1
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Shokhirev MN, Torosin NS, Kramer DJ, Johnson AA, Cuellar TL. CheekAge: a next-generation buccal epigenetic aging clock associated with lifestyle and health. GeroScience 2024; 46:3429-3443. [PMID: 38441802 PMCID: PMC11009193 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-024-01094-3] [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: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic aging clocks are computational models that predict age using DNA methylation information. Initially, first-generation clocks were developed to make predictions using CpGs that change with age. Over time, next-generation clocks were created using CpGs that relate to both age and health. Since existing next-generation clocks were constructed in blood, we sought to develop a next-generation clock optimized for prediction in cheek swabs, which are non-invasive and easy to collect. To do this, we collected MethylationEPIC data as well as lifestyle and health information from 8045 diverse adults. Using a novel simulated annealing approach that allowed us to incorporate lifestyle and health factors into training as well as a combination of CpG filtering, CpG clustering, and clock ensembling, we constructed CheekAge, an epigenetic aging clock that has a strong correlation with age, displays high test-retest reproducibility across replicates, and significantly associates with a plethora of lifestyle and health factors, such as BMI, smoking status, and alcohol intake. We validated CheekAge in an internal dataset and multiple publicly available datasets, including samples from patients with progeria or meningioma. In addition to exploring the underlying biology of the data and clock, we provide a free online tool that allows users to mine our methylomic data and predict epigenetic age.
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2
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Loney RE, Delesalle VA, Chaudry BE, Czerpak M, Guffey AA, Goubet-McCall L, McCarty M, Strine MS, Tanke NT, Vill AC, Krukonis GP. A Novel Subcluster of Closely Related Bacillus Phages with Distinct Tail Fiber/Lysin Gene Combinations. Viruses 2023; 15:2267. [PMID: 38005943 PMCID: PMC10674732 DOI: 10.3390/v15112267] [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: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 11/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) are the most numerous entities on Earth, but we have only scratched the surface of describing phage diversity. We isolated seven Bacillus subtilis phages from desert soil in the southwest United States and then sequenced and characterized their genomes. Comparative analyses revealed high nucleotide and amino acid similarity between these seven phages, which constitute a novel subcluster. Interestingly, the tail fiber and lysin genes of these phages seem to come from different origins and carry out slightly different functions. These genes were likely acquired by this subcluster of phages via horizontal gene transfer. In conjunction with host range assays, our data suggest that these phages are adapting to hosts with different cell walls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel E. Loney
- University Program in Genetics and Genomics, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Véronique A. Delesalle
- Department of Biology, Gettysburg College, 300 N Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA; (M.C.); (M.M.)
| | | | - Megan Czerpak
- Department of Biology, Gettysburg College, 300 N Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA; (M.C.); (M.M.)
| | - Alexandra A. Guffey
- Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC. 200 Tournament Dr., Horsham, PA 19044, USA;
| | - Leo Goubet-McCall
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, 201 Huck Life Sciences Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA;
| | - Michael McCarty
- Department of Biology, Gettysburg College, 300 N Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325, USA; (M.C.); (M.M.)
| | - Madison S. Strine
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., New Haven, CT 06510, USA;
| | - Natalie T. Tanke
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;
| | - Albert C. Vill
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA;
| | - Greg P. Krukonis
- Department of Biology, Angelo State University, Cavness Science Building 101, ASU Station #10890, San Angelo, TX 76909, USA;
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3
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Mallawaarachchi V, Roach MJ, Decewicz P, Papudeshi B, Giles SK, Grigson SR, Bouras G, Hesse RD, Inglis LK, Hutton ALK, Dinsdale EA, Edwards RA. Phables: from fragmented assemblies to high-quality bacteriophage genomes. Bioinformatics 2023; 39:btad586. [PMID: 37738590 PMCID: PMC10563150 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btad586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Microbial communities have a profound impact on both human health and various environments. Viruses infecting bacteria, known as bacteriophages or phages, play a key role in modulating bacterial communities within environments. High-quality phage genome sequences are essential for advancing our understanding of phage biology, enabling comparative genomics studies and developing phage-based diagnostic tools. Most available viral identification tools consider individual sequences to determine whether they are of viral origin. As a result of challenges in viral assembly, fragmentation of genomes can occur, and existing tools may recover incomplete genome fragments. Therefore, the identification and characterization of novel phage genomes remain a challenge, leading to the need of improved approaches for phage genome recovery. RESULTS We introduce Phables, a new computational method to resolve phage genomes from fragmented viral metagenome assemblies. Phables identifies phage-like components in the assembly graph, models each component as a flow network, and uses graph algorithms and flow decomposition techniques to identify genomic paths. Experimental results of viral metagenomic samples obtained from different environments show that Phables recovers on average over 49% more high-quality phage genomes compared to existing viral identification tools. Furthermore, Phables can resolve variant phage genomes with over 99% average nucleotide identity, a distinction that existing tools are unable to make. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Phables is available on GitHub at https://github.com/Vini2/phables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vijini Mallawaarachchi
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Michael J Roach
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Przemyslaw Decewicz
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
- Department of Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw 02-096, Poland
| | - Bhavya Papudeshi
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Sarah K Giles
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Susanna R Grigson
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - George Bouras
- Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
- The Department of Surgery—Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Central Adelaide Local Health Network, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
| | - Ryan D Hesse
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Laura K Inglis
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Abbey L K Hutton
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Elizabeth A Dinsdale
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
| | - Robert A Edwards
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia 5042, Australia
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4
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Zhou WY, Wen H, Li YJ, Gao L, Rao SQ, Yang ZQ, Zhu GQ. Acquisition, loss, and replication of functional modules promote the genetic diversity of Salmonella bacteriophages. Microbiol Res 2023; 275:127461. [PMID: 37499310 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2023.127461] [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] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Owing to the threats that Salmonella poses to public health and the abuse of antimicrobials, bacteriophage therapy against Salmonella is experiencing a resurgence. Although several phages have been reported as safe and efficient for controlling Salmonella, the genetic diversity and relatedness among Salmonella phages remain poorly understood. In this study, whole-genome sequences of 91 Salmonella bacteriophages were obtained from the National Center for Biological Information genome database. Phylogenetic analysis, mosaic structure comparisons, gene content analysis, and orthologue group clustering were performed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed four singletons and two major lineages (I-II), including five subdividing clades, of which Salmonella phages belonging to morphologically distinct families were clustered in the same clade. Chimeric structures (n = 31), holin genes (n = 18), lysin genes (n = 66), DNA packaging genes (n = 55), and DNA metabolism genes (n = 24) were present in these phages. Moreover, phages from different subdivided clusters harboured distinct genes associated with host cell lysis, DNA packaging, and DNA metabolism. Notably, phages belonging to morphologically distinct families shared common orthologue groups. Although several functional modules of phages SS1 and SE16 shared > 99% nucleotide sequence identity with phages SI2 and SI23, the major differences between these phages were the absence and replication of functional modules. The data obtained herein revealed the genetic diversity of Salmonella phages at genomic, structural, and gene content levels. The genetic diversity of Salmonella phages is likely owing to the acquisition, loss, and replication of functional modules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Yuan Zhou
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225127, China; College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China
| | - Hua Wen
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225127, China
| | - Ya-Jie Li
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225127, China
| | - Lu Gao
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225127, China
| | - Sheng-Qi Rao
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225127, China
| | - Zhen-Quan Yang
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225127, China.
| | - Guo-Qiang Zhu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
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5
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Mallawaarachchi V, Roach MJ, Decewicz P, Papudeshi B, Giles SK, Grigson SR, Bouras G, Hesse RD, Inglis LK, Hutton ALK, Dinsdale EA, Edwards RA. Phables: from fragmented assemblies to high-quality bacteriophage genomes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.04.535632. [PMID: 37066369 PMCID: PMC10104058 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.04.535632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Microbial communities influence both human health and different environments. Viruses infecting bacteria, known as bacteriophages or phages, play a key role in modulating bacterial communities within environments. High-quality phage genome sequences are essential for advancing our understanding of phage biology, enabling comparative genomics studies, and developing phage-based diagnostic tools. Most available viral identification tools consider individual sequences to determine whether they are of viral origin. As a result of the challenges in viral assembly, fragmentation of genomes can occur, leading to the need for new approaches in viral identification. Therefore, the identification and characterisation of novel phages remain a challenge. We introduce Phables, a new computational method to resolve phage genomes from fragmented viral metagenome assemblies. Phables identifies phage-like components in the assembly graph, models each component as a flow network, and uses graph algorithms and flow decomposition techniques to identify genomic paths. Experimental results of viral metagenomic samples obtained from different environments show that Phables recovers on average over 49% more high-quality phage genomes compared to existing viral identification tools. Furthermore, Phables can resolve variant phage genomes with over 99% average nucleotide identity, a distinction that existing tools are unable to make. Phables is available on GitHub at https://github.com/Vini2/phables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vijini Mallawaarachchi
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Michael J Roach
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Przemyslaw Decewicz
- Department of Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology, Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw 02-096, Poland
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Bhavya Papudeshi
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Sarah K Giles
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Susanna R Grigson
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - George Bouras
- Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, North Tce, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia
| | - Ryan D Hesse
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Laura K Inglis
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Abbey L K Hutton
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Elizabeth A Dinsdale
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Robert A Edwards
- Flinders Accelerator for Microbiome Exploration, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
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6
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Zhou W, Li Y, Xu X, Rao S, Wen H, Han Y, Deng A, Zhang Z, Yang Z, Zhu G. Whole-genome analysis showed the promotion of genetic diversity and coevolution in Staphylococcus aureus lytic bacteriophages and their hosts mediated by prophages via worldwide recombination events. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1088125. [PMID: 36970693 PMCID: PMC10036374 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1088125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Prophages as a part of Staphylococcus aureus genome contribute to the genetic diversity as well as survival strategies of their host. Some S. aureus prophages also have an imminent risk of host cell lysis and become a lytic phage. Nonetheless, interactions among S. aureus prophages, lytic phages, and their hosts, as well as the genetic diversity of S. aureus prophages, remain unclear. We identified 579 intact and 1,389 incomplete prophages in the genomes of 493 S. aureus isolates obtained from the NCBI database. The structural diversity and gene content of intact and incomplete prophages were investigated and compared with 188 lytic phages. Mosaic structure comparison, ortholog group clustering, phylogenetic analysis, and recombination network analysis were performed to estimate genetic relatedness among S. aureus intact prophages, incomplete prophages, and lytic phages. The intact and incomplete prophages harbored 148 and 522 distinct mosaic structures, respectively. The major difference between lytic phages and prophages was the lack of functional modules and genes. Compared to the lytic phages, both the S. aureus intact and incomplete prophages harbored multiple antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and virulence factor (VF) genes. Several functional modules of lytic phages 3_AJ_2017 and 23MRA shared more than 99% nucleotide sequence identity with S. aureus intact (ST20130943_p1 and UTSW_ MRSA_55_ip3) and incomplete prophages (SA3_LAU_ip3 and MRSA_FKTN_ip4); other modules showed little nucleotide sequence similarity. Ortholog and phylogenetic analyses revealed a common gene pool shared between the prophages and lytic Siphoviridae phages. Moreover, most shared sequences existed within intact (43428/137294, 31.6%) and incomplete prophages (41248/137294, 30.0%). Therefore, the maintenance or loss of functional modules in intact and incomplete prophages is key to balance the costs and benefits of large prophages harboring various AMR and VF genes in the bacterial host. The shared identical functional modules between S. aureus lytic phages and prophages are likely to result in the exchange, acquisition, and loss of functional modules, and therefore contribute to their genetic diversity. Moreover, constant recombination events within prophages globally were responsible for the coevolution of lytic phages and their bacterial hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenyuan Zhou
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yajie Li
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xuechao Xu
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shengqi Rao
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hua Wen
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yeiling Han
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Aiping Deng
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhenwen Zhang
- Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhenquan Yang
- College of Food Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
- *Correspondence: Zhenquan Yang,
| | - Guoqiang Zhu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China
- Guoqiang Zhu,
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7
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Shimamori Y, Pramono AK, Kitao T, Suzuki T, Aizawa SI, Kubori T, Nagai H, Takeda S, Ando H. Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Phage SaGU1 that Infects Staphylococcus aureus Clinical Isolates from Patients with Atopic Dermatitis. Curr Microbiol 2021; 78:1267-1276. [PMID: 33638001 PMCID: PMC7997843 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-021-02395-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2020] [Accepted: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, which colonizes healthy human skin, may cause diseases, such as atopic dermatitis (AD). Treatment for such AD cases involves antibiotic use; however, alternate treatments are preferred owing to the development of antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to characterize the novel bacteriophage SaGU1 as a potential agent for phage therapy to treat S. aureus infections. SaGU1 that infects S. aureus strains previously isolated from the skin of patients with AD was screened from sewage samples in Gifu, Japan. Its genome was sequenced and analyzed using bioinformatics tools, and the morphology, lytic activity, stability, and host range of the phage were determined. The SaGU1 genome was 140,909 bp with an average GC content of 30.2%. The viral chromosome contained 225 putative protein-coding genes and four tRNA genes, carrying neither toxic nor antibiotic resistance genes. Electron microscopy analysis revealed that SaGU1 belongs to the Myoviridae family. Stability tests showed that SaGU1 was heat-stable under physiological and acidic conditions. Host range testing revealed that SaGU1 can infect a broad range of S. aureus clinical isolates present on the skin of AD patients, whereas it did not kill strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis, which are symbiotic resident bacteria on human skin. Hence, our data suggest that SaGU1 is a potential candidate for developing a phage therapy to treat AD caused by pathogenic S. aureus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuzuki Shimamori
- Department of Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan.,Division of Molecular Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, 1-5-1 Tenjin-cho, Kiryu, Gunma, 376-8515, Japan
| | - Ajeng K Pramono
- Laboratory of Phage Biologics, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan
| | - Tomoe Kitao
- Department of Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan
| | - Tohru Suzuki
- Genome Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1193, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichi Aizawa
- Prefectural University of Hiroshima, 562 Nanatsuka, Shobara, Hiroshima, 727-0023, Japan
| | - Tomoko Kubori
- Department of Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan.,G-CHAIN, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan
| | - Hiroki Nagai
- Department of Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan.,G-CHAIN, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan
| | - Shigeki Takeda
- Division of Molecular Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, 1-5-1 Tenjin-cho, Kiryu, Gunma, 376-8515, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ando
- Department of Microbiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan. .,Laboratory of Phage Biologics, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan. .,G-CHAIN, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu, Gifu, 501-1194, Japan.
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8
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Akter M, Brown N, Clokie M, Yeasmin M, Tareq TM, Baddam R, Azad MAK, Ghosh AN, Ahmed N, Talukder KA. Prevalence of Shigella boydii in Bangladesh: Isolation and Characterization of a Rare Phage MK-13 That Can Robustly Identify Shigellosis Caused by Shigella boydii Type 1. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2461. [PMID: 31787934 PMCID: PMC6853846 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Shigellosis, caused by Shigella boydii type 1, is understudied and underreported. For 3 years, GEMS study identified 5.4% of all Shigella as S. boydii. We showed the prevalent serotypes of S. boydii in Bangladesh and phage-based diagnosis of S. boydii type 1, a rapid and low-cost approach. Previously typed 793 clinical S. boydii strains were used for serotype distribution. Twenty-eight environmental water samples were collected for isolation of Shigella phages. Forty-eight serotypes of Shigella and other enteric bacteria were used for testing the susceptibility to phage MK-13. Electron microscopy, restriction enzyme analysis, whole genome sequencing (WGS), and annotation were performed for extensive characterization. S. boydii type 1 is the second most prevalent serotype among 20 serotypes of S. boydii in Bangladesh. We isolated a novel phage, MK-13, which specifically lyses S. boydii type 1, but doesn’t lyse other 47 serotypes of Shigella or other enteric bacteria tested. The phage belongs to the Myoviridae family and distinct from other phages indicated by electron microscopy and restriction enzyme analysis, respectively. MK-13 genome consists of 158 kbp of circularly permuted double-stranded DNA with G + C content of 49.45%, and encodes 211 open reading frames including four tRNA-coding regions. The genome has 98% identity with previously reported phage, ΦSboM-AG3, reported to have a broader host range infecting most of the S. boydii and other species of Shigella tested. To our knowledge, MK-13 is the first phage reported to be used as a diagnostic marker to detect S. boydii type 1, especially in remote settings with limited laboratory infrastructure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmuda Akter
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Nathan Brown
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Martha Clokie
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Mahmuda Yeasmin
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Tokee M Tareq
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Ramani Baddam
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Muhammad A K Azad
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh
| | - Amar N Ghosh
- Division of Electron Microscopy, ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, India
| | - Niyaz Ahmed
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Kaisar A Talukder
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh.,Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, Tangail, Bangladesh
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9
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Evaluation of a concatenated protein phylogeny for classification of tailed double-stranded DNA viruses belonging to the order Caudovirales. Nat Microbiol 2019; 4:1306-1315. [DOI: 10.1038/s41564-019-0448-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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10
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Kongari R, Rajaure M, Cahill J, Rasche E, Mijalis E, Berry J, Young R. Phage spanins: diversity, topological dynamics and gene convergence. BMC Bioinformatics 2018; 19:326. [PMID: 30219026 PMCID: PMC6139136 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-018-2342-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Spanins are phage lysis proteins required to disrupt the outer membrane. Phages employ either two-component spanins or unimolecular spanins in this final step of Gram-negative host lysis. Two-component spanins like Rz-Rz1 from phage lambda consist of an integral inner membrane protein: i-spanin, and an outer membrane lipoprotein: o-spanin, that form a complex spanning the periplasm. Two-component spanins exist in three different genetic architectures; embedded, overlapped and separated. In contrast, the unimolecular spanins, like gp11 from phage T1, have an N-terminal lipoylation signal sequence and a C-terminal transmembrane domain to account for the topology requirements. Our proposed model for spanin function, for both spanin types, follows a common theme of the outer membrane getting fused with the inner membrane, effecting the release of progeny virions. RESULTS Here we present a SpaninDataBase which consists of 528 two-component spanins and 58 unimolecular spanins identified in this analysis. Primary analysis revealed significant differences in the secondary structure predictions for the periplasmic domains of the two-component and unimolecular spanin types, as well as within the three different genetic architectures of the two-component spanins. Using a threshold of 40% sequence identity over 40% sequence length, we were able to group the spanins into 143 i-spanin, 125 o-spanin and 13 u-spanin families. More than 40% of these families from each type were singletons, underlining the extreme diversity of this class of lysis proteins. Multiple sequence alignments of periplasmic domains demonstrated conserved secondary structure patterns and domain organization within family members. Furthermore, analysis of families with members from different architecture allowed us to interpret the evolutionary dynamics of spanin gene arrangement. Also, the potential universal role of intermolecular disulfide bonds in two-component spanin function was substantiated through bioinformatic and genetic approaches. Additionally, a novel lipobox motif, AWAC, was identified and experimentally verified. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this bioinformatic approach gave us instructive insights into spanin function, evolution, domain organization and provide a platform for future spanin annotation, as well as biochemical and genetic experiments. They also establish that spanins, like viral membrane fusion proteins, adopt different strategies to achieve fusion of the inner and outer membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohit Kongari
- Center for Phage Technology, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-2128, USA
| | | | - Jesse Cahill
- Center for Phage Technology, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-2128, USA
| | - Eric Rasche
- Center for Phage Technology, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-2128, USA
| | - Eleni Mijalis
- Center for Phage Technology, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-2128, USA
| | - Joel Berry
- University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ry Young
- Center for Phage Technology, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2128 TAMU, College Station, TX, 77843-2128, USA.
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11
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Aziz RK, Dwivedi B, Akhter S, Breitbart M, Edwards RA. Multidimensional metrics for estimating phage abundance, distribution, gene density, and sequence coverage in metagenomes. Front Microbiol 2015; 6:381. [PMID: 26005436 PMCID: PMC4424905 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2015] [Accepted: 04/13/2015] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Phages are the most abundant biological entities on Earth and play major ecological roles, yet the current sequenced phage genomes do not adequately represent their diversity, and little is known about the abundance and distribution of these sequenced genomes in nature. Although the study of phage ecology has benefited tremendously from the emergence of metagenomic sequencing, a systematic survey of phage genes and genomes in various ecosystems is still lacking, and fundamental questions about phage biology, lifestyle, and ecology remain unanswered. To address these questions and improve comparative analysis of phages in different metagenomes, we screened a core set of publicly available metagenomic samples for sequences related to completely sequenced phages using the web tool, Phage Eco-Locator. We then adopted and deployed an array of mathematical and statistical metrics for a multidimensional estimation of the abundance and distribution of phage genes and genomes in various ecosystems. Experiments using those metrics individually showed their usefulness in emphasizing the pervasive, yet uneven, distribution of known phage sequences in environmental metagenomes. Using these metrics in combination allowed us to resolve phage genomes into clusters that correlated with their genotypes and taxonomic classes as well as their ecological properties. We propose adding this set of metrics to current metaviromic analysis pipelines, where they can provide insight regarding phage mosaicism, habitat specificity, and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramy K Aziz
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University San Diego, CA, USA ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University Cairo, Egypt ; Computing, Environment, and Life Sciences, Argonne National Laboratory Argonne, IL, USA
| | - Bhakti Dwivedi
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA
| | - Sajia Akhter
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Mya Breitbart
- College of Marine Science, University of South Florida St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, FL, USA
| | - Robert A Edwards
- Department of Computer Science, San Diego State University San Diego, CA, USA ; Computing, Environment, and Life Sciences, Argonne National Laboratory Argonne, IL, USA
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12
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Klem J, Dömötör D, Schneider G, Kovács T, Tóth A, Rákhely G. Bacteriophage therapy against staphylococci. Acta Microbiol Immunol Hung 2013; 60:411-22. [PMID: 24292085 DOI: 10.1556/amicr.60.2013.4.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The emergence of the multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains has prompted interest in alternatives to conventional drugs. Among the possible options one of the most promising is the therapeutic use of bacteriophages. Over the recent decades, increasing amount of literature has validated the use of bacteriophages for therapy and prophylaxis against drug-resistant staphylococci. This work attempts to review the current knowledge on bacteriophages and their usages for treatment of staphylococcal diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- József Klem
- University of Szeged Department of Biotechnology Szeged Hungary
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13
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Abstract
Due to their crucial role in pathogenesis and virulence, phages of Staphylococcus aureus have been extensively studied. Most of them encode and disseminate potent staphylococcal virulence factors. In addition, their movements contribute to the extraordinary versatility and adaptability of this prominent pathogen by improving genome plasticity. In addition to S. aureus, phages from coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) are gaining increasing interest. Some of these species, such as S. epidermidis, cause nosocomial infections and are therefore problematic for public health. This review provides an overview of the staphylococcal phages family extended to CoNS phages. At the morphological level, all these phages characterized so far belong to the Caudovirales order and are mainly temperate Siphoviridae. At the molecular level, comparative genomics revealed an extensive mosaicism, with genes organized into functional modules that are frequently exchanged between phages. Evolutionary relationships within this family, as well as with other families, have been highlighted. All these aspects are of crucial importance for our understanding of evolution and emergence of pathogens among bacterial species such as Staphylococci.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Deghorain
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; (L.V.M.); (M.D.); Tel.: +32-2-650-97-76 (M.D.); +32-2-650-97-78 (L.V.M.); Fax: +32-2-650-97-70
| | - Laurence Van Melderen
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; (L.V.M.); (M.D.); Tel.: +32-2-650-97-76 (M.D.); +32-2-650-97-78 (L.V.M.); Fax: +32-2-650-97-70
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14
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McCarthy AJ, Witney AA, Lindsay JA. Staphylococcus aureus temperate bacteriophage: carriage and horizontal gene transfer is lineage associated. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2012; 2:6. [PMID: 22919598 PMCID: PMC3417521 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2012.00006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2011] [Accepted: 01/23/2012] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of human and animal infections. Bacteriophage are a class of mobile genetic element (MGE) that carry virulence genes and disseminate them horizontally, including Panton–Valentine leukocidin (PVL), the immune evasion cluster (IEC) associated with human specificity, and enterotoxin A the major toxin associated with food poisoning. S. aureus isolates group into major clonal complex (CC) lineages that largely evolve independently due to possession of different restriction–modification (RM) systems. We aimed to better understand the horizontal and vertical transmission dynamics of virulence and resistance genes by bacteriophage by using (i) bioinformatic approaches to analyze bacteriophage genomes from the first 79 sequenced S. aureus isolates and (ii) S. aureus microarrays to analyze the distribution of bacteriophage and virulence genes in S. aureus isolates from a broader range of lineages. The distribution of eight bacteriophage families was highly variable but lineage associated. Nevertheless, there was evidence of frequent acquisition and loss and not just vertical transmission. Most bacteriophage genes were dispensable, and extensive mosaicism was seen. Surprisingly, virulence genes were tightly associated with specific phage families. This data suggests S. aureus bacteriophage evolve rapidly, and the horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of virulence genes encoded by bacteriophage is restricted by bacteriophage family and the lineage of the host bacterium, delaying the evolution of fully resistant and virulent strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex J McCarthy
- Division of Clinical Sciences, Centre for Infection, St George's University of London London, UK.
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15
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Belcaid M, Bergeron A, Poisson G. The evolution of the tape measure protein: units, duplications and losses. BMC Bioinformatics 2011; 12 Suppl 9:S10. [PMID: 22151602 PMCID: PMC3271669 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-12-s9-s10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A large family of viruses that infect bacteria, called phages, is characterized by long tails used to inject DNA into their victims' cells. The tape measure protein got its name because the length of the corresponding gene is proportional to the length of the phage's tail: a fact shown by actually copying or splicing out parts of DNA in exemplar species. A natural question is whether there exist units for these tape measures, and if different tape measures have different units and lengths. Such units would allow us to retrace the evolution of tape measure proteins using their duplication/loss history. The vast number of sequenced phages genomes allows us to attack this problem with a comparative genomics approach. RESULTS Here we describe a subset of phages whose tape measure proteins contain variable numbers of an 11 amino acids sequence repeat, aligned with sequence similarity, structural properties, and simple arithmetics. This subset provides a unique opportunity for the combinatorial study of phage evolution, without the added uncertainties of multiple alignments, which are trivial in this case, or of protein functions, that are well established. We give a heuristic that reconstructs the duplication history of these sequences, using divergent strains to discriminate between mutations that occurred before and after speciation, or lineage divergence. The heuristic is based on an efficient algorithm that gives an exhaustive enumeration of all possible parsimonious reconstructions of the duplication/speciation history of a single nucleotide. Finally, we present a method that allows, when possible, to discriminate between duplication and loss events. CONCLUSIONS Establishing the evolutionary history of viruses is difficult, in part due to extensive recombinations and gene transfers, and high mutation rates that often erase detectable similarity between homologous genes. In this paper, we introduce new tools to address this problem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahdi Belcaid
- Information and Computer Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
| | | | - Guylaine Poisson
- Information and Computer Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
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