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Extremophile Metal Resistance: Plasmid-Encoded Functions in Streptomyces mirabilis. Appl Environ Microbiol 2022; 88:e0008522. [PMID: 35604229 PMCID: PMC9195940 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00085-22] [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: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The extreme metal tolerance of up to 130 mM NiSO4 in Streptomyces mirabilis P16B-1 was investigated. Genome sequencing revealed the presence of a large linear plasmid, pI. To identify plasmid-encoded determinants of metal resistance, a newly established transformation system was used to characterize the predicted plasmid-encoded loci nreB, hoxN, and copYZ. Reintroduction into the plasmid-cured S. mirabilis ΔpI confirmed that the predicted metal transporter gene nreB constitutes a nickel resistance factor, which was further supported by its heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. In contrast, the predicted nickel exporter gene hoxN decreased nickel tolerance, while copper tolerance was enhanced. The predicted copper-dependent transcriptional regulator gene copY did not induce tolerance toward either metal. Since genes for transfer were identified on the plasmid, its conjugational transfer to the metal-sensitive Streptomyces lividans TK24 was checked. This resulted in acquired tolerance toward 30 mM nickel and additionally increased the tolerance toward copper and cobalt, while oxidative stress tolerance remained unchanged. Intracellular nickel concentrations decreased in the transconjugant strain. The high extracellular nickel concentrations allowed for biomineralization. Plasmid transfer could also be confirmed into the co-occurring actinomycete Kribbella spp. in soil microcosms. IMPORTANCE Living in extremely metal-rich environments requires specific adaptations, and often, specific metal tolerance genes are encoded on a transferable plasmid. Here, Streptomyces mirabilis P16B-1, isolated from a former mining area and able to grow with up to 130 mM NiSO4, was investigated. The bacterial chromosome, as well as a giant plasmid, was sequenced. The plasmid-borne gene nreB was confirmed to confer metal resistance. A newly established transformation system allowed us to construct a plasmid-cured S. mirabilis as well as an nreB-rescued strain in addition to confirming nreB encoding nickel resistance if heterologously expressed in E. coli. The potential of intra- and interspecific plasmid transfer, together with the presence of metal resistance factors on that plasmid, underlines the importance of plasmids for transfer of resistance factors within a bacterial soil community.
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Brovedan MA, Cameranesi MM, Limansky AS, Morán-Barrio J, Marchiaro P, Repizo GD. What do we know about plasmids carried by members of the Acinetobacter genus? World J Microbiol Biotechnol 2020; 36:109. [PMID: 32656745 DOI: 10.1007/s11274-020-02890-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 07/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Several Acinetobacter spp. act as opportunistic pathogens causing healthcare-associated infections worldwide, and in this respect their ability to resist antimicrobial compounds has certainly boosted up their global propagation. Acinetobacter clinical strains have demonstrated a remarkable ability to evolve and become resistant to almost all available drugs in the antimicrobial arsenal, including the last-resort carbapenem β-lactams. The dissemination of antimicrobial resistant genes (ARG), heavy metals-detoxification systems and other traits such as virulence factors is facilitated by mobile genetic elements (MGE) through horizontal gene transfer. Among them, plasmids have been shown to play a critical role in this genus. Despite the continuous increase of Acinetobacter plasmid sequences present in databases, there are no reports describing the basic traits carried by these MGE. To fill this gap, a broad analysis of the Acinetobacter plasmidome was performed. A search for Acinetobacter complete plasmids indicated that 905 sequences have been deposited in the NCBI-GenBank public database, of which 492 are harbored by Acinetobacter baumannii strains. Plasmid-classification schemes based on Rep proteins homology have so far described 23 different groups for A. baumannii (GR1-23), and 16 Acinetobacter Rep3 Groups (AR3G1-16) for the complete genus. Acinetobacter plasmids size ranges from 1.3 to 400 kb. Interestingly, widespread plasmids which are < 20 kb make up 56% of the total present in members of this genus. This led to the proposal of Acinetobacter plasmid assignation to two groups according to their size (< 20 kb and > 20 kb). Usually, smaller plasmids are not self-transmissible, and thereby employ alternative mechanisms of dissemination. For instance, a subgroup of < 20 kb-plasmids belonging to the pRAY-family, lack a rep gene, but encode a relaxase enabling their mobilization by conjugative plasmids. Other subgroup, including small GR2 Acinetobacter plasmids, does not encode a relaxase gene. However, they could still be mobilized by conjugative plasmids which recognize an oriT region carried by these small plasmids. Also, these < 20 kb-plasmids usually carry accessory genes bordered by XerC/D-recombinases recognition sites which have been hypothesized to mediate plasmid plasticity. Conversely, many cases of larger plasmids are self-transmissible and might encode virulence factors and their regulators, thus controlling strain pathogenicity. The ARGs carried by the > 20 kb-plasmids are usually encoded within other MGEs such as transposons, or as part of integrons. It has been recently noted that some of the > 20 kb-plasmids are derived from excised phages, and thus dubbed as phage-like plasmids. All in all, the plethora of plasmids found in strains of this genus and the multiple strategies promoting their evolution and dissemination have certainly contributed to survival of the Acinetobacter members in different habitats, including the clinical environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco A Brovedan
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR, CONICET), Laboratorio de Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
| | - María M Cameranesi
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR, CONICET), Laboratorio de Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Adriana S Limansky
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR, CONICET), Laboratorio de Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Jorgelina Morán-Barrio
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR, CONICET), Laboratorio de Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Patricia Marchiaro
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR, CONICET), Laboratorio de Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Guillermo D Repizo
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR, CONICET), Laboratorio de Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina.
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Brovedan M, Repizo GD, Marchiaro P, Viale AM, Limansky A. Characterization of the diverse plasmid pool harbored by the blaNDM-1-containing Acinetobacter bereziniae HPC229 clinical strain. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0220584. [PMID: 31743332 PMCID: PMC6863613 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Acinetobacter bereziniae is an environmental microorganism with increasing clinical incidence, and may thus provide a model for a bacterial species bridging the gap between the environment and the clinical setting. A. bereziniae plasmids have been poorly studied, and their characterization could offer clues on the causes underlying the leap between these two different habitats. Here we characterized the whole plasmid content of A. bereziniae HPC229, a clinical strain previously reported to harbor a 44-kbp plasmid, pNDM229, conferring carbapenem and aminoglycoside resistance. We identified five extra plasmids in HPC229 ranging from 114 to 1.3 kbp, including pAbe229-114 (114 kbp) encoding a MOBP111 relaxase and carrying heavy metal resistance, a bacteriophage defense BREX system and four different toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems. Two other replicons, pAbe229-15 (15.4 kbp) and pAbe229-9 (9.1 kbp), both encoding MOBQ1 relaxases and also carrying TA systems, were found. The three latter plasmids contained Acinetobacter Rep_3 superfamily replication initiator protein genes, and functional analysis of their transfer regions revealed the mobilizable nature of them. HPC229 also harbors two smaller plasmids, pAbe229-4 (4.4 kbp) and pAbe229-1 (1.3 kbp), the former bearing a ColE1-type replicon and a TA system, and the latter lacking known replication functions. Comparative sequence analyses against deposited Acinetobacter genomes indicated that the above five HPC229 plasmids were unique, although some regions were also present in other of these genomes. The transfer, replication, and adaptive modules in pAbe229-15, and the stability module in pAbe229-9, were bordered by sites potentially recognized by XerC/XerD site-specific tyrosine recombinases, thus suggesting a potential mechanism for their acquisition. The presence of Rep_3 and ColE1-based replication modules, different mob genes, distinct adaptive functions including resistance to heavy metal and other environmental stressors, as well as antimicrobial resistance genes, and a high content of XerC/XerD sites among HPC229 plasmids provide evidence of substantial links with bacterial species derived from both environmental and clinical habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Brovedan
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR), Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Rosario, Argentina
| | - Guillermo D. Repizo
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR), Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Rosario, Argentina
| | - Patricia Marchiaro
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR), Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Rosario, Argentina
| | - Alejandro M. Viale
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR), Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Rosario, Argentina
- * E-mail: (AMV); (AL)
| | - Adriana Limansky
- Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR), Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Rosario, Argentina
- * E-mail: (AMV); (AL)
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Moura A, Oliveira C, Henriques I, Smalla K, Correia A. Broad diversity of conjugative plasmids in integron-carrying bacteria from wastewater environments. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2012; 330:157-64. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2012.02544.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2011] [Revised: 03/05/2012] [Accepted: 03/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Moura
- Department of Biology & CESAM; University of Aveiro; Aveiro; Portugal
| | - Cláudia Oliveira
- Department of Biology & CESAM; University of Aveiro; Aveiro; Portugal
| | - Isabel Henriques
- Department of Biology & CESAM; University of Aveiro; Aveiro; Portugal
| | - Kornelia Smalla
- Julius Kühn-Institut - Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants; Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics; Braunschweig; Germany
| | - António Correia
- Department of Biology & CESAM; University of Aveiro; Aveiro; Portugal
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Mirete S, de Figueras CG, González-Pastor JE. Novel nickel resistance genes from the rhizosphere metagenome of plants adapted to acid mine drainage. Appl Environ Microbiol 2007; 73:6001-11. [PMID: 17675438 PMCID: PMC2075024 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00048-07] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2007] [Accepted: 07/26/2007] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Metal resistance determinants have traditionally been found in cultivated bacteria. To search for genes involved in nickel resistance, we analyzed the bacterial community of the rhizosphere of Erica andevalensis, an endemic heather which grows at the banks of the Tinto River, a naturally metal-enriched and extremely acidic environment in southwestern Spain. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of rhizosphere DNA revealed the presence of members of five phylogenetic groups of Bacteria and the two main groups of Archaea mostly associated with sites impacted by acid mine drainage (AMD). The diversity observed and the presence of heavy metals in the rhizosphere led us to construct and screen five different metagenomic libraries hosted in Escherichia coli for searching novel nickel resistance determinants. A total of 13 positive clones were detected and analyzed. Insights about their possible mechanisms of resistance were obtained from cellular nickel content and sequence similarities. Two clones encoded putative ABC transporter components, and a novel mechanism of metal efflux is suggested. In addition, a nickel hyperaccumulation mechanism is proposed for a clone encoding a serine O-acetyltransferase. Five clones encoded proteins similar to well-characterized proteins but not previously reported to be related to nickel resistance, and the remaining six clones encoded hypothetical or conserved hypothetical proteins of uncertain functions. This is the first report documenting nickel resistance genes recovered from the metagenome of an AMD environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salvador Mirete
- Laboratory of Molecular Ecology, Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Carretera de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz 28850, Madrid, Spain
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Bhadra B, Nanda AK, Chakraborty R. Fluctuation in recoverable nickel and zinc resistant copiotrophic bacteria explained by the varying zinc ion content of Torsa River in different months. Arch Microbiol 2007; 188:215-24. [PMID: 17464499 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-007-0236-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2006] [Revised: 02/28/2007] [Accepted: 03/19/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Heavy metal content analysis of River Torsa in India did not indicate any alarming level of toxicity for human consumption but revealed variation at the ppb level in different months. The variation in recoverable nickel and zinc resistant copiotrophic (or eutrophic) bacterial counts was explained by the variation of the zinc content (34.0-691.3 ppb) of the river water in different sampling months. Growth studies conducted with some purified nickel and/or zinc resistant strains revealed that pre-exposure of the cells to ppb levels of Zn(2+), comparable to the indigenous zinc ion concentration of the river, could induce the nickel or zinc resistance. A minimum concentration of 5-10 microM Zn(2+ )(325-650 ppb) was found effective in inducing the Nickel resistance of the isolates. Zinc resistance of the isolates was tested by pre-exposing the cells to 4 microM Zn(2+ )(260 ppb). The lag phase was reduced by 6-8 h in all the cases. Biochemical characteristics and phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequence indicated that some of the Torsa River isolates, having inducible nickel and zinc resistance, are members of the genus Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Enterobacter, Serratia and Moraxella.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bhaskar Bhadra
- Department of Biotechnology, North Bengal University, Siliguri 734430, West Bengal, India
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