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Yu S, Ding X, Hua K, Zhu H, Zhang Q, Song X, Xie X, Huang R, Xu Y, Zhang L, Yi Q, Zhao Y. Systematic investigation of the emerging pathogen of Tsukamurella species in a Chinese tertiary teaching hospital. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0164423. [PMID: 37874148 PMCID: PMC10715089 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01644-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Tsukamurella species have been clinically regarded as rare but emerging opportunistic pathogens causing various infections in humans. Tsukamurella pneumonia has often been misdiagnosed as pulmonary tuberculosis due to its clinical presentation resembling tuberculosis-like syndromes. Tsukamurella species have also been confused in the laboratory with other phylogenetic bacteria, such as Gordonia. This study aimed to investigate the clinical, microbiological, and molecular characteristics; species distribution; and antimicrobial susceptibility of Tsukamurella species. Immunodeficiency and chronic pulmonary disease appeared to be risk factors for Tsukamurella pneumonia, and the presence of bronchiectasis and pulmonary nodules on imaging was highly correlated with this infection. The study confirmed that groEL (heat shock protein 60) and secA (the secretion ATPase) genes are reliable for identifying Tsukamurella species. Additionally, the ssrA (stable small RNA) gene showed promise as a tool for discriminating between different Tsukamurella species with the shortest sequence length. In terms of antimicrobial susceptibility, quinolones, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, amikacin, minocycline, linezolid, and tigecycline demonstrated potent in vitro activity against Tsukamurella isolates in our study. The study also proposed a resistance mechanism involving a substitution (S91R) within the quinolone-resistance-determining region of the gyrA gene, which confers resistance to levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Furthermore, we found that disk diffusion testing is not suitable for testing the susceptibilities of Tsukamurella isolates to ciprofloxacin, imipenem, and minocycline. In conclusion, our systematic investigation may contribute to a better understanding of this rare pathogen. Tsukamurella species are rare but emerging human pathogens that share remarkable similarities with other mycolic acid-containing genera of the order Actinomycetales, especially Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Consequently, misdiagnosis and therapeutic failures can occur in clinical settings. Despite the significance of accurate identification, antimicrobial susceptibility, and understanding the resistance mechanism of this important genus, our knowledge in these areas remains fragmentary and incomplete. In this study, we aimed to address these gaps by investigating promising identification methods, the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, and a novel quinolone resistance mechanism in Tsukamurella species, utilizing a collection of clinical isolates. The findings of our study will contribute to improve diagnosis and successful management of infections caused by Tsukamurella species, as well as establishing well-defined performance and interpretive criteria for antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuying Yu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoqi Ding
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Kexin Hua
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Huiqing Zhu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Qingshui Zhang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhangjiajie People’s Hospital, Zhangjiajie, China
| | - Xinuo Song
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Xiuli Xie
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Rong Huang
- Department of Respiratory, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yingchun Xu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Li Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Qiaolian Yi
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Zhao
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Complex, Severe, and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory for Mechanisms Research and Precision Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Diseases, Beijing, China
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Carter MQ, Quiñones B, He X, Pham A, Carychao D, Cooley MB, Lo CC, Chain PSG, Lindsey RL, Bono JL. Genomic and Phenotypic Characterization of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia albertii Strains Isolated from Wild Birds in a Major Agricultural Region in California. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2803. [PMID: 38004814 PMCID: PMC10673567 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Escherichia albertii is an emerging foodborne pathogen. To better understand the pathogenesis and health risk of this pathogen, comparative genomics and phenotypic characterization were applied to assess the pathogenicity potential of E. albertii strains isolated from wild birds in a major agricultural region in California. Shiga toxin genes stx2f were present in all avian strains. Pangenome analyses of 20 complete genomes revealed a total of 11,249 genes, of which nearly 80% were accessory genes. Both core gene-based phylogenetic and accessory gene-based relatedness analyses consistently grouped the three stx2f-positive clinical strains with the five avian strains carrying ST7971. Among the three Stx2f-converting prophage integration sites identified, ssrA was the most common one. Besides the locus of enterocyte effacement and type three secretion system, the high pathogenicity island, OI-122, and type six secretion systems were identified. Substantial strain variation in virulence gene repertoire, Shiga toxin production, and cytotoxicity were revealed. Six avian strains exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity than that of stx2f-positive E. coli, and three of them exhibited a comparable level of cytotoxicity with that of enterohemorrhagic E. coli outbreak strains, suggesting that wild birds could serve as a reservoir of E. albertii strains with great potential to cause severe diseases in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Qiu Carter
- Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Western Regional Research Center, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA; (B.Q.); (A.P.); (D.C.); (M.B.C.)
| | - Beatriz Quiñones
- Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Western Regional Research Center, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA; (B.Q.); (A.P.); (D.C.); (M.B.C.)
| | - Xiaohua He
- Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Western Regional Research Center, Albany, CA 94710, USA;
| | - Antares Pham
- Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Western Regional Research Center, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA; (B.Q.); (A.P.); (D.C.); (M.B.C.)
| | - Diana Carychao
- Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Western Regional Research Center, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA; (B.Q.); (A.P.); (D.C.); (M.B.C.)
| | - Michael B. Cooley
- Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Western Regional Research Center, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA; (B.Q.); (A.P.); (D.C.); (M.B.C.)
| | - Chien-Chi Lo
- Biosecurity and Public Health Group, U.S. Department of Energy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Santa Fe, NM 87545, USA; (C.-C.L.); (P.S.G.C.)
| | - Patrick S. G. Chain
- Biosecurity and Public Health Group, U.S. Department of Energy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Santa Fe, NM 87545, USA; (C.-C.L.); (P.S.G.C.)
| | - Rebecca L. Lindsey
- Enteric Diseases Laboratory Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA;
| | - James L. Bono
- Meat Safety and Quality Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, NE 68933, USA;
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Viral and Bacterial Communities Collaborate through Complementary Assembly Processes in Soil to Survive Organochlorine Contamination. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0181022. [PMID: 36809072 PMCID: PMC10056961 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01810-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The ecological drivers that direct the assembly of viral and host bacterial communities are largely unknown, even though viral-encoded accessory genes help host bacteria survive in polluted environments. To understand the ecological mechanism(s) of viruses and hosts synergistically surviving under organochlorine pesticide (OCP) stress, we investigated the community assembly processes of viruses and bacteria at the taxon and functional gene levels in clean and OCP-contaminated soils in China using a combination of metagenomics/viromics and bioinformatics approaches. We observed a decreased richness of bacterial taxa and functional genes but an increased richness of viral taxa and auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) in OCP-contaminated soils (from 0 to 2,617.6 mg · kg-1). In OCP-contaminated soils, the assembly of bacterial taxa and genes was dominated by a deterministic process, of which the relative significance was 93.0% and 88.7%, respectively. In contrast, the assembly of viral taxa and AMGs was driven by a stochastic process, which contributed 83.1% and 69.2%, respectively. The virus-host prediction analysis, which indicated Siphoviridae was linked to 75.0% of bacterial phyla, and the higher migration rate of viral taxa and AMGs in OCP-contaminated soil suggested that viruses show promise for the dissemination of functional genes among bacterial communities. Taken together, the results of this study indicated that the stochastic assembly processes of viral taxa and AMGs facilitated bacterial resistance to OCP stress in soils. Moreover, our findings provide a novel avenue for understanding the synergistic interactions between viruses and bacteria from the perspective of microbial ecology, highlighting the significance of viruses in mediating bioremediation of contaminated soils. IMPORTANCE The interaction between viral communities and microbial hosts has been studied extensively, and the viral community affects host community metabolic function through AMGs. Microbial community assembly is the process by which species colonize and interact to establish and maintain communities. This is the first study that aimed to understand the assembly process of bacterial and viral communities under OCP stress. The findings of this study provide information about microbial community responses to OCP stress and reveal the collaborative interactions between viral and bacterial communities to resist pollutant stress. Thereby, we highlight the importance of viruses in soil bioremediation from the perspective of community assembly.
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