, we review the effects on survival of combining resistance and tolerance mutations as well as on the mode and tempo of evolution under antibiotic treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asher Brauner
- Racah Institute of Physics, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel
| | - Nathalie Q Balaban
- Racah Institute of Physics, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9190401, Israel.
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21
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Novel Daptomycin Tolerance and Resistance Mutations in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus from Adaptive Laboratory Evolution. mSphere 2021; 6:e0069221. [PMID: 34585959 PMCID: PMC8550074 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00692-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been shown recently in a number of in vitro laboratory evolution experiments that under repetitive antibiotic exposure, bacterial populations can adapt quickly to the treatment condition by becoming tolerant and/or resistant to the drug. The repeated killing and regrowth cycles hasten the selection for tolerant/resistant mutants with survival advantages. Due to the random nature of mutagenesis and the large target size of tolerance mutations, this dynamic evolutionary process appears to be highly unpredictable, generating distinct mutants even under identical, well-controlled laboratory conditions. Here, we utilized an adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiment to hunt for novel tolerance and resistance mutations by subjecting multiple lineages of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to repetitive daptomycin treatment. By sequencing multiple isolates along the course of evolution, we obtained three tolerant mutants that have different tolerance levels and identified novel daptomycin resistance mutations in the mprF gene. In addition, we found that tolerance/resistance development is more rapid if the population is treated in the exponential phase than if it is treated in the stationary phase, which is likely attributable to the more effective killing of growing cells by the antibiotic. Through competition assays, we found that whether or not the resistant mutants can take over the population heavily depends on the relative survival advantages conferred by the tolerance and resistance mutations. This study reports novel daptomycin resistance and tolerance mutations and offers new insights into the dynamics of the development of tolerance and resistance in bacterial populations under antibiotic exposure. IMPORTANCE Although the phenotype of increased tolerance and/or resistance was commonly observed in evolved populations from typical adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiments, a wide variety of mutations that underlie those phenotypes have been discovered. Therefore, performing ALE experiments in multiple populations in parallel would serve the purpose of mining for different tolerant/resistant mutants and would be useful to explore the diverse population dynamics of evolution. In this study, we performed in vitro evolution in a clinically relevant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pathogen, using a lethal concentration of a drug that is frequently used in the clinic, daptomycin. Using this strategy, we obtained three distinct daptomycin-tolerant mutants and identified six daptomycin resistance mutations in different locations on the mprF gene, collectively adding to our current knowledge of this important pathogen. In addition, we found out that in most cases, the daptomycin-resistant mutant outcompetes other susceptible and tolerant mutants and becomes established in the final population. Follow-up competition experiments offered an explanation; the resistant mutant cannot invade populations of tolerant mutants that confer higher survival advantages than itself. In summary, we demonstrated an experimental strategy to explore the landscape and dynamics of the evolution of tolerance and resistance in MRSA toward daptomycin and made observations that will guide future ALE experiments.
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22
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The Use of Experimental Evolution to Study the Response of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to Single or Double Antibiotic Treatment. Methods Mol Biol 2021. [PMID: 34590259 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1621-5_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
The widespread use of antibiotics promotes the evolution and dissemination of drug resistance and tolerance. Both mechanisms promote survival during antibiotic exposure and their role and development can be studied in vitro with different assays to document the gradual adaptation through the selective enrichment of resistant or tolerant mutant variants. Here, we describe the use of experimental evolution in combination with time-resolved genome analysis as a powerful tool to study the interaction of antibiotic tolerance and resistance in the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa . This method guides the identification of components involved in alleviating antibiotic stress and helps to unravel specific molecular pathways leading to drug tolerance or resistance. We discuss the influence of single or double drug treatment regimens and environmental aspects on the evolution of antibiotic resilience mechanisms.
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Sulaiman JE, Long L, Wu L, Qian PY, Lam H. Comparative proteomic investigation of multiple methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains generated through adaptive laboratory evolution. iScience 2021; 24:102950. [PMID: 34458699 PMCID: PMC8377494 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent discoveries indicate that tolerance and resistance could rapidly evolve in bacterial populations under intermittent antibiotic treatment. In the present study, we applied antibiotic combinations in laboratory experiments to generate novel methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains with distinct phenotypes (tolerance, resistance, and suppressed tolerance), and compared their proteome profiles to uncover the adaptation mechanisms. While the tolerant strains have very different proteomes than the susceptible ancestral strain, the resistant strain largely resembles the ancestral in terms of their proteomes. Our proteomics data and other assays support the connection between the detected mutations to the observed phenotypes, confirming the general understanding of tolerance and resistance mechanisms. While resistance directly counteracts the action mechanism of the antibiotic, tolerance involves complex substantial changes in the cells' biological process to achieve survival advantages. Overall, this study provides insights into the existence of diverse evolutionary pathways for tolerance and resistance development under different treatment scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordy Evan Sulaiman
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Lexin Long
- Department of Ocean Science and Hong Kong Branch of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Long Wu
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Pei-Yuan Qian
- Department of Ocean Science and Hong Kong Branch of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Henry Lam
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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Hossain T, Deter HS, Peters EJ, Butzin NC. Antibiotic tolerance, persistence, and resistance of the evolved minimal cell, Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-Syn3B. iScience 2021; 24:102391. [PMID: 33997676 PMCID: PMC8091054 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem, but bacteria can evade antibiotic treatment via tolerance and persistence. Antibiotic persisters are a small subpopulation of bacteria that tolerate antibiotics due to a physiologically dormant state. Hence, persistence is considered a major contributor to the evolution of antibiotic-resistant and relapsing infections. Here, we used the synthetically developed minimal cell Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-Syn3B to examine essential mechanisms of antibiotic survival. The minimal cell contains only 473 genes, and most genes are essential. Its reduced complexity helps to reveal hidden phenomenon and fundamental biological principles can be explored because of less redundancy and feedback between systems compared to natural cells. We found that Syn3B evolves antibiotic resistance to different types of antibiotics expeditiously. The minimal cell also tolerates and persists against multiple antibiotics. It contains a few already identified persister-related genes, although lacking many systems previously linked to persistence (e.g. toxin-antitoxin systems, ribosome hibernation genes).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahmina Hossain
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006, USA
| | - Heather S. Deter
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Eliza J. Peters
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006, USA
| | - Nicholas C. Butzin
- Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006, USA
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25
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Gil-Gil T, Ochoa-Sánchez LE, Baquero F, Martínez JL. Antibiotic resistance: Time of synthesis in a post-genomic age. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2021; 19:3110-3124. [PMID: 34141134 PMCID: PMC8181582 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.05.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance has been highlighted by international organizations, including World Health Organization, World Bank and United Nations, as one of the most relevant global health problems. Classical approaches to study this problem have focused in infected humans, mainly at hospitals. Nevertheless, antibiotic resistance can expand through different ecosystems and geographical allocations, hence constituting a One-Health, Global-Health problem, requiring specific integrative analytic tools. Antibiotic resistance evolution and transmission are multilayer, hierarchically organized processes with several elements (from genes to the whole microbiome) involved. However, their study has been traditionally gene-centric, each element independently studied. The development of robust-economically affordable whole genome sequencing approaches, as well as other -omic techniques as transcriptomics and proteomics, is changing this panorama. These technologies allow the description of a system, either a cell or a microbiome as a whole, overcoming the problems associated with gene-centric approaches. We are currently at the time of combining the information derived from -omic studies to have a more holistic view of the evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance. This synthesis process requires the accurate integration of -omic information into computational models that serve to analyse the causes and the consequences of acquiring AR, fed by curated databases capable of identifying the elements involved in the acquisition of resistance. In this review, we analyse the capacities and drawbacks of the tools that are currently in use for the global analysis of AR, aiming to identify the more useful targets for effective corrective interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Gil-Gil
- Centro Nacional de Biotecnología, CSIC, Darwin 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Fernando Baquero
- Department of Microbiology, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain
- CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBER-ESP), Madrid, Spain
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26
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Windels EM, Fox R, Yerramsetty K, Krouse K, Wenseleers T, Swinnen J, Matthay P, Verstraete L, Wilmaerts D, Van den Bergh B, Michiels J. Population Bottlenecks Strongly Affect the Evolutionary Dynamics of Antibiotic Persistence. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:3345-3357. [PMID: 33871643 PMCID: PMC8321523 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial persistence is a potential cause of antibiotic therapy failure. Antibiotic-tolerant persisters originate from phenotypic differentiation within a susceptible population, occurring with a frequency that can be altered by mutations. Recent studies have proven that persistence is a highly evolvable trait and, consequently, an important evolutionary strategy of bacterial populations to adapt to high-dose antibiotic therapy. Yet, the factors that govern the evolutionary dynamics of persistence are currently poorly understood. Theoretical studies predict far-reaching effects of bottlenecking on the evolutionary adaption of bacterial populations, but these effects have never been investigated in the context of persistence. Bottlenecking events are frequently encountered by infecting pathogens during host-to-host transmission and antibiotic treatment. In this study, we used a combination of experimental evolution and barcoded knockout libraries to examine how population bottlenecking affects the evolutionary dynamics of persistence. In accordance with existing hypotheses, small bottlenecks were found to restrict the adaptive potential of populations and result in more heterogeneous evolutionary outcomes. Evolutionary trajectories followed in small-bottlenecking regimes additionally suggest that the fitness landscape associated with persistence has a rugged topography, with distinct trajectories toward increased persistence that are accessible to evolving populations. Furthermore, sequencing data of evolved populations and knockout libraries after selection reveal various genes that are potentially involved in persistence, including previously known as well as novel targets. Together, our results do not only provide experimental evidence for evolutionary theories, but also contribute to a better understanding of the environmental and genetic factors that guide bacterial adaptation to antibiotic treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Etthel M Windels
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium.,Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | | | | | - Tom Wenseleers
- Laboratory of Socioecology and Social Evolution, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Janne Swinnen
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Paul Matthay
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium.,Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Laure Verstraete
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium.,Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dorien Wilmaerts
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium.,Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bram Van den Bergh
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium.,Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Michiels
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium.,Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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27
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Sulaiman JE, Lam H. Evolution of Bacterial Tolerance Under Antibiotic Treatment and Its Implications on the Development of Resistance. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:617412. [PMID: 33717007 PMCID: PMC7952611 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.617412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent laboratory evolution studies have shown that upon repetitive antibiotic treatments, bacterial populations will adapt and eventually became tolerant and resistant to the drug. Drug tolerance rapidly evolves upon frequent, intermittent antibiotic treatments, and such emerging drug tolerance seems to be specific to the treatment conditions, complicating clinical practice. Moreover, it has been shown that tolerance often promotes the development of resistance, which further reinforces the need of clinical diagnostics for antibiotic tolerance to reduce the occurrence of acquired resistance. Here, we discuss the laboratory evolution studies that were performed to track the development of tolerance in bacterial populations, and highlight the urgency of developing a comprehensive knowledge base of various tolerance phenotypes and their detection in clinics. Finally, we propose future directions for basic research in this growing field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordy Evan Sulaiman
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Henry Lam
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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28
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Berghoff BA. Analyzing Persister Proteomes with SILAC and Label-Free Methods. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2357:149-159. [PMID: 34590257 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1621-5_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
State-of-the-art mass spectrometry enables in-depth analysis of proteomes in virtually all organisms. This chapter describes methods for the analysis of persister proteomes by mass spectrometry. Stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) is applied to assess protein biosynthesis in persister cells, which are isolated by treatment with beta-lactam antibiotics. Furthermore, persister proteomes during the postantibiotic recovery phase are analyzed by label-free quantification. The presented methods are valuable tools to shed light on persister physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bork A Berghoff
- Institute for Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
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29
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Tsakou F, Jersie-Christensen R, Jenssen H, Mojsoska B. The Role of Proteomics in Bacterial Response to Antibiotics. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2020; 13:E214. [PMID: 32867221 PMCID: PMC7559545 DOI: 10.3390/ph13090214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2020] [Revised: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
For many years, we have tried to use antibiotics to eliminate the persistence of pathogenic bacteria. However, these infectious agents can recover from antibiotic challenges through various mechanisms, including drug resistance and antibiotic tolerance, and continue to pose a global threat to human health. To design more efficient treatments against bacterial infections, detailed knowledge about the bacterial response to the commonly used antibiotics is required. Proteomics is a well-suited and powerful tool to study molecular response to antimicrobial compounds. Bacterial response profiling from system-level investigations could increase our understanding of bacterial adaptation, the mechanisms behind antibiotic resistance and tolerance development. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of bacterial response to the most common antibiotics with a focus on the identification of dynamic proteome responses, and through published studies, to elucidate the formation mechanism of resistant and tolerant bacterial phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Biljana Mojsoska
- Department of Science and Environment, Roskilde University, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark; (F.T.); (R.J.-C.); (H.J.)
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30
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Proteomic Study of the Survival and Resuscitation Mechanisms of Filamentous Persisters in an Evolved Escherichia coli Population from Cyclic Ampicillin Treatment. mSystems 2020; 5:5/4/e00462-20. [PMID: 32723793 PMCID: PMC7394356 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00462-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Through adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiments, it was recently found that when a bacterial population was repetitively treated with antibiotics, they will adapt to the treatment conditions and become tolerant to the drug. In this study, we utilized an ampicillin-tolerant Escherichia coli population isolated from an ALE experiment to study the mechanisms of persistence during ampicillin treatment and resuscitation. Interestingly, the persisters of this population exhibit filamentous morphology upon ampicillin treatment, and the filaments are getting longer over time. Proteomics analysis showed that proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism are upregulated during antibiotic treatment, in addition to those involved in the oxidative stress response. Bacterial SOS response, which is associated with filamentation, was found to be induced on account of the increasing expression of RecA. Measurement of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) revealed that the population have ∼100-fold less ROS generation under ampicillin treatment than the wild type, leading to a lower mutagenesis rate. Single-cell observations through time-lapse microscopy show that resuscitation of the filaments is stochastic. During resuscitation, proteins involved in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, glyoxylate cycle and glycolytic processes, and ATP generation are downregulated, while ribosomal proteins and porins are upregulated in the filaments. One particular protein, ElaB, was upregulated by over 7-fold in the filaments after 3 h of resuspension in fresh medium, but its expression went down after the filaments divided. Knockout of elaB increased persistence on wild-type E. coli, and upon resumption of growth, mutants lacking elaB have a higher fraction of small colony variants (SCVs) than the wild type.IMPORTANCE Persisters are a subpopulation of cells with enhanced survival toward antibiotic treatment and have the ability to resume normal growth when the antibiotic stress is lifted. Although proteomics is the most suitable tool to study them from a system-level perspective, the number of persisters that present naturally is too few for proteomics analysis, and thus the complex mechanisms through which they are able to survive antibiotic stresses and resuscitate in fresh medium remain poorly understood. To overcome that challenge, we studied an evolved Escherichia coli population with elevated persister fraction under ampicillin treatment and obtained its proteome profiles during antibiotic treatment and resuscitation. We discovered that during treatment with ampicillin, this tolerant population employs an active oxidative stress response and exhibits lower ROS levels than the wild type. Moreover, an inner membrane protein which has implications in various stress responses, ElaB, was found to be highly upregulated in the persisters during resuscitation, and its knockout caused increased formation of small colony variants after ampicillin treatment, suggesting that ElaB is important for persisters to resume normal growth.
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31
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Zhang D, Hu Y, Zhu Q, Huang J, Chen Y. Proteomic interrogation of antibiotic resistance and persistence in Escherichia coli - progress and potential for medical research. Expert Rev Proteomics 2020; 17:393-409. [PMID: 32567419 DOI: 10.1080/14789450.2020.1784731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Introduction Escherichia coli strains possess two survival strategies to endure lethal antibiotic exposure including antibiotic resistance and persistence, in which persistence can contribute to the emergence of antibiotic resistance and increasing the risk of multidrug resistance. Using high-throughput proteomics for the comprehensive understanding of mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and persistence is an effective strategy for development of target-based anti-bacterial therapies. Areas covered In this review, we summarize a comprehensive proteomic perspective of antibiotic resistance and persistence in E. coli, and overview of anti-antibiotic resistance and anti-persister molecules and strategies for the development of potential therapies. Expert opinion Proteomics allows us to globally identify the critical proteins and pathways involved in antibiotic resistance and persistence. Advancements in methodologies of proteomics and multi-omic strategies are required to overcome the limitations of proteomics and better understand mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and persistence in E. coli, and to open the possibility for identification of new targets for alternative strategies in therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danfeng Zhang
- School of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Minnan Normal University , Zhangzhou, China
| | - Yuanqing Hu
- School of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Minnan Normal University , Zhangzhou, China
| | - Qiuqiang Zhu
- School of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Minnan Normal University , Zhangzhou, China
| | - Jiafu Huang
- School of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Minnan Normal University , Zhangzhou, China.,Engineering Technological Center of Mushroom Industry , Zhangzhou, China
| | - Yiyun Chen
- School of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Minnan Normal University , Zhangzhou, China
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32
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Evolutionary causes and consequences of bacterial antibiotic persistence. Nat Rev Microbiol 2020; 18:479-490. [PMID: 32461608 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-020-0378-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Antibiotic treatment failure is of growing concern. Genetically encoded resistance is key in driving this process. However, there is increasing evidence that bacterial antibiotic persistence, a non-genetically encoded and reversible loss of antibiotic susceptibility, contributes to treatment failure and emergence of resistant strains as well. In this Review, we discuss the evolutionary forces that may drive the selection for antibiotic persistence. We review how some aspects of antibiotic persistence have been directly selected for whereas others result from indirect selection in disparate ecological contexts. We then discuss the consequences of antibiotic persistence on pathogen evolution. Persisters can facilitate the evolution of antibiotic resistance and virulence. Finally, we propose practical means to prevent persister formation and how this may help to slow down the evolution of virulence and resistance in pathogens.
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33
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Windels EM, Van den Bergh B, Michiels J. Bacteria under antibiotic attack: Different strategies for evolutionary adaptation. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008431. [PMID: 32379814 PMCID: PMC7205213 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacteria are well known for their extremely high adaptability in stressful environments. The clinical relevance of this property is clearly illustrated by the ever-decreasing efficacy of antibiotic therapies. Frequent exposures to antibiotics favor bacterial strains that have acquired mechanisms to overcome drug inhibition and lethality. Many strains, including life-threatening pathogens, exhibit increased antibiotic resistance or tolerance, which considerably complicates clinical practice. Alarmingly, recent studies show that in addition to resistance, tolerance levels of bacterial populations are extremely flexible in an evolutionary context. Here, we summarize laboratory studies providing insight in the evolution of resistance and tolerance and shed light on how the treatment conditions could affect the direction of bacterial evolution under antibiotic stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Etthel M. Windels
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bram Van den Bergh
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Michiels
- VIB Center for Microbiology, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology, Leuven, Belgium
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- * E-mail:
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