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Barbour AG, Duong JV, Long AD. Lyme Disease Agent Reservoirs Peromyscus leucopus and P. maniculatus Have Natively Inactivated Genes for the High-Affinity Immunoglobulin Gamma Fc Receptor I (CD64). Pathogens 2023; 12:1056. [PMID: 37624016 PMCID: PMC10458454 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12081056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The abundant and widely distributed deermice Peromyscus leucopus and P. maniculatus are important reservoirs for several different zoonotic agents in North America. For the pathogens they persistently harbor, these species are also examples of the phenomenon of infection tolerance. In the present study a prior observation of absent expression of the high-affinity Fc immunoglobulin gamma receptor I (FcγRI), or CD64, in P. leucopus was confirmed in an experimental infection with Borreliella burgdorferi, a Lyme disease agent. We demonstrate that the null phenotype is attributable to a long-standing inactivation of the Fcgr1 gene in both species by a deletion of the promoter and coding sequence for the signal peptide for FcγRI. The Fcgr1 pseudogene was also documented in the related species P. polionotus. Six other Peromyscus species, including P. californicus, have coding sequences for a full-length FcγRI, including a consensus signal peptide. An inference from reported phenotypes for null Fcgr1 mutations engineered in Mus musculus is that one consequence of pseudogenization of Fcgr1 is comparatively less inflammation during infection than in animals, including humans, with undisrupted, fully active genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan G. Barbour
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA;
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Jonathan V. Duong
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA;
| | - Anthony D. Long
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA;
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Long PN, Cook VJ, Majumder A, Barbour AG, Long AD. The utility of a closed breeding colony of Peromyscus leucopus for dissecting complex traits. Genetics 2022; 221:iyac026. [PMID: 35143664 PMCID: PMC9071557 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyac026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Deermice of the genus Peromyscus are well suited for addressing several questions of biologist interest, including the genetic bases of longevity, behavior, physiology, adaptation, and their ability to serve as disease vectors. Here, we explore a diversity outbred approach for dissecting complex traits in Peromyscus leucopus, a nontraditional genetic model system. We take advantage of a closed colony of deer-mice founded from 38 individuals and subsequently maintained for ∼40-60 generations. From 405 low-pass short-read sequenced deermice we accurate impute genotypes at 16 million single nucleotide polymorphisms. Conditional on observed genotypes simulations were conducted in which three different sized quantitative trait loci contribute to a complex trait under three different genetic models. Using a stringent significance threshold power was modest, largely a function of the percent variation attributable to the simulated quantitative trait loci, with the underlying genetic model having only a subtle impact. We additionally simulated 2,000 pseudo-individuals, whose genotypes were consistent with those observed in the genotyped cohort and carried out additional power simulations. In experiments employing more than 1,000 mice power is high to detect quantitative trait loci contributing greater than 2.5% to a complex trait, with a localization ability of ∼100 kb. We finally carried out a Genome-Wide Association Study on two demonstration traits, bleeding time and body weight, and uncovered one significant region. Our work suggests that complex traits can be dissected in founders-unknown P. leucopus colony mice and similar colonies in other systems using easily obtained genotypes from low-pass sequencing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phillip N Long
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA
| | - Vanessa J Cook
- Departments of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics and Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92687-2525, USA
| | - Arundhati Majumder
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA
| | - Alan G Barbour
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA
- Departments of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics and Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92687-2525, USA
| | - Anthony D Long
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA
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Balderrama-Gutierrez G, Milovic A, Cook VJ, Islam MN, Zhang Y, Kiaris H, Belisle JT, Mortazavi A, Barbour AG. An Infection-Tolerant Mammalian Reservoir for Several Zoonotic Agents Broadly Counters the Inflammatory Effects of Endotoxin. mBio 2021; 12:e00588-21. [PMID: 33849979 PMCID: PMC8092257 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00588-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals that are competent reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens commonly suffer little morbidity from the infections. To investigate mechanisms of this tolerance of infection, we used single-dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as an experimental model of inflammation and compared the responses of two rodents: Peromyscus leucopus, the white-footed deermouse and reservoir for the agents of Lyme disease and other zoonoses, and the house mouse Mus musculus Four hours after injection with LPS or saline, blood, spleen, and liver samples were collected and subjected to transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq), metabolomics, and specific reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Differential expression analysis was at the gene, pathway, and network levels. LPS-treated deermice showed signs of sickness similar to those of exposed mice and had similar increases in corticosterone levels and expression of interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor, IL-1β, and C-reactive protein. By network analysis, the M. musculus response to LPS was characterized as cytokine associated, while the P. leucopus response was dominated by neutrophil activity terms. In addition, dichotomies in the expression levels of arginase 1 and nitric oxide synthase 2 and of IL-10 and IL-12 were consistent with type M1 macrophage responses in mice and type M2 responses in deermice. Analysis of metabolites in plasma and RNA in organs revealed species differences in tryptophan metabolism. Two genes in particular signified the different phenotypes of deermice and mice: the Slpi and Ibsp genes. Key RNA-seq findings for P. leucopus were replicated in older animals, in a systemic bacterial infection, and with cultivated fibroblasts. The findings indicate that P. leucopus possesses several adaptive traits to moderate inflammation in its balancing of infection resistance and tolerance.IMPORTANCE Animals that are natural carriers of pathogens that cause human diseases commonly manifest little or no sickness as a consequence of infection. Examples include the deermouse, Peromyscus leucopus, which is a reservoir for Lyme disease and several other disease agents in North America, and some types of bats, which are carriers of viruses with pathogenicity for humans. Mechanisms of this phenomenon of infection tolerance and entailed trade-off costs are poorly understood. Using a single injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin as a proxy for infection, we found that deermice differed from the mouse (Mus musculus) in responses to LPS in several diverse pathways, including innate immunity, oxidative stress, and metabolism. Features distinguishing the deermice cumulatively would moderate downstream ill effects of LPS. Insights gained from the P. leucopus model in the laboratory have implications for studying infection tolerance in other important reservoir species, including bats and other types of wildlife.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela Balderrama-Gutierrez
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Ana Milovic
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Vanessa J Cook
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - M Nurul Islam
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Youwen Zhang
- Department of Drug Discovery & Biomedical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
| | - Hippokratis Kiaris
- Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - John T Belisle
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Ali Mortazavi
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Alan G Barbour
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
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Groshong AM, McLain MA, Radolf JD. Host-specific functional compartmentalization within the oligopeptide transporter during the Borrelia burgdorferi enzootic cycle. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009180. [PMID: 33428666 PMCID: PMC7822543 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi must acquire all of its amino acids (AAs) from its arthropod vector and vertebrate host. Previously, we determined that peptide uptake via the oligopeptide (Opp) ABC transporter is essential for spirochete viability in vitro and during infection. Our prior study also suggested that B. burgdorferi employs temporal regulation in concert with structural variation of oligopeptide-binding proteins (OppAs) to meet its AA requirements in each biological niche. Herein, we evaluated the contributions to the B. burgdorferi enzootic cycle of three of the spirochete's five OppAs (OppA1, OppA2, and OppA5). An oppA1 transposon (tn) mutant lysed in the hyperosmolar environment of the feeding tick, suggesting that OppA1 imports amino acids required for osmoprotection. The oppA2tn mutant displayed a profound defect in hematogenous dissemination in mice, yet persisted within skin while inducing only a minimal antibody response. These results, along with slightly decreased growth of the oppA2tn mutant within DMCs, suggest that OppA2 serves a minor nutritive role, while its dissemination defect points to an as yet uncharacterized signaling function. Previously, we identified a role for OppA5 in spirochete persistence within the mammalian host. We now show that the oppA5tn mutant displayed no defect during the tick phase of the cycle and could be tick-transmitted to naïve mice. Instead of working in tandem, however, OppA2 and OppA5 appear to function in a hierarchical manner; the ability of OppA5 to promote persistence relies upon the ability of OppA2 to facilitate dissemination. Structural homology models demonstrated variations within the binding pockets of OppA1, 2, and 5 indicative of different peptide repertoires. Rather than being redundant, B. burgdorferi's multiplicity of Opp binding proteins enables host-specific functional compartmentalization during the spirochete lifecycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley M. Groshong
- Department of Medicine, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Melissa A. McLain
- Department of Medicine, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America
| | - Justin D. Radolf
- Department of Medicine, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Pediatrics, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Genetics and Genome Science, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America
- Department of Immunology, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States of America
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Milovic A, Bassam K, Shao H, Chatzistamou I, Tufts DM, Diuk-Wasser M, Barbour AG. Lactobacilli and other gastrointestinal microbiota of Peromyscus leucopus, reservoir host for agents of Lyme disease and other zoonoses in North America. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231801. [PMID: 32817657 PMCID: PMC7446861 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The cricetine rodent Peromyscus leucopus is an important reservoir for several human zoonoses, including Lyme disease, in North America. Akin to hamsters, the white-footed deermouse has been unevenly characterized in comparison to the murid Mus musculus. To further understanding of P. leucopus' total genomic content, we investigated gut microbiomes of an outbred colony of P. leucopus, inbred M. musculus, and a natural population of P. leucopus. Metagenome and whole genome sequencing were combined with microbiology and microscopy approaches. A focus was the genus Lactobacillus, four diverse species of which were isolated from forestomach and feces of colony P. leucopus. Three of the species-L. animalis, L. reuteri, and provisionally-named species "L. peromysci"-were identified in fecal metagenomes of wild P. leucopus but not discernibly in samples from M. musculus. L. johnsonii, the fourth species, was common in M. musculus but absent or sparse in wild P. leucopus. Also identified in both colony and natural populations were a Helicobacter sp. in feces but not stomach, and a Tritrichomonas sp. protozoan in cecum or feces. The gut metagenomes of colony P. leucopus were similar to those of colony M. musculus at the family or higher level and for major subsystems. But there were multiple differences between species and sexes within each species in their gut metagenomes at orthologous gene level. These findings provide a foundation for hypothesis-testing of functions of individual microbial species and for interventions, such as bait vaccines based on an autochthonous bacterium and targeting P. leucopus for transmission-blocking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Milovic
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Khalil Bassam
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
- Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Hanjuan Shao
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Ioulia Chatzistamou
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Danielle M. Tufts
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Maria Diuk-Wasser
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Alan G. Barbour
- Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America
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