1
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Motamedi H, Abiri R, Salari F, Jalili C, Alvandi A. Reduction of UreB and CagA expression level by siRNA construct in Helicobacter pylori strain SS1. BMC Microbiol 2023; 23:401. [PMID: 38114907 PMCID: PMC10729366 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-023-03143-x] [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: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Two important virulence factors, urease and cagA, play an important role in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) gastric cancer. Aim of this study was to investigate the expression level and function of ureB and cagA using small interfering RNAs (siRNA). METHODS SS1 strain of H. pylori was considered as host for natural transformation. siRNA designed for ureB and cagA genes were inserted in pGPU6/GFP/Neo siRNA plasmid vector to evaluate using phenotypic and genotypic approaches. Then, qPCR was performed for determining inhibition rate of ureB and cagA gene expression. RESULTS The expression levels of siRNA-ureB and siRNA-cagA in the recombinant strain SS1 were reduced by about 5000 and 1000 fold, respectively, compared to the native H. pylori strain SS1. Also, preliminary evaluation of siRNA-ureB in vitro showed inhibition of urea enzyme activity. These data suggest that siRNA may be a powerful new tool for gene silencing in vitro, and for the development of RNAi-based anti-H. pylori therapies. CONCLUSION Our results show that targeting ureB and cagA genes with siRNA seems to be a new strategy to inhibit urease enzyme activity, reduce inflammation and colonization rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamid Motamedi
- Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
- Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Ramin Abiri
- Fertility and Infertility Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Farhad Salari
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Cyrus Jalili
- Medical Biology Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Amirhoushang Alvandi
- Medical Technology Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
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2
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ComFC mediates transport and handling of single-stranded DNA during natural transformation. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1961. [PMID: 35414142 PMCID: PMC9005727 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29494-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The ComFC protein is essential for natural transformation, a process that plays a major role in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors across bacteria. However, its role remains largely unknown. Here, we show that Helicobacter pylori ComFC is involved in DNA transport through the cell membrane, and is required for the handling of the single-stranded DNA once it is delivered into the cytoplasm. The crystal structure of ComFC includes a zinc-finger motif and a putative phosphoribosyl transferase domain, both necessary for the protein's in vivo activity. Furthermore, we show that ComFC is a membrane-associated protein with affinity for single-stranded DNA. Our results suggest that ComFC provides the link between the transport of the transforming DNA into the cytoplasm and its handling by the recombination machinery.
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3
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Liu Y, Wang S, Yang F, Chi W, Ding L, Liu T, Zhu F, Ji D, Zhou J, Fang Y, Zhang J, Xiang P, Zhang Y, Zhao H. Antimicrobial resistance patterns and genetic elements associated with the antibiotic resistance of Helicobacter pylori strains from Shanghai. Gut Pathog 2022; 14:14. [PMID: 35354484 PMCID: PMC8966258 DOI: 10.1186/s13099-022-00488-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Shanghai, in east China, has one of the world’s highest burdens of Helicobacter pylori infection. While multidrug regimens can effectively eradicate H. pylori, the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance (AR) in H. pylori has been recognized by the WHO as ‘high priority’ for urgent need of new therapies. Moreover, the genetic characteristics of H. pylori AR in Shanghai is under-reported. The purpose of this study was to determine the resistance prevalence, re-substantiate resistance-conferring mutations, and investigate novel genetic elements associated with H. pylori AR. Results We performed whole genome sequencing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of 112 H. pylori strains isolated from gastric biopsy specimens from Shanghai patients with different gastric diseases. No strains were resistant to amoxicillin. Levofloxacin, metronidazole and clarithromycin resistance was observed in 39 (34.8%), 73 (65.2%) and 18 (16.1%) strains, respectively. There was no association between gastroscopy diagnosis and resistance phenotypes. We reported the presence or absence of several subsystem protein coding genes including hopE, hofF, spaB, cagY and pflA, and a combination of CRISPRs, which were potentially correlated with resistance phenotypes. The H. pylori strains were also annotated for 80 genome-wide AR genes (ARGs). A genome-wide ARG analysis was performed for the three antibiotics by correlating the phenotypes with the genetic variants, which identified the well-known intrinsic mutations conferring resistance to levofloxacin (N87T/I and/or D91G/Y mutations in gyrA), metronidazole (I38V mutation in fdxB), and clarithromycin (A2143G and/or A2142G mutations in 23S rRNA), and added 174 novel variations, including 23 non-synonymous SNPs and 48 frameshift Indels that were significantly enriched in either the antibiotic-resistant or antibiotic-susceptible bacterial populations. The variant-level linkage disequilibrium analysis highlighted variations in a protease Lon with strong co-occurring correlation with a series of resistance-associated variants. Conclusion Our study revealed multidrug antibiotic resistance in H. pylori strains from Shanghai, which was characterized by high metronidazole and moderate levofloxacin resistance, and identified specific genomic characteristics in relation to H. pylori AR. Continued surveillance of H. pylori AR in Shanghai is warranted in order to establish appropriate eradication treatment regimens for this population. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13099-022-00488-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yixin Liu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Clinical Geriatric Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Research Center on Aging and Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Su Wang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Feng Yang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Clinical Geriatric Medicine, Shanghai, China.,Research Center on Aging and Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wenjing Chi
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Li Ding
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Tao Liu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Feng Zhu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Danian Ji
- Department of Endoscopy, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jun Zhou
- Department of Endoscopy, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yi Fang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jinghao Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ping Xiang
- Department of Endoscopy, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yanmei Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. .,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Clinical Geriatric Medicine, Shanghai, China. .,Research Center on Aging and Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Hu Zhao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. .,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Clinical Geriatric Medicine, Shanghai, China. .,Research Center on Aging and Medicine, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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4
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Ailloud F, Estibariz I, Suerbaum S. Evolved to vary: genome and epigenome variation in the human pathogen Helicobacter pylori. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2021; 45:5900976. [PMID: 32880636 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuaa042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative, spiral shaped bacterium that selectively and chronically infects the gastric mucosa of humans. The clinical course of this infection can range from lifelong asymptomatic infection to severe disease, including peptic ulcers or gastric cancer. The high mutation rate and natural competence typical of this species are responsible for massive inter-strain genetic variation exceeding that observed in all other bacterial human pathogens. The adaptive value of such a plastic genome is thought to derive from a rapid exploration of the fitness landscape resulting in fast adaptation to the changing conditions of the gastric environment. Nevertheless, diversity is also lost through recurrent bottlenecks and H. pylori's lifestyle is thus a perpetual race to maintain an appropriate pool of standing genetic variation able to withstand selection events. Another aspect of H. pylori's diversity is a large and variable repertoire of restriction-modification systems. While not yet completely understood, methylome evolution could generate enough transcriptomic variation to provide another intricate layer of adaptive potential. This review provides an up to date synopsis of this rapidly emerging area of H. pylori research that has been enabled by the ever-increasing throughput of Omics technologies and a multitude of other technological advances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florent Ailloud
- Max von Pettenkofer Institute, Faculty of Medicine, LMU München, Pettenkoferstr. 9a, 80336 München, Germany
| | - Iratxe Estibariz
- Max von Pettenkofer Institute, Faculty of Medicine, LMU München, Pettenkoferstr. 9a, 80336 München, Germany
| | - Sebastian Suerbaum
- Max von Pettenkofer Institute, Faculty of Medicine, LMU München, Pettenkoferstr. 9a, 80336 München, Germany.,DZIF Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung, Partner Site Munich, Pettenkoferstr. 9a, 80336 München, Germany.,National Reference Center for Helicobacter pylori, Pettenkoferstr. 9a, 80336 München, Germany
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5
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Serrano E, Ramos C, Alonso JC, Ayora S. Recombination proteins differently control the acquisition of homeologous DNA during Bacillus subtilis natural chromosomal transformation. Environ Microbiol 2020; 23:512-524. [PMID: 33264457 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Natural chromosomal transformation (CT) plays a major role in prokaryote evolution, yet factors that govern the integration of DNA from related species remain poorly understood. We show that in naturally competent Bacillus subtilis cells the acquisition of homeologous sequences is governed by sequence divergence (SD). Integration initiates in a minimal efficient processing segment via homology-directed CT, and its frequency decreases log-linearly with increased SD up to 15%. Beyond this and up to 23% SD the interspecies boundaries prevail, the CT frequency marginally decreases, and short (<10-nucleotides) segments are integrated via homology-facilitated micro-homologous integration. Both mechanisms are RecA dependent. We identify the other recombination proteins required for the acquisition of homeologous DNA. The absence of AddAB, RecF, RecO, RuvAB or RecU, crucial for repair-by-recombination, did not affect CT. However, dprA, radA, recJ, recX or recD2 inactivation strongly decreased intraspecies and interspecies CT. Interspecies CT was not detected beyond ~8% SD in ΔdprA, ~10% in ΔrecJ, ΔradA, ΔrecX and ~14% in ΔrecD2 cells. We propose that DprA, RecX, RadA/Sms, RecJ and RecD2 accessory proteins are important for the generation of genetic diversity. Together with RecA, they facilitate gene acquisition from bacteria of related species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ester Serrano
- Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Cristina Ramos
- Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Juan C Alonso
- Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Silvia Ayora
- Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), Madrid, 28049, Spain
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6
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Identification of the periplasmic DNA receptor for natural transformation of Helicobacter pylori. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5357. [PMID: 31767852 PMCID: PMC6877725 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13352-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer through natural transformation is a major driver of antibiotic resistance spreading in many pathogenic bacterial species. In the case of Gram-negative bacteria, and in particular of Helicobacter pylori, the mechanisms underlying the handling of the incoming DNA within the periplasm are poorly understood. Here we identify the protein ComH as the periplasmic receptor for the transforming DNA during natural transformation in H. pylori. ComH is a DNA-binding protein required for the import of DNA into the periplasm. Its C-terminal domain displays strong affinity for double-stranded DNA and is sufficient for the accumulation of DNA in the periplasm, but not for DNA internalisation into the cytoplasm. The N-terminal region of the protein allows the interaction of ComH with a periplasmic domain of the inner-membrane channel ComEC, which is known to mediate the translocation of DNA into the cytoplasm. Our results indicate that ComH is involved in the import of DNA into the periplasm and its delivery to the inner membrane translocator ComEC. Some bacteria can take up DNA molecules from the environment. Here, Damke et al. identify a DNA-binding protein in Helicobacter pylori that is required for DNA import into the periplasm and that interacts with an inner-membrane channel that translocates the DNA into the cytoplasm.
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7
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Noto JM, Chopra A, Loh JT, Romero-Gallo J, Piazuelo MB, Watson M, Leary S, Beckett AC, Wilson KT, Cover TL, Mallal S, Israel DA, Peek RM. Pan-genomic analyses identify key Helicobacter pylori pathogenic loci modified by carcinogenic host microenvironments. Gut 2018; 67:1793-1804. [PMID: 28924022 PMCID: PMC5857411 DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-313863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Revised: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 07/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Helicobacter pylori is the strongest risk factor for gastric cancer; however, the majority of infected individuals do not develop disease. Pathological outcomes are mediated by complex interactions among bacterial, host and environmental constituents, and two dietary factors linked with gastric cancer risk are iron deficiency and high salt. We hypothesised that prolonged adaptation of H. pylori to in vivo carcinogenic microenvironments results in genetic modification important for disease. DESIGN Whole genome sequencing of genetically related H. pylori strains that differ in virulence and targeted H. pylori sequencing following prolonged exposure of bacteria to in vitro carcinogenic conditions were performed. RESULTS A total of 180 unique single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified among the collective genomes when compared with a reference H. pylori genome. Importantly, common SNPs were identified in isolates harvested from iron-depleted and high salt carcinogenic microenvironments, including an SNP within fur (FurR88H). To investigate the direct role of low iron and/or high salt, H. pylori was continuously cultured in vitro under low iron or high salt conditions to assess fur genetic variation. Exposure to low iron or high salt selected for the FurR88H variant after only 5 days. To extend these results, fur was sequenced in 339 clinical H. pylori strains. Among the isolates examined, 17% (40/232) of strains isolated from patients with premalignant lesions harboured the FurR88H variant, compared with only 6% (6/107) of strains from patients with non-atrophic gastritis alone (p=0.0034). CONCLUSION These results indicate that specific genetic variation arises within H. pylori strains during in vivo adaptation to conditions conducive for gastric carcinogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer M Noto
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Abha Chopra
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Australia
| | - John T Loh
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Judith Romero-Gallo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - M Blanca Piazuelo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Mark Watson
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Australia
| | - Shay Leary
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Australia
| | - Amber C Beckett
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Keith T Wilson
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA,Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA,Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, Tennessee, USA,Department of Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Timothy L Cover
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA,Department of Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, Tennessee, USA,Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Simon Mallal
- Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Australia,Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Dawn A Israel
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Richard M Peek
- Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA,Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA,Department of Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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8
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Yuan XY, Wang Y, Wang MY. The type IV secretion system in Helicobacter pylori. Future Microbiol 2018; 13:1041-1054. [PMID: 29927340 DOI: 10.2217/fmb-2018-0038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has an essential role in the pathogenesis of gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and gastric cancer. The severity of the host inflammatory responses against the bacteria have been straightly associated with a special bacterial virulence factor, the cag pathogenicity island, which is a type IV secretion system (T4SS) to deliver CagA into the host cells. Besides cag-T4SS, the chromosomes of H. pylori can encode another three T4SSs, including comB, tfs3 and tfs4. In this review, we systematically reviewed the four T4SSs of H. pylori and explored their roles in the pathogenesis of gastroduodenal diseases. The information summarized in this review might provide valuable insights into the pathogenic mechanism for H. pylori.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Yan Yuan
- Department of Central Lab, Weihai Municipal Hospital Affiliated to Dalian Medical University, Weihai, Shandong, 264200, PR China
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Central Lab, Weihai Municipal Hospital Affiliated to Dalian Medical University, Weihai, Shandong, 264200, PR China
| | - Ming-Yi Wang
- Department of Central Lab, Weihai Municipal Hospital Affiliated to Dalian Medical University, Weihai, Shandong, 264200, PR China
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9
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Abstract
Helicobacter pylori is the most common bacterial infection worldwide, and virtually all infected persons develop co-existing gastritis. H. pylori is able to send and receive signals from the gastric mucosa, which enables both host and microbe to engage in a dynamic equilibrium. In order to persist within the human host, H. pylori has adopted dichotomous strategies to both induce inflammation as a means of liberating nutrients while simultaneously tempering the immune response to augment its survival. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and Nod proteins are innate immune receptors that are present in epithelial cells and represent the first line of defense against pathogens. To ensure persistence, H. pylori manipulates TLR-mediated defenses using strategies that include rendering its LPS and flagellin to be non-stimulatory to TLR4 and TLR5, respectively; translocating peptidoglycan into host cells to induce NOD1-mediated anti-inflammatory responses; and translocating DNA into host cells to induce TLR9 activation.
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10
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ComB proteins expression levels determine Helicobacter pylori competence capacity. Sci Rep 2017; 7:41495. [PMID: 28128333 PMCID: PMC5269756 DOI: 10.1038/srep41495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori chronically colonises half of the world’s human population and is the main cause of ulcers and gastric cancers. Its prevalence and the increase in antibiotic resistance observed recently reflect the high genetic adaptability of this pathogen. Together with high mutation rates and an efficient DNA recombination system, horizontal gene transfer through natural competence makes of H. pylori one of the most genetically diverse bacteria. We show here that transformation capacity is enhanced in strains defective for recN, extending previous work with other homologous recombination genes. However, inactivation of either mutY or polA has no effect on DNA transformation, suggesting that natural competence can be boosted in H. pylori by the persistence of DNA breaks but not by enhanced mutagenesis. The transformation efficiency of the different DNA repair impaired strains correlates with the number of transforming DNA foci formed on the cell surface and with the expression of comB8 and comB10 competence genes. Overexpression of the comB6-B10 operon is sufficient to increase the transformation capacity of a wild type strain, indicating that the ComB complex, present in the bacterial wall and essential for DNA uptake, can be a limiting factor for transformation efficiency.
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11
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Kojima KK, Furuta Y, Yahara K, Fukuyo M, Shiwa Y, Nishiumi S, Yoshida M, Azuma T, Yoshikawa H, Kobayashi I. Population Evolution of Helicobacter pylori through Diversification in DNA Methylation and Interstrain Sequence Homogenization. Mol Biol Evol 2016; 33:2848-2859. [PMID: 27604221 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msw162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Decoding of closely related genomes is now revealing the process of population evolution. In bacteria, population divergence appears associated with a unique set of sequence-specific epigenetic DNA methylation systems, often within restriction-modification (RM) systems. They might define a unique gene expression pattern and limit genetic flux between lineages in population divergence. We addressed the contribution of methylation systems to population diversification in panmictic bacterial species, Helicobacter pylori, which shows an interconnected population structure through frequent mutual recombination. We analyzed complete genome sequences of 28 strains collected in Fukui, Japan. Their nucleotide sequences are closely related although fine-scale analyses revealed two subgroups likely reflecting human subpopulations. Their sequences are tightly connected by homologous recombination. Our extensive analysis of RM systems revealed an extreme variability in DNA methyltransferases, especially in their target recognition domains. Their diversity was, however, not immediately related to the genome sequence diversity, except for very closely related strains. An interesting exception is a hybrid strain, which likely has conserved the methylation gene repertoire from one parent but diversified in sequence by massive acquisition of fragmentary DNA sequences from the other parent. Our results demonstrate how a bacterial population can be extremely divergent in epigenetics and yet homogenized in sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji K Kojima
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Genetic Information Research Institute, Los Altos, CA Department of Medical Genome Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yoshikazu Furuta
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Department of Medical Genome Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Koji Yahara
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Department of Bacteriology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masaki Fukuyo
- Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Department of Medical Genome Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuh Shiwa
- Genome Research Center, NODAI Research Institute, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shin Nishiumi
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Masaru Yoshida
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Takeshi Azuma
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Hirofumi Yoshikawa
- Genome Research Center, NODAI Research Institute, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan Department of Bioscience, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ichizo Kobayashi
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Department of Medical Genome Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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12
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Duffin PM, Barber DA. DprA is required for natural transformation and affects pilin variation in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Microbiology (Reading) 2016; 162:1620-1628. [DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Paul M. Duffin
- Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Transylvania University, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Daniel A. Barber
- Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Transylvania University, Lexington, KY, USA
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13
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Corbinais C, Mathieu A, Kortulewski T, Radicella JP, Marsin S. Following transforming DNA inHelicobacter pylorifrom uptake to expression. Mol Microbiol 2016; 101:1039-53. [DOI: 10.1111/mmi.13440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Corbinais
- CEA; Institute of Molecular and Cellular Radiobiology; F-92265 Fontenay aux Roses France
- INSERM, U967, F-92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
- Universités Paris Diderot et Paris Sud; UMR967, F-92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses France
| | - Aurélie Mathieu
- CEA; Institute of Molecular and Cellular Radiobiology; F-92265 Fontenay aux Roses France
| | - Thierry Kortulewski
- CEA; Institute of Molecular and Cellular Radiobiology; F-92265 Fontenay aux Roses France
- INSERM, U967, F-92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
- Universités Paris Diderot et Paris Sud; UMR967, F-92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses France
| | - J. Pablo Radicella
- CEA; Institute of Molecular and Cellular Radiobiology; F-92265 Fontenay aux Roses France
- INSERM, U967, F-92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
- Universités Paris Diderot et Paris Sud; UMR967, F-92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses France
| | - Stéphanie Marsin
- CEA; Institute of Molecular and Cellular Radiobiology; F-92265 Fontenay aux Roses France
- INSERM, U967, F-92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
- Universités Paris Diderot et Paris Sud; UMR967, F-92265 Fontenay-aux-Roses France
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14
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Krüger NJ, Knüver MT, Zawilak-Pawlik A, Appel B, Stingl K. Genetic Diversity as Consequence of a Microaerobic and Neutrophilic Lifestyle. PLoS Pathog 2016; 12:e1005626. [PMID: 27166672 PMCID: PMC4864210 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2016] [Accepted: 04/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
As a neutrophilic bacterium, Helicobacter pylori is growth deficient under extreme acidic conditions. The gastric pathogen is equipped with an acid survival kit, regulating urease activity by a pH-gated urea channel, opening below pH 6.5. After overcoming acid stress, the bacterium’s multiplication site is situated at the gastric mucosa with near neutral pH. The pathogen exhibits exceptional genetic variability, mainly due to its capability of natural transformation, termed competence. Using single cell analysis, we show here that competence is highly regulated in H. pylori. DNA uptake complex activity was reversibly shut down below pH 6.5. pH values above 6.5 opened a competence window, in which competence development was triggered by the combination of pH increase and oxidative stress. In contrast, addition of sublethal concentrations of the DNA-damaging agents ciprofloxacin or mitomycin C did not trigger competence development under our conditions. An oxygen-sensitive mutant lacking superoxide dismutase (sodB) displayed a higher competent fraction of cells than the wild type under comparable conditions. In addition, the sodB mutant was dependent on adenine for growth in broth and turned into non-cultivable coccoid forms in its absence, indicating that adenine had radical quenching capacity. Quantification of periplasmically located DNA in competent wild type cells revealed outstanding median imported DNA amounts of around 350 kb per cell within 10 min of import, with maximally a chromosomal equivalent (1.6 Mb) in individual cells, far exceeding previous amounts detected in other Gram-negative bacteria. We conclude that the pathogen’s high genetic diversity is a consequence of its enormous DNA uptake capacity, triggered by intrinsic and extrinsic oxidative stress once a neutral pH at the site of chronic host colonization allows competence development. Natural transformation, i.e. the capacity to take up DNA from the environment, is one of the crucial means for horizontal gene transfer and genetic diversity in bacteria. The human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori is confronted with acid stress before entering its multiplication site, the gastric mucosa. The bacterium causes lifelong chronic gastritis and is perfectly adapted to the human host, crucially by displaying unusual genetic diversity. Using a single cell approach and well-controlled conditions, we show here that the amount of imported DNA in competent H. pylori is outstanding, far exceeding previous measurement with other Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, DNA uptake activity was tightly regulated and limited to pH above 6.5, conditions thought to be met in close contact with the gastric mucosa. In addition, we show that within this pH competence window, competence development was triggered by an increase in pH in combination with the level of oxidative stress. Our data provide explanations for the extraordinary high genetic diversity, often referred to as genome plasticity of this unusual microaerobic pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora-Johanna Krüger
- Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, National Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marie-Theres Knüver
- Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, National Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anna Zawilak-Pawlik
- Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Microbiology, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Bernd Appel
- Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, National Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kerstin Stingl
- Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Department of Biological Safety, National Reference Laboratory for Campylobacter, Berlin, Germany
- * E-mail:
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15
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Choi DH, Kwon YM, Chiura HX, Yang EC, Bae SS, Kang SG, Lee JH, Yoon HS, Kim SJ. Extracellular Vesicles of the Hyperthermophilic Archaeon "Thermococcus onnurineus" NA1T. Appl Environ Microbiol 2015; 81:4591-9. [PMID: 25934618 PMCID: PMC4551206 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00428-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2015] [Accepted: 04/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) produced by a sulfur-reducing, hyperthermophilic archaeon, "Thermococcus onnurineus" NA1(T), were purified and characterized. A maximum of four EV bands, showing buoyant densities between 1.1899 and 1.2828 g cm(-3), were observed after CsCl ultracentrifugation. The two major EV bands, B (buoyant density at 25°C [ρ(25)] = 1.2434 g cm(-3)) and C (ρ(25) = 1.2648 g cm(-3)), were separately purified and counted using a qNano particle analyzer. These EVs, showing different buoyant densities, were identically spherical in shape, and their sizes varied from 80 to 210 nm in diameter, with 120- and 190-nm sizes predominant. The average size of DNA packaged into EVs was about 14 kb. The DNA of the EVs in band C was sequenced and assembled. Mapping of the T. onnurineus NA1(T) EV (ToEV) DNA sequences onto the reference genome of the parent archaeon revealed that most genes of T. onnurineus NA1(T) were packaged into EVs, except for an ∼9.4-kb region from TON_0536 to TON_0544. The absence of this specific region of the genome in the EVs was confirmed from band B of the same culture and from bands B and C purified from a different batch culture. The presence of the 3'-terminal sequence and the absence of the 5'-terminal sequence of TON_0536 were repeatedly confirmed. On the basis of these results, we hypothesize that the unpackaged part of the T. onnurineus NA1(T) genome might be related to the process that delivers DNA into ToEVs and/or the mechanism generating the ToEVs themselves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Hee Choi
- Marine Biotechnology Research Division, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Yong Min Kwon
- Marine Biotechnology Research Division, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Hiroshi Xavier Chiura
- Marine Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Marine Ecosystems Dynamics, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Eun Chan Yang
- Marine Ecosystem Research Division, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan, South Korea
| | - Seung Seob Bae
- Marine Biotechnology Research Division, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan, South Korea Department of Marine Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Sung Gyun Kang
- Marine Biotechnology Research Division, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan, South Korea Department of Marine Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Jung-Hyun Lee
- Marine Biotechnology Research Division, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan, South Korea Department of Marine Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Hwan Su Yoon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, South Korea
| | - Sang-Jin Kim
- Marine Biotechnology Research Division, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Ansan, South Korea Department of Marine Biotechnology, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea
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16
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Donczew R, Mielke T, Jaworski P, Zakrzewska-Czerwińska J, Zawilak-Pawlik A. Assembly of Helicobacter pylori initiation complex is determined by sequence-specific and topology-sensitive DnaA-oriC interactions. J Mol Biol 2014; 426:2769-82. [PMID: 24862285 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2014.05.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2014] [Revised: 05/15/2014] [Accepted: 05/16/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
In bacteria, chromosome replication is initiated by binding of the DnaA initiator protein to DnaA boxes located in the origin of chromosomal replication (oriC). This leads to DNA helix opening within the DNA-unwinding element. Helicobacter pylori oriC, the first bipartite origin identified in Gram-negative bacteria, contains two subregions, oriC1 and oriC2, flanking the dnaA gene. The DNA-unwinding element region is localized in the oriC2 subregion downstream of dnaA. Surprisingly, oriC2-DnaA interactions were shown to depend on DNA topology, which is unusual in bacteria but is similar to initiator-origin interactions observed in higher organisms. In this work, we identified three DnaA boxes in the oriC2 subregion, two of which were bound only as supercoiled DNA. We found that all three DnaA boxes play important roles in orisome assembly and subsequent DNA unwinding, but different functions can be assigned to individual boxes. This suggests that the H. pylori oriC may be functionally divided, similar to what was described recently for Escherichia coli oriC. On the basis of these results, we propose a model of initiation complex formation in H. pylori.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafał Donczew
- Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Microbiology, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland.
| | - Thorsten Mielke
- Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Ihnestrasse 63-73, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Paweł Jaworski
- Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Microbiology, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland.
| | - Jolanta Zakrzewska-Czerwińska
- Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Microbiology, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland; University of Wrocław, Faculty of Biotechnology, Joliot-Curie 14a, 50-138 Wrocław, Poland.
| | - Anna Zawilak-Pawlik
- Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Department of Microbiology, Weigla 12, 53-114 Wrocław, Poland.
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Abstract
Cancer of the stomach is the fourth most common cancer worldwide. The single strongest risk factor for gastric cancer is Helicobacter pylori-associated chronic gastric inflammation. Among persons with H. pylori infection, strain-specific components, host immune responses, and environmental factors influence the risk for gastric disease, including adenocarcinoma of the stomach, although only a small proportion of infected persons develop the malignancy. Recent advances in DNA sequencing technology have uncovered a complex community of noncultivatable inhabitants of the human stomach. The interaction between these inhabitants, collectively referred to as the gastric microbiota, and H. pylori likely affects gastric immunobiology and possibly the sequelae of H. pylori infection. Thus, characterization of the gastric microbiota in subjects with and without H. pylori infection could provide new insight into gastric homeostasis and the pathogenesis of H. pylori-associated disease, including gastric cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle M. Brawner
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294
- Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294
| | - Casey D. Morrow
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294
| | - Phillip D. Smith
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294
- Department of VA Medical Center Research Service, Birmingham, AL 35233
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18
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Fernandez-Gonzalez E, Backert S. DNA transfer in the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori. J Gastroenterol 2014; 49:594-604. [PMID: 24515309 DOI: 10.1007/s00535-014-0938-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2013] [Accepted: 01/16/2014] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori is one of the most genetically diverse bacteria. Recombination and DNA transfer contribute to its genetic variability and enhance host adaptation. Among the strategies described to increase genetic diversity in bacteria, DNA transfer by conjugation is one of the best characterized. Using this mechanism, a fragment of DNA from a donor cell can be transferred to a recipient, always mediated by a conjugative nucleoprotein complex, which is evolutionarily related to type IV secretion systems (T4SSs). Interestingly, the H. pylori chromosomes can encode up to four T4SSs, including the cagPAI, comB, tfs3, and tfs4 genes, some of which are known to promote chronic H. pylori infection. The T4SS encoded by the cagPAI mediates the injection of the effector protein CagA and proinflammatory signaling, and the comB system is involved in DNA uptake from the environment. However, the role of tfs3 and tfs4 is not yet clear. The presence of a functional XerD tyrosine recombinase and 5'AAAGAATG-3' border sequences as well as two putative conjugative relaxases (Rlx1 and Rlx2), a coupling protein (TraG), and a chromosomal region carrying a putative origin of transfer (oriT) suggest the existence of a DNA transfer apparatus in tfs4. Moreover, a conjugation-like DNA transfer mechanism in H. pylori has already been described in vitro, but whether this occurs in vivo is still unknown. Some extrachromosomal plasmids and phages are also present in various H. pylori strains. Genetic exchange among plasmids and chromosomes, and involved DNA mobilization events, could explain part of H. pylori's genetic diversity. Here, we review our knowledge about the possible DNA transfer mechanisms in H. pylori and its implications in bacterial adaptation to the host environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther Fernandez-Gonzalez
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Biology, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen/Nuremberg, Staudtstr. 5, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
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19
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Abstract
Many bacteria are naturally competent, able to actively transport environmental DNA fragments across their cell envelope and into their cytoplasm. Because incoming DNA fragments can recombine with and replace homologous segments of the chromosome, competence provides cells with a potent mechanism of horizontal gene transfer as well as access to the nutrients in extracellular DNA. This review starts with an introductory overview of competence and continues with a detailed consideration of the DNA uptake specificity of competent proteobacteria in the Pasteurellaceae and Neisseriaceae. Species in these distantly related families exhibit strong preferences for genomic DNA from close relatives, a self-specificity arising from the combined effects of biases in the uptake machinery and genomic overrepresentation of the sequences this machinery prefers. Other competent species tested lack obvious uptake bias or uptake sequences, suggesting that strong convergent evolutionary forces have acted on these two families. Recent results show that uptake sequences have multiple "dialects," with clades within each family preferring distinct sequence variants and having corresponding variants enriched in their genomes. Although the genomic consensus uptake sequences are 12 and 29 to 34 bp, uptake assays have found that only central cores of 3 to 4 bp, conserved across dialects, are crucial for uptake. The other bases, which differ between dialects, make weaker individual contributions but have important cooperative interactions. Together, these results make predictions about the mechanism of DNA uptake across the outer membrane, supporting a model for the evolutionary accumulation and stability of uptake sequences and suggesting that uptake biases may be more widespread than currently thought.
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20
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Environmental determinants of transformation efficiency in Helicobacter pylori. J Bacteriol 2013; 196:337-44. [PMID: 24187089 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00633-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori uses natural competence and homologous recombination to adapt to the dynamic environment of the stomach mucosa and maintain chronic colonization. Although H. pylori competence is constitutive, its rate of transformation is variable, and little is known about factors that influence it. To examine this, we first determined the transformation efficiency of H. pylori strains under low O2 (5% O2, 7.6% CO2, 7.6% H2) and high O2 (15% O2, 2.9% CO2, 2.9% H2) conditions using DNA containing an antibiotic resistance marker. H. pylori transformation efficiency was 6- to 32-fold greater under high O2 tension, which was robust across different H. pylori strains, genetic loci, and bacterial growth phases. Since changing the O2 concentration for these initial experiments also changed the concentrations of CO2 and H2, transformations were repeated under conditions where O2, CO2, and H2 were each varied individually. The results showed that the increase in transformation efficiency under high O2 was largely due to a decrease in CO2. An increase in pH similar to that caused by low CO2 was also sufficient to increase transformation efficiency. These results have implications for the physiology of H. pylori in the gastric environment, and they provide optimized conditions for the laboratory construction of H. pylori mutants using natural transformation.
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21
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Maldonado-Contreras A, Mane SP, Zhang XS, Pericchi L, Alarcón T, Contreras M, Linz B, Blaser MJ, Domínguez-Bello MG. Phylogeographic evidence of cognate recognition site patterns and transformation efficiency differences in H. pylori: theory of strain dominance. BMC Microbiol 2013; 13:211. [PMID: 24050390 PMCID: PMC3849833 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2180-13-211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2013] [Accepted: 08/28/2013] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Helicobacter pylori has diverged in parallel to its human host, leading to distinct phylogeographic populations. Recent evidence suggests that in the current human mixing in Latin America, European H. pylori (hpEurope) are increasingly dominant at the expense of Amerindian haplotypes (hspAmerind). This phenomenon might occur via DNA recombination, modulated by restriction-modification systems (RMS), in which differences in cognate recognition sites (CRS) and in active methylases will determine direction and frequency of gene flow. We hypothesized that genomes from hspAmerind strains that evolved from a small founder population have lost CRS for RMS and active methylases, promoting hpEurope's DNA invasion. We determined the observed and expected frequencies of CRS for RMS in DNA from 7 H. pylori whole genomes and 110 multilocus sequences. We also measured the number of active methylases by resistance to in vitro digestion by 16 restriction enzymes of genomic DNA from 9 hpEurope and 9 hspAmerind strains, and determined the direction of DNA uptake in co-culture experiments of hspAmerind and hpEurope strains. RESULTS Most of the CRS were underrepresented with consistency between whole genomes and multilocus sequences. Although neither the frequency of CRS nor the number of active methylases differ among the bacterial populations (average 8.6 ± 2.6), hspAmerind strains had a restriction profile distinct from that in hpEurope strains, with 15 recognition sites accounting for the differences. Amerindians strains also exhibited higher transformation rates than European strains, and were more susceptible to be subverted by larger DNA hpEurope-fragments than vice versa. CONCLUSIONS The geographical variation in the pattern of CRS provides evidence for ancestral differences in RMS representation and function, and the transformation findings support the hypothesis of Europeanization of the Amerindian strains in Latin America via DNA recombination.
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Dwivedi GR, Sharma E, Rao DN. Helicobacter pylori DprA alleviates restriction barrier for incoming DNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2013; 41:3274-88. [PMID: 23355610 PMCID: PMC3597690 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkt024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative bacterium that colonizes human stomach and causes gastric inflammation. The species is naturally competent and displays remarkable diversity. The presence of a large number of restriction-modification (R-M) systems in this bacterium creates a barrier against natural transformation by foreign DNA. Yet, mechanisms that protect incoming double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) from restriction enzymes are not well understood. A DNA-binding protein, DNA Processing Protein A (DprA) has been shown to facilitate natural transformation of several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria by protecting incoming single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and promoting RecA loading on it. However, in this study, we report that H. pylori DprA (HpDprA) binds not only ssDNA but also dsDNA thereby conferring protection to both from various exonucleases and Type II restriction enzymes. Here, we observed a stimulatory role of HpDprA in DNA methylation through physical interaction with methyltransferases. Thus, HpDprA displayed dual functional interaction with H. pylori R-M systems by not only inhibiting the restriction enzymes but also stimulating methyltransferases. These results indicate that HpDprA could be one of the factors that modulate the R-M barrier during inter-strain natural transformation in H. pylori.
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23
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Mell JC, Hall IM, Redfield RJ. Defining the DNA uptake specificity of naturally competent Haemophilus influenzae cells. Nucleic Acids Res 2012; 40:8536-49. [PMID: 22753031 PMCID: PMC3458573 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gks640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Some naturally competent bacteria exhibit both a strong preference for DNA fragments containing specific ‘uptake sequences’ and dramatic overrepresentation of these sequences in their genomes. Uptake sequences are often assumed to directly reflect the specificity of the DNA uptake machinery, but the actual specificity has not been well characterized for any bacterium. We produced a detailed analysis of Haemophilus influenzae’s uptake specificity, using Illumina sequencing of degenerate uptake sequences in fragments recovered from competent cells. This identified an uptake motif with the same consensus as the motif overrepresented in the genome, with a 9 bp core (AAGTGCGGT) and two short flanking T-rich tracts. Only four core bases (GCGG) were critical for uptake, suggesting that these make strong specific contacts with the uptake machinery. Other core bases had weaker roles when considered individually, as did the T-tracts, but interaction effects between these were also determinants of uptake. The properties of genomic uptake sequences are also constrained by mutational biases and selective forces acting on USSs with coding and termination functions. Our findings define constraints on gene transfer by natural transformation and suggest how the DNA uptake machinery overcomes the physical constraints imposed by stiff highly charged DNA molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Chang Mell
- Department of Zoology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T1Z3, Canada
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24
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DprB facilitates inter- and intragenomic recombination in Helicobacter pylori. J Bacteriol 2012; 194:3891-903. [PMID: 22609923 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00346-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
For naturally competent microorganisms, such as Helicobacter pylori, the steps that permit recombination of exogenous DNA are not fully understood. Immediately downstream of an H. pylori gene (dprA) that facilitates high-frequency natural transformation is HP0334 (dprB), annotated to be a putative Holliday junction resolvase (HJR). We showed that the HP0334 (dprB) gene product facilitates high-frequency natural transformation. We determined the physiologic roles of DprB by genetic analyses. DprB controls in vitro growth, survival after exposure to UV or fluoroquinolones, and intragenomic recombination. dprB ruvC double deletion dramatically decreases both homologous and homeologous transformation and survival after exposure to DNA-damaging agents. Moreover, the DprB protein binds to synthetic Holliday junction structures rather than double-stranded or single-stranded DNA. These results demonstrate that the dprB product plays important roles affecting inter- and intragenomic recombination. We provide evidence that the two putative H. pylori HJRs (DprB and RuvC) have overlapping but distinct functions involving intergenomic (primarily DprB) and intragenomic (primarily RuvC) recombination.
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25
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Ren L, Liao Y, Song Y, Guo Y, Mao X, Xie Q, Zhang W, Guo G, Zou Q. High frequency variations of Helicobacter pylori isolates in individual hosts in a Chinese population. Int J Infect Dis 2012; 16:e358-63. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2012.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2011] [Revised: 01/05/2012] [Accepted: 01/12/2012] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
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Natural transformation of an engineered Helicobacter pylori strain deficient in type II restriction endonucleases. J Bacteriol 2012; 194:3407-16. [PMID: 22522893 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00113-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Restriction-modification (RM) systems are important for bacteria to limit foreign DNA invasion. The naturally competent bacterium Helicobacter pylori has highly diverse strain-specific type II systems. To evaluate the roles of strain-specific restriction in H. pylori natural transformation, a markerless type II restriction endonuclease-deficient (REd) mutant was constructed. We deleted the genes encoding all four active type II restriction endonucleases in H. pylori strain 26695 using sacB-mediated counterselection. Transformation by donor DNA with exogenous cassettes methylated by Escherichia coli was substantially (1.7 and 2.0 log(10) for cat and aphA, respectively) increased in the REd strain. There also was significantly increased transformation of the REd strain by donor DNA from other H. pylori strains, to an extent corresponding to their shared type II R-M system strain specificity with 26695. Comparison of the REd and wild-type strains indicates that restriction did not affect the length of DNA fragment integration during natural transformation. There also were no differentials in cell growth or susceptibility to DNA damage. In total, the data indicate that the type II REd mutant has enhanced competence with no loss of growth or repair facility compared to the wild type, facilitating H. pylori mutant construction and other genetic engineering.
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27
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Abstract
All organisms have pathways that repair the genome, ensuring their survival and that of their progeny. But these pathways also serve to diversify the genome, causing changes at the nucleotide, whole gene, and genome structure levels. Sequencing of bacteria has revealed wide allelic diversity and differences in gene content within the same species, highlighting the importance of understanding pathways of recombination and DNA repair. The human stomach pathogen Helicobacter pylori is an excellent model system for studying these pathways. H. pylori harbors major recombination and repair pathways and is naturally competent, facilitating its ability to diversify its genome. Elucidation of DNA recombination, repair, and diversification programs in this pathogen will reveal connections between these pathways and their importance to infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion S Dorer
- Human Biology Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA.
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28
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Dominguez-Bello MG, Blaser MJ. The Human Microbiota as a Marker for Migrations of Individuals and Populations. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ANTHROPOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-anthro-081309-145711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Martin J. Blaser
- Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016;
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30
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Gilbreath JJ, Cody WL, Merrell DS, Hendrixson DR. Change is good: variations in common biological mechanisms in the epsilonproteobacterial genera Campylobacter and Helicobacter. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2011; 75:84-132. [PMID: 21372321 PMCID: PMC3063351 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00035-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbial evolution and subsequent species diversification enable bacterial organisms to perform common biological processes by a variety of means. The epsilonproteobacteria are a diverse class of prokaryotes that thrive in diverse habitats. Many of these environmental niches are labeled as extreme, whereas other niches include various sites within human, animal, and insect hosts. Some epsilonproteobacteria, such as Campylobacter jejuni and Helicobacter pylori, are common pathogens of humans that inhabit specific regions of the gastrointestinal tract. As such, the biological processes of pathogenic Campylobacter and Helicobacter spp. are often modeled after those of common enteric pathogens such as Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli. While many exquisite biological mechanisms involving biochemical processes, genetic regulatory pathways, and pathogenesis of disease have been elucidated from studies of Salmonella spp. and E. coli, these paradigms often do not apply to the same processes in the epsilonproteobacteria. Instead, these bacteria often display extensive variation in common biological mechanisms relative to those of other prototypical bacteria. In this review, five biological processes of commonly studied model bacterial species are compared to those of the epsilonproteobacteria C. jejuni and H. pylori. Distinct differences in the processes of flagellar biosynthesis, DNA uptake and recombination, iron homeostasis, interaction with epithelial cells, and protein glycosylation are highlighted. Collectively, these studies support a broader view of the vast repertoire of biological mechanisms employed by bacteria and suggest that future studies of the epsilonproteobacteria will continue to provide novel and interesting information regarding prokaryotic cellular biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy J. Gilbreath
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390
| | - William L. Cody
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390
| | - D. Scott Merrell
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390
| | - David R. Hendrixson
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390
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31
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Chiurillo MA, Moran YH, Cañas M, Valderrama EJ, Armanie E. Infection with specific Helicobacter pylori-cag pathogenicity island strains is associated with interleukin-1B gene polymorphisms in Venezuelan chronic gastritis patients. Dig Dis Sci 2011; 56:449-56. [PMID: 20585978 DOI: 10.1007/s10620-010-1316-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2010] [Accepted: 06/14/2010] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The cag pathogenicity island (cag-PAI) is one of the major virulence factors of Helicobacter pylori, showing considerable geographic variation. AIM We investigated the prevalence of cagA, cagE, and cagT genes of cag-PAI and their association with proinflammatory IL-1B-511/-31/+3954 polymorphisms in Venezuelan chronic gastritis patients from a high-risk gastric cancer region. METHODS Presence of cag-PAI genes and IL-1B polymorphisms in 121 biopsy specimens was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), respectively. RESULTS cagA (+) and triple-positive (cagAET (+)) strains were detected in 79.3% and 70.2% of patients, respectively. We found that infection with cagA (+) and cagAET (+) strains was associated (P < 0.05) with hosts harboring both IL-1B +3954C allele and IL-1B-511T/-31C/+3954C haplotype (TCC (+)). The frequency of gastric atrophy was significantly higher (P < 0.020) among cagAET (+)/IL-1B-TCC (+) combined genotype carriers. CONCLUSION Carriage of IL-1B +3954C allele and IL-1B-TCC (+) haplotype could favor colonization of bacterial cagAET (+) strains, and the combination of these bacterial and host haplotypes could play a synergistic role in development of premalignant gastric lesions. This work contributes to understanding of the complex interaction between H. pylori virulence factors and cytokine genotypes involved in gastrointestinal diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Angel Chiurillo
- Decanato de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado (UCLA), Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
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Humbert O, Dorer MS, Salama NR. Characterization of Helicobacter pylori factors that control transformation frequency and integration length during inter-strain DNA recombination. Mol Microbiol 2010; 79:387-401. [PMID: 21219459 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2010.07456.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori is a genetically diverse bacterial species, owing in part to its natural competence for DNA uptake that facilitates recombination between strains. Inter-strain DNA recombination occurs during human infection and the H. pylori genome is in linkage equilibrium worldwide. Despite this high propensity for DNA exchange, little is known about the factors that limit the extent of recombination during natural transformation. Here, we identify restriction-modification (R-M) systems as a barrier to transformation with homeologous DNA and find that R-M systems and several components of the recombination machinery control integration length. Type II R-M systems, the nuclease nucT and resolvase ruvC reduced integration length whereas the helicase recG increased it. In addition, we characterized a new factor that promotes natural transformation in H. pylori, dprB. Although free recombination has been widely observed in H. pylori, our study suggests that this bacterium uses multiple systems to limit inter-strain recombination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Humbert
- Division of Human Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
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Discontinuity and limited linkage in the homologous recombination system of a hyperthermophilic archaeon. J Bacteriol 2010; 192:4660-8. [PMID: 20644140 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00447-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic transformation of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius by a multiply marked pyrE gene provided a high-resolution assay of homologous recombination in a hyperthermophilic archaeon. Analysis of 100 Pyr(+) transformants revealed that this recombination system could transfer each of 23 nonselected base pair substitutions to the recipient chromosome along with the selected marker. In 30% of the recombinants, donor markers were transferred as multiple blocks. In at least 40% of the recombinants, donor markers separated by 5 or 6 bp segregated from each other, whereas similar markers separated by 2 bp did not segregate. Among intermarker intervals, the frequency of recombination tract endpoints varied 40-fold, but in contrast to other recombination systems, it did not correlate with the length of the interval. The average length of donor tracts (161 bp) and the frequent generation of multiple tracts seemed generally consistent with the genetic properties observed previously in S. acidocaldarius conjugation. The efficiency with which short intervals of diverged pyrE sequence were incorporated into the genome raises questions about the threat of ectopic recombination in Sulfolobus spp. mediated by this apparently efficient yet permissive system.
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DNA uptake sequence-mediated enhancement of transformation in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is strain dependent. J Bacteriol 2010; 192:4436-44. [PMID: 20601472 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00442-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Natural transformation is the main means of horizontal genetic exchange in the obligate human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Neisseria spp. have been shown to preferentially take up and transform their own DNA by recognizing the nonpalindromic 10- or 12-nucleotide sequence 5'-ATGCCGTCTGAA-3' (additional semiconserved nucleotides are underlined), termed the DNA uptake sequence (DUS10 or DUS12). Here we investigated the effects of the DUS on transformation and DNA uptake for several laboratory strains of N. gonorrhoeae. We found that all strains showed efficient transformation of DUS containing DNA (DUS10 and DUS12) but that the level of transformation with DNA lacking a DUS (DUS0) was variable in different strains. The DUS-enhanced transformation was 20-fold in two strains, FA1090 and FA19, but was approximately 150-fold in strains MS11 and 1291. All strains tested provide some level of DUS0 transformation, and DUS0 transformation was type IV pilus dependent. Competition with plasmid DNA revealed that transformation of MS11 was enhanced by the addition of excess plasmid DNA containing a DUS while FA1090 transformation was competitively inhibited. Although FA1090 was able to mediate much more efficient transformation of DNA lacking a DUS than was MS11, DNA uptake experiments showed similar levels of uptake of DNA containing and lacking a DUS in FA1090 and MS11. Finally, DNA uptake was competitively inhibited in both FA1090 and MS11. Taken together, our data indicate that the role of the DUS during DNA transformation is variable between strains of N. gonorrhoeae and may influence multiple steps during transformation.
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Terradot L, Zawilak-Pawlik A. Structural insight into Helicobacter pylori DNA replication initiation. Gut Microbes 2010; 1:330-334. [PMID: 21327042 PMCID: PMC3023618 DOI: 10.4161/gmic.1.5.13115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2010] [Revised: 07/21/2010] [Accepted: 07/21/2010] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
While increasing knowledge is accumulating about the molecular mechanisms allowing the human pathogen Helicobacter pylori to survive and to subvert host defenses, much less is known about fundamental aspects of its biology, including DNA replication. We have studied the initiation step of chromosome replication of H. pylori and particularly the interaction between the initiator protein DnaA and its recently identified regulator HobA. This work has recently culminated in the determination of the crystal structure of the domains I and II of DnaA (DnaA(I-II)) in complex with HobA. By combining the structure with a variety of biochemical experiments we show that a tetramer of HobA can accommodate up to four DnaA molecules organized in a particular conformation within the complex. Mutations of the HobA interface that impaired the binding with DnaA were designed and proved to be lethal once introduced into H. pylori. These features suggest that HobA provides a molecular scaffold onto which regular oligomers of DnaA can assemble. The HobA-promoted oligomerization of DnaA could have a determinant role in the formation of the open complex. We propose a speculative model of HobA-dependent DnaA oligomerization leading to DNA unwinding. More generally, the parallel we draw with Escherichia coli DnaA and DiaA (HobA-like E. coli protein) will direct new studies that will contribute to the understanding of bacterial DNA replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Terradot
- Macromolecular Crystallography Group ESRF; Grenoble Cedex, France,Institut de Biologie et Chimie des Protéines; UMR 5086 CNRS Université de Lyon; IFR128; Biologie Structurale des Complexes Macromoléculaires Bactériens; Lyon, France
| | - Anna Zawilak-Pawlik
- Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy; Polish Academy of Sciences; Microbiology Department; Wroclaw, Poland
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Composite system mediates two-step DNA uptake into Helicobacter pylori. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2009; 107:1184-9. [PMID: 20080542 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0909955107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The Gram-negative gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori depends on natural transformation for genomic plasticity, which leads to host adaptation and spread of resistances. Here, we show that H. pylori takes up covalently labeled fluorescent DNA preferentially at the cell poles and that uptake is dependent on the type IV secretion system ComB. By titration of external pH and detection of accessibility of the fluorophor by protons, we localized imported fluorescent DNA in the periplasm. Single molecule analysis revealed that outer membrane DNA transport occurred at a velocity of 1.3 kbp x s(-1) and that previously imported DNA was reversibly extracted from the bacterium at pulling forces exceeding 23 pN. Thus, transport velocities were 10-fold higher than in Bacillus subtilis, and stalling forces were substantially lower. dsDNA stained with the intercalator YOYO-1 was transiently detected in the periplasm in wild-type H. pylori but was periplasmatically trapped in a mutant lacking the B. subtilis membrane-channel homolog ComEC. We conclude that H. pylori uses a two-step DNA uptake mechanism in which ComB transports dsDNA across the outer membrane at low force and poor specificity for DNA structure. Subsequently, Hp-ComEC mediates transport into the cytoplasm, leading to the release of the noncovalently bound DNA dye. Our findings fill the gap to propose a model for composite DNA uptake machineries in competent bacteria, all comprising the conserved ComEC channel for cytoplasmic membrane transport in combination with various transporters for access of external DNA to the cytoplasmic membrane.
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Atherton JC, Blaser MJ. Coadaptation of Helicobacter pylori and humans: ancient history, modern implications. J Clin Invest 2009. [PMID: 19729845 DOI: 10.1172/jci38605.] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans have been colonized by Helicobacter pylori for at least 50,000 years and probably throughout their evolution. H. pylori has adapted to humans, colonizing children and persisting throughout life. Most strains possess factors that subtly modulate the host environment, increasing the risk of peptic ulceration, gastric adenocarcinoma, and possibly other diseases. H. pylori genes encoding these and other factors rapidly evolve through mutation and recombination, changing the bacteria-host interaction. Although immune and physiologic responses to H. pylori also contribute to pathogenesis, humans have evolved in concert with the bacterium, and its recent absence throughout the life of many individuals has led to new human physiological changes. These may have contributed to recent increases in esophageal adenocarcinoma and, more speculatively, other modern diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Atherton
- Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre Biomedical Research Unit and Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
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Atherton JC, Blaser MJ. Coadaptation of Helicobacter pylori and humans: ancient history, modern implications. J Clin Invest 2009; 119:2475-87. [PMID: 19729845 DOI: 10.1172/jci38605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 378] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans have been colonized by Helicobacter pylori for at least 50,000 years and probably throughout their evolution. H. pylori has adapted to humans, colonizing children and persisting throughout life. Most strains possess factors that subtly modulate the host environment, increasing the risk of peptic ulceration, gastric adenocarcinoma, and possibly other diseases. H. pylori genes encoding these and other factors rapidly evolve through mutation and recombination, changing the bacteria-host interaction. Although immune and physiologic responses to H. pylori also contribute to pathogenesis, humans have evolved in concert with the bacterium, and its recent absence throughout the life of many individuals has led to new human physiological changes. These may have contributed to recent increases in esophageal adenocarcinoma and, more speculatively, other modern diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- John C Atherton
- Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre Biomedical Research Unit and Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
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Lin EA, Zhang XS, Levine SM, Gill SR, Falush D, Blaser MJ. Natural transformation of helicobacter pylori involves the integration of short DNA fragments interrupted by gaps of variable size. PLoS Pathog 2009; 5:e1000337. [PMID: 19282979 PMCID: PMC2650093 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2008] [Accepted: 02/12/2009] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori are gram-negative bacteria notable for their high level of genetic diversity and plasticity, features that may play a key role in the organism's ability to colonize the human stomach. Homeologous natural transformation, a key contributor to genomic diversification, has been well-described for H. pylori. To examine the mechanisms involved, we performed restriction analysis and sequencing of recombination products to characterize the length, fragmentation, and position of DNA imported via natural transformation. Our analysis revealed DNA imports of small size (1,300 bp, 95% confidence limits 950–1850 bp) with instances of substantial asymmetry in relation to selectable antibiotic-resistance markers. We also observed clustering of imported DNA endpoints, suggesting a possible role for restriction endonucleases in limiting recombination length. Additionally, we observed gaps in integrated DNA and found evidence suggesting that these gaps are the result of two or more separate strand invasions. Taken together, these observations support a system of highly efficient short-fragment recombination involving multiple recombination events within a single locus. Helicobacter pylori are gram-negative bacteria that have been implicated in human diseases after decades of persistence in the stomach. Known for its high level of genetic diversity, H. pylori is competent to undergo natural transformation, a process in which donor DNA is integrated into the recipient chromosome. To examine the mechanisms involved, we analyzed the DNA imported via natural transformation in an experimental model system. We found variation in the average length of imported DNA fragments, with asymmetry with respect to a selectable marker. We also found evidence that strain-specific restriction endonucleases may limit recombination length. Additionally, we observed gaps in the integrated DNA and provide evidence that these gaps are the result of separate strand invasions. Together, our observations support a highly efficient system of short-fragment recombination involving multiple recombination events within a small region of the chromosome. This helps explain how bacteria are able to employ genetic recombination to efficiently generate and maintain genomic diversification within the population—a feature that helps H. pylori persistently colonize the harsh environment of the human stomach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward A Lin
- Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America.
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Nilsson C, Skoglund A, Moran AP, Annuk H, Engstrand L, Normark S. Lipopolysaccharide diversity evolving in Helicobacter pylori communities through genetic modifications in fucosyltransferases. PLoS One 2008; 3:e3811. [PMID: 19043574 PMCID: PMC2583950 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2008] [Accepted: 11/04/2008] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Helicobacter pylori persistently colonizes the gastric mucosa of half the human population. It is one of the most genetically diverse bacterial organisms and subvariants are continuously emerging within an H. pylori population. In this study we characterized a number of single-colony isolates from H. pylori communities in various environmental settings, namely persistent human gastric infection, in vitro bacterial subcultures on agar medium, and experimental in vivo infection in mice. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen chain revealed considerable phenotypic diversity between individual cells in the studied bacterial communities, as demonstrated by size variable O-antigen chains and different levels of Lewis glycosylation. Absence of high-molecular-weight O-antigen chains was notable in a number of experimentally passaged isolates in vitro and in vivo. This phenotype was not evident in bacteria obtained from a human gastric biopsy, where all cells expressed high-molecular-weight O-antigen chains, which thus may be the preferred phenotype for H. pylori colonizing human gastric mucosa. Genotypic variability was monitored in the two genes encoding α1,3-fucosyltransferases, futA and futB, that are involved in Lewis antigen expression. Genetic modifications that could be attributable to recombination events within and between the two genes were commonly detected and created a diversity, which together with phase variation, contributed to divergent LPS expression. Our data suggest that the surrounding environment imposes a selective pressure on H. pylori to express certain LPS phenotypes. Thus, the milieu in a host will select for bacterial variants with particular characteristics that facilitate adaptation and survival in the gastric mucosa of that individual, and will shape the bacterial community structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Nilsson
- Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Metagenome analysis of an extreme microbial symbiosis reveals eurythermal adaptation and metabolic flexibility. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2008; 105:17516-21. [PMID: 18987310 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0802782105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrothermal vent ecosystems support diverse life forms, many of which rely on symbiotic associations to perform functions integral to survival in these extreme physicochemical environments. Epsilonproteobacteria, found free-living and in intimate associations with vent invertebrates, are the predominant vent-associated microorganisms. The vent-associated polychaete worm, Alvinella pompejana, is host to a visibly dense fleece of episymbionts on its dorsal surface. The episymbionts are a multispecies consortium of Epsilonproteobacteria present as a biofilm. We unraveled details of these enigmatic, uncultivated episymbionts using environmental genome sequencing. They harbor wide-ranging adaptive traits that include high levels of strain variability analogous to Epsilonproteobacteria pathogens such as Helicobacter pylori, metabolic diversity of free-living bacteria, and numerous orthologs of proteins that we hypothesize are each optimally adapted to specific temperature ranges within the 10-65 degrees C fluctuations characteristic of the A. pompejana habitat. This strategic combination enables the consortium to thrive under diverse thermal and chemical regimes. The episymbionts are metabolically tuned for growth in hydrothermal vent ecosystems with genes encoding the complete rTCA cycle, sulfur oxidation, and denitrification; in addition, the episymbiont metagenome also encodes capacity for heterotrophic and aerobic metabolisms. Analysis of the environmental genome suggests that A. pompejana may benefit from the episymbionts serving as a stable source of food and vitamins. The success of Epsilonproteobacteria as episymbionts in hydrothermal vent ecosystems is a product of adaptive capabilities, broad metabolic capacity, strain variance, and virulent traits in common with pathogens.
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Sriramulu DD. Adaptive expression of foreign genes in the clonal variants of bacteria: from proteomics to clinical application. Proteomics 2008; 8:882-92. [PMID: 18297656 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.200700811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Clonal variants of bacteria are able to colonize environmental niches and patients. The factors, that determine the interplay between the colonization of diverse habitats and adaptation, are acquired through horizontal gene transfer. Elucidation of mechanisms, which lead to the prevalence of dominant bacterial clones in patients and the environment, requires the knowledge of complex phenotypes. It was found in the genomes of most bacteria, that upon a conserved chromosomal backbone there were regions of plasticity achieved by insertions, deletions and rearrangements of genomic islands and islets as well as large chromosomal inversions. However, it had been shown that environmental and clinical isolates are indistinguishable in certain pathogenic and biodegradative properties. For example, clonal variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa exhibit convergent phenotypes despite the presence of numerous DNA insertions in the genome. Apart from this feature, expression of a few genes from the acquired genetic material is important for niche-based adaptation of this organism. Protein expression patterns at the cellular and sub-cellular levels showed common virulence factors and novel drug targets among clonal variants of bacteria. This review will give a short overview on proteomics of different clonal variants of bacteria with respect to clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dinesh D Sriramulu
- Division of Cell and Immune Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
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Abstract
Orthologs of RecG and RuvABC are highly conserved among prokaryotes; in Escherichia coli, they participate in independent pathways that branch migrate Holliday junctions during recombinational DNA repair. RecG also has been shown to directly convert stalled replication forks into Holliday junctions. The bacterium Helicobacter pylori, with remarkably high levels of recombination, possesses RecG and RuvABC homologs, but in contrast to E. coli, H. pylori RecG limits recombinational repair. We now show that the RuvABC pathway plays the prominent, if not exclusive, repair role. By introducing an E. coli resolvase (RusA) into H. pylori, the repair and recombination phenotypes of the ruvB mutant but not the recG mutant were improved. Our results indicate that RecG and RuvB compete for Holliday junction structures in recombinational repair, but since a classic RecG resolvase is absent from H. pylori, deployment of the RecG pathway is lethal. We propose that evolutionary loss of the H. pylori RecG resolvase provides an "antirepair" pathway allowing for selection of varied strains. Such competition between repair and antirepair provides a novel mechanism to maximize fitness at a bacterial population level.
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Treangen TJ, Ambur OH, Tonjum T, Rocha EPC. The impact of the neisserial DNA uptake sequences on genome evolution and stability. Genome Biol 2008; 9:R60. [PMID: 18366792 PMCID: PMC2397512 DOI: 10.1186/gb-2008-9-3-r60] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2007] [Revised: 01/13/2008] [Accepted: 03/26/2008] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
A study of the origin and distribution of the abundant short DNA uptake sequence (DUS) in six genomes of Neisseria suggests that transformation and recombination are tightly linked in evolution and that recombination has a key role in the establishment of DUS. Background Efficient natural transformation in Neisseria requires the presence of short DNA uptake sequences (DUSs). Doubts remain whether DUSs propagate by pure selfish molecular drive or are selected for 'safe sex' among conspecifics. Results Six neisserial genomes were aligned to identify gene conversion fragments, DUS distribution, spacing, and conservation. We found a strong link between recombination and DUS: DUS spacing matches the size of conversion fragments; genomes with shorter conversion fragments have more DUSs and more conserved DUSs; and conversion fragments are enriched in DUSs. Many recent and singly occurring DUSs exhibit too high divergence with homologous sequences in other genomes to have arisen by point mutation, suggesting their appearance by recombination. DUSs are over-represented in the core genome, under-represented in regions under diversification, and absent in both recently acquired genes and recently lost core genes. This suggests that DUSs are implicated in genome stability rather than in generating adaptive variation. DUS elements are most frequent in the permissive locations of the core genome but are themselves highly conserved, undergoing mutation selection balance and/or molecular drive. Similar preliminary results were found for the functionally analogous uptake signal sequence in Pasteurellaceae. Conclusion As do many other pathogens, Neisseria and Pasteurellaceae have hyperdynamic genomes that generate deleterious mutations by intrachromosomal recombination and by transient hypermutation. The results presented here suggest that transformation in Neisseria and Pasteurellaceae allows them to counteract the deleterious effects of genome instability in the core genome. Thus, rather than promoting hypervariation, bacterial sex could be regenerative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Todd J Treangen
- Algorithms and Genetics Group, Department of Computer Science, Technical University of Catalonia, Jordi Girona Salgado, 1-3, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain.
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