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Allain M, Morel-Journel T, Condamine B, Gibeaux B, Gachet B, Gschwind R, Denamur E, Landraud L. IncC plasmid genome rearrangements influence the vertical and horizontal transmission tradeoff in Escherichia coli. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2024; 68:e0055424. [PMID: 39194203 PMCID: PMC11459957 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00554-24] [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: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 08/07/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024] Open
Abstract
It has been shown that an evolutionary tradeoff between vertical (host growth rate) and horizontal (plasmid conjugation) transmissions contributes to global plasmid fitness. As conjugative IncC plasmids are important for the spread of multidrug resistance (MDR), in a broad range of bacterial hosts, we investigated vertical and horizontal transmissions of two multidrug-resistant IncC plasmids according to their backbones and MDR-region rearrangements, upon plasmid entry into a new host. We observed plasmid genome deletions after conjugation in three diverse natural Escherichia coli clinical strains, varying from null to high number depending on the plasmid, all occurring in the MDR region. The plasmid burden on bacterial fitness depended more on the strain background than on the structure of the MDR region, with deletions appearing to have no impact. Besides, we observed an increase in plasmid transfer rate, from ancestral host to new clinical recipient strains, when the IncC plasmid was rearranged. Finally, using a second set of conjugation experiments, we investigated the evolutionary tradeoff of the IncC plasmid during the critical period of plasmid establishment in E. coli K-12, by correlating the transfer rates of deleted or non-deleted IncC plasmids and their costs on the recipient strain. Plasmid deletions strongly improved conjugation efficiency with no negative growth effect. Our findings indicate that the flexibility of the MDR-region of the IncC plasmids can promote their dissemination, and provide diverse opportunities to capture new resistance genes. In a broader view, they suggest that the vertical-horizontal transmission tradeoff can be manipulated by the plasmid to improve its fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaux Allain
- Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, INSERM, IAME, Paris, France
- AP-HP, Laboratoire de Microbiologie Hygiène, Hôpital Louis Mourier, Colombes, France
| | - Thibaut Morel-Journel
- Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, INSERM, IAME, Paris, France
| | - Bénédicte Condamine
- Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, INSERM, IAME, Paris, France
| | - Benoist Gibeaux
- AP-HP, Laboratoire de Microbiologie Hygiène, Hôpital Louis Mourier, Colombes, France
| | - Benoit Gachet
- Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, INSERM, IAME, Paris, France
| | - Rémi Gschwind
- Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, INSERM, IAME, Paris, France
| | - Erick Denamur
- Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, INSERM, IAME, Paris, France
- AP-HP, Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire, Hôpital Bichat, Paris, France
| | - Luce Landraud
- Université Paris Cité and Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, INSERM, IAME, Paris, France
- AP-HP, Laboratoire de Microbiologie Hygiène, Hôpital Louis Mourier, Colombes, France
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2
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Castledine M, Pennycook J, Newbury A, Lear L, Erdos Z, Lewis R, Kay S, Sanders D, Sünderhauf D, Buckling A, Hesse E, Padfield D. Characterizing a stable five-species microbial community for use in experimental evolution and ecology. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2024; 170:001489. [PMID: 39297874 PMCID: PMC11412253 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
Model microbial communities are regularly used to test ecological and evolutionary theory as they are easy to manipulate and have fast generation times, allowing for large-scale, high-throughput experiments. A key assumption for most model microbial communities is that they stably coexist, but this is rarely tested experimentally. Here we report the (dis)assembly of a five-species microbial community from a metacommunity of soil microbes that can be used for future experiments. Using reciprocal invasion-from-rare experiments we show that all species can coexist and we demonstrate that the community is stable for a long time (~600 generations). Crucially for future work, we show that each species can be identified by their plate morphologies, even after >1 year in co-culture. We characterise pairwise species interactions and produce high-quality reference genomes for each species. This stable five-species community can be used to test key questions in microbial ecology and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meaghan Castledine
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | | | - Arthur Newbury
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Luke Lear
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Zoltan Erdos
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Rai Lewis
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Suzanne Kay
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Dirk Sanders
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - David Sünderhauf
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Angus Buckling
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Elze Hesse
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Daniel Padfield
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
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3
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Yang Y, Grossart HP. Antibiotic resistance genes: A global change factor. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17448. [PMID: 39078372 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17448] [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: 07/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
This invited commentary paper discusses the concept of elevated antibiotic resistance genes as a global change factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuyi Yang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Wetland Evolution & Ecological Restoration, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
- Key Laboratory of Lake and Watershed Science for Water Security, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Hans-Peter Grossart
- Leibniz-Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Neuglobsow, Germany
- Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, Potsdam University, Potsdam, Germany
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4
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Klümper U, Gionchetta G, Catão E, Bellanger X, Dielacher I, Elena AX, Fang P, Galazka S, Goryluk-Salmonowicz A, Kneis D, Okoroafor U, Radu E, Szadziul M, Szekeres E, Teban-Man A, Coman C, Kreuzinger N, Popowska M, Vierheilig J, Walsh F, Woegerbauer M, Bürgmann H, Merlin C, Berendonk TU. Environmental microbiome diversity and stability is a barrier to antimicrobial resistance gene accumulation. Commun Biol 2024; 7:706. [PMID: 38851788 PMCID: PMC11162449 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06338-8] [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: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024] Open
Abstract
When antimicrobial resistant bacteria (ARB) and genes (ARGs) reach novel habitats, they can become part of the habitat's microbiome in the long term if they are able to overcome the habitat's biotic resilience towards immigration. This process should become more difficult with increasing biodiversity, as exploitable niches in a given habitat are reduced for immigrants when more diverse competitors are present. Consequently, microbial diversity could provide a natural barrier towards antimicrobial resistance by reducing the persistence time of immigrating ARB and ARG. To test this hypothesis, a pan-European sampling campaign was performed for structured forest soil and dynamic riverbed environments of low anthropogenic impact. In soils, higher diversity, evenness and richness were significantly negatively correlated with relative abundance of >85% of ARGs. Furthermore, the number of detected ARGs per sample were inversely correlated with diversity. However, no such effects were present in the more dynamic riverbeds. Hence, microbiome diversity can serve as a barrier towards antimicrobial resistance dissemination in stationary, structured environments, where long-term, diversity-based resilience against immigration can evolve.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uli Klümper
- Technische Universität Dresden, Institute for Hydrobiology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Giulia Gionchetta
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Surface Waters - Research and Management, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Elisa Catão
- Université de Lorraine, Villers-lès-Nancy, France
- Université de Toulon, Toulon, France
| | | | - Irina Dielacher
- TU Wien, Institute of Water Quality and Resource Management, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alan Xavier Elena
- Technische Universität Dresden, Institute for Hydrobiology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Peiju Fang
- Technische Universität Dresden, Institute for Hydrobiology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Sonia Galazka
- AGES - Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Department for Integrative Risk Assessment, Division for Risk Assessment, Data and Statistics, Vienna, Austria
| | - Agata Goryluk-Salmonowicz
- University of Warsaw, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Microbiology, Department of Bacterial Physiology, Warsaw, Poland
- Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Institute of Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - David Kneis
- Technische Universität Dresden, Institute for Hydrobiology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Uchechi Okoroafor
- Maynooth University, Department of Biology, Kathleen Lonsdale Institute for Human Health, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
| | - Elena Radu
- TU Wien, Institute of Water Quality and Resource Management, Vienna, Austria
- Romanian Academy of Science, Institute of Virology Stefan S. Nicolau, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Mateusz Szadziul
- University of Warsaw, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Microbiology, Department of Bacterial Physiology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Edina Szekeres
- NIRDBS, Institute of Biological Research Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Adela Teban-Man
- NIRDBS, Institute of Biological Research Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Cristian Coman
- NIRDBS, Institute of Biological Research Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Norbert Kreuzinger
- TU Wien, Institute of Water Quality and Resource Management, Vienna, Austria
| | - Magdalena Popowska
- University of Warsaw, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Microbiology, Department of Bacterial Physiology, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Julia Vierheilig
- TU Wien, Institute of Water Quality and Resource Management, Vienna, Austria
- Interuniversity Cooperation Centre Water & Health, Vienna, Austria
| | - Fiona Walsh
- Maynooth University, Department of Biology, Kathleen Lonsdale Institute for Human Health, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
| | - Markus Woegerbauer
- AGES - Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Department for Integrative Risk Assessment, Division for Risk Assessment, Data and Statistics, Vienna, Austria
| | - Helmut Bürgmann
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Surface Waters - Research and Management, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
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5
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Vincent J, Tenore A, Mattei MR, Frunzo L. Modelling Plasmid-Mediated Horizontal Gene Transfer in Biofilms. Bull Math Biol 2024; 86:63. [PMID: 38664322 DOI: 10.1007/s11538-024-01289-x] [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: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
In this study, we present a mathematical model for plasmid spread in a growing biofilm, formulated as a nonlocal system of partial differential equations in a 1-D free boundary domain. Plasmids are mobile genetic elements able to transfer to different phylotypes, posing a global health problem when they carry antibiotic resistance factors. We model gene transfer regulation influenced by nearby potential receptors to account for recipient-sensing. We also introduce a promotion function to account for trace metal effects on conjugation, based on literature data. The model qualitatively matches experimental results, showing that contaminants like toxic metals and antibiotics promote plasmid persistence by favoring plasmid carriers and stimulating conjugation. Even at higher contaminant concentrations inhibiting conjugation, plasmid spread persists by strongly inhibiting plasmid-free cells. The model also replicates higher plasmid density in biofilm's most active regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Vincent
- Department of Mathematics and Applications "Renato Caccioppoli", University of Naples Federico II, Via Cintia 26, 80126, Monte S. Angelo, Naples, Italy
- Microbial Ecology Laboratory, University of Galway, University Road, Galway, H91 TK33, Ireland
| | - Alberto Tenore
- Department of Mathematics and Applications "Renato Caccioppoli", University of Naples Federico II, Via Cintia 26, 80126, Monte S. Angelo, Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Rosaria Mattei
- Department of Mathematics and Applications "Renato Caccioppoli", University of Naples Federico II, Via Cintia 26, 80126, Monte S. Angelo, Naples, Italy.
| | - Luigi Frunzo
- Department of Mathematics and Applications "Renato Caccioppoli", University of Naples Federico II, Via Cintia 26, 80126, Monte S. Angelo, Naples, Italy
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6
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Risely A, Newbury A, Stalder T, Simmons BI, Top EM, Buckling A, Sanders D. Host- plasmid network structure in wastewater is linked to antimicrobial resistance genes. Nat Commun 2024; 15:555. [PMID: 38228585 PMCID: PMC10791616 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-44827-w] [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: 07/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
As mobile genetic elements, plasmids are central for our understanding of antimicrobial resistance spread in microbial communities. Plasmids can have varying fitness effects on their host bacteria, which will markedly impact their role as antimicrobial resistance vectors. Using a plasmid population model, we first show that beneficial plasmids interact with a higher number of hosts than costly plasmids when embedded in a community with multiple hosts and plasmids. We then analyse the network of a natural host-plasmid wastewater community from a Hi-C metagenomics dataset. As predicted by the model, we find that antimicrobial resistance encoding plasmids, which are likely to have positive fitness effects on their hosts in wastewater, interact with more bacterial taxa than non-antimicrobial resistance plasmids and are disproportionally important for connecting the entire network compared to non- antimicrobial resistance plasmids. This highlights the role of antimicrobials in restructuring host-plasmid networks by increasing the benefits of antimicrobial resistance carrying plasmids, which can have consequences for the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes through microbial networks. Furthermore, that antimicrobial resistance encoding plasmids are associated with a broader range of hosts implies that they will be more robust to turnover of bacterial strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Risely
- School of Science, Engineering, and Environment, University of Salford, Salford, M5 4WT, UK
| | - Arthur Newbury
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Thibault Stalder
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Data Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Benno I Simmons
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Eva M Top
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
- Institute for Interdisciplinary Data Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Angus Buckling
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Dirk Sanders
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK.
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK.
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7
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Arbé-Carton K, Rey-Sogo A, Santos-Fernández N, Altube O, Garbisu C, Arana L, Alkorta I. Development of a high-throughput platform to measure plasmid transfer frequency. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2023; 13:1269732. [PMID: 37886666 PMCID: PMC10598849 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1269732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance represents one of the greatest threats to global health. The spread of antibiotic resistance genes among bacteria occurs mostly through horizontal gene transfer via conjugation mediated by plasmids. This process implies a direct contact between a donor and a recipient bacterium which acquires the antibiotic resistance genes encoded by the plasmid and, concomitantly, the capacity to transfer the acquired plasmid to a new recipient. Classical assays for the measurement of plasmid transfer frequency (i.e., conjugation frequency) are often characterized by a high variability and, hence, they require many biological and technical replicates to reduce such variability and the accompanying uncertainty. In addition, classical conjugation assays are commonly tedious and time-consuming because they typically involve counting colonies on a large number of plates for the quantification of donors, recipients, and transconjugants (i.e., the bacteria that have received the genetic material by conjugation). Due to the magnitude of the antibiotic resistance problem, it is critical to develop reliable and rapid methods for the quantification of plasmid transfer frequency that allow the simultaneous analysis of many samples. Here, we present the development of a high-throughput, reliable, quick, easy, and cost-effective method to simultaneously accomplish and measure multiple conjugation events in 96-well plates, in which the quantification of donors, recipients, and transconjugants is estimated from the time required to reach a specific threshold value (OD600 value) in the bacterial growth curves. Our method successfully discriminates different plasmid transfer frequencies, yielding results that are equivalent to those obtained by a classical conjugation assay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kepa Arbé-Carton
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
| | - Ana Rey-Sogo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
| | - Nagore Santos-Fernández
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
| | - Oihane Altube
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
| | - Carlos Garbisu
- Department of Conservation of Natural Resources, NEIKER-Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Derio, Spain
| | - Lide Arana
- Department of Applied Chemistry, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Donostia, Spain
| | - Itziar Alkorta
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain
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8
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Winter M, Harms K, Johnsen PJ, Buckling A, Vos M. Testing for the fitness benefits of natural transformation during community-embedded evolution. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2023; 169:001375. [PMID: 37526972 PMCID: PMC10482379 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
Natural transformation is a process where bacteria actively take up DNA from the environment and recombine it into their genome or reconvert it into extra-chromosomal genetic elements. The evolutionary benefits of transformation are still under debate. One main explanation is that foreign allele and gene uptake facilitates natural selection by increasing genetic variation, analogous to meiotic sex. However, previous experimental evolution studies comparing fitness gains of evolved transforming- and isogenic non-transforming strains have yielded mixed support for the 'sex hypothesis.' Previous studies testing the sex hypothesis for natural transformation have largely ignored species interactions, which theory predicts provide conditions favourable to sex. To test for the adaptive benefits of bacterial transformation, the naturally transformable wild-type Acinetobacter baylyi and a transformation-deficient ∆comA mutant were evolved for 5 weeks. To provide strong and potentially fluctuating selection, A. baylyi was embedded in a community of five other bacterial species. DNA from a pool of different Acinetobacter strains was provided as a substrate for transformation. No effect of transformation ability on the fitness of evolved populations was found, with fitness increasing non-significantly in most treatments. Populations showed fitness improvement in their respective environments, with no apparent costs of adaptation to competing species. Despite the absence of fitness effects of transformation, wild-type populations evolved variable transformation frequencies that were slightly greater than their ancestor which potentially could be caused by genetic drift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macaulay Winter
- European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Environment and Sustainability Institute, Penryn Campus, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Klaus Harms
- Microbial Pharmacology and Population Biology Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Pål Jarle Johnsen
- Microbial Pharmacology and Population Biology Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Angus Buckling
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Michiel Vos
- European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Environment and Sustainability Institute, Penryn Campus, TR10 9FE, UK
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9
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Loyola Irizarry HG, Brito IL. Characterizing conjugative plasmids from an antibiotic-resistant dataset for use as broad-host delivery vectors. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1199640. [PMID: 37389338 PMCID: PMC10301749 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1199640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Human microbiome engineering is increasingly proposed as a way to modulate health outcomes. However, one of the current limitations to engineering microbial communities in situ is delivery of a genetic payload for introducing or modifying genes. Indeed, there is a need to identify novel broad-host delivery vectors for microbiome engineering. Therefore, in this study, we characterized conjugative plasmids from a publicly available dataset of antibiotic-resistant isolate genomes in order to identify potential broad-host vectors for further applications. From the 199 closed genomes available in the CDC & FDA AR Isolate Bank, we identified 439 plasmids, of which 126 were predicted to be mobilizable and 206 conjugative. Various characteristics of the conjugative plasmids, such as size, replication origin, conjugation machinery, host defense mechanisms, and plasmid stability proteins, were analyzed to determine these plasmids' potential host-range. Following this analysis, we clustered plasmid sequences and chose 22 unique, broad-host range plasmids that would be suitable for use as delivery vectors. This novel set of plasmids will provide a valuable resource for engineering microbial communities.
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10
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Darby EM, Trampari E, Siasat P, Gaya MS, Alav I, Webber MA, Blair JMA. Molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance revisited. Nat Rev Microbiol 2023; 21:280-295. [PMID: 36411397 DOI: 10.1038/s41579-022-00820-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 263] [Impact Index Per Article: 263.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a global health emergency, with resistance detected to all antibiotics currently in clinical use and only a few novel drugs in the pipeline. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that bacteria use to resist the action of antimicrobials is critical to recognize global patterns of resistance and to improve the use of current drugs, as well as for the design of new drugs less susceptible to resistance development and novel strategies to combat resistance. In this Review, we explore recent advances in understanding how resistance genes contribute to the biology of the host, new structural details of relevant molecular events underpinning resistance, the identification of new resistance gene families and the interactions between different resistance mechanisms. Finally, we discuss how we can use this information to develop the next generation of antimicrobial therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth M Darby
- College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | | | - Pauline Siasat
- College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | | | - Ilyas Alav
- College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Mark A Webber
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK.
- Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK.
| | - Jessica M A Blair
- College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
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11
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Pilosof S. Conceptualizing microbe-plasmid communities as complex adaptive systems. Trends Microbiol 2023:S0966-842X(23)00025-2. [PMID: 36822952 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2023.01.007] [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: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
Plasmids shape microbial communities' diversity, structure, and function. Nevertheless, we lack a mechanistic understanding of how community structure and dynamics emerge from local microbe-plasmid interactions and coevolution. Addressing this gap is challenging because multiple processes operate simultaneously at multiple levels of organization. For example, immunity operates between a plasmid and a cell, but incompatibility mechanisms regulate coexistence between plasmids. Conceptualizing microbe-plasmid communities as complex adaptive systems is a promising approach to overcoming these challenges. I illustrate how agent-based evolutionary modeling, extended by network analysis, can be used to quantify the relative importance of local processes governing community dynamics. These theoretical developments can advance our understanding of plasmid ecology and evolution, especially when combined with empirical data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shai Pilosof
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er-Sheva, Israel.
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12
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Downing T, Lee MJ, Archbold C, McDonnell A, Rahm A. Informing plasmid compatibility with bacterial hosts using protein-protein interaction data. Genomics 2022; 114:110509. [PMID: 36273742 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2022.110509] [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: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The compatibility of plasmids with new host cells is significant given their role in spreading antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and virulence factor genes. Evaluating this using in vitro screening is laborious and can be informed by computational analyses of plasmid-host compatibility through rates of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between plasmid and host cell proteins. We identified large excesses of such PPIs in eight important plasmids, including pOXA-48, using most known bacteria (n = 4363). 23 species had high rates of interactions with four blaOXA-48-positive plasmids. We also identified 48 species with high interaction rates with plasmids common in Escherichia coli. We found a strong association between one plasmid and the fimbrial adhesin operon pil, which could enhance host cell adhesion in aqueous environments. An excess rate of PPIs could be a sign of host-plasmid compatibility, which is important for AMR control given that plasmids like pOXA-48 move between species with ease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Downing
- School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland; The Pirbright Institute, UK.
| | - Min Jie Lee
- School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Conor Archbold
- School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Adam McDonnell
- School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Alexander Rahm
- GAATI Lab, University of French Polynesia, Tahiti, French Polynesia
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