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Brülisauer L, León-Sampedro R, Hall AR. Clinical antibiotic-resistance plasmids have small effects on biofilm formation and population growth in Escherichia coli in vitro. Plasmid 2023; 128:102706. [PMID: 37652194 DOI: 10.1016/j.plasmid.2023.102706] [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: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AR) mechanisms encoded on plasmids can affect other phenotypic traits in bacteria, including biofilm formation. These effects may be important contributors to the spread of AR and the evolutionary success of plasmids, but it is not yet clear how common such effects are for clinical plasmids/bacteria, and how they vary among different plasmids and host strains. Here, we used a combinatorial approach to test the effects of clinical AR plasmids on biofilm formation and population growth in clinical and laboratory Escherichia coli strains. In most of the 25 plasmid-bacterium combinations tested, we observed no significant change in biofilm formation upon plasmid introduction, contrary to the notion that plasmids frequently alter biofilm formation. In a few cases we detected altered biofilm formation, and these effects were specific to particular plasmid-bacterium combinations. By contrast, we found a relatively strong effect of a chromosomal streptomycin-resistance mutation (in rpsL) on biofilm formation. Further supporting weak and host-strain-dependent effects of clinical plasmids on bacterial phenotypes in the combinations we tested, we found growth costs associated with plasmid carriage (measured in the absence of antibiotics) were moderate and varied among bacterial strains. These findings suggest some key clinical resistance plasmids cause only mild phenotypic disruption to their host bacteria, which may contribute to the persistence of plasmids in the absence of antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Brülisauer
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Ricardo León-Sampedro
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Centro de Investigación Biológica en Red, Epidemiología y Salud Pública- CIBERESP, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alex R Hall
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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2
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Element SJ, Moran RA, Beattie E, Hall RJ, van Schaik W, Buckner MM. Growth in a biofilm promotes conjugation of a bla NDM-1-bearing plasmid between Klebsiella pneumoniae strains. mSphere 2023; 8:e0017023. [PMID: 37417759 PMCID: PMC10449501 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00170-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing problem, especially in Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae such as Klebsiella pneumoniae. Horizontal transfer of conjugative plasmids contributes to AMR gene dissemination. Bacteria such as K. pneumoniae commonly exist in biofilms, yet most studies focus on planktonic cultures. Here we studied the transfer of a multi-drug resistance plasmid in planktonic and biofilm populations of K. pneumoniae. We determined plasmid transfer from a clinical isolate, CPE16, which carried four plasmids, including the 119-kbp blaNDM-1-bearing F-type plasmid pCPE16_3, in planktonic and biofilm conditions. We found that transfer frequency of pCPE16_3 in a biofilm was orders-of-magnitude higher than between planktonic cells. In 5/7 sequenced transconjugants (TCs) multiple plasmids had transferred. Plasmid acquisition had no detectable growth impact on TCs. Gene expression of the recipient and a transconjugant was investigated by RNA-sequencing in three lifestyles: planktonic exponential growth, planktonic stationary phase, and biofilm. We found that lifestyle had a substantial impact on chromosomal gene expression, and plasmid carriage affected chromosomal gene expression most in stationary planktonic and biofilm lifestyles. Furthermore, expression of plasmid genes was lifestyle-dependent, with distinct signatures across the three conditions. Our study shows that growth in biofilm greatly increased the risk of conjugative transfer of a carbapenem resistance plasmid in K. pneumoniae without fitness costs and minimal transcriptional rearrangements, thus highlighting the importance of biofilms in the spread of AMR in this opportunistic pathogen. IMPORTANCE Carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae is particularly problematic in hospital settings. Carbapenem resistance genes can transfer between bacteria via plasmid conjugation. Alongside drug resistance, K. pneumoniae can form biofilms on hospital surfaces, at infection sites and on implanted devices. Biofilms are naturally protected and can be inherently more tolerant to antimicrobials than their free-floating counterparts. There have been indications that plasmid transfer may be more likely in biofilm populations, thus creating a conjugation "hotspot". However, there is no clear consensus on the effect of the biofilm lifestyle on plasmid transfer. Therefore, we aimed to explore the transfer of a plasmid in planktonic and biofilm conditions, and the impact of plasmid acquisition on a new bacterial host. Our data show transfer of a resistance plasmid is increased in a biofilm, which may be a significant contributing factor to the rapid dissemination of resistance plasmids in K. pneumoniae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J. Element
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
| | - Robert A. Moran
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
| | - Emilie Beattie
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca J. Hall
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
| | - Willem van Schaik
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
| | - Michelle M.C. Buckner
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
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3
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Laconi A, Tolosi R, Apostolakos I, Piccirillo A. Biofilm Formation Ability of ESBL/pAmpC-Producing Escherichia coli Isolated from the Broiler Production Pyramid. Antibiotics (Basel) 2023; 12:antibiotics12010155. [PMID: 36671356 PMCID: PMC9855187 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics12010155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Escherichia coli able to produce extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamases (pAmpCs) represents a serious threat to public health, since these genes confer resistance to critically important antimicrobials (i.e., third generation cephalosporins) and can be transferred to non-resistant bacteria via plasmids. E. coli are known to be able to form a biofilm, which represents a favorable environment for the exchange of resistance determinants. Here, we assessed the ability of 102 ESBL/pAmpC-producing E. coli isolated from the broiler production pyramid to form a biofilm and to identify genetic factors involved in biofilm formation. All but one of the ESBL/pAmpC-producing E. coli were able to form a biofilm, and this represents a great concern to public health. E. coli belonging to phylogroups D, E, and F, as well as strains harboring the blaCTX-M-type gene, seem to be associated with an increased biofilm capability (p < 0.05). Furthermore, virulence genes involved in adherence and invasion (i.e., csgBAC, csgDEFG, matABCDEF, and sfaX) seem to enhance biofilm formation in E. coli. Efforts should be made to reduce the presence of ESBL/pAmpC- and biofilm-producing E. coli in the broiler production pyramid and, therefore, the risk of dissemination of resistant bacteria and genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Laconi
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy
| | - Roberta Tolosi
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy
| | - Ilias Apostolakos
- Dairy Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization “DIMITRA”, 45221 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Alessandra Piccirillo
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-0498-272-793
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4
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Carvão J, Resende L, Vida C, Silva F, Durães J, Silva G. Salmonella peritonitis in an automated peritoneal dialysis patient. Nefrologia 2022:S2013-2514(22)00118-3. [PMID: 36402682 DOI: 10.1016/j.nefroe.2021.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/16/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- João Carvão
- Nephrology Department, Hospital Central do Funchal, Funchal, Portugal.
| | - Luís Resende
- Nephrology Department, Hospital Central do Funchal, Funchal, Portugal
| | - Carlota Vida
- Nephrology Department, Hospital Central do Funchal, Funchal, Portugal
| | - Francisca Silva
- Nephrology Department, Hospital Central do Funchal, Funchal, Portugal
| | - José Durães
- Nephrology Department, Hospital Central do Funchal, Funchal, Portugal
| | - Gil Silva
- Nephrology Department, Hospital Central do Funchal, Funchal, Portugal
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5
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Fessler M, Madsen JS, Zhang Y. Microbial Interactions in Electroactive Biofilms for Environmental Engineering Applications: A Role for Nonexoelectrogens. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:15273-15279. [PMID: 36223388 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c04368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Microbial electrochemical systems have gained much attention over the past decade due to their potential for various environmental engineering applications ranging from energy production to wastewater treatment to bioproduction. At the heart of these systems lie exoelectrogens-microorganisms capable of exporting electrons generated during metabolism to external electron acceptors such as electrodes. The bacterial biofilm communities on these electrodes are dominated by exoelectrogens but are nonetheless extremely diverse. So far, within the field, the main focus has been on the electroactive bacteria. However, to broaden our understanding of these communities, it is crucial to clarify how the remaining inhabitants of electrode-respiring biofilms contribute to the overall function of the biofilm. Ultimately, such insights may enable improvement of microbial electrochemical systems by reshaping the community structure with naturally occurring beneficial strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathias Fessler
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Jonas Stenløkke Madsen
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Yifeng Zhang
- Department of Environmental and Resource Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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Cho YH, Renouf MJ, Omotoso O, McPhee JB. Inflammatory bowel disease-associated adherent-invasive Escherichia coli have elevated host-defense peptide resistance. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2022; 369:6754321. [PMID: 36208952 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnac098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Adherent-invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC) are isolated from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients at a higher rate than from control patients. Using a collection of E. coli strains collected from Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), or non-IBD control patients, antibiotic and resistance to the antimicrobial peptides HBD-3 and LL-37 was assessed. Carriage of bacterial-encoded omptin protease genes was assessed by PCR and omptin protease activity was measured using a whole-cell based fluorescence assay. Elevated resistance to antibiotics and host defense peptides in IBD-associated AIEC were observed. IBD-associated strains showed increased (but statistically non-significant) antibiotic resistance. CD-associated strains showed greater (but statistically non-significant) resistance to HBD3-mediated killing while UC-associated strains showed statistically greater resistance to LL-37 mediated killing. High-level resistance to LL-37 was associated with carriage of omptin protease genes and with increased omptin protease activity. Antimicrobial host defense peptide resistance may be an adaptive feature of AIEC leading to enhanced pathogenesis during the initiation or progression of IBD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youn Hee Cho
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University (Formerly Ryerson University), 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Michael J Renouf
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University (Formerly Ryerson University), 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Oluwafikemi Omotoso
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University (Formerly Ryerson University), 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
| | - Joseph B McPhee
- Department of Chemistry and Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University (Formerly Ryerson University), 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
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Molecular Epidemiology of Plasmid-Mediated Types 1 and 3 Fimbriae Associated with Biofilm Formation in Multidrug Resistant Escherichia coli from Diseased Food Animals in Guangdong, China. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0250321. [PMID: 35969065 PMCID: PMC9603762 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02503-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Types 1 and 3 fimbriae in Enterobacteriaceae play versatile roles in bacterial physiology including attachment, invasion, cell motility as well as with biofilm formation and urinary tract infections. Herein, we investigated the prevalence and transmission of plasmid-mediated types 1 and 3 fimbriae from 1753 non-duplicate Enterobacteriaceae from diseased food Animals. We identified 123 (7.01%) strong biofilm producers and all was identified as E. coli. WGS analysis of 43 selected strong biofilm producers revealed that they harbored multiple ARGs, including ESBLs, PMQR and mcr-1. The gene clusters mrkABCDF and fimACDH encoding types 1 and 3 fimbriae, respectively, were identified among 43 (34.96%) and 7 (5.7%) of 123 strong biofilm isolates, respectively. These two operons were able to confer strong biofilm-forming ability to an E. coli weak-biofilm forming laboratory strain. Plasmid analysis revealed that mrk and fim operons were found to co-exist with ARGs and were primarily located on IncX1 and IncFII plasmids with similar backbones, respectively. mrkABCDF operons was present in all of 9457 Klebsiella pneumoniae using archived WGS data, and shared high homology to those on plasmids of 8 replicon types and chromosomes from 6 Enterobacteriaceae species from various origins and countries. In contrast, fimACDH operons was present in most of Enterobacter cloacae (62.15%), and shared high homology to those with only a small group of plasmids and Enterobacteriaceae species. This is the first comprehensive report of the prevalence, transmission and homology of plasmid-encoded type 1 and 3 fimbriae among the Enterobacteriaceae. Our findings indicated that plasmid-encoded mrkABCDF and fimACDH were major contributors to enhanced biofilm formation among E. coli and these two operons, in particular mrk could be as a potential anti-biofilm target. IMPORTANCE Biofilms allow bacteria to tolerate disinfectants and antimicrobials, as well as mammalian host defenses, and are therefore difficult to treat clinically. Most research concerning biofilm-related infections is typically focused on chromosomal biofilm-associated factors, including types 1 and 3 fimbriae of biofilm-forming Enterobacterium. However, the transmission and homology of the mobile types 1 and 3 fimbriae among Enterobacteriaceae is largely unknown. The findings revealed that the plasmid-encoded type 3 fimbriae encoded by mrkABCDF and type 1 fimbriae encoded by fimACDH were major contributors to enhancing biofilm formation among strong biofilm E. coli from diseased food producing animals. Additionally, mrk operon with high homology at an amino acid sequence was present both on plasmids of various replicon types and on chromosomes from diverse Enterobacteriaceae species from numerous origins and countries. These findings provide important information on the transmission of the mobile types 1 and 3 fimbriae among Enterobacteriaceae, indicating a potential antibiofilm target.
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8
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Conserved FimK Truncation Coincides with Increased Expression of Type 3 Fimbriae and Cultured Bladder Epithelial Cell Association in Klebsiella quasipneumoniae. J Bacteriol 2022; 204:e0017222. [PMID: 36005809 PMCID: PMC9487511 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00172-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Klebsiella spp. commonly cause both uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) and recurrent UTI (rUTI). Klebsiella quasipneumoniae, a relatively newly defined species of Klebsiella, has been shown to be metabolically distinct from Klebsiella pneumoniae, but its type 1 and type 3 fimbriae have not been studied. K. pneumoniae uses both type 1 and type 3 fimbriae to attach to host epithelial cells. The type 1 fimbrial operon is well conserved between Escherichia coli and K. pneumoniae apart from fimK, which is unique to Klebsiella spp. FimK contains an N-terminal DNA binding domain and a C-terminal phosphodiesterase (PDE) domain that has been hypothesized to cross-regulate type 3 fimbriae expression via modulation of cellular levels of cyclic di-GMP. Here, we find that a conserved premature stop codon in K. quasipneumoniae fimK results in truncation of the C-terminal PDE domain and that K quasipneumoniae strain KqPF9 cultured bladder epithelial cell association and invasion are dependent on type 3 but not type 1 fimbriae. Further, we show that basal expression of both type 1 and type 3 fimbrial operons as well as cultured bladder epithelial cell association is elevated in KqPF9 relative to uropathogenic K. pneumoniae TOP52. Finally, we show that complementation of KqPF9ΔfimK with the TOP52 fimK allele reduced type 3 fimbrial expression and cultured bladder epithelial cell attachment. Taken together these data suggest that the C-terminal PDE of FimK can modulate type 3 fimbrial expression in K. pneumoniae and its absence in K. quasipneumoniae may lead to a loss of type 3 fimbrial cross-regulation. IMPORTANCE K. quasipneumoniae is often indicated as the cause of opportunistic infections, including urinary tract infection, which affects >50% of women worldwide. However, the virulence factors of K. quasipneumoniae remain uninvestigated. Prior to this work, K. quasipneumoniae and K. pneumoniae had only been distinguished phenotypically by metabolic differences. This work contributes to the understanding of K. quasipneumoniae by evaluating the contribution of type 1 and type 3 fimbriae, which are critical colonization factors encoded by all Klebsiella spp., to K. quasipneumoniae bladder epithelial cell attachment in vitro. We observe clear differences in bladder epithelial cell attachment and regulation of type 3 fimbriae between uropathogenic K. pneumoniae and K. quasipneumoniae that coincide with a structural difference in the fimbrial regulatory gene fimK.
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Biofilm through the Looking Glass: A Microbial Food Safety Perspective. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11030346. [PMID: 35335670 PMCID: PMC8954374 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11030346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Food-processing facilities harbor a wide diversity of microorganisms that persist and interact in multispecies biofilms, which could provide an ecological niche for pathogens to better colonize and gain tolerance against sanitization. Biofilm formation by foodborne pathogens is a serious threat to food safety and public health. Biofilms are formed in an environment through synergistic interactions within the microbial community through mutual adaptive response to their long-term coexistence. Mixed-species biofilms are more tolerant to sanitizers than single-species biofilms or their planktonic equivalents. Hence, there is a need to explore how multispecies biofilms help in protecting the foodborne pathogen from common sanitizers and disseminate biofilm cells from hotspots and contaminate food products. This knowledge will help in designing microbial interventions to mitigate foodborne pathogens in the processing environment. As the global need for safe, high-quality, and nutritious food increases, it is vital to study foodborne pathogen behavior and engineer new interventions that safeguard food from contamination with pathogens. This review focuses on the potential food safety issues associated with biofilms in the food-processing environment.
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Abstract
Naturally occurring plasmids come in different sizes. The smallest are less than a kilobase of DNA, while the largest can be over three orders of magnitude larger. Historically, research has tended to focus on smaller plasmids that are usually easier to isolate, manipulate and sequence, but with improved genome assemblies made possible by long-read sequencing, there is increased appreciation that very large plasmids—known as megaplasmids—are widespread, diverse, complex, and often encode key traits in the biology of their host microorganisms. Why are megaplasmids so big? What other features come with large plasmid size that could affect bacterial ecology and evolution? Are megaplasmids 'just' big plasmids, or do they have distinct characteristics? In this perspective, we reflect on the distribution, diversity, biology, and gene content of megaplasmids, providing an overview to these large, yet often overlooked, mobile genetic elements. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The secret lives of microbial mobile genetic elements’.
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Affiliation(s)
- James P J Hall
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - João Botelho
- Antibiotic Resistance Evolution Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany.,Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, Zoological Institute, Christian Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Adrian Cazares
- EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK.,Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - David A Baltrus
- School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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Kuznetsova MV, Maslennikova IL, Pospelova JS, Žgur Bertok D, Starčič Erjavec M. Differences in recipient ability of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains in relation with their pathogenic potential. INFECTION, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION : JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2022; 97:105160. [PMID: 34839025 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2021.105160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Revised: 11/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Conjugation is recognized as a mechanism driving dissemination of antibacterial resistances and virulence factors among bacteria. In the presented work conjugative transfer frequency into clinical uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains (UPEC) isolated from patients with symptomatic urinary tract infections was investigated. From 93 obtained UPEC strains only 29 were suitable for conjugation experiments with the plasmid pOX38, a well-known F-plasmid derivative. The study was focused on comparison of conjugation frequencies in plankton and biofilm, including comparison of conjugation frequencies in high and low biofilm biomass with their virulence potential. It was shown that the conjugation frequency depended on the biofilm biomass and was significantly higher in thin (OD580 < 0.3) than in thick biofilm (OD580 ≥ 0.3). Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that higher conjugation frequencies in plankton and biofilm were directly positively correlated with the sum of virulence-associated genes of the recipient strain and presence of multidrug antibiotic resistances. On the other hand, the sum of insensitivities to different bacteriocins was negatively correlated with an increase in the conjugative transfer level. Our results obtained hence indicate that the evolution of potentially more pathogenic strains via conjugation is depended on the strains' ability to be a "good" recipient in the conjugative transfer, possibly due to the ability to form thinner biofilms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina V Kuznetsova
- Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms Ural Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Goleva street 13, 614081 Perm, Russia
| | - Irina L Maslennikova
- Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms Ural Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Goleva street 13, 614081 Perm, Russia
| | - Julia S Pospelova
- Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms Ural Branch Russian Academy of Sciences, Goleva street 13, 614081 Perm, Russia
| | - Darja Žgur Bertok
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| | - Marjanca Starčič Erjavec
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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12
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Carvão J, Resende L, Vida C, Silva F, Durães J, Silva G. Salmonella peritonitis in an automated peritoneal dialysis patient. Nefrologia 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nefro.2021.04.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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13
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Mohammad Zadeh F, Zarei H, Honarmand Jahromy S. Type1 and 3 fimbriae phenotype and genotype as suitable markers for uropathogenic bacterial pathogenesis via attachment, cell surface hydrophobicity, and biofilm formation in catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). IRANIAN JOURNAL OF BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES 2021; 24:1098-1106. [PMID: 34804427 PMCID: PMC8591770 DOI: 10.22038/ijbms.2021.53691.12079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Objective(s): Catheters are one of the factors for complicated urinary tract infections. Uropathogenic bacteria can attach to the catheter via cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH), form biofilms, and remain in urinary tract. The study was evaluated phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of fimbriae in Klebsiella pneumoniae and uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates from patients with catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) and their association with biofilm formation. Materials and Methods: Urine specimens were collected through catheters in patients with CAUTIs. Sixty bacterial isolates were identified by biochemical tests. For determination of biofilm formation a tissue culture plate was used. Microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons (MATH) was conducted for CSH determination. The mannose-sensitive haemagglutination (MSHA) and mannose-resistant haemagglutination (MRHA) were determined for type 1 and type 3 fimbriae. Finally, the presence of genes encoding fimbriae was determined by PCR. Results: All isolates showed strong CSH, biofilm capacity and MRHA phenotype. The results showed that 20% of UPEC and 23% of K. pneumoniae isolates contained MSHA phenotypes. There was a significant association between biofilm formation and MSHA phenotype in UPEC isolates. The frequency of fimA (80%) and fimH (96.6%) in K. pneumoniae isolates was higher than UPEC isolates. Both types of bacterial isolates with MSHA phenotypes harbored the fimH gene. Conclusion: The phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of two bacterial species were highly similar. Also, the type of fimbriae affected bacterial biofilm formation through catheterization. It seems that fimH and mrk gene cluster subunits are suitable markers for identifying bacterial pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Mohammad Zadeh
- Department of Microbiology, Varamin-Pishva Branch, Islamic Azad University, Varamin, Iran
| | - Hamed Zarei
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic science, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
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14
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Khonsari MS, Behzadi P, Foroohi F. The prevalence of type 3 fimbriae in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from clinical urine samples. Meta Gene 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mgene.2021.100881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
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15
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Prophylaxis and Treatment against Klebsiella pneumoniae: Current Insights on This Emerging Anti-Microbial Resistant Global Threat. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22084042. [PMID: 33919847 PMCID: PMC8070759 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22084042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Klebsiella pneumoniae (Kp) is an opportunistic pathogen and the leading cause of healthcare-associated infections, mostly affecting subjects with compromised immune systems or suffering from concurrent bacterial infections. However, the dramatic increase in hypervirulent strains and the emergence of new multidrug-resistant clones resulted in Kp occurrence among previously healthy people and in increased morbidity and mortality, including neonatal sepsis and death across low- and middle-income countries. As a consequence, carbapenem-resistant and extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Kp have been prioritized as a critical anti-microbial resistance threat by the World Health Organization and this has renewed the interest of the scientific community in developing a vaccine as well as treatments alternative to the now ineffective antibiotics. Capsule polysaccharide is the most important virulence factor of Kp and plays major roles in the pathogenesis but its high variability (more than 100 different types have been reported) makes the identification of a universal treatment or prevention strategy very challenging. However, less variable virulence factors such as the O-Antigen, outer membrane proteins as fimbriae and siderophores might also be key players in the fight against Kp infections. Here, we review elements of the current status of the epidemiology and the molecular pathogenesis of Kp and explore specific bacterial antigens as potential targets for both prophylactic and therapeutic solutions.
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Ma A, Neumann N, Chui L. Phenotypic and Genetic Determination of Biofilm Formation in Heat Resistant Escherichia coli Possessing the Locus of Heat Resistance. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9020403. [PMID: 33672009 PMCID: PMC7919257 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9020403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the effectiveness of thermal inactivation processes, Escherichiacoli biofilms continue to be a persistent source of contamination in food processing environments. E. coli strains possessing the locus of heat resistance are a novel food safety threat and raises the question of whether these strains can also form biofilms. The objectives of this study were to determine biofilm formation in heat resistant E. coli isolates from clinical and environmental origins using an in-house, two-component apparatus and to characterize biofilm formation-associated genes in the isolates using whole genome sequencing. Optimal conditions for biofilm formation in each of the heat resistant isolates were determined by manipulating inoculum size, nutrient concentration, and temperature conditions. Biofilm formation in the heat resistant isolates was detected at temperatures of 24 °C and 37 °C but not at 4 °C. Furthermore, biofilm formation was observed in all environmental isolates but only one clinical isolate despite shared profiles in biofilm formation-associated genes encoded by the isolates from both sources. The circulation of heat resistant E. coli isolates with multi-stress tolerance capabilities in environments related to food processing signify that such strains may be a serious food safety and public health risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Ma
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada;
| | - Norman Neumann
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada;
| | - Linda Chui
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada;
- Alberta Precision Laboratories—Provincial Laboratory for Public Health, Edmonton, AB T6G 2J2, Canada
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-780-407-8951
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17
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Kelly JJ, London MG, McCormick AR, Rojas M, Scott JW, Hoellein TJ. Wastewater treatment alters microbial colonization of microplastics. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0244443. [PMID: 33406095 PMCID: PMC7787475 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Microplastics are ubiquitous contaminants in aquatic habitats globally, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are point sources of microplastics. Within aquatic habitats microplastics are colonized by microbial biofilms, which can include pathogenic taxa and taxa associated with plastic breakdown. Microplastics enter WWTPs in sewage and exit in sludge or effluent, but the role that WWTPs play in establishing or modifying microplastic bacterial assemblages is unknown. We analyzed microplastics and associated biofilms in raw sewage, effluent water, and sludge from two WWTPs. Both plants retained >99% of influent microplastics in sludge, and sludge microplastics showed higher bacterial species richness and higher abundance of taxa associated with bioflocculation (e.g. Xanthomonas) than influent microplastics, suggesting that colonization of microplastics within the WWTP may play a role in retention. Microplastics in WWTP effluent included significantly lower abundances of some potentially pathogenic bacterial taxa (e.g. Campylobacteraceae) compared to influent microplastics; however, other potentially pathogenic taxa (e.g. Acinetobacter) remained abundant on effluent microplastics, and several taxa linked to plastic breakdown (e.g. Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, and Sphingomonas) were significantly more abundant on effluent compared to influent microplastics. These results indicate that diverse bacterial assemblages colonize microplastics within sewage and that WWTPs can play a significant role in modifying the microplastic-associated assemblages, which may affect the fate of microplastics within the WWTPs and the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- John J. Kelly
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Maxwell G. London
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Amanda R. McCormick
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Miguel Rojas
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - John W. Scott
- Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, Prairie Research Institute, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Timothy J. Hoellein
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
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Abe K, Nomura N, Suzuki S. Biofilms: hot spots of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in aquatic environments, with a focus on a new HGT mechanism. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2020; 96:5766226. [PMID: 32109282 PMCID: PMC7189800 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiaa031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Biofilms in water environments are thought to be hot spots for horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). ARGs can be spread via HGT, though mechanisms are known and have been shown to depend on the environment, bacterial communities and mobile genetic elements. Classically, HGT mechanisms include conjugation, transformation and transduction; more recently, membrane vesicles (MVs) have been reported as DNA reservoirs implicated in interspecies HGT. Here, we review the current knowledge on the HGT mechanisms with a focus on the role of MVs and the methodological innovations in the HGT research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimihiro Abe
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8577 Japan
| | - Nobuhiko Nomura
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8577 Japan.,Microbiology Research Center for Sustainability, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8577 Japan
| | - Satoru Suzuki
- Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, Matsuyama, 790-8577 Japan
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Virolle C, Goldlust K, Djermoun S, Bigot S, Lesterlin C. Plasmid Transfer by Conjugation in Gram-Negative Bacteria: From the Cellular to the Community Level. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11111239. [PMID: 33105635 PMCID: PMC7690428 DOI: 10.3390/genes11111239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial conjugation, also referred to as bacterial sex, is a major horizontal gene transfer mechanism through which DNA is transferred from a donor to a recipient bacterium by direct contact. Conjugation is universally conserved among bacteria and occurs in a wide range of environments (soil, plant surfaces, water, sewage, biofilms, and host-associated bacterial communities). Within these habitats, conjugation drives the rapid evolution and adaptation of bacterial strains by mediating the propagation of various metabolic properties, including symbiotic lifestyle, virulence, biofilm formation, resistance to heavy metals, and, most importantly, resistance to antibiotics. These properties make conjugation a fundamentally important process, and it is thus the focus of extensive study. Here, we review the key steps of plasmid transfer by conjugation in Gram-negative bacteria, by following the life cycle of the F factor during its transfer from the donor to the recipient cell. We also discuss our current knowledge of the extent and impact of conjugation within an environmentally and clinically relevant bacterial habitat, bacterial biofilms.
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20
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Gama JA, Fredheim EGA, Cléon F, Reis AM, Zilhão R, Dionisio F. Dominance Between Plasmids Determines the Extent of Biofilm Formation. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:2070. [PMID: 32983050 PMCID: PMC7479130 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.02070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial biofilms have an impact in medical and industrial environments because they often confer protection to bacteria against harmful agents, and constitute a source from which microorganisms can disperse. Conjugative plasmids can enhance bacterial ability to form biofilms because conjugative pili act as adhesion factors. However, plasmids may interact with each other, either facilitating or inhibiting plasmid transfer. Accordingly, we asked whether effects on plasmid transfer also impacts biofilm formation. We measured biofilm formation of Escherichia coli cells harboring two plasmid types, or when the two plasmids were present in the same population but carried in different cells. Using eleven natural isolated conjugative plasmids, we confirmed that some indeed promote biofilm formation and, importantly, that this ability is correlated with conjugative efficiency. Further we studied the effect of plasmid pairs on biofilm formation. We observed increased biofilm formation in approximately half of the combinations when both plasmids inhabited the same cell or when the plasmids were carried in different cells. Moreover, in approximately half of the combinations, independent of the co-inhabitation conditions, one of the plasmids alone determined the extent of biofilm formation – thus having a dominant effect over the other plasmid. The molecular mechanisms responsible for these interactions were not evaluated here and future research is required to elucidate them.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Alves Gama
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - François Cléon
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Ana Maria Reis
- Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Rita Zilhão
- Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Francisco Dionisio
- Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.,Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
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21
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Alderliesten JB, Duxbury SJN, Zwart MP, de Visser JAGM, Stegeman A, Fischer EAJ. Effect of donor-recipient relatedness on the plasmid conjugation frequency: a meta-analysis. BMC Microbiol 2020; 20:135. [PMID: 32456625 PMCID: PMC7249681 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-020-01825-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Conjugation plays a major role in the transmission of plasmids encoding antibiotic resistance genes in both clinical and general settings. The conjugation efficiency is influenced by many biotic and abiotic factors, one of which is the taxonomic relatedness between donor and recipient bacteria. A comprehensive overview of the influence of donor-recipient relatedness on conjugation is still lacking, but such an overview is important to quantitatively assess the risk of plasmid transfer and the effect of interventions which limit the spread of antibiotic resistance, and to obtain parameter values for conjugation in mathematical models. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis on reported conjugation frequencies from Escherichia coli donors to various recipient species. RESULTS Thirty-two studies reporting 313 conjugation frequencies for liquid broth matings and 270 conjugation frequencies for filter matings were included in our meta-analysis. The reported conjugation frequencies varied over 11 orders of magnitude. Decreasing taxonomic relatedness between donor and recipient bacteria, when adjusted for confounding factors, was associated with a lower conjugation frequency in liquid matings. The mean conjugation frequency for bacteria of the same order, the same class, and other classes was 10, 20, and 789 times lower than the mean conjugation frequency within the same species, respectively. This association between relatedness and conjugation frequency was not found for filter matings. The conjugation frequency was furthermore found to be influenced by temperature in both types of mating experiments, and in addition by plasmid incompatibility group in liquid matings, and by recipient origin and mating time in filter matings. CONCLUSIONS In our meta-analysis, taxonomic relatedness is limiting conjugation in liquid matings, but not in filter matings, suggesting that taxonomic relatedness is not a limiting factor for conjugation in environments where bacteria are fixed in space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesse B. Alderliesten
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | | | - Mark P. Zwart
- Department of Microbial Ecology, The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Arjan Stegeman
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Egil A. J. Fischer
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Haemophilus influenzae and Haemophilus parainfluenzae occurrence in the ear effusion in pediatric patients prone to recurrent respiratory tract infections (RRTI) and with otitis media with effusion (OME). CURRENT ISSUES IN PHARMACY AND MEDICAL SCIENCES 2019. [DOI: 10.2478/cipms-2019-0032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction.
Haemophilus influenzae and Haemophilus parainfluenzae are known as human-restricted respiratory microbiota representatives. The aim of the present paper was to assay haemophili prevalence in middle ear effusion specimens in pediatric patients with otitis media with effusion (OME).
Methods. A total of 86 ear effusion specimens (from the left and right ear independently) were collected from 43 pediatric patients with OME. For comparison, 58 nasopharyngeal specimens were taken from 58 pediatric patients prone to recurrent respiratory tract infections (RRTI). Isolation and identification of haemophili biotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility was accomplished by standard microbiological methods. The cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) of isolates was assayed by the method of aggregation in ammonium sulfate (SAT).
Results. Haemophili were isolated in 25.6% (11/43) of all OME patients: in 5/43 (11.6%)– H. influenzae (biotypes II, III), in 5/43 (11.6%) – H. parainfluenzae, in 1/43 (2.3%) – both species were found. Haemophili-positive nasopharyngeal specimen was found in 27/58 (46.6%) RRTI patients: in 19/58 (32.8%) – H. influenzae, in 8/58 (13.8%) – H. parainfluenzae. About 90% of all haemophili isolates were characterised by extreme to strong CSH. Antimicrobial resistance occurred mainly among H. parainfluenzae (80%) and to a much lower percentage among H. influenzae (33.3%) isolates. The obtained data suggest that both H. influenzae and H. parainfluenzae can be involved in pathology of OME in pediatric patients. The high cell surface hydrophobicity can affect on the haemophili prevalence and ear colonization, and induces predisposition to the presence of these bacteria as a biofilm that serves as a virulence factor with great importance for the survival of these opportunistic bacteria and their persistence in the ear environment.
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Big Impact of the Tiny: Bacteriophage-Bacteria Interactions in Biofilms. Trends Microbiol 2019; 27:739-752. [PMID: 31128928 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2019.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2019] [Revised: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 04/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) have been shaping bacterial ecology and evolution for millions of years, for example, by selecting for defence strategies. Evidence supports that bacterial biofilm formation is one such strategy and that biofilm-mediated protection against phage infection depends on maturation and composition of the extracellular matrix. Interestingly, studies have revealed that phages can induce and strengthen biofilms. Here we review interactions between bacteria and phages in biofilms, discuss the underlying mechanisms, the potential of phage therapy for biofilm control, and emphasize the importance of considering biofilms in future phage research. This is especially relevant as biofilms are associated with increased tolerance towards antibiotics and are implicated in the majority of chronic infections.
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Brust FR, Boff L, da Silva Trentin D, Pedrotti Rozales F, Barth AL, Macedo AJ. Macrocolony of NDM-1 Producing Enterobacter hormaechei subsp. oharae Generates Subpopulations with Different Features Regarding the Response of Antimicrobial Agents and Biofilm Formation. Pathogens 2019; 8:pathogens8020049. [PMID: 31014001 PMCID: PMC6631906 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens8020049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 04/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Enterobacter cloacae complex has been increasingly recognized as a nosocomial pathogen representing the third major Enterobacteriaceae species involved with infections. This study aims to evaluate virulence and antimicrobial susceptibility of subpopulations generated from macrocolonies of NDM-1 producing Enterobacter hormaechei clinical isolates. Biofilm was quantified using crystal violet method and fimbrial genes were investigated by PCR. Susceptibility of antimicrobials, alone and combined, was determined by minimum inhibitory concentration and checkerboard assays, respectively. Virulence and efficacy of antimicrobials were evaluated in Galleria mellonella larvae. Importantly, we verified that some subpopulations that originate from the same macrocolony present different biofilm production ability and distinct susceptibility to meropenem due to the loss of blaNDM-1 encoding plasmid. A more in-depth study was performed with the 798 macrocolony subpopulations. Type 3 fimbriae were straightly related with biofilm production; however, virulence in larvae was not statistically different among subpopulations. Triple combination with meropenem-rifampicin-polymyxin B showed in vitro synergistic effect against all subpopulations; while in vivo this treatment showed different efficacy rates for 798-1S and 798-4S subpopulations. The ability of multidrug resistant E. hormaechei isolates in generating bacterial subpopulations presenting different susceptible and virulence mechanisms are worrisome and may explain why these infections are hardly overcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flávia Roberta Brust
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Center of Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CE 90610-000, Brazil.
| | - Luana Boff
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Center of Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CE 90610-000, Brazil.
| | - Danielle da Silva Trentin
- Basic Health Sciences Department, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CE 90050-170, Brazil.
| | - Franciele Pedrotti Rozales
- Laboratory of Research in Bacterial Resistance, Center for Experimental Research, Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CE 90035-007, Brazil.
| | - Afonso Luís Barth
- Laboratory of Research in Bacterial Resistance, Center for Experimental Research, Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CE 90035-007, Brazil.
| | - Alexandre José Macedo
- Faculty of Pharmacy and Center of Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CE 90610-000, Brazil.
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Li J, Zhang H, Ning J, Sajid A, Cheng G, Yuan Z, Hao H. The nature and epidemiology of OqxAB, a multidrug efflux pump. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control 2019; 8:44. [PMID: 30834112 PMCID: PMC6387526 DOI: 10.1186/s13756-019-0489-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2018] [Accepted: 02/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background OqxAB efflux pump has been found to mediate multidrug resistance (MDR) in various bacteria over the past decades. The updates on the nature and epidemiology of OqxAB efflux pump need to be fully reviewed to broaden our understanding of this MDR determinant. Methods A literature search using the keyword of "oqxAB" was conducted in the online databases of Pubmed and ISI Web of Science with no restriction on the date of publication. The 87 publications were included into this review as references due to their close relevance to the nature and/or epidemiology of OqxAB efflux pump. Results The oqxAB gene generally locates on chromosome and/or plasmids flanked by IS26-like elements in clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae and Klebsiella pneumoniae, conferring low to intermediated resistance to quinoxalines, quinolones tigecycline, nitrofurantoin, several detergents and disinfectants (benzalkonium chloride, triclosan and SDS). It could co-spread with other antimicrobial resistance genes (bla CTX-M, rmtB and aac(6')-Ib etc.), virulence genes and heavy metal resistance genes (pco and sil operons). Both RarA (activator) and OqxR (repressor) play important roles on regulation of the expression of OqxAB. Conclusions The dissemination of oqxAB gene may pose a great risk on food safety and public health. Further investigation and understanding of the natural functions, horizontal transfer, and regulation mechanism of the OqxAB efflux pump will aid in future strategies of antimicrobial usage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Li
- 1National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues (HZAU) and Key Laboratory of the Detection for Veterinary Drug Residues, Wuhan, 430070 Hubei China.,2Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014 Jiangsu China
| | - Heying Zhang
- 1National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues (HZAU) and Key Laboratory of the Detection for Veterinary Drug Residues, Wuhan, 430070 Hubei China
| | - Jianan Ning
- 1National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues (HZAU) and Key Laboratory of the Detection for Veterinary Drug Residues, Wuhan, 430070 Hubei China
| | - Abdul Sajid
- 1National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues (HZAU) and Key Laboratory of the Detection for Veterinary Drug Residues, Wuhan, 430070 Hubei China.,4College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, KP Pakistan
| | - Guyue Cheng
- 3Laboratory of Quality & Safety Risk Assessment for Livestock and Poultry Products (Wuhan), Ministry of Agriculture, P.R China, Wuhan, 430070 Hubei China
| | - Zonghui Yuan
- 1National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues (HZAU) and Key Laboratory of the Detection for Veterinary Drug Residues, Wuhan, 430070 Hubei China.,3Laboratory of Quality & Safety Risk Assessment for Livestock and Poultry Products (Wuhan), Ministry of Agriculture, P.R China, Wuhan, 430070 Hubei China
| | - Haihong Hao
- 1National Reference Laboratory of Veterinary Drug Residues (HZAU) and Key Laboratory of the Detection for Veterinary Drug Residues, Wuhan, 430070 Hubei China.,3Laboratory of Quality & Safety Risk Assessment for Livestock and Poultry Products (Wuhan), Ministry of Agriculture, P.R China, Wuhan, 430070 Hubei China
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Cai P, Liu X, Ji D, Yang S, Walker SL, Wu Y, Gao C, Huang Q. Impact of soil clay minerals on growth, biofilm formation, and virulence gene expression of Escherichia coli O157:H7. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2018; 243:953-960. [PMID: 30245456 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.09.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2018] [Revised: 08/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Soil, composed mainly of minerals, plays a central role in the circulation of microbial pathogens in the environment. Herein, the growth, biofilm formation, and virulence gene expression of the pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli O157:H7 were monitored following exposure to montmorillonite, kaolinite, and goethite, three common soil minerals in the clay size fraction. E. coli O157:H7 growth was notably promoted (P < 0.05), while biofilm formation was inhibited in the presence of montmorillonite (P < 0.05), which is attributed to the suppression of colanic acid (CA) production and an increase in bacterial motility. Kaolinite not only promoted bacterial growth (P < 0.05), but also contributed to biofilm formation upon stimulating CA production. Upon exposure to goethite, notably slower bacterial growth and higher biomass of biofilm were observed as compared to the control (P < 0.05). Goethite stimulated the synthesis of CA to encase cells in a protective biofilm in response to the tight association between bacteria and goethite, which could cause bacterial death. Additionally, the transcription of virulence factors (stxA-1 and stxA-2) was significantly decreased in goethite or kaolinite system (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that minerals play important roles in the physiological state of bacteria and ultimately govern the fate of this pathogen in soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
| | - Xing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Zhejiang Institute of Subtropical Crops, Wenzhou, 325005, China
| | - Dandan Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Shanshan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Sharon L Walker
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Yichao Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Chunhui Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
| | - Qiaoyun Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China
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Co-occurrence of biofilm formation and quinolone resistance in Salmonella enterica serotype typhimurium carrying an IncHI2-type oqxAB-positive plasmid. Microb Pathog 2018; 123:68-73. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2018.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Revised: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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28
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Zhang XZ, Lei CW, Zeng JX, Chen YP, Kang ZZ, Wang YL, Ye XL, Zhai XW, Wang HN. An IncX1 plasmid isolated from Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Pullorum carrying bla TEM-1B, sul2, arsenic resistant operons. Plasmid 2018; 100:14-21. [PMID: 30248363 DOI: 10.1016/j.plasmid.2018.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Revised: 08/21/2018] [Accepted: 09/16/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
We have identified an IncX1 plasmid named pQJDSal1 from Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Pullorum (S. Pullorum). The plasmid is 67,685 bp in size and has 72 putative genes. pQJDSal1 harbors a conserved IncX1-type backbone with predicted regions for conjugation, replication and partitioning, as well as a toxin/antitoxin plasmid addiction system. Two regions (A and B) that have not been previously reported in IncX1 plasmids are inserted into the backbone. Region A (10.7 kb), inserted between parA and taxD, consists of a new Tn6168-like transposon containing an arsenic resistant operon arsB2CHR and sulfonamide resistance gene sul2. Region B contains another arsenic resistant operon arsADHR, resistance gene blaTEM-1B and three transposable elements. Conjugation experiments showed that pQJDSal1 could transfer from S. Pullorum to Escherichia coli (E. coli) J53. Statistical analysis of 70 sequenced IncX1 plasmids revealed that IncX1 plasmids harbored various antibiotic resistance genes. The results highlight the importance of IncX1 plasmids in disseminating antibiotic resistance genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiu-Zhong Zhang
- Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
| | - Chang-Wei Lei
- Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
| | - Jin-Xin Zeng
- Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
| | - Yan-Peng Chen
- Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
| | - Zhuang-Zhuang Kang
- Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
| | - Yu-Long Wang
- Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiao-Lan Ye
- Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
| | - Xi-Wen Zhai
- Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
| | - Hong-Ning Wang
- Animal Disease Prevention and Food Safety Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China.
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Lim SY, Teh CSJ, Thong KL. Biofilm-Related Diseases and Omics: Global Transcriptional Profiling of Enterococcus faecium Reveals Different Gene Expression Patterns in the Biofilm and Planktonic Cells. OMICS-A JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 2018; 21:592-602. [PMID: 29049010 DOI: 10.1089/omi.2017.0119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Enterococcus faecium is an opportunistic pathogen with a remarkable ability to acquire resistance toward multiple antibiotics, including those of last-resort drugs such as vancomycin and daptomycin. The occurrence of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium is on the rise and there is a need to understand the virulence of this organism. One of the factors that contributes to the virulence is the ability to form biofilms. Since bacteria in biofilm state are more resistant to antibiotics and host immune response, understanding the molecular mechanism of biofilm development is important to control biofilm-related diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the global gene expression profiles of an E. faecium strain, VREr5, during the early event of sessile growth compared with its planktonic phase through RNA-sequencing approach. The results clearly illustrated distinct expression profiles of the planktonic and biofilm cells. A total of 177 genes were overexpressed in the biofilm cells. Most of them encode for proteins involved in adherence, such as the ebpABCfm locus. Genes associated with plasmid replication, gene exchange, and protein synthesis were also upregulated during the early event of biofilm development. Furthermore, the transcriptome analysis also identified genes such as fsrB, luxS, and spx that might suppress biofilm formation in VREr5. The putative biofilm-related bee locus was found to be downregulated. These new findings could provide caveats for future studies on the regulation and maintenance of biofilm and development of biomarkers for biofilm-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu Yong Lim
- 1 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Cindy Shuan Ju Teh
- 2 Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Kwai Lin Thong
- 1 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Soares A, Gomes LC, Mergulhão FJ. Comparing the Recombinant Protein Production Potential of Planktonic and Biofilm Cells. Microorganisms 2018; 6:E48. [PMID: 29794993 PMCID: PMC6027475 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms6020048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2018] [Revised: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Recombinant protein production in bacterial cells is commonly performed using planktonic cultures. However, the natural state for many bacteria is living in communities attached to surfaces forming biofilms. In this work, a flow cell system was used to compare the production of a model recombinant protein (enhanced green fluorescent protein, eGFP) between planktonic and biofilm cells. The fluorometric analysis revealed that when the system was in steady state, the average specific eGFP production from Escherichia coli biofilm cells was 10-fold higher than in planktonic cells. Additionally, epifluorescence microscopy was used to determine the percentage of eGFP-expressing cells in both planktonic and biofilm populations. In steady state, the percentage of planktonic-expressing cells oscillated around 5%, whereas for biofilms eGFP-expressing cells represented on average 21% of the total cell population. Therefore, the combination of fluorometric and microscopy data allowed us to conclude that E. coli biofilm cells can have a higher recombinant protein production capacity when compared to their planktonic counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Soares
- LEPABE-Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
| | - Luciana Calheiros Gomes
- LEPABE-Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
| | - Filipe José Mergulhão
- LEPABE-Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
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31
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Nesse LL, Simm R. Biofilm: A Hotspot for Emerging Bacterial Genotypes. ADVANCES IN APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY 2018; 103:223-246. [PMID: 29914658 DOI: 10.1016/bs.aambs.2018.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Bacteria have the ability to adapt to changing environments through rapid evolution mediated by modification of existing genetic information, as well as by horizontal gene transfer (HGT). This makes bacteria a highly successful life form when it comes to survival. Unfortunately, this genetic plasticity may result in emergence and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes, and even the creation of multiresistant "superbugs" which may pose serious threats to public health. As bacteria commonly reside in biofilms, there has been an increased interest in studying these phenomena within biofilms in recent years. This review summarizes the present knowledge within this important area of research. Studies on bacterial evolution in biofilms have shown that mature biofilms develop into diverse communities over time. There is growing evidence that the biofilm lifestyle may be more mutagenic than planktonic growth. Furthermore, all three main mechanisms for HGT have been observed in biofilms. This has been shown to occur both within and between bacterial species, and higher transfer rates in biofilms than in planktonic cultures were detected. Of special concern are the observations that mutants with increased antibiotic resistance occur at higher frequency in biofilms than in planktonic cultures even in the absence of antibiotic exposure. Likewise, efficient dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes, as well as virulence genes, has been observed within the biofilm environment. This new knowledge emphasizes the importance of biofilm awareness and control.
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Gama JA, Zilhão R, Dionisio F. Conjugation efficiency depends on intra and intercellular interactions between distinct plasmids: Plasmids promote the immigration of other plasmids but repress co-colonizing plasmids. Plasmid 2017; 93:6-16. [PMID: 28842132 DOI: 10.1016/j.plasmid.2017.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2017] [Revised: 08/17/2017] [Accepted: 08/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Conjugative plasmids encode the genes responsible for the synthesis of conjugative pili and plasmid transfer. Expression of the conjugative machinery (including conjugative pili) may be costly to bacteria, not only due to the energetic/metabolic cost associated with their expression but also because they serve as receptors for certain viruses. Consequently, the presence of two plasmids in the same cell may be disadvantageous to each plasmid, because they may impose a higher fitness cost on the host. Therefore, plasmids may encode mechanisms to cope with co-resident plasmids. Moreover, it is possible that the transfer rate of a plasmid is affected by the presence of a distinct plasmid in the recipient cell. In this work, we measured transfer rates of twelve natural plasmids belonging to seven incompatibility groups in three situations, namely when: (i) donor cells contain a plasmid and recipient cells are plasmid-free; (ii) donor cells contain two unrelated plasmids and recipient cells are plasmid-free; and (iii) half of the cells contain a given plasmid and the other half contain another, unrelated, plasmid. In the third situation, recipient cells of a plasmid are the donor cells of the other plasmid. We show that there are more negative interactions (reduction of a plasmid's conjugative efficiency) between plasmids if they reside in the same cell than if they reside in different cells. However, if plasmids interacted intercellularly, the transfer rate of one of the plasmids was often higher (when the unrelated conjugative plasmid was present in the recipient cell) than if the recipient cell was plasmid-free - a positive effect. Experimental data retrieved from the study of mutant plasmids not expressing conjugative pili on the cell surface suggest that positive effects result from a higher efficiency of mating pair formation. Overall, our results suggest that negative interactions are significantly more frequent when plasmids occupy the same cell. Such interactions may determine how antibiotic resistance disseminates in bacterial populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Alves Gama
- cE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal; Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Rita Zilhão
- Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Francisco Dionisio
- cE3c-Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal; Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal; Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.
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33
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Gomes L, Mergulhão F. Heterologous protein production in Escherichia coli biofilms: A non-conventional form of high cell density cultivation. Process Biochem 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.procbio.2017.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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Boll EJ, Marti R, Hasman H, Overballe-Petersen S, Stegger M, Ng K, Knøchel S, Krogfelt KA, Hummerjohann J, Struve C. Turn Up the Heat-Food and Clinical Escherichia coli Isolates Feature Two Transferrable Loci of Heat Resistance. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:579. [PMID: 28439262 PMCID: PMC5383660 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Accepted: 03/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Heat treatment is a widely used process to reduce bacterial loads in the food industry or to decontaminate surfaces, e.g., in hospital settings. However, there are situations where lower temperatures must be employed, for instance in case of food production such as raw milk cheese or for decontamination of medical devices such as thermo-labile flexible endoscopes. A recently identified locus of heat resistance (LHR) has been shown to be present in and confer heat resistance to a variety of Enterobacteriaceae, including Escherichia coli isolates from food production settings and clinical ESBL-producing E. coli isolates. Here, we describe the presence of two distinct LHR variants within a particularly heat resistant E. coli raw milk cheese isolate. We demonstrate for the first time in this species the presence of one of these LHRs on a plasmid, designated pFAM21805, also encoding type 3 fimbriae and three bacteriocins and corresponding self-immunity proteins. The plasmid was highly transferable to other E. coli strains, including Shiga-toxin-producing strains, and conferred LHR-dependent heat resistance as well as type 3 fimbriae-dependent biofilm formation capabilities. Selection for and acquisition of this “survival” plasmid by pathogenic organisms, e.g., in food production environments, may pose great concern and emphasizes the need to screen for the presence of LHR genes in isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik J Boll
- Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Statens Serum InstitutCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Roger Marti
- Agroscope, Division of Food Microbial Systems, Microbiological Safety of Foods of Animal Origin GroupBern, Switzerland
| | - Henrik Hasman
- Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Statens Serum InstitutCopenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Marc Stegger
- Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Statens Serum InstitutCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kim Ng
- Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Statens Serum InstitutCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Susanne Knøchel
- Department of Food Science, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Karen A Krogfelt
- Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Statens Serum InstitutCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Joerg Hummerjohann
- Agroscope, Division of Food Microbial Systems, Microbiological Safety of Foods of Animal Origin GroupBern, Switzerland
| | - Carsten Struve
- Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Statens Serum InstitutCopenhagen, Denmark
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35
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Muzslay M, Moore G, Alhussaini N, Wilson A. ESBL-producing Gram-negative organisms in the healthcare environment as a source of genetic material for resistance in human infections. J Hosp Infect 2017; 95:59-64. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2016.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2016] [Accepted: 09/03/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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36
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Naidoo N, Pillay M. Bacterial pili, with emphasis on Mycobacterium tuberculosis curli pili: potential biomarkers for point-of care tests and therapeutics. Biomarkers 2016; 22:93-105. [PMID: 27797276 DOI: 10.1080/1354750x.2016.1252960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Novel biomarkers are essential for developing rapid diagnostics and therapeutic interventions Objective: This review aimed to highlight biomarker characterisation and assessment of unique bacterial pili. METHODS A PubMed search for bacterial pili, diagnostics, vaccine and therapeutics was performed, with emphasis on the well characterised pili. RESULTS In total, 46 papers were identified and reviewed. CONCLUSION Extensive analyses of pili enabled by advanced nanotechnology and whole genome sequencing provide evidence that they are strong biomarker candidates. Mycobacterium tuberculosis curli pili are emphasised as important epitopes for the development of much needed point-of-care diagnostics and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha Naidoo
- a Medical Microbiology and Infection Control , School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Congella , Durban , South Africa
| | - Manormoney Pillay
- a Medical Microbiology and Infection Control , School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Congella , Durban , South Africa
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37
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Samuelsen ED, Badawi N, Nybroe O, Sørensen SR, Aamand J. Adhesion to sand and ability to mineralise low pesticide concentrations are required for efficient bioaugmentation of flow-through sand filters. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2016; 101:411-421. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-016-7909-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Revised: 09/07/2016] [Accepted: 09/25/2016] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
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Madsen JS, Riber L, Kot W, Basfeld A, Burmølle M, Hansen LH, Sørensen SJ. Type 3 Fimbriae Encoded on Plasmids Are Expressed from a Unique Promoter without Affecting Host Motility, Facilitating an Exceptional Phenotype That Enhances Conjugal Plasmid Transfer. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0162390. [PMID: 27627107 PMCID: PMC5023117 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2016] [Accepted: 08/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the transmission of genetic material to a recipient that is not the progeny of the donor, is fundamental in bacterial evolution. HGT is often mediated by mobile genetic elements such as conjugative plasmids, which may be in conflict with the chromosomal elements of the genome because they are independent replicons that may petition their own evolutionary strategy. Here we study differences between type 3 fimbriae encoded on wild type plasmids and in chromosomes. Using known and newly characterized plasmids we show that the expression of type 3 fimbriae encoded on plasmids is systematically different, as MrkH, a c-di-GMP dependent transcriptional activator is not needed for strong expression of the fimbriae. MrkH is required for expression of type 3 fimbriae of the Klebsiella pneumoniae chromosome, wherefrom the fimbriae operon (mrkABCDF) of plasmids is believed to have originated. We find that mrkABCDFs of plasmids are highly expressed via a unique promoter that differs from the original Klebsiella promoter resulting in fundamental behavioral consequences. Plasmid associated mrkABCDFs did not influence the swimming behavior of the host, that hereby acquired an exceptional phenotype being able to both actively swim (planktonic behavior) and express biofilm associated fimbriae (sessile behavior). We show that this exceptional phenotype enhances the conjugal transfer of the plasmid.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Leise Riber
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Witold Kot
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Alrun Basfeld
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Max Planck Research Group Chromosome Organization and Dynamics, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Mette Burmølle
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lars Hestbjerg Hansen
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- * E-mail:
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39
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Liu W, Røder HL, Madsen JS, Bjarnsholt T, Sørensen SJ, Burmølle M. Interspecific Bacterial Interactions are Reflected in Multispecies Biofilm Spatial Organization. Front Microbiol 2016; 7:1366. [PMID: 27630624 PMCID: PMC5005372 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2016] [Accepted: 08/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Interspecies interactions are essential for the persistence and development of any kind of complex community, and microbial biofilms are no exception. Multispecies biofilms are structured and spatially defined communities that have received much attention due to their omnipresence in natural environments. Species residing in these complex bacterial communities usually interact both intra- and interspecifically. Such interactions are considered to not only be fundamental in shaping overall biomass and the spatial distribution of cells residing in multispecies biofilms, but also to result in coordinated regulation of gene expression in the different species present. These communal interactions often lead to emergent properties in biofilms, such as enhanced tolerance against antibiotics, host immune responses, and other stresses, which have been shown to provide benefits to all biofilm members not only the enabling sub-populations. However, the specific molecular mechanisms of cellular processes affecting spatial organization, and vice versa, are poorly understood and very complex to unravel. Therefore, detailed description of the spatial organization of individual bacterial cells in multispecies communities can be an alternative strategy to reveal the nature of interspecies interactions of constituent species. Closing the gap between visual observation and biological processes may become crucial for resolving biofilm related problems, which is of utmost importance to environmental, industrial, and clinical implications. This review briefly presents the state of the art of studying interspecies interactions and spatial organization of multispecies communities, aiming to support theoretical and practical arguments for further advancement of this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenzheng Liu
- Molecular Microbial Ecology Group, Section of Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Henriette L Røder
- Molecular Microbial Ecology Group, Section of Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Jonas S Madsen
- Molecular Microbial Ecology Group, Section of Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thomas Bjarnsholt
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of CopenhagenCopenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Microbiology, Copenhagen University HospitalCopenhagen, Denmark
| | - Søren J Sørensen
- Molecular Microbial Ecology Group, Section of Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette Burmølle
- Molecular Microbial Ecology Group, Section of Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, Denmark
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Madsen JS, Røder HL, Russel J, Sørensen H, Burmølle M, Sørensen SJ. Coexistence facilitates interspecific biofilm formation in complex microbial communities. Environ Microbiol 2016; 18:2565-74. [PMID: 27119650 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.13335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions in which bacteria respond to one another by modifying their phenotype are central determinants of microbial communities. It is known that interspecific interactions influence the biofilm phenotype of bacteria; a phenotype that is central to the fitness of bacteria. However, the underlying role of fundamental ecological factors, specifically coexistence and phylogenetic history, in biofilm formation remains unclear. This study examines how social interactions affect biofilm formation in multi-species co-cultures from five diverse environments. We found prevalence of increased biofilm formation among co-cultured bacteria that have coexisted in their original environment. Conversely, when randomly co-culturing bacteria across these five consortia, we found less biofilm induction and a prevalence of biofilm reduction. Reduction in biofilm formation was even more predominant when co-culturing bacteria from environments where long-term coexistence was unlikely to have occurred. Phylogenetic diversity was not found to be a strong underlying factor but a relation between biofilm induction and phylogenetic history was found. The data indicates that biofilm reduction is typically correlated with an increase in planktonic cell numbers, thus implying a behavioral response rather than mere growth competition. Our findings suggest that an increase in biofilm formation is a common adaptive response to long-term coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas S Madsen
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Henriette L Røder
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Jakob Russel
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Helle Sørensen
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Mette Burmølle
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - Søren J Sørensen
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
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41
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Wang Q, Chang CS, Pennini M, Pelletier M, Rajan S, Zha J, Chen Y, Cvitkovic R, Sadowska A, Heidbrink Thompson J, Yu Lin H, Barnes A, Rickert K, Wilson S, Stover CK, Dall'Acqua WF, Chowdhury PS, Xiao X. Target-Agnostic Identification of Functional Monoclonal Antibodies Against Klebsiella pneumoniae Multimeric MrkA Fimbrial Subunit. J Infect Dis 2016; 213:1800-8. [PMID: 26768253 DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiw021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2015] [Accepted: 12/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The increasing incidence of Klebsiella pneumoniae infections refractory to treatment with current broad-spectrum antibiotic classes warrants the exploration of alternative approaches, such as antibody therapy and/or vaccines, for prevention and treatment. However, the lack of validated targets shared by spectrums of clinical strains poses a significant challenge. We adopted a target-agnostic approach to identify protective antibodies against K. pneumoniae Several monoclonal antibodies were isolated from phage display and hybridoma platforms by functional screening for opsonophagocytic killing activity. We further identified their common target antigen to be MrkA, a major protein in the type III fimbriae complex, and showed that these serotype-independent anti-MrkA antibodies reduced biofilm formation in vitro and conferred protection in multiple murine pneumonia models. Importantly, mice immunized with purified MrkA proteins also showed reduced bacterial burden following K. pneumoniae challenge. Taken together, these results support MrkA as a promising target for K. pneumoniae antibody therapeutics and vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qun Wang
- Department of Infectious Disease and Vaccines
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Yan Chen
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering
| | | | | | | | - Hung Yu Lin
- Department of Analytical Biochemistry, MedImmune, Gaithersburg, Maryland
| | - Arnita Barnes
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering
| | - Keith Rickert
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering
| | - Susan Wilson
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering
| | | | | | | | - Xiaodong Xiao
- Department of Antibody Discovery and Protein Engineering
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42
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C. Gomes L, J. Mergulhão F. Effect of heterologous protein expression on <em>Escherichia coli</em> biofilm formation and biocide susceptibility. AIMS Microbiol 2016. [DOI: 10.3934/microbiol.2016.4.434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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43
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Colistin-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Clinical Strains with Deficient Biofilm Formation. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2015; 60:1892-5. [PMID: 26666921 DOI: 10.1128/aac.02518-15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2015] [Accepted: 12/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In two pairs of clinical colistin-susceptible/colistin-resistant (Cst(s)/Cst(r)) Acinetobacter baumannii strains, the Cst(r) strains showed significantly decreased biofilm formation in static and dynamic assays (P < 0.001) and lower relative fitness (P < 0.05) compared with those of the Cst(s) counterparts. The whole-genome sequencing comparison of strain pairs identified a mutation converting a stop codon to lysine (*241K) in LpsB (involved in lipopolysaccharide [LPS] synthesis) in one Cst(r) strain and a frameshift mutation in CarO and the loss of a 47,969-bp element containing multiple genes associated with biofilm production in the other.
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Liu C, Zheng H, Yang M, Xu Z, Wang X, Wei L, Tang B, Liu F, Zhang Y, Ding Y, Tang X, Wu B, Johnson TJ, Chen H, Tan C. Genome analysis and in vivo virulence of porcine extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strain PCN033. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:717. [PMID: 26391348 PMCID: PMC4578781 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1890-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2015] [Accepted: 09/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Strains of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) can invade and colonize extraintestinal sites and cause a wide range of infections. Genomic analysis of ExPEC has mainly focused on isolates of human and avian origins, with porcine ExPEC isolates yet to be sequenced. To better understand the genomic attributes underlying the pathogenicity of porcine ExPEC, we isolated two E. coli strains PCN033 and PCN061 from pigs, assessed their in vivo virulence, and completed and compared their genomes. Results Animal experiments demonstrated that strain PCN033, but not PCN061, was pathogenic in a pig model. The chromosome of PCN033 was 384 kb larger than that of PCN061. Among the PCN033-specific sequences, genes encoding adhesins, unique lipopolysaccharide, unique capsular polysaccharide, iron acquisition and transport systems, and metabolism were identified. Additionally, a large plasmid PCN033p3 harboring many typical ExPEC virulence factors was identified in PCN033. Based on the genetic variation between PCN033 and PCN061, corresponding phenotypic differences in flagellum-dependent swarming motility and metabolism were verified. Furthermore, the comparative genomic analyses showed that the PCN033 genome shared many similarities with genomic sequences of human ExPEC strains. Additionally, comparison of PCN033 genome with other nine characteristic E. coli genomes revealed 425 PCN033-special coding sequences. Genes of this subset included those encoding type I restriction-modification (R-M) system, type VI secretion system (T6SS) and membrane-associated proteins. Conclusions The genetic and phenotypic differences between PCN033 and PCN061 could partially explain their differences in virulence, and also provide insight towards the molecular mechanisms of porcine ExPEC infections. Additionally, the similarities between the genomes of PCN033 and human ExPEC strains suggest that some connections between porcine and human ExPEC strains exist. The first completed genomic sequence for porcine ExPEC and the genomic differences identified by comparative analyses provide a baseline understanding of porcine ExPEC genetics and lay the foundation for their further study. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1890-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Canying Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China. .,Department of Veterinary Medicine, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China.
| | - Huajun Zheng
- Shanghai-Most Key Laboratory of Health and Disease Genomics, Chinese National Human Genome Center at Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
| | - Minjun Yang
- Shanghai-Most Key Laboratory of Health and Disease Genomics, Chinese National Human Genome Center at Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
| | - Zhuofei Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Xiangru Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Liuya Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Biao Tang
- Shanghai-Most Key Laboratory of Health and Disease Genomics, Chinese National Human Genome Center at Shanghai, Shanghai, China. .,State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Feng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Yanyan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Yi Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Xibiao Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Bin Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Timothy J Johnson
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA.
| | - Huanchun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Chen Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
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Giaouris E, Heir E, Desvaux M, Hébraud M, Møretrø T, Langsrud S, Doulgeraki A, Nychas GJ, Kačániová M, Czaczyk K, Ölmez H, Simões M. Intra- and inter-species interactions within biofilms of important foodborne bacterial pathogens. Front Microbiol 2015; 6:841. [PMID: 26347727 PMCID: PMC4542319 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 177] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2015] [Accepted: 07/31/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
A community-based sessile life style is the normal mode of growth and survival for many bacterial species. Under such conditions, cell-to-cell interactions are inevitable and ultimately lead to the establishment of dense, complex and highly structured biofilm populations encapsulated in a self-produced extracellular matrix and capable of coordinated and collective behavior. Remarkably, in food processing environments, a variety of different bacteria may attach to surfaces, survive, grow, and form biofilms. Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus are important bacterial pathogens commonly implicated in outbreaks of foodborne diseases, while all are known to be able to create biofilms on both abiotic and biotic surfaces. Particularly challenging is the attempt to understand the complexity of inter-bacterial interactions that can be encountered in such unwanted consortia, such as competitive and cooperative ones, together with their impact on the final outcome of these communities (e.g., maturation, physiology, antimicrobial resistance, virulence, dispersal). In this review, up-to-date data on both the intra- and inter-species interactions encountered in biofilms of these pathogens are presented. A better understanding of these interactions, both at molecular and biophysical levels, could lead to novel intervention strategies for controlling pathogenic biofilm formation in food processing environments and thus improve food safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Efstathios Giaouris
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of the Environment, University of the Aegean, Myrina, Lemnos Island, Greece
| | - Even Heir
- Nofima, Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, Ås, Norway
| | - Mickaël Desvaux
- INRA, UR454 Microbiologie, Centre Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
| | - Michel Hébraud
- INRA, UR454 Microbiologie, Centre Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
| | - Trond Møretrø
- Nofima, Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, Ås, Norway
| | - Solveig Langsrud
- Nofima, Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, Ås, Norway
| | - Agapi Doulgeraki
- Laboratory of Microbiology and Biotechnology of Foods, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Faculty of Foods, Biotechnology and Development, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - George-John Nychas
- Laboratory of Microbiology and Biotechnology of Foods, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Faculty of Foods, Biotechnology and Development, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Miroslava Kačániová
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia
| | - Katarzyna Czaczyk
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Microbiology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Hülya Ölmez
- TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center, Food Institute, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey
| | - Manuel Simões
- Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
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Khater F, Balestrino D, Charbonnel N, Dufayard JF, Brisse S, Forestier C. In silico analysis of usher encoding genes in Klebsiella pneumoniae and characterization of their role in adhesion and colonization. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0116215. [PMID: 25751658 PMCID: PMC4353729 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2014] [Accepted: 12/05/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Chaperone/usher (CU) assembly pathway is used by a wide range of Enterobacteriaceae to assemble adhesive surface structures called pili or fimbriae that play a role in bacteria-host cell interactions. In silico analysis revealed that the genome of Klebsiella pneumoniae LM21 harbors eight chromosomal CU loci belonging to γκп and ϭ clusters. Of these, only two correspond to previously described operons, namely type 1 and type 3-encoding operons. Isogenic usher deletion mutants of K. pneumoniae LM21 were constructed for each locus and their role in adhesion to animal (Intestine 407) and plant (Arabidopsis thaliana) cells, biofilm formation and murine intestinal colonization was investigated. Type 3 pili usher deleted mutant was impaired in all assays, whereas type 1 pili usher deleted mutant only showed attenuation in adhesion to plant cells and in intestinal colonization. The LM21ΔkpjC mutant was impaired in its capacity to adhere to Arabidopsis cells and to colonize the murine intestine, either alone or in co-inoculation experiments. Deletion of LM21kpgC induced a significant decrease in biofilm formation, in adhesion to animal cells and in colonization of the mice intestine. The LM21∆kpaC and LM21∆kpeC mutants were only attenuated in biofilm formation and the adhesion abilities to Arabidopsis cells, respectively. No clear in vitro or in vivo effect was observed for LM21∆kpbC and LM21∆kpdC mutants. The multiplicity of CU loci in K. pneumoniae genome and their specific adhesion pattern probably reflect the ability of the bacteria to adhere to different substrates in its diverse ecological niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fida Khater
- LMGE—UMR CNRS 6023- Clermont Ferrand, 63000, France
| | | | | | | | - Sylvain Brisse
- Institut Pasteur, Microbial Evolutionary Genomics, 75015 Paris, France
- CNRS, UMR 3525, Paris, France
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Abstract
The field of plasmid biology has historically focused on bacteria growing in liquid culture. Surface attached communities of bacterial biofilms have recently been understood to be the normal environment of bacteria in the natural world. Thus, studies examining plasmid replication, maintenance, and transfer in biofilms are essential for a true understanding of bacterial plasmid biology. This chapter reviews the current knowledge of the interplay between bacterial biofilms and plasmids, focusing on the role of plasmids in biofilm development and the role of biofilms in plasmid maintenance, copy number control, and transfer. The studies examined herein highlight the importance of biofilms as an important ecological niche in which bacterial plasmids play an essential role.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gary M. Dunny
- Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, 1460 Mayo Bldg., MMC196, 420 Delaware St., SE, Minneapolis MN, 55455
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Liu Z, Que F, Liao L, Zhou M, You L, Zhao Q, Li Y, Niu H, Wu S, Huang R. Study on the promotion of bacterial biofilm formation by a Salmonella conjugative plasmid and the underlying mechanism. PLoS One 2014; 9:e109808. [PMID: 25299072 PMCID: PMC4192535 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0109808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2014] [Accepted: 09/12/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
To investigate the effect of the pRST98 plasmid, originally isolated from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi), on biofilm (BF) formation, we carried out in vitro experiments using S. Typhi, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). We further explored the effects of pRST98 in vivo by establishing two animal models, a tumor-bearing mouse model and a mouse urethral catheter model. Moreover, we examined the relationship between the quorum-sensing (QS) system and pRST98-mediated BF formation. These studies showed that pRST98 enhanced BF formation in different bacteria in vitro. In both animal models, pRST98 promoted BF formation and caused more severe pathological changes. It was previously reported that Salmonella senses exogenous N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) through the regulatory protein SdiA and regulates the expression of genes including the virulence gene rck, which is located on the virulence plasmid of some serotypes of Salmonella. In this study, we confirmed the locus of the rck gene on pRST98 and found that AHLs increased rck expression in pRST98-carrying strains, thereby enhancing bacterial adherence, serum resistance and bacterial BF formation. In conclusion, the Salmonella conjugative plasmid pRST98 promotes bacterial BF formation both in vitro and in vivo, and the mechanism may relate to the AHL-SdiA-Rck signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Liu
- Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, P. R. China
| | - Fengxia Que
- Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, P. R. China
| | - Li Liao
- Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, P. R. China
| | - Min Zhou
- Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, P. R. China
| | - Lixiang You
- Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, P. R. China
| | - Qing Zhao
- Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, P. R. China
| | - Yuanyuan Li
- Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, P. R. China
| | - Hua Niu
- Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, P. R. China
| | - Shuyan Wu
- Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, P. R. China
| | - Rui Huang
- Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, P. R. China
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Antibiotic Resistance Related to Biofilm Formation in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Pathogens 2014; 3:743-58. [PMID: 25438022 PMCID: PMC4243439 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens3030743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2014] [Revised: 09/02/2014] [Accepted: 09/03/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, Klebsiella pneumoniae, is responsible for causing a spectrum of community-acquired and nosocomial infections and typically infects patients with indwelling medical devices, especially urinary catheters, on which this microorganism is able to grow as a biofilm. The increasingly frequent acquisition of antibiotic resistance by K. pneumoniae strains has given rise to a global spread of this multidrug-resistant pathogen, mostly at the hospital level. This scenario is exacerbated when it is noted that intrinsic resistance to antimicrobial agents dramatically increases when K. pneumoniae strains grow as a biofilm. This review will summarize the findings about the antibiotic resistance related to biofilm formation in K. pneumoniae.
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Lo WU, Chow KH, Law PY, Ng KY, Cheung YY, Lai EL, Ho PL. Highly conjugative IncX4 plasmids carrying blaCTX-M in Escherichia coli from humans and food animals. J Med Microbiol 2014; 63:835-840. [PMID: 24595536 DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.074021-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigated the prevalence of IncX plasmid subtypes in commensal and pathogenic Escherichia coli isolates and the biological features of the IncX4 subtype. Two hundred and twenty-five E. coli isolates from multiple sources (47 chickens, 41 pigs, 30 cattle and 107 humans) obtained during the period 2006-2012 were tested for the presence of IncX1 to IncX5. Overall, the prevalence of IncX plasmids in chicken, pig, cattle and human isolates were 21.2 % (10/47), 19.5 % (8/41), 3.3 % (1/30) and 4.8 % (5/107), respectively. IncX4 was the most common subtype, followed by IncX1 and IncX3, while no IncX2 or IncX5 were found. Seven out of 16 (43.8 %) IncX4 plasmids were found to carry blaCTX-M genes and six of them originating from different host sources (four chickens, one pig and one human) had identical or highly similar RFLP patterns. Three IncX4 plasmids carrying blaCTX-M from different host sources were investigated further. It was found that the IncX4 plasmids had little effect on bacterial host growth parameters after their introduction to J53 recipients. Conjugation experiments demonstrated that the IncX4 plasmids could be efficiently transferred at 30-42 °C at rates which were generally 10(2)-10(5)-fold higher than those for the epidemic IncFII plasmid carrying blaCTX-M (pHK01). In conclusion, the IncX plasmids are more common than previously recognized. The efficient transfer of IncX4 plasmid at different temperatures and the lack of fitness burden on bacterial hosts highlight the ability of this plasmid replicon to be an important vehicle for dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wai-U Lo
- Department of Microbiology and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Kin-Hung Chow
- Department of Microbiology and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Pierra Y Law
- Department of Microbiology and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Ka-Ying Ng
- Department of Microbiology and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Yuk-Yam Cheung
- Department of Microbiology and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Eileen L Lai
- Department of Microbiology and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Pak-Leung Ho
- Department of Microbiology and Carol Yu Centre for Infection, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
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