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Esteves NC, Scharf BE. Serratia marcescens ATCC 274 increases production of the red pigment prodigiosin in response to Chi phage infection. Sci Rep 2024; 14:17750. [PMID: 39085460 PMCID: PMC11291754 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-68747-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Serratia marcescens is an opportunistic human pathogen that produces a vibrant red pigment called prodigiosin. Prodigiosin has implications in virulence of S. marcescens and promising clinical applications. We discovered that addition of the virulent flagellotropic bacteriophage χ (Chi) to a culture of S. marcescens stimulates a greater than fivefold overproduction of prodigiosin. Active phage infection is required for the effect, as a χ-resistant strain lacking flagella does not respond to phage presence. Via a reporter fusion assay, we have determined that the addition of a χ-induced S. marcescens cell lysate to an uninfected culture causes a threefold increase in transcription of the pig operon, containing genes essential for pigment biosynthesis. Replacement of the pig promoter with a constitutive promoter abolished the pigmentation increase, indicating that regulatory elements present in the pig promoter likely mediate the phenomenon. We hypothesize that S. marcescens detects the threat of phage-mediated cell death and reacts by producing prodigiosin as a stress response. Our findings are of clinical significance for two main reasons: (i) elucidating complex phage-host interactions is crucial for development of therapeutic phage treatments, and (ii) overproduction of prodigiosin in response to phage could be exploited for its biosynthesis and use as a pharmaceutical.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel C Esteves
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA
| | - Birgit E Scharf
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
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2
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Sunil S, Walsky T, Henry M, Kemmerling L, Pajor M, Guo X, Murphy SI, Ivanek R, Wiedmann M. A longitudinal study on the bacterial quality of baby spinach cultivated in Arizona and California. Appl Environ Microbiol 2024:e0055324. [PMID: 38995040 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00553-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
In the U.S., baby spinach is mostly produced in Arizona (AZ) and California (CA). Characterizing the impact of growing region on the bacterial quality of baby spinach can inform quality management practices in industry. Between December 2021 and December 2022, baby spinach was sampled after harvest and packaging for microbiological testing, including shelf-life testing of packaged samples that were stored at 4°C. Samples were tested to (i) determine bacterial concentration, and (ii) obtain and identify bacterial isolates. Packaged samples from the Salinas, CA, area (n = 13), compared to those from the Yuma, AZ, area (n = 9), had a significantly higher bacterial concentration, on average, by 0.78 log10 CFU/g (P < 0.01, based on aerobic, mesophilic plate count data) or 0.67 log10 CFU/g (P < 0.01, based on psychrotolerant plate count data); the bacterial concentrations of harvest samples from the Yuma and Salinas areas were not significantly different. Our data also support that an increase in preharvest temperature is significantly associated with an increase in the bacterial concentration on harvested and packaged spinach. A Fisher's exact test and linear discriminant analysis (effect size), respectively, demonstrated that (i) the genera of 2,186 bacterial isolates were associated (P < 0.01) with growing region and (ii) Pseudomonas spp. and Exiguobacterium spp. were enriched in spinach from the Yuma and Salinas areas, respectively. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that growing region and preharvest temperature may impact the bacterial quality of spinach and thus could inform more targeted strategies to manage produce quality. IMPORTANCE In the U.S., most spinach is produced in Arizona (AZ) and California (CA) seasonally; typically, spinach is cultivated in the Yuma, AZ, area during the winter and in the Salinas, CA, area during the summer. As the bacterial quality of baby spinach can influence consumer acceptance of the product, it is important to assess whether the bacterial quality of baby spinach can vary between spinach-growing regions. The findings of this study provide insights that could be used to support region-specific quality management strategies for baby spinach. Our results also highlight the value of further evaluating the impact of growing region and preharvest temperature on the bacterial quality of different produce commodities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sriya Sunil
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Tamara Walsky
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Mikayla Henry
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Leonie Kemmerling
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Magdalena Pajor
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Xiaodong Guo
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Sarah I Murphy
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Renata Ivanek
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Martin Wiedmann
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
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Zhang C, Liu J, Liu X, Xu Y, Gan Q, Cheng Q, Liu W, Gao X, Wu S. Glutamine enhances pneumococcal growth under methionine semi-starvation by elevating intracellular pH. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1430038. [PMID: 39044959 PMCID: PMC11263215 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1430038] [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: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Bacteria frequently encounter nutrient limitation in nature. The ability of living in this nutrient shortage environment is vital for bacteria to preserve their population and important for some pathogenic bacteria to cause infectious diseases. Usually, we study how bacteria survive after nutrient depletion, a total starvation condition when bacteria almost cease growth and try to survive. However, nutrient limitation may not always lead to total starvation. Methods Bacterial adaptation to nutrient shortage was studied by determining bacterial growth curves, intracellular pH, intracellular amino acid contents, gene transcription, protein expression, enzyme activity, and translation and replication activities. Results No exogenous supply of methionine results in growth attenuation of Streptococcus pneumoniae, a human pathogen. In this paper, we refer to this inhibited growth state between ceased growth under total starvation and full-speed growth with full nutrients as semi-starvation. Similar to total starvation, methionine semi-starvation also leads to intracellular acidification. Surprisingly, it is intracellular acidification but not insufficient methionine synthesis that causes growth attenuation under methionine semi-starvation. With excessive glutamine supply in the medium, intracellular methionine level was not changed, while bacterial intracellular pH was elevated to ~ 7.6 (the optimal intracellular pH for pneumococcal growth) by glutamine deamination, and bacterial growth under semi-starvation was restored fully. Our data suggest that intracellular acidification decreases translation level and glutamine supply increases intracellular pH to restore translation level, thus restoring bacterial growth. Discussion This growth with intracellular pH adjustment by glutamine is a novel strategy we found for bacterial adaptation to nutrient shortage, which may provide new drug targets to inhibit growth of pathogenic bacteria under semi-starvation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengwang Zhang
- Department of Basic Medical Science, School of Medicine, Lishui University, Lishui, Zhejiang, China
| | - Juncheng Liu
- Department of Basic Medical Science, School of Medicine, Lishui University, Lishui, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiaohui Liu
- National Protein Science Facility, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yueyu Xu
- Department of Basic Medical Science, School of Medicine, Lishui University, Lishui, Zhejiang, China
| | - Qingxiu Gan
- Department of Basic Medical Science, School of Medicine, Lishui University, Lishui, Zhejiang, China
| | - Qinqian Cheng
- Department of Basic Medical Science, School of Medicine, Lishui University, Lishui, Zhejiang, China
| | - Weiping Liu
- Department of Basic Medical Science, School of Medicine, Lishui University, Lishui, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiangmin Gao
- Department of Basic Medical Science, School of Medicine, Lishui University, Lishui, Zhejiang, China
| | - Songquan Wu
- Department of Basic Medical Science, School of Medicine, Lishui University, Lishui, Zhejiang, China
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4
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Wang D, Wang X, Zhou S, Ren L, Meng Y, Ma R, Wang S, Liu Z, Alamri AS, Alhomrani M, Zhang Z, Cui F, Li T, Li J. Radish residue carbon dots-based novel starch/chitosan film with high antioxidant, biocompatibility, and antibacterial activities for salmon fillets' active packaging. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 273:133107. [PMID: 38897524 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133107] [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: 03/22/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
The corruption of refrigerated marine fish results in global economic losses exceeding 25 billion euros annually. However, conventional preservatives present challenges, including singular functionality, potential toxicity, and high cost. In response, we developed multifunctional, safe, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly carbon dots derived from radish residues (R-CDs) by using the one-pot hydrothermal method. The surface of R-CDs is enriched with hydroxyl groups, conferring broad-spectrum antioxidant and antibacterial characteristics. R-CDs exhibited a notable 72.92 % inhibition rate on lipid peroxidation, surpassing the effectiveness of vitamin C (46 %). Additionally, R-CDs demonstrated impressive scavenging rates of 93.8 % for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radicals and 99.36 % for 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid-free radicals. In combating spoilage bacteria such as Aeromonas sobria and Hafnia alvei, R-CDs disrupted cell structures and influenced intracellular substance content. Importantly, co-cultivation with R-CDs showed no significant cytotoxicity. Further incorporating R-CDs into films using starch and chitosan (S/CS/R-CDs films) for efficient and convenient use in salmon fillets preservation. S/CS/R-CDs films effectively inhibited the growth of spoilage bacteria, lipid oxidation, and protein decomposition in salmon fillets, thereby extending shelf life by 4 days. This combination of antioxidant and antibacterial properties in R-CDs, along with the functional films, presents a promising approach for enhancing salmon fillet preservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dangfeng Wang
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, China Light Industry Key Laboratory of Marine Fish Processing, Jinzhou, Liaoning, 121013, China
| | - Xin Wang
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, China Light Industry Key Laboratory of Marine Fish Processing, Jinzhou, Liaoning, 121013, China
| | - Shanshan Zhou
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, China Light Industry Key Laboratory of Marine Fish Processing, Jinzhou, Liaoning, 121013, China
| | - Likun Ren
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, China Light Industry Key Laboratory of Marine Fish Processing, Jinzhou, Liaoning, 121013, China
| | - Yuqiong Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Rui Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Shulin Wang
- College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Qinghai University, Xining, Qinghai 810016, China
| | - Zhiteng Liu
- Dalian Food Co., Ltd., Jinzhou, Liaoning 121209, China
| | - Abdulhakeem S Alamri
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, The Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Majid Alhomrani
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, The Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Zihui Zhang
- Comprehensive Inspection and Testing Center for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry in Chifeng City, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia 024000, China
| | - Fangchao Cui
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, China Light Industry Key Laboratory of Marine Fish Processing, Jinzhou, Liaoning, 121013, China.
| | - Tingting Li
- Key Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bioresources Utilization (Dalian Minzu University), Ministry of Education, Dalian, Liaoning, 116029, China.
| | - Jianrong Li
- College of Food Science and Technology, Bohai University, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Storage, Processing and Safety Control Technology for Fresh Agricultural and Aquatic Products, China Light Industry Key Laboratory of Marine Fish Processing, Jinzhou, Liaoning, 121013, China.
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5
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Mu X, Evans TD, Zhang F. ATP biosensor reveals microbial energetic dynamics and facilitates bioproduction. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5299. [PMID: 38906854 PMCID: PMC11192931 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49579-1] [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: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP), the primary energy currency in cellular processes, drives metabolic activities and biosynthesis. Despite its importance, understanding intracellular ATP dynamics' impact on bioproduction and exploiting it for enhanced bioproduction remains largely unexplored. Here, we harness an ATP biosensor to dissect ATP dynamics across different growth phases and carbon sources in multiple microbial strains. We find transient ATP accumulations during the transition from exponential to stationary growth phases in various conditions, coinciding with fatty acid (FA) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production in Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida, respectively. We identify carbon sources (acetate for E. coli, oleate for P. putida) that elevate steady-state ATP levels and boost FA and PHA production. Moreover, we employ ATP dynamics as a diagnostic tool to assess metabolic burden, revealing bottlenecks that limit limonene bioproduction. Our results not only elucidate the relationship between ATP dynamics and bioproduction but also showcase its value in enhancing bioproduction in various microbial species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyue Mu
- Department of Energy Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Trent D Evans
- Department of Energy Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Fuzhong Zhang
- Department of Energy Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
- Division of Biological & Biomedical Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
- Institute of Materials Science & Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
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6
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Rai AK, Sawasato K, Bennett HC, Kozlova A, Sparagna GC, Bogdanov M, Mitchell AM. Genetic evidence for functional diversification of gram-negative intermembrane phospholipid transporters. PLoS Genet 2024; 20:e1011335. [PMID: 38913742 PMCID: PMC11226057 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1011335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Revised: 07/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria is a barrier to chemical and physical stress. Phospholipid transport between the inner and outer membranes has been an area of intense investigation and, in E. coli K-12, it has recently been shown to be mediated by YhdP, TamB, and YdbH, which are suggested to provide hydrophobic channels for phospholipid diffusion, with YhdP and TamB playing the major roles. However, YhdP and TamB have different phenotypes suggesting distinct functions. It remains unclear whether these functions are related to phospholipid metabolism. We investigated a synthetic cold sensitivity caused by deletion of fadR, a transcriptional regulator controlling fatty acid degradation and unsaturated fatty acid production, and yhdP, but not by ΔtamB ΔfadR or ΔydbH ΔfadR. Deletion of tamB recuses the ΔyhdP ΔfadR cold sensitivity further demonstrating the phenotype is related to functional diversification between these genes. The ΔyhdP ΔfadR strain shows a greater increase in cardiolipin upon transfer to the non-permissive temperature and genetically lowering cardiolipin levels can suppress cold sensitivity. These data also reveal a qualitative difference between cardiolipin synthases in E. coli, as deletion of clsA and clsC suppresses cold sensitivity but deletion of clsB does not. Moreover, increased fatty acid saturation is necessary for cold sensitivity and lowering this level genetically or through supplementation of oleic acid suppresses the cold sensitivity of the ΔyhdP ΔfadR strain. Together, our data clearly demonstrate that the diversification of function between YhdP and TamB is related to phospholipid metabolism. Although indirect regulatory effects are possible, we favor the parsimonious hypothesis that YhdP and TamB have differential phospholipid-substrate transport preferences. Thus, our data provide a potential mechanism for independent control of the phospholipid composition of the inner and outer membranes in response to changing conditions based on regulation of abundance or activity of YhdP and TamB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashutosh K. Rai
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Katsuhiro Sawasato
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Haley C. Bennett
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - Anastasiia Kozlova
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Genevieve C. Sparagna
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Mikhail Bogdanov
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, United States of America
| | - Angela M. Mitchell
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
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7
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Rai AK, Sawasato K, Bennett HC, Kozlova A, Sparagna GC, Bogdanov M, Mitchell AM. Genetic evidence for functional diversification of gram-negative intermembrane phospholipid transporters. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.06.21.545913. [PMID: 37745482 PMCID: PMC10515749 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.21.545913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria is a barrier to chemical and physical stress. Phospholipid transport between the inner and outer membranes has been an area of intense investigation and, in E. coli K-12, it has recently been shown to be mediated by YhdP, TamB, and YdbH, which are suggested to provide hydrophobic channels for phospholipid diffusion, with YhdP and TamB playing the major roles. However, YhdP and TamB have different phenotypes suggesting distinct functions. We investigated these functions using synthetic cold sensitivity (at 30 °C) caused by deletion of yhdP and fadR, a transcriptional regulator controlling fatty acid degradation and unsaturated fatty acid production, but not by ΔtamB ΔfadR or ΔydbH ΔfadR,. Deletion of tamB suppresses the ΔyhdP ΔfadR cold sensitivity suggesting this phenotype is related to phospholipid transport. The ΔyhdP ΔfadR strain shows a greater increase in cardiolipin upon transfer to the non-permissive temperature and genetically lowering cardiolipin levels can suppress cold sensitivity. These data also reveal a qualitative difference between cardiolipin synthases in E. coli, as deletion of clsA and clsC suppresses cold sensitivity but deletion of clsB does not despite lower cardiolipin levels. In addition to increased cardiolipin, increased fatty acid saturation is necessary for cold sensitivity and lowering this level genetically or through supplementation of oleic acid suppresses the cold sensitivity of the ΔyhdP ΔfadR strain. Although indirect effects are possible, we favor the parsimonious hypothesis that YhdP and TamB have differential substrate transport preferences, most likely with YhdP preferentially transporting more saturated phospholipids and TamB preferentially transporting more unsaturated phospholipids. We envision cardiolipin contributing to this transport preference by sterically clogging TamB-mediated transport of saturated phospholipids. Thus, our data provide a potential mechanism for independent control of the phospholipid composition of the inner and outer membranes in response to changing conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashutosh K. Rai
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Katsuhiro Sawasato
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Haley C. Bennett
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Anastasiia Kozlova
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Genevieve C. Sparagna
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA
| | - Mikhail Bogdanov
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Angela M. Mitchell
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
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Zhu M, Dai X. Shaping of microbial phenotypes by trade-offs. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4238. [PMID: 38762599 PMCID: PMC11102524 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48591-9] [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: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Growth rate maximization is an important fitness strategy for microbes. However, the wide distribution of slow-growing oligotrophic microbes in ecosystems suggests that rapid growth is often not favored across ecological environments. In many circumstances, there exist trade-offs between growth and other important traits (e.g., adaptability and survival) due to physiological and proteome constraints. Investments on alternative traits could compromise growth rate and microbes need to adopt bet-hedging strategies to improve fitness in fluctuating environments. Here we review the mechanistic role of trade-offs in controlling bacterial growth and further highlight its ecological implications in driving the emergences of many important ecological phenomena such as co-existence, population heterogeneity and oligotrophic/copiotrophic lifestyles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manlu Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Xiongfeng Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, PR China.
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9
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Tjokro NO, Marks CB, Wu A, Chen C. Dormancy-like Phenotype of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans: Survival during Famine. Pathogens 2024; 13:418. [PMID: 38787270 PMCID: PMC11124257 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13050418] [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: 03/03/2024] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Microbes frequently experience nutrient deprivations in the natural environment and may enter dormancy. Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is known to establish long-term infections in humans. This study examined the dormancy-like phenotype of an A. actinomycetemcomitans strain D7S-1 and its isogenic smooth-colony mutant D7SS. A tissue culture medium RPMI-1640 was nutrient-deficient (ND) and unable to support A. actinomycetemcomitans growth. RPMI-1640 amended with bases was nutrient-limited (NL) and supported limited growth of A. actinomycetemcomitans less than the nutrient-enriched (NE) laboratory medium did. Strain D7S-1, after an initial 2-log reduction in viability, maintained viability from day 4 to day 15 in the NL medium. Strain D7SS, after 1-log reduction in viability, maintained viability from day 3 to day 5. In contrast, bacteria in the NE medium were either non-recoverable (D7S-1; >6-log reduction) or continued to lose viability (D7SS; 3-log reduction) on day 5 and beyond. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that A. actinomycetemcomitans in the NL medium formed robust biofilms similar to those in the NE medium but with evidence of stress. A. actinomycetemcomitans in the ND medium revealed scant biofilms and extensive cellular damage. We concluded that A. actinomycetemcomitans grown in the NL medium exhibited a dormancy-like phenotype characterized by minimum growth, prolonged viability, and distinct cellular morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia O. Tjokro
- Department of Endodontics and Periodontics, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, 925 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; (N.O.T.); (A.W.)
| | - Carolyn B. Marks
- Core Center of Excellence in Nano Imaging, University of Southern California, 1002 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA;
| | - Ashley Wu
- Department of Endodontics and Periodontics, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, 925 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; (N.O.T.); (A.W.)
| | - Casey Chen
- Department of Endodontics and Periodontics, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, 925 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; (N.O.T.); (A.W.)
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10
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Okurowska K, Monk PN, Karunakaran E. Increased tolerance to commonly used antibiotics in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa ex vivo porcine keratitis model. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2024; 170:001459. [PMID: 38739119 PMCID: PMC11165664 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Introduction. Bacterial keratitis, particularly caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is challenging to treat because of multi-drug tolerance, often associated with the formation of biofilms. Antibiotics in development are typically evaluated against planktonic bacteria in a culture medium, which may not accurately represent the complexity of infections in vivo.Hypothesis/Gap Statement. Developing a reliable, economic ex vivo keratitis model that replicates some complexity of tissue infections could facilitate a deeper understanding of antibiotic efficacy, thus aiding in the optimization of treatment strategies for bacterial keratitis.Methodology. Here we investigated the efficacy of three commonly used antibiotics (gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and meropenem) against Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytotoxic strain PA14 and invasive strain PA01 using an ex vivo porcine keratitis model.Results. Both strains of P. aeruginosa were susceptible to the MIC of the three tested antibiotics. However, significantly higher concentrations were necessary to inhibit bacterial growth in the minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) assay, with both strains tolerating concentrations greater than 512 mg l-1 of meropenem. When MIC and higher concentrations than MBEC (1024 mg l-1) of antibiotics were applied, ciprofloxacin exhibited the highest potency against both P. aeruginosa strains, followed by meropenem, while gentamicin showed the least potency. Despite this, none of the antibiotic concentrations used effectively cleared the infection, even after 18 h of continuous exposure.Conclusions. Further exploration of antibiotic concentrations and aligning dosing with clinical studies to validate the model is needed. Nonetheless, our ex vivo porcine keratitis model could be a valuable tool for assessing antibiotic efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarzyna Okurowska
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
- National Institute for Health and Care Research, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Peter N. Monk
- Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Esther Karunakaran
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
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11
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Yamada M. Molecular basis and functional development of membrane-based microbial metabolism. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2024; 88:461-474. [PMID: 38366612 DOI: 10.1093/bbb/zbae018] [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: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
My research interest has so far been focused on metabolisms related to the "membrane" of microorganisms, such as the respiratory chain, membrane proteins, sugar uptake, membrane stress and cell lysis, and fermentation. These basic metabolisms are important for the growth and survival of cell, and their knowledge can be used for efficient production of useful materials. Notable achievements in research on metabolisms are elucidation of the structure and function of membrane-bound glucose dehydrogenase as a primary enzyme in the respiratory chain, elucidation of ingenious expression regulation of several operons or by divergent promoters, elucidation of stress-induced programed-cell lysis and its requirement for survival during a long-term stationary phase, elucidation of molecular mechanism of survival at a critical high temperature, elucidation of thermal adaptation and its limit, isolation of thermotolerant fermenting yeast strains, and development of high-temperature fermentation and green energy production technologies. These achievements are described together in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mamoru Yamada
- Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation, and Research Center for Thermotolerant Microbial Resources, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan
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12
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Zheng EJ, Valeri JA, Andrews IW, Krishnan A, Bandyopadhyay P, Anahtar MN, Herneisen A, Schulte F, Linnehan B, Wong F, Stokes JM, Renner LD, Lourido S, Collins JJ. Discovery of antibiotics that selectively kill metabolically dormant bacteria. Cell Chem Biol 2024; 31:712-728.e9. [PMID: 38029756 PMCID: PMC11031330 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2023.10.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
There is a need to discover and develop non-toxic antibiotics that are effective against metabolically dormant bacteria, which underlie chronic infections and promote antibiotic resistance. Traditional antibiotic discovery has historically favored compounds effective against actively metabolizing cells, a property that is not predictive of efficacy in metabolically inactive contexts. Here, we combine a stationary-phase screening method with deep learning-powered virtual screens and toxicity filtering to discover compounds with lethality against metabolically dormant bacteria and favorable toxicity profiles. The most potent and structurally distinct compound without any obvious mechanistic liability was semapimod, an anti-inflammatory drug effective against stationary-phase E. coli and A. baumannii. Integrating microbiological assays, biochemical measurements, and single-cell microscopy, we show that semapimod selectively disrupts and permeabilizes the bacterial outer membrane by binding lipopolysaccharide. This work illustrates the value of harnessing non-traditional screening methods and deep learning models to identify non-toxic antibacterial compounds that are effective in infection-relevant contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica J Zheng
- Program in Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jacqueline A Valeri
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ian W Andrews
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Aarti Krishnan
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Parijat Bandyopadhyay
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Melis N Anahtar
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Alice Herneisen
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biology, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Fabian Schulte
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Brooke Linnehan
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Felix Wong
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Jonathan M Stokes
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 3Z5, Canada
| | - Lars D Renner
- Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research and the Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Sebastian Lourido
- Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Department of Biology, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - James J Collins
- Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering & Science, Department of Biological Engineering, and Synthetic Biology Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
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13
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Chodkowski JL, Shade A. Bioactive exometabolites drive maintenance competition in simple bacterial communities. mSystems 2024; 9:e0006424. [PMID: 38470039 PMCID: PMC11019792 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00064-24] [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: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
During prolonged resource limitation, bacterial cells can persist in metabolically active states of non-growth. These maintenance periods, such as those experienced in stationary phase, can include upregulation of secondary metabolism and release of exometabolites into the local environment. As resource limitation is common in many environmental microbial habitats, we hypothesized that neighboring bacterial populations employ exometabolites to compete or cooperate during maintenance and that these exometabolite-facilitated interactions can drive community outcomes. Here, we evaluated the consequences of exometabolite interactions over the stationary phase among three environmental strains: Burkholderia thailandensis E264, Chromobacterium subtsugae ATCC 31532, and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. We assembled them into synthetic communities that only permitted chemical interactions. We compared the responses (transcripts) and outputs (exometabolites) of each member with and without neighbors. We found that transcriptional dynamics were changed with different neighbors and that some of these changes were coordinated between members. The dominant competitor B. thailandensis consistently upregulated biosynthetic gene clusters to produce bioactive exometabolites for both exploitative and interference competition. These results demonstrate that competition strategies during maintenance can contribute to community-level outcomes. It also suggests that the traditional concept of defining competitiveness by growth outcomes may be narrow and that maintenance competition could be an additional or alternative measure. IMPORTANCE Free-living microbial populations often persist and engage in environments that offer few or inconsistently available resources. Thus, it is important to investigate microbial interactions in this common and ecologically relevant condition of non-growth. This work investigates the consequences of resource limitation for community metabolic output and for population interactions in simple synthetic bacterial communities. Despite non-growth, we observed active, exometabolite-mediated competition among the bacterial populations. Many of these interactions and produced exometabolites were dependent on the community composition but we also observed that one dominant competitor consistently produced interfering exometabolites regardless. These results are important for predicting and understanding microbial interactions in resource-limited environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- John L. Chodkowski
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Ashley Shade
- Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Microbienne, UMR CNRS 5557, UMR INRAE 1418, VetAgro Sup, Villeurbanne, France
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Berisio R, Barra G, Napolitano V, Privitera M, Romano M, Squeglia F, Ruggiero A. HtpG-A Major Virulence Factor and a Promising Vaccine Antigen against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Biomolecules 2024; 14:471. [PMID: 38672487 PMCID: PMC11048413 DOI: 10.3390/biom14040471] [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: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading global cause of death f rom an infectious bacterial agent. Therefore, limiting its epidemic spread is a pressing global health priority. The chaperone-like protein HtpG of M. tuberculosis (Mtb) is a large dimeric and multi-domain protein with a key role in Mtb pathogenesis and promising antigenic properties. This dual role, likely associated with the ability of Heat Shock proteins to act both intra- and extra-cellularly, makes HtpG highly exploitable both for drug and vaccine development. This review aims to gather the latest updates in HtpG structure and biological function, with HtpG operating in conjunction with a large number of chaperone molecules of Mtb. Altogether, these molecules help Mtb recovery after exposure to host-like stress by assisting the whole path of protein folding rescue, from the solubilisation of aggregated proteins to their refolding. Also, we highlight the role of structural biology in the development of safer and more effective subunit antigens. The larger availability of structural information on Mtb antigens and a better understanding of the host immune response to TB infection will aid the acceleration of TB vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Berisio
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, IBB, CNR, Via Pietro Castellino 111, I-80131 Naples, Italy; (G.B.); (V.N.); (M.P.); (M.R.); (F.S.)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Alessia Ruggiero
- Institute of Biostructures and Bioimaging, IBB, CNR, Via Pietro Castellino 111, I-80131 Naples, Italy; (G.B.); (V.N.); (M.P.); (M.R.); (F.S.)
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15
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Hernandez DM, Marzouk M, Cole M, Fortoul MC, Kethireddy SR, Contractor R, Islam H, Moulder T, Kalifa AR, Meneses EM, Mendoza MB, Thomas R, Masud S, Pubien S, Milanes P, Diaz-Tang G, Lopatkin AJ, Smith RP. Purine and pyrimidine synthesis differently affect the strength of the inoculum effect for aminoglycoside and β-lactam antibiotics. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.09.588696. [PMID: 38645041 PMCID: PMC11030397 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.09.588696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
The inoculum effect has been observed for nearly all antibiotics and bacterial species. However, explanations accounting for its occurrence and strength are lacking. We previously found that growth productivity, which captures the relationship between [ATP] and growth, can account for the strength of the inoculum effect for bactericidal antibiotics. However, the molecular pathway(s) underlying this relationship, and therefore determining the inoculum effect, remain undiscovered. We show that nucleotide synthesis can determine the relationship between [ATP] and growth, and thus the strength of inoculum effect in an antibiotic class-dependent manner. Specifically, and separate from activity through the tricarboxylic acid cycle, we find that transcriptional activity of genes involved in purine and pyrimidine synthesis can predict the strength of the inoculum effect for β-lactam and aminoglycosides antibiotics, respectively. Our work highlights the antibiotic class-specific effect of purine and pyrimidine synthesis on the severity of the inoculum effect and paves the way for intervention strategies to reduce the inoculum effect in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniella M. Hernandez
- Cell Therapy Institute, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Melissa Marzouk
- Cell Therapy Institute, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
- Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Science, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Madeline Cole
- Department of Medical Education, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Marla C. Fortoul
- Department of Medical Education, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Saipranavi Reddy Kethireddy
- Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Science, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Rehan Contractor
- Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Science, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Habibul Islam
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester; Rochester, NY 14627; USA
| | - Trent Moulder
- Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Science, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Ariane R. Kalifa
- Cell Therapy Institute, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
- Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Science, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Estefania Marin Meneses
- Cell Therapy Institute, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
- Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Science, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Maximiliano Barbosa Mendoza
- Cell Therapy Institute, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Ruth Thomas
- Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Science, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Saad Masud
- Department of Medical Education, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Sheena Pubien
- Department of Medical Education, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Patricia Milanes
- Department of Medical Education, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Gabriela Diaz-Tang
- Cell Therapy Institute, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
- Department of Biological Sciences, Halmos College of Arts and Science, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
| | - Allison J. Lopatkin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester; Rochester, NY 14627; USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Rochester Medical Center; Rochester, NY 14627; USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester Medical Center; Rochester, NY 14627; USA
| | - Robert P. Smith
- Cell Therapy Institute, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
- Department of Medical Education, Kiran Patel College of Allopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33314
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16
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Behringer MG, Ho WC, Miller SF, Worthan SB, Cen Z, Stikeleather R, Lynch M. Trade-offs, trade-ups, and high mutational parallelism underlie microbial adaptation during extreme cycles of feast and famine. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1403-1413.e5. [PMID: 38460514 PMCID: PMC11066936 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
Microbes are evolutionarily robust organisms capable of rapid adaptation to complex stress, which enables them to colonize harsh environments. In nature, microbes are regularly challenged by starvation, which is a particularly complex stress because resource limitation often co-occurs with changes in pH, osmolarity, and toxin accumulation created by metabolic waste. Often overlooked are the additional complications introduced by eventual resource replenishment, as successful microbes must withstand rapid environmental shifts before swiftly capitalizing on replenished resources to avoid invasion by competing species. To understand how microbes navigate trade-offs between growth and survival, ultimately adapting to thrive in environments with extreme fluctuations, we experimentally evolved 16 Escherichia coli populations for 900 days in repeated feast/famine conditions with cycles of 100-day starvation before resource replenishment. Using longitudinal population-genomic analysis, we found that evolution in response to extreme feast/famine is characterized by narrow adaptive trajectories with high mutational parallelism and notable mutational order. Genetic reconstructions reveal that early mutations result in trade-offs for biofilm and motility but trade-ups for growth and survival, as these mutations conferred positively correlated advantages during both short-term and long-term culture. Our results demonstrate how microbes can navigate the adaptive landscapes of regularly fluctuating conditions and ultimately follow mutational trajectories that confer benefits across diverse environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan G Behringer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 21st Avenue S, Nashville, TN 37232, USA; Department of Pathology Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 21st Avenue S, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
| | - Wei-Chin Ho
- Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, S McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; Department of Biology, University of Texas at Tyler, University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75799, USA.
| | - Samuel F Miller
- Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, S McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Sarah B Worthan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 21st Avenue S, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Zeer Cen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 21st Avenue S, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Ryan Stikeleather
- Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, S McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Michael Lynch
- Biodesign Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Arizona State University, S McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
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17
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Yamagishi JF, Kaneko K. Universal Transitions between Growth and Dormancy via Intermediate Complex Formation. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2024; 132:118401. [PMID: 38563921 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.132.118401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
A simple cell model consisting of a catalytic reaction network with intermediate complex formation is numerically studied. As nutrients are depleted, the transition from the exponential growth phase to the growth-arrested dormant phase occurs along with hysteresis and a lag time for growth recovery. This transition is caused by the accumulation of intermediate complexes, leading to the jamming of reactions and the diversification of components. These properties are generic in random reaction networks, as supported by dynamical systems analyses of corresponding mean-field models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jumpei F Yamagishi
- Department of Basic Science, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
| | - Kunihiko Kaneko
- Center for Complex Systems Biology, Universal Biology Institute, University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0041, Japan
- Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 17, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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18
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Tang S, Liu Y, Zhu J, Cheng X, Liu L, Hammerschmidt K, Zhou J, Cai Z. Bet hedging in a unicellular microalga. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2063. [PMID: 38453919 PMCID: PMC10920660 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46297-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding how organisms have adapted to persist in unpredictable environments is a fundamental goal in biology. Bet hedging, an evolutionary adaptation observed from microbes to humans, facilitates reproduction and population persistence in randomly fluctuating environments. Despite its prevalence, empirical evidence in microalgae, crucial primary producers and carbon sinks, is lacking. Here, we report a bet-hedging strategy in the unicellular microalga Haematococcus pluvialis. We show that isogenic populations reversibly diversify into heterophenotypic mobile and non-mobile cells independently of environmental conditions, likely driven by stochastic gene expression. Mobile cells grow faster but are stress-sensitive, while non-mobile cells prioritise stress resistance over growth. This is due to shifts from growth-promoting activities (cell division, photosynthesis) to resilience-promoting processes (thickened cell wall, cell enlargement, aggregation, accumulation of antioxidant and energy-storing compounds). Our results provide empirical evidence for bet hedging in a microalga, indicating the potential for adaptation to current and future environmental conditions and consequently conservation of ecosystem functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Si Tang
- Shenzhen Public Platform for Screening and Application of Marine Microbial Resources, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong Province, PR China
| | - Yaqing Liu
- Shenzhen Public Platform for Screening and Application of Marine Microbial Resources, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong Province, PR China
| | - Jianming Zhu
- Shenzhen Public Platform for Screening and Application of Marine Microbial Resources, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong Province, PR China
| | - Xueyu Cheng
- Shenzhen Public Platform for Screening and Application of Marine Microbial Resources, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong Province, PR China
| | - Lu Liu
- Shenzhen Public Platform for Screening and Application of Marine Microbial Resources, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong Province, PR China
| | | | - Jin Zhou
- Shenzhen Public Platform for Screening and Application of Marine Microbial Resources, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong Province, PR China.
| | - Zhonghua Cai
- Shenzhen Public Platform for Screening and Application of Marine Microbial Resources, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong Province, PR China.
- Technology Innovation Center for Marine Ecology and Human Factor Assessment of Natural Resources Ministry, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong Province, PR China.
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19
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Wu Y, Liu X, Liang D, Li D, Li J, Guo W, Wang X. Carbon metabolism characteristics of quorum quenching bacteria Rhodococcus sp. BH4 determine the bioaugmentation efficiency under different carbon source conditions. WATER RESEARCH 2024; 251:121168. [PMID: 38266439 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Carbon sources are critical factors influencing bacterial bioaugmentation, however, the underlying mechanisms, particularly the metabolic characteristics of bioaugmented bacteria remain poorly understood. The bioaugmented bacterium Rhodococcus sp. BH4 secretes the quorum quenching (QQ) enzyme QsdA to disrupt the quorum sensing (QS) in the activated sludge (AS) process, reducing AS yield in-situ. This study investigated the carbon metabolic characteristics of BH4 and explored the effects on bioaugmentation with different influent carbon sources. Because of the absence of glucose-specific phosphoenol phosphotransferase system (PTS), BH4 prefers sodium acetate to glucose. However, the lactones produced during extracellular glucose metabolism enhance BH4 qsdA expression. Moreover, BH4 possess carbon catabolite repression (CCR), acetate inhibits glucose utilization. BH4 microbeads were added to reactors with different carbon sources (R1: sodium acetate; R2: glucose; R3: a mixture of sodium acetate and glucose) for in-situ AS yield reduction. During operation, AS reduction efficiency decreased in the following order: R1 > R3 > R2. R2 and R3 microbeads exhibited similar QQ activity to R1, with less BH4 biomass at 5 d. 13C labeling and Michaelis-Menten equation showed that, due to differences in the competitiveness of carbon sources, R1 BH4 obtained the most carbon, whereas R2 BH4 obtained the least carbon. Moreover, acetate inhibited glucose utilization of R3 BH4. Transcriptome analysis showed that R1 BH4 qsdA expression was the lowest, R2 BH4 was the most serious form of programmed cell death, and the R3 BH4 PTS pathway was inhibited. At 10 d, R1 BH4 biomass and microbead QQ activity were higher than that in R3, and the R2 BH4 lost viability and QQ activity. This study provides new insights into bioaugmentation from the perspectives of carbon source competitiveness, carbon metabolism pathways, and CCR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaodong Wu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan 100, Chaoyang, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Xiaohui Liu
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan 100, Chaoyang, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Dongbo Liang
- China Urban Construction Design & Research Institute CO., LTD. Beijing 100120, China
| | - Dongyue Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan 100, Chaoyang, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Jun Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan 100, Chaoyang, Beijing 100124, China.
| | - Wei Guo
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan 100, Chaoyang, Beijing 100124, China.
| | - Xiujie Wang
- The College of environmental and chemical engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212100, China
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20
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Liao J, Yeong V, Obermeyer AC. Charge-Patterned Disordered Peptides Tune Intracellular Phase Separation in Bacteria. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:598-612. [PMID: 38308651 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00564] [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] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
Subcellular phase-separated compartments, known as biomolecular condensates, play an important role in the spatiotemporal organization of cells. To understand the sequence-determinants of phase separation in bacteria, we engineered protein-based condensates in Escherichia coli using electrostatic interactions as the main driving force. Minimal cationic disordered peptides were used to supercharge negative, neutral, and positive globular model proteins, enabling their phase separation with anionic biomacromolecules in the cell. The phase behavior was governed by the interaction strength between the cationic proteins and anionic biopolymers, in addition to the protein concentration. The interaction strength primarily depended on the overall net charge of the protein, but the distribution of charge between the globular and disordered domains also had an impact. Notably, the protein charge distribution between domains could tune mesoscale attributes such as the size, number, and subcellular localization of condensates within E. coli cells. The length and charge density of the disordered peptides had significant effects on protein expression levels, ultimately influencing the formation of condensates. Taken together, charge-patterned disordered peptides provide a platform for understanding the molecular grammar underlying phase separation in bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane Liao
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Vivian Yeong
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Allie C Obermeyer
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
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21
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Dolcemascolo R, Heras-Hernández M, Goiriz L, Montagud-Martínez R, Requena-Menéndez A, Ruiz R, Pérez-Ràfols A, Higuera-Rodríguez RA, Pérez-Ropero G, Vranken WF, Martelli T, Kaiser W, Buijs J, Rodrigo G. Repurposing the mammalian RNA-binding protein Musashi-1 as an allosteric translation repressor in bacteria. eLife 2024; 12:RP91777. [PMID: 38363283 PMCID: PMC10942595 DOI: 10.7554/elife.91777] [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] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The RNA recognition motif (RRM) is the most common RNA-binding protein domain identified in nature. However, RRM-containing proteins are only prevalent in eukaryotic phyla, in which they play central regulatory roles. Here, we engineered an orthogonal post-transcriptional control system of gene expression in the bacterium Escherichia coli with the mammalian RNA-binding protein Musashi-1, which is a stem cell marker with neurodevelopmental role that contains two canonical RRMs. In the circuit, Musashi-1 is regulated transcriptionally and works as an allosteric translation repressor thanks to a specific interaction with the N-terminal coding region of a messenger RNA and its structural plasticity to respond to fatty acids. We fully characterized the genetic system at the population and single-cell levels showing a significant fold change in reporter expression, and the underlying molecular mechanism by assessing the in vitro binding kinetics and in vivo functionality of a series of RNA mutants. The dynamic response of the system was well recapitulated by a bottom-up mathematical model. Moreover, we applied the post-transcriptional mechanism engineered with Musashi-1 to specifically regulate a gene within an operon, implement combinatorial regulation, and reduce protein expression noise. This work illustrates how RRM-based regulation can be adapted to simple organisms, thereby adding a new regulatory layer in prokaryotes for translation control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roswitha Dolcemascolo
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), CSIC – University of ValenciaPaternaSpain
- Department of Biotechnology, Polytechnic University of ValenciaValenciaSpain
| | - María Heras-Hernández
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), CSIC – University of ValenciaPaternaSpain
| | - Lucas Goiriz
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), CSIC – University of ValenciaPaternaSpain
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Polytechnic University of ValenciaValenciaSpain
| | - Roser Montagud-Martínez
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), CSIC – University of ValenciaPaternaSpain
- Department of Biotechnology, Polytechnic University of ValenciaValenciaSpain
| | | | - Raúl Ruiz
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), CSIC – University of ValenciaPaternaSpain
| | - Anna Pérez-Ràfols
- Giotto Biotech SRLSesto FiorentinoItaly
- Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM), Department of Chemistry Ugo Schiff, Consorzio Interuniversitario Risonanze Magnetiche di Metalloproteine (CIRMMP), University of FlorenceSesto FiorentinoItaly
| | - R Anahí Higuera-Rodríguez
- Dynamic Biosensors GmbHPlaneggGermany
- Department of Physics, Technical University of MunichGarchingGermany
| | - Guillermo Pérez-Ropero
- Ridgeview Instruments ABUppsalaSweden
- Department of Chemistry – BMC, Uppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden
| | - Wim F Vranken
- Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit BrusselBrusselsBelgium
- Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels, Université Libre de Bruxelles – Vrije Universiteit BrusselBrusselsBelgium
| | | | | | - Jos Buijs
- Ridgeview Instruments ABUppsalaSweden
- Department of Immunology, Genetics, and Pathology, Uppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden
| | - Guillermo Rodrigo
- Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), CSIC – University of ValenciaPaternaSpain
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22
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Chatterjee P, Chauhan N, Jain U. Confronting antibiotic-resistant pathogens: Distinctive drug delivery potentials of progressive nanoparticles. Microb Pathog 2024; 187:106499. [PMID: 38097117 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2023.106499] [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: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance arises over time, usually due to genetic modifications. Global observations of high resistance rates to popular antibiotics used to treat common bacterial diseases, such as diarrhea, STIs, sepsis, and urinary tract infections, indicate that our supply of effective antibiotics is running low. The mechanisms of action of several antibiotic groups are covered in this review. Antimicrobials disrupt the development and metabolism of bacteria, leading to their eventual death. However, in recent years, microorganisms become resistant to the drugs. Bacteria encode resistant genes against antibiotics and inhibit the function of antibiotics by reducing the uptake of drugs, modifying the enzyme's active site, synthesizing enzymes to degrade antibiotics, and changing the structure of ribosomal subunits. Additionally, the methods of action of resistant bacteria against different kinds of antibiotics as well as their modes of action are discussed. Besides, the resistant pathogenic bacteria which get the most priority by World Health Organisation (WHO) for synthesizing new drugs, have also been incorporated. To overcome antimicrobial resistance, nanomaterials are used to increase the efficacy of antimicrobial drugs. Metallic, inorganic, and polymer-based nanoparticles once conjugated with antibacterial drugs, exhibit synergistic effects by increasing the efficacy of the drugs by inhibiting bacterial growth. Nanomaterial's toxic properties are proportional to their concentrations. Higher concentration nanomaterials are more toxic to the cells. In this review, the toxic properties of nanomaterials on lung cells, lymph nodes, and neuronal cells are also summarized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pallabi Chatterjee
- School of Health Sciences & Technology (SoHST), University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Bidholi, 248007, Dehradun, India
| | - Nidhi Chauhan
- School of Health Sciences & Technology (SoHST), University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Bidholi, 248007, Dehradun, India
| | - Utkarsh Jain
- School of Health Sciences & Technology (SoHST), University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Bidholi, 248007, Dehradun, India.
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23
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Narla AV, Hwa T, Murugan A. Dynamic coexistence driven by physiological transitions in microbial communities. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.10.575059. [PMID: 38260536 PMCID: PMC10802591 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.10.575059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Microbial ecosystems are commonly modeled by fixed interactions between species in steady exponential growth states. However, microbes often modify their environments so strongly that they are forced out of the exponential state into stressed or non-growing states. Such dynamics are typical of ecological succession in nature and serial-dilution cycles in the laboratory. Here, we introduce a phenomenological model, the Community State model, to gain insight into the dynamic coexistence of microbes due to changes in their physiological states. Our model bypasses specific interactions (e.g., nutrient starvation, stress, aggregation) that lead to different combinations of physiological states, referred to collectively as "community states", and modeled by specifying the growth preference of each species along a global ecological coordinate, taken here to be the total community biomass density. We identify three key features of such dynamical communities that contrast starkly with steady-state communities: increased tolerance of community diversity to fast growth rates of species dominating different community states, enhanced community stability through staggered dominance of different species in different community states, and increased requirement on growth dominance for the inclusion of late-growing species. These features, derived explicitly for simplified models, are proposed here to be principles aiding the understanding of complex dynamical communities. Our model shifts the focus of ecosystem dynamics from bottom-up studies based on idealized inter-species interaction to top-down studies based on accessible macroscopic observables such as growth rates and total biomass density, enabling quantitative examination of community-wide characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Terence Hwa
- Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego
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24
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Maffei E, Woischnig AK, Burkolter MR, Heyer Y, Humolli D, Thürkauf N, Bock T, Schmidt A, Manfredi P, Egli A, Khanna N, Jenal U, Harms A. Phage Paride can kill dormant, antibiotic-tolerant cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by direct lytic replication. Nat Commun 2024; 15:175. [PMID: 38168031 PMCID: PMC10761892 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44157-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Bacteriophages are ubiquitous viral predators that have primarily been studied using fast-growing laboratory cultures of their bacterial hosts. However, microbial life in nature is mostly in a slow- or non-growing, dormant state. Here, we show that diverse phages can infect deep-dormant bacteria and suspend their replication until the host resuscitates ("hibernation"). However, a newly isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage, named Paride, can directly replicate and induce the lysis of deep-dormant hosts. While non-growing bacteria are notoriously tolerant to antibiotic drugs, the combination with Paride enables the carbapenem meropenem to eradicate deep-dormant cultures in vitro and to reduce a resilient bacterial infection of a tissue cage implant in mice. Our work might inspire new treatments for persistent bacterial infections and, more broadly, highlights two viral strategies to infect dormant bacteria (hibernation and direct replication) that will guide future studies on phage-host interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enea Maffei
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, D-HEST, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Anne-Kathrin Woischnig
- Laboratory of Infection Biology, Department of Biomedicine, University and University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Marco R Burkolter
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, D-HEST, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Yannik Heyer
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dorentina Humolli
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, D-HEST, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Thomas Bock
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Adrian Egli
- Division of Clinical Bacteriology and Mycology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Applied Microbiology Research, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University and University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Nina Khanna
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, D-HEST, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Laboratory of Infection Biology, Department of Biomedicine, University and University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Urs Jenal
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alexander Harms
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
- Institute of Food, Nutrition and Health, D-HEST, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
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25
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Favate JS, Skalenko KS, Chiles E, Su X, Yadavalli SS, Shah P. Linking genotypic and phenotypic changes in the E. coli long-term evolution experiment using metabolomics. eLife 2023; 12:RP87039. [PMID: 37991493 PMCID: PMC10665018 DOI: 10.7554/elife.87039] [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] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Changes in an organism's environment, genome, or gene expression patterns can lead to changes in its metabolism. The metabolic phenotype can be under selection and contributes to adaptation. However, the networked and convoluted nature of an organism's metabolism makes relating mutations, metabolic changes, and effects on fitness challenging. To overcome this challenge, we use the long-term evolution experiment (LTEE) with E. coli as a model to understand how mutations can eventually affect metabolism and perhaps fitness. We used mass spectrometry to broadly survey the metabolomes of the ancestral strains and all 12 evolved lines. We combined this metabolic data with mutation and expression data to suggest how mutations that alter specific reaction pathways, such as the biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, might increase fitness in the system. Our work provides a better understanding of how mutations might affect fitness through the metabolic changes in the LTEE and thus provides a major step in developing a complete genotype-phenotype map for this experimental system.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Favate
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers UniversityPiscatawayUnited States
- Human Genetics Institute of New JerseyPiscatawayUnited States
| | - Kyle S Skalenko
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers UniversityPiscatawayUnited States
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers UniversityPiscatawayUnited States
| | - Eric Chiles
- Cancer Institute of New JerseyNew BrunswickUnited States
| | - Xiaoyang Su
- Cancer Institute of New JerseyNew BrunswickUnited States
| | - Srujana Samhita Yadavalli
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers UniversityPiscatawayUnited States
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers UniversityPiscatawayUnited States
| | - Premal Shah
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers UniversityPiscatawayUnited States
- Human Genetics Institute of New JerseyPiscatawayUnited States
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26
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Donkor L, Affrifah NS, Kunadu APH, Kwofie S, Yeboah S, Kuditchar B. Modelling the Survival of Acid-Adapted and Nonadapted Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Burkina: A Western African Traditional Fermented Milk Product. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE 2023; 2023:1011319. [PMID: 38025392 PMCID: PMC10681757 DOI: 10.1155/2023/1011319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Burkina, a traditional fermented dairy product, is consumed in most parts of West Africa, including Ghana. Studies on the microflora of Burkina have indicated the presence of Escherichia coli and other pathogenic organisms. Thus, predicting the survival of E. coli in the product will inform the best manufacturing and handling practices. This study investigated the combined effect of storage temperature and time on the survival of acid-adapted and acid-non-adapted E. coli O157:H7 in Burkina. Samples were pasteurised and inoculated with acid-adapted or acid-non-adapted E. coli O157:H7. They were stored at 5, 15, and 30°C for 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 18, and 48 h, and the bacteria colonies were enumerated. Growth rate (survival versus time) models were developed using MATLAB software. Observed data were fitted to the Baranyi model using the DMFit curve fitting software. The E. coli O157:H7 strain appeared inherently tolerant to acid, with storage time having the most significant effect on the response parameter, survival (log CFU/mL). A negative correlation was observed for the primary models (survival versus time), which accounted for 79-97% of the relationship (p < 0.05). Although E. coli survived, its growth was inhibited over time regardless of acid adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leticia Donkor
- Department of Food Process Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, P. O. Box LG 77, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Nicole Sharon Affrifah
- Department of Food Process Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, P. O. Box LG 77, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Angela Parry-Hanson Kunadu
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, P. O. Box LG 134, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Samuel Kwofie
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, PMB, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Stephen Yeboah
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, P. O. Box LG 134, Legon, Accra, Ghana
| | - Bernard Kuditchar
- Department of Computer Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, P. O. Box LG 1181, Legon, Accra, Ghana
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27
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Thani AB. DNA supercoiling and regulation of intrinsic β-lactamase in pathogenic Escherichia coli. Arch Microbiol 2023; 205:385. [PMID: 37980630 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-023-03716-4] [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: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023]
Abstract
This review addresses the involvement of DNA supercoiling in the development of virulence and antibiotic profiles for uropathogenic Escherichia coli and the emergence of new pathotypes such as strain ST131 (serotype O25:H4). The mechanism suggests a role for topoisomerase enzymes and associated mutations in altering the chromosomal supercoiling state and introducing the required DNA twists for expression of intrinsic β-lactamase by ampC and certain virulence factors. In Escherichia coli, constitutive hyperexpression of intrinsic ampC is associated with specific mutations in the promoter and attenuator regions. However, many reports have documented the involvement of slow growth interventions in the expression of intrinsic resistance determinants. There is evidence that a stationary phase transcriptional switch protein, "BolA," is involved in the expression of the intrinsic ampC gene under starvation conditions. The process involves changes in the activity of the enzyme "gyrase," which leads to a change in the chromosomal DNA topology. Consequently, the DNA is relaxed, and the expression of the bolA gene is upregulated. The evolution of the extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli strain ST131 has demonstrated successful adaptability to various stress conditions and conferred compensatory mutations that endowed the microbe with resistance to fluoroquinolones and β-lactams. The results of this study provided new insights into the evidence for the influence of DNA topology in the expression of virulence genes and various determinants of antibiotic resistance (e.g., the intrinsic ampC gene) in Escherichia coli pathotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Bin Thani
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Zallaq, Kingdom of Bahrain.
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28
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Mortier J, Govers SK, Cambré A, Van Eyken R, Verheul J, den Blaauwen T, Aertsen A. Protein aggregates act as a deterministic disruptor during bacterial cell size homeostasis. Cell Mol Life Sci 2023; 80:360. [PMID: 37971522 PMCID: PMC11072981 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-023-05002-4] [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: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Mechanisms underlying deviant cell size fluctuations among clonal bacterial siblings are generally considered to be cryptic and stochastic in nature. However, by scrutinizing heat-stressed populations of the model bacterium Escherichia coli, we uncovered the existence of a deterministic asymmetry in cell division that is caused by the presence of intracellular protein aggregates (PAs). While these structures typically locate at the cell pole and segregate asymmetrically among daughter cells, we now show that the presence of a polar PA consistently causes a more distal off-center positioning of the FtsZ division septum. The resulting increased length of PA-inheriting siblings persists over multiple generations and could be observed in both E. coli and Bacillus subtilis populations. Closer investigation suggests that a PA can physically perturb the nucleoid structure, which subsequently leads to asymmetric septation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Mortier
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sander K Govers
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alexander Cambré
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ronald Van Eyken
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jolanda Verheul
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Bacterial Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Tanneke den Blaauwen
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Bacterial Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Abram Aertsen
- Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
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29
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Farfan Pajuelo DG, Carpio Mamani M, Maraza Choque GJ, Chachaque Callo DM, Cáceda Quiroz CJ. Effect of Lyoprotective Agents on the Preservation of Survival of a Bacillus cereus Strain PBG in the Freeze-Drying Process. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2705. [PMID: 38004717 PMCID: PMC10673073 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112705] [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: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Lyophilization is a widely employed long-term preservation method in which the bacterial survival rate largely depends on the cryoprotectant used. Bacillus cereus strain PBC was selected for its ability to thrive in environments contaminated with arsenic, lead, and cadmium, tolerate 500 ppm of free cyanide, and the presence of genes such as ars, cad, ppa, dap, among others, associated with the bioremediation of toxic compounds and enterotoxins (nheA, nheB, nheC). Following lyophilization, the survival rates for Mannitol 2.5%, Mannitol 10%, and Glucose 1% were 98.02%, 97.12%, and 96.30%, respectively, with the rates being lower than 95% for other sugars. However, during storage, for the same sugars, the survival rates were 78.71%, 97.12%, and 99.97%, respectively. In the cake morphology, it was found that the lyophilized morphology showed no relationship with bacterial survival rate. The best cryoprotectant for the PBC strain was 1% glucose since it maintained constant and elevated bacterial growth rates during storage, ensuring that the unique characteristics of the bacterium were preserved over time. These findings hold significant implications for research as they report a new Bacillus cereus strain with the potential to be utilized in bioremediation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - César Julio Cáceda Quiroz
- Bioremediation Laboratory, Jorge Basadre Grohmann National University, Tacna 230001, Peru; (D.G.F.P.); (M.C.M.); (G.J.M.C.); (D.M.C.C.)
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30
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Zhang J, Zheng M, Tang Z, Zhong S, Bu T, Li Q. The Regulatory Functions of the Multiple Alternative Sigma Factors RpoE, RpoHI, and RpoHII Depend on the Growth Phase in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2678. [PMID: 38004690 PMCID: PMC10673084 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112678] [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: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial growth, under laboratory conditions or in a natural environment, goes through different growth phases. Some gene expressions are regulated with respect to the growth phase, which allows bacteria to adapt to changing conditions. Among them, many gene transcriptions are controlled by RpoHI or RpoHII in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. In a previous study, it was proven that the alternative sigma factors, RpoE, RpoHI, and RpoHII, are the major regulators of oxidative stress. Moreover, the growth of bacteria reached a stationary phase, and following the outgrowth, rpoE, rpoHI, and rpoHII mRNAs increased with respect to the growth phase. In this study, we demonstrated the regulatory function of alternative sigma factors in the rsp_0557 gene. The gene rsp_0557 is expressed with respect to the growth phase and belongs to the RpoHI/RpoHII regulons. Reporter assays showed that the antisigma factor ChrR turns on or over the RpoE activity to regulate rsp_0557 expression across the growth phase. In the exponential phase, RpoHII and sRNA Pos19 regulate the expression of rsp_0557 to an appropriate level under RpoE control. In the stationary phase, RpoHI and Pos19 stabilize the transcription of rsp_0557 at a high level. During outgrowth, RpoHI negatively regulates the transcription of rsp_0557. Taken together, our data indicate that these regulators are recruited by cells to adapt to or survive under different conditions throughout the growth phase. However, they still did not display all of the regulators involved in growth phase-dependent regulation. More research is still needed to learn more about the interaction between the regulators and the process of adapting to changed growth conditions and environments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Qingfeng Li
- College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya’an 625014, China; (J.Z.); (M.Z.); (Z.T.); (S.Z.); (T.B.)
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31
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Knapp BD, Willis L, Gonzalez C, Vashistha H, Touma JJ, Tikhonov M, Ram J, Salman H, Elias JE, Huang KC. Metabolomic rearrangement controls the intrinsic microbial response to temperature changes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.22.550177. [PMID: 37546722 PMCID: PMC10401945 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.22.550177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Temperature is one of the key determinants of microbial behavior and survival, whose impact is typically studied under heat- or cold-shock conditions that elicit specific regulation to combat lethal stress. At intermediate temperatures, cellular growth rate varies according to the Arrhenius law of thermodynamics without stress responses, a behavior whose origins have not yet been elucidated. Using single-cell microscopy during temperature perturbations, we show that bacteria exhibit a highly conserved, gradual response to temperature upshifts with a time scale of ~1.5 doublings at the higher temperature, regardless of initial/final temperature or nutrient source. We find that this behavior is coupled to a temperature memory, which we rule out as being neither transcriptional, translational, nor membrane dependent. Instead, we demonstrate that an autocatalytic enzyme network incorporating temperature-sensitive Michaelis-Menten kinetics recapitulates all temperature-shift dynamics through metabolome rearrangement, which encodes a temperature memory and successfully predicts alterations in the upshift response observed under simple-sugar, low-nutrient conditions, and in fungi. This model also provides a mechanistic framework for both Arrhenius-dependent growth and the classical Monod Equation through temperature-dependent metabolite flux.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lisa Willis
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Carlos Gonzalez
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Harsh Vashistha
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Joanna Jammal Touma
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Mikhail Tikhonov
- Department of Physics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Jeffrey Ram
- Department of Physiology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
| | - Hanna Salman
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Josh E. Elias
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Kerwyn Casey Huang
- Biophysics Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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32
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Gonzalez JM, Aranda B. Microbial Growth under Limiting Conditions-Future Perspectives. Microorganisms 2023; 11:1641. [PMID: 37512814 PMCID: PMC10383181 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11071641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Microorganisms rule the functioning of our planet and each one of the individual macroscopic living creature. Nevertheless, microbial activity and growth status have always been challenging tasks to determine both in situ and in vivo. Microbial activity is generally related to growth, and the growth rate is a result of the availability of nutrients under adequate or adverse conditions faced by microbial cells in a changing environment. Most studies on microorganisms have been carried out under optimum or near-optimum growth conditions, but scarce information is available about microorganisms at slow-growing states (i.e., near-zero growth and maintenance metabolism). This study aims to better understand microorganisms under growth-limiting conditions. This is expected to provide new perspectives on the functions and relevance of the microbial world. This is because (i) microorganisms in nature frequently face conditions of severe growth limitation, (ii) microorganisms activate singular pathways (mostly genes remaining to be functionally annotated), resulting in a broad range of secondary metabolites, and (iii) the response of microorganisms to slow-growth conditions remains to be understood, including persistence strategies, gene expression, and cell differentiation both within clonal populations and due to the complexity of the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan M Gonzalez
- Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, IRNAS-CSIC, E-41012 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Beatriz Aranda
- Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, IRNAS-CSIC, E-41012 Sevilla, Spain
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Sparviero S, Dicke MD, Rosch TM, Castillo T, Salgado-Lugo H, Galindo E, Peña C, Büchs J. Yeast extracts from different manufacturers and supplementation of amino acids and micro elements reveal a remarkable impact on alginate production by A. vinelandii ATCC9046. Microb Cell Fact 2023; 22:99. [PMID: 37170263 PMCID: PMC10176783 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-023-02112-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In research and production, reproducibility is a key factor, to meet high quality and safety standards and maintain productivity. For microbial fermentations, complex substrates and media components are often used. The complex media components can vary in composition, depending on the lot and manufacturing process. These variations can have an immense impact on the results of biological cultivations. The aim of this work was to investigate and characterize the influence of the complex media component yeast extract on cultivations of Azotobacter vinelandii under microaerobic conditions. Under these conditions, the organism produces the biopolymer alginate. The focus of the investigation was on the respiration activity, cell growth and alginate production. RESULTS Yeast extracts from 6 different manufacturers and 2 different lots from one manufacturer were evaluated. Significant differences on respiratory activity, growth and production were observed. Concentration variations of three different yeast extracts showed that the performance of poorly performing yeast extracts can be improved by simply increasing their concentration. On the other hand, the results with well-performing yeast extracts seem to reach a saturation, when their concentration is increased. Cultivations with poorly performing yeast extract were supplemented with grouped amino acids, single amino acids and micro elements. Beneficial results were obtained with the supplementation of copper sulphate, cysteine or a combination of both. Furthermore, a correlation between the accumulated oxygen transfer and the final viscosity (as a key performance indicator), was established. CONCLUSION The choice of yeast extract is crucial for A. vinelandii cultivations, to maintain reproducibility and comparability between cultivations. The proper use of specific yeast extracts allows the cultivation results to be specifically optimised. In addition, supplements can be applied to modify and improve the properties of the alginate. The results only scratch the surface of the underlying mechanisms, as they are not providing explanations on a molecular level. However, the findings show the potential of optimising media containing yeast extract for alginate production with A. vinelandii, as well as the potential of targeted supplementation of the media.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Sparviero
- Aachener Verfahrenstechnik - Chair of Biochemical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Bldg. NGP², Forckenbeckstr. 51, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Max Daniel Dicke
- Aachener Verfahrenstechnik - Chair of Biochemical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Bldg. NGP², Forckenbeckstr. 51, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Tobias M Rosch
- Aachener Verfahrenstechnik - Chair of Biochemical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Bldg. NGP², Forckenbeckstr. 51, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - Tania Castillo
- Departamento de Ingeniería Celular y Biocatálisis, Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ave. Universidad 2001, Col. Chamilpa, 62210, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Holjes Salgado-Lugo
- Departamento de Ingeniería Celular y Biocatálisis, Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ave. Universidad 2001, Col. Chamilpa, 62210, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
- Programa Investigadoras e Investigadores por México del CONACyT, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, 03940, Mexico City, México
| | - Enrique Galindo
- Departamento de Ingeniería Celular y Biocatálisis, Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ave. Universidad 2001, Col. Chamilpa, 62210, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Carlos Peña
- Departamento de Ingeniería Celular y Biocatálisis, Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ave. Universidad 2001, Col. Chamilpa, 62210, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Jochen Büchs
- Aachener Verfahrenstechnik - Chair of Biochemical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Bldg. NGP², Forckenbeckstr. 51, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
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Favate JS, Skalenko KS, Chiles E, Su X, Yadavalli SS, Shah P. Linking genotypic and phenotypic changes in the E. coli Long-Term Evolution Experiment using metabolomics. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.15.528756. [PMID: 36874203 PMCID: PMC9985142 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.15.528756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Changes in an organism's environment, genome, or gene expression patterns can lead to changes in its metabolism. The metabolic phenotype can be under selection and contributes to adaptation. However, the networked and convoluted nature of an organism's metabolism makes relating mutations, metabolic changes, and effects on fitness challenging. To overcome this challenge, we use the Long-Term Evolution Experiment (LTEE) with E. coli as a model to understand how mutations can eventually affect metabolism and perhaps fitness. We used mass-spectrometry to broadly survey the metabolomes of the ancestral strains and all 12 evolved lines. We combined this metabolic data with mutation and expression data to suggest how mutations that alter specific reaction pathways, such as the biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, might increase fitness in the system. Our work provides a better understanding of how mutations might affect fitness through the metabolic changes in the LTEE and thus provides a major step in developing a complete genotype-phenotype map for this experimental system.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S. Favate
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
- Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
| | - Kyle S. Skalenko
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
| | - Eric Chiles
- Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
| | - Xiaoyang Su
- Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
| | - Srujana S. Yadavalli
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
- Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
| | - Premal Shah
- Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
- Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
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Takano S, Takahashi H, Yama Y, Miyazaki R, Furusawa C, Tsuru S. Inference of transcriptome signatures of Escherichia coli in long-term stationary phase. Sci Rep 2023; 13:5647. [PMID: 37024648 PMCID: PMC10079935 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-32525-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
"Non-growing" is a dominant life form of microorganisms in nature, where available nutrients and resources are limited. In laboratory culture systems, Escherichia coli can survive for years under starvation, denoted as long-term stationary phase, where a small fraction of cells manages to survive by recycling resources released from nonviable cells. Although the physiology by which viable cells in long-term stationary phase adapt to prolonged starvation is of great interest, their genome-wide response has not been fully understood. In this study, we analyzed transcriptional profiles of cells exposed to the supernatant of 30-day long-term stationary phase culture and found that their transcriptome profiles displayed several similar responses to those of cells in the 16-h short-term stationary phase. Nevertheless, our results revealed that cells in long-term stationary phase supernatant exhibit higher expressions of stress-response genes such as phage shock proteins (psp), and lower expressions of growth-related genes such as ribosomal proteins than those in the short-term stationary phase. We confirmed that the mutant lacking the psp operon showed lower survival and growth rate in the long-term stationary phase culture. This study identified transcriptional responses for stress-resistant physiology in the long-term stationary phase environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sotaro Takano
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
- International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (NIMS), Research Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Hiromi Takahashi
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yoshie Yama
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ryo Miyazaki
- Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
- Computational Bio Big Data Open Innovation Laboratory (CBBD-OIL), AIST, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chikara Furusawa
- Graduate School of Science, Universal Biology Institute, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Center for Biosystem Dynamics Research, RIKEN, Kobe, Japan
| | - Saburo Tsuru
- Graduate School of Science, Universal Biology Institute, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
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Yang H, Song H, Zhang J, Li W, Han Q, Zhang W. Proteomic analysis reveals the adaptation of Vibrio splendidus to an iron deprivation condition. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2023; 107:2533-2546. [PMID: 36922441 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12460-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Vibrio splendidus is a ubiquitous Gram-negative marine bacterium that causes diseases within a wide range of marine cultured animals. Since iron deprivation is the frequent situation that the bacteria usually encounter, we aimed to explore the effect of iron deprivation on the proteomic profile of V. splendidus in the present study. There were 425 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) responded to the iron deprivation condition. When the cells were grown under iron deprivation condition, the oxidation‒reduction processes, single-organism metabolic processes, the catalytic activity, and binding activity were downregulated, while the transport process, membrane cell component, and ion binding activity were upregulated, apart from the iron uptake processes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that various metabolism pathways, biosynthesis pathways, energy generation pathways of tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation were downregulated, while various degradation pathways and several special metabolism pathways were upregulated. The proteomic profiles of cells at a OD600 ≈ 0.4 grown under iron deprivation condition showed high similarity to that of the cells at a OD600 ≈ 0.8 grown without iron chelator 2,2'-bipyridine. Correspondingly, the protease activity, the activity of autoinducer 2 (AI-2), and indole content separately catalyzed by LuxS and TnaA, were measured to verify the proteomic data. Our present study gives basic information on the global protein profiles of V. splendidus grown under iron deprivation condition and suggests that the iron deprivation condition cause the cell growth enter a state of higher cell density earlier. KEY POINTS: • Adaptation of V. splendidus to iron deprivation was explored by proteomic analysis. • GO and KEGG of DEPs under different iron levels or cell densities were determined. • Iron deprivation caused the cell enter a state of higher cell density earlier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huirong Yang
- Key Laboratory of Aquacultural Biotechnology Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Zhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Zhejiang Province, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Beilun District, 169 Qixingnan RoadZhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China
| | - Huimin Song
- Key Laboratory of Aquacultural Biotechnology Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Zhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Zhejiang Province, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Beilun District, 169 Qixingnan RoadZhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinxia Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Aquacultural Biotechnology Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Zhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Zhejiang Province, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Beilun District, 169 Qixingnan RoadZhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China
| | - Weisheng Li
- Key Laboratory of Aquacultural Biotechnology Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Zhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Zhejiang Province, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Beilun District, 169 Qixingnan RoadZhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingxi Han
- Key Laboratory of Aquacultural Biotechnology Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Zhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Zhejiang Province, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Beilun District, 169 Qixingnan RoadZhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China
| | - Weiwei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Aquacultural Biotechnology Ministry of Education, Ningbo University, Zhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology of Zhejiang Province, School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Beilun District, 169 Qixingnan RoadZhejiang Province, Ningbo, 315832, People's Republic of China.
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Abdelfattah A, Tack AJM, Lobato C, Wassermann B, Berg G. From seed to seed: the role of microbial inheritance in the assembly of the plant microbiome. Trends Microbiol 2023; 31:346-355. [PMID: 36481186 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2022.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Despite evidence that the microbiome extends host genetic and phenotypic traits, information on how the microbiome is transmitted and maintained across generations remains fragmented. For seed-bearing plants, seeds harbor a distinct microbiome and play a unique role by linking one generation to the next. Studies on microbial inheritance, a process we suggest including both vertical transmission and the subsequent migration of seed microorganisms to the new plant, thus become essential for our understanding of host evolutionary potential and host-microbiome coevolution. We propose dividing the inheritance process into three stages: (i) plant to seed, (ii) seed dormancy, and (iii) seed to seedling. We discuss the factors affecting the assembly of the microbiome during the three stages, highlight future research directions, and emphasize the implications of microbial inheritance for fundamental science and society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Abdelfattah
- Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Max-Eyth Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 20A, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden; Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12, Graz 8010, Austria.
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 20A, Stockholm, SE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Carolina Lobato
- Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12, Graz 8010, Austria
| | - Birgit Wassermann
- Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12, Graz 8010, Austria
| | - Gabriele Berg
- Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Max-Eyth Allee 100, 14469 Potsdam, Germany; Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12, Graz 8010, Austria; Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam OT Golm, Germany
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Brauer AM, Shi H, Levin PA, Huang KC. Physiological and regulatory convergence between osmotic and nutrient stress responses in microbes. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2023; 81:102170. [PMID: 37119759 PMCID: PMC10493190 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2023.102170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial cells are regularly confronted with simultaneous changes in environmental nutrient supply and osmolarity. Despite the importance of osmolarity and osmoregulation in bacterial physiology, the relationship between the cellular response to osmotic perturbations and other stresses has remained largely unexplored. Bacteria cultured in hyperosmotic conditions and bacteria experiencing nutrient stress exhibit similar physiological changes, including metabolic shutdown, increased protein instability, dehydration, and condensation of chromosomal DNA. In this review, we highlight overlapping molecular players between osmotic and nutrient stresses. These connections between two seemingly disparate stress response pathways reinforce the importance of central carbon metabolism as a control point for diverse aspects of homeostatic regulation. We identify important open questions for future research, emphasizing the pressing need to develop and exploit new methods for probing how osmolarity affects phylogenetically diverse species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrienne M Brauer
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - Handuo Shi
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Petra Anne Levin
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
| | - Kerwyn Casey Huang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
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Zhang SM, Huang SL. The Commensal Anaerobe Veillonella dispar Reprograms Its Lactate Metabolism and Short-Chain Fatty Acid Production during the Stationary Phase. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0355822. [PMID: 36975840 PMCID: PMC10100942 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03558-22] [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: 09/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Veillonella spp. are obligate, anaerobic, Gram-negative bacteria found in the human oral cavity and gut. Recent studies have indicated that gut Veillonella promote human homeostasis by producing beneficial metabolites, specifically short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), by lactate fermentation. The gut lumen is a dynamic environment with fluctuating nutrient levels, so the microbes present shifting growth rates and significant variations of gene expression. The current knowledge of lactate metabolism by Veillonella has focused on log phase growth. However, the gut microbes are mainly in the stationary phase. In this study, we investigated the transcriptomes and major metabolites of Veillonella dispar ATCC 17748T during growth from log to stationary phases with lactate as the main carbon source. Our results revealed that V. dispar reprogrammed its lactate metabolism during the stationary phase. Lactate catabolic activity and propionate production were significantly decreased during the early stationary phase but were partially restored during the stationary phase. The propionate/acetate production ratio was lowered from 1.5 during the log phase to 0.9 during the stationary phase. Pyruvate secretion was also greatly decreased during the stationary phase. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the gene expression of V. dispar is reprogrammed during growth, as evidenced by the distinct transcriptomes present during the log, early stationary, and stationary phases. In particular, propionate metabolism (the propanediol pathway) was downregulated during the early stationary phase, which explains the decrease in propionate production during the stationary phase. The fluctuations in lactate fermentation during the stationary phase and the associated gene regulation expand our understanding of the metabolism of commensal anaerobes in changing environments. IMPORTANCE Short-chain fatty acids produced by gut commensal bacteria play an important role in human physiology. Gut Veillonella and the metabolites acetate and propionate, produced by lactate fermentation, are associated with human health. Most gut bacteria in humans are in the stationary phase. Lactate metabolism by Veillonella spp. during the stationary phase is poorly understood and was therefore the focus of the study. To this end, we used a commensal anaerobic bacterium and explored its short-chain fatty acid production and gene regulation in order to provide a better understanding of lactate metabolism dynamics during nutrient limitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi-Min Zhang
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Yangming Campus, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Yangming Campus, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shir-Ly Huang
- Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Yangming Campus, Taipei, Taiwan
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Rovira P, Brugnini G, Rodriguez J, Cabrera MC, Saadoun A, de Souza G, Luzardo S, Rufo C. Microbiological Changes during Long-Storage of Beef Meat under Different Temperature and Vacuum-Packaging Conditions. Foods 2023; 12:foods12040694. [PMID: 36832769 PMCID: PMC9955083 DOI: 10.3390/foods12040694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
We evaluated a combination of two temperatures and two packaging materials for long-term storage of vacuum-packaged (VP) beef striploins. Microbial populations and microbiome composition were monitored during refrigerated storage (120 days between 0-1.5 °C) and refrigerated-then-frozen storage (28 days between 0-1.5 °C then 92 days at -20 °C) under low-O2 permeability VP and high-O2 permeability VP with an antimicrobial (VPAM). Pseudomonas (PSE) and Enterobacteriaceae (EB) counts in VPAM samples were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in VP samples at 28, 45, 90, and 120 days of storage. Microbiome data showed that bacteria of the genera Serratia and Brochothrix were more abundant in VPAM samples at 120 days, while lactic acid bacteria (LAB) dominated in VP samples. Frozen temperatures inhibited microbial growth and maintained a relatively stable microbiome. Refrigerated and frozen VPAM samples showed the greatest difference in the predicted metabolic functions at the end of storage driven by the microbiome composition, dominated by PSE and LAB, respectively. Although no signs of visible meat deterioration were observed in any sample, this study suggests that VP meat refrigerated and then frozen achieved better microbiological indicators at the end of the storage period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Rovira
- Sistema Ganadero Extensivo y Arroz-Ganadería, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA), Ruta 8 km 281, Treinta y Tres 33000, Uruguay
| | - Giannina Brugnini
- Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, By Pass de Pando y Ruta 8, Pando 91000, Uruguay
| | - Jesica Rodriguez
- Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, By Pass de Pando y Ruta 8, Pando 91000, Uruguay
| | - María C. Cabrera
- Facultad de Agronomía Udelar, Avenida Garzón 861, Montevideo 12900, Uruguay
- Facultad de Ciencias, Udelar, Calle Iguá 4225, Montevideo 11400, Uruguay
| | - Ali Saadoun
- Facultad de Agronomía Udelar, Avenida Garzón 861, Montevideo 12900, Uruguay
- Facultad de Ciencias, Udelar, Calle Iguá 4225, Montevideo 11400, Uruguay
| | - Guillermo de Souza
- Sistema Ganadero Extensivo y Agroalimentos, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA), Estación Experimental INIA Tacuarembó, Ruta 5 km 386, Tacuarembó 45000, Uruguay
| | - Santiago Luzardo
- Sistema Ganadero Extensivo y Agroalimentos, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA), Estación Experimental INIA Tacuarembó, Ruta 5 km 386, Tacuarembó 45000, Uruguay
- Correspondence: (S.L.); (C.R.)
| | - Caterina Rufo
- Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, By Pass de Pando y Ruta 8, Pando 91000, Uruguay
- Correspondence: (S.L.); (C.R.)
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Chandra HB, Shome A, Sahoo R, Apoorva S, Bhure SK, Mahawar M. Periplasmic methionine sulfoxide reductase (MsrP)-a secondary factor in stress survival and virulence of Salmonella Typhimurium. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2023; 370:fnad063. [PMID: 37403401 PMCID: PMC10653988 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnad063] [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: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Among others, methionine residues are highly susceptible to host-generated oxidants. Repair of oxidized methionine (Met-SO) residues to methionine (Met) by methionine sulfoxide reductases (Msrs) play a chief role in stress survival of bacterial pathogens, including Salmonella Typhimurium. Periplasmic proteins, involved in many important cellular functions, are highly susceptible to host-generated oxidants. According to location in cell, two types of Msrs, cytoplasmic and periplasmic are present in S. Typhimurium. Owing to its localization, periplasmic Msr (MsrP) might play a crucial role in defending the host-generated oxidants. Here, we have assessed the role of MsrP in combating oxidative stress and colonization of S. Typhimurium. ΔmsrP (mutant strain) grew normally in in-vitro media. In comparison to S. Typhimurium (wild type), mutant strain showed mild hypersensitivity to HOCl and chloramine-T (ChT). Following exposure to HOCl, mutant strain showed almost similar protein carbonyl levels (a marker of protein oxidation) as compared to S. Typhimurium strain. Additionally, ΔmsrP strain showed higher susceptibility to neutrophils than the parent strain. Further, the mutant strain showed very mild defects in survival in mice spleen and liver as compared to wild-type strain. In a nutshell, our results indicate that MsrP plays only a secondary role in combating oxidative stress and colonization of S. Typhimurium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hari Balaji Chandra
- Division of Biochemistry, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - Arijit Shome
- Division of Biochemistry, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - Raj Sahoo
- Division of Biochemistry, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - S Apoorva
- Division of Biochemistry, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - Sanjeev Kumar Bhure
- Division of Biochemistry, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
| | - Manish Mahawar
- Division of Biochemistry, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243122, India
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Alreshidi M, Dunstan H, MacDonald M, Saeed M, Elkahoui S, Roberts T. Significant Changes in Cytoplasmic Amino Acid Composition Occur in the Transition between Mid-Exponential and Stationary Phases of Growth of Staphylococcus aureus: An Example of Adaptive Homeostasis in Response to Nutrient Limitations. Microorganisms 2023; 11:microorganisms11010147. [PMID: 36677439 PMCID: PMC9860745 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11010147] [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: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus causes a wide range of infections that result in high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. S. aureus is known for its capacity to survive harsh environments between hosts and certain strains are very efficient as opportunistic pathogens. It is important to understand their capacities for metabolic adaptation in response to changing environmental conditions. This investigation aimed to explore the alterations in the amino acid compositions of the cytoplasm as nutrients became limiting during the growth of S. aureus. Cells were grown under optimal growth conditions and harvested at the mid-exponential and stationary phases of growth and then extracted for the analyses of amino acids in the cytoplasm. The analyses revealed that the stationary phase cells had a significantly higher concentration of total cytoplasmic amino acids compared with cells at the mid-exponential phase and displayed substantial alterations in amino acid composition. Aspartic acid was the major amino acid in the stationary phase cells, whereas glutamic acid was the most abundant in the mid-exponential cells. The glutamic acid was reduced by 47% of its original value when the growth was extended to the stationary phase. Interestingly, certain amino acids were either absent or present depending on the phase of growth. These outcomes are in line with the premise that bacterial cells of S. aureus transition into a different form of metabolic homeostasis in the shift between the exponential and stationary phases of growth, as nutrients become depleted and waste products accumulate in the external medium. The ability of S. aureus to continually and promptly adapt to differences within growth phases may represent an essential strategy assisting its virulence as a successful opportunistic pathogen to establish infections. An understanding of the switch mechanisms controlling these obvious alterations in amino acids through the growth/life cycle of this virulent pathogen may provide novel clinical strategies to battle infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mousa Alreshidi
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 2440, Saudi Arabia
- Molecular Diagnostic and Personalized Therapeutics Unit, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 2440, Saudi Arabia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +966-505498890
| | - Hugh Dunstan
- InnovAAte Pty Ltd., 45 Hunter Street, Newcastle, NSW 2300, Australia
| | - Margaret MacDonald
- Pathogenic Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Science, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University Drive, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Mohd Saeed
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 2440, Saudi Arabia
- Molecular Diagnostic and Personalized Therapeutics Unit, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 2440, Saudi Arabia
| | - Salem Elkahoui
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 2440, Saudi Arabia
- Molecular Diagnostic and Personalized Therapeutics Unit, University of Ha’il, Ha’il 2440, Saudi Arabia
| | - Tim Roberts
- Pathogenic Microbiology Laboratory, Faculty of Science, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University Drive, Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia
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NtrC Increases Fitness of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium under Low and Fluctuating Nutrient Conditions. J Bacteriol 2022; 204:e0026422. [PMID: 36317920 PMCID: PMC9765038 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00264-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Enteric pathogens cycle between nutrient-rich host and nutrient-poor external environment. These pathogens compete for nutrients while cycling between host and external environment, and often experience starvation. In this context, we have studied the role of a global regulator (NtrC) of Salmonella Typhimurium. The ntrC knockout mutation caused extended lag phase (8 h) and slow growth in the minimal medium. In lag phase, the wild-type cells showed ~60-fold more expression of ntrC gene. Gene expression studies and biochemical assays showed that the extended lag phase and slow growth is due to slow metabolism, instead of nitrogen transport. Further, we observed that ntrC knockout mutation led extended lag phase and slow growth, made ΔntrC mutant unable to compete with wild-type S. Typhimurium in both static and fluctuating nutrient condition. In addition to this, ΔntrC knockout mutant was unable to survive long-term nitrogen starvation (150 days). The nutrient recycling assays and gene expression studies revealed that ntrC gene is essential for rapid recycling of nutrients from the dead cells. Moreover, in the absence of ntrC gene, magnesium limits the nutrient recycling efficiency of S. Typhimurium. Therefore, the ntrC gene, which is often studied with respect to nitrogen scavenging in a low nitrogen growing condition, is required even in the adequate supply of nitrogen to maintain optimal growth and fast exit from the lag phase. Hence, we conclude that, the ntrC expression is essential for competitive fitness of S. Typhimurium under the low and fluctuating nutrient condition. IMPORTANCE S. Typhimurium, both in host and external environment, faces enormous competition from other microorganisms. The competition may take place either in static or in fluctuating nutrient conditions. Thus, how S. Typhimurium survives under such overlapping stress conditions remained unclear. Therefore, using S. Typhimurium as model organism we report that a global regulator NtrC, found in enteric bacteria like Escherichia coli and Salmonella, activates the set of genes and operons involved in rapid adaptation and efficient nutrient recycling/scavenging. These properties enable cells to compete with other microbes under the characteristic feast-or-famine lifestyle of S. Typhimurium. Therefore, this work helps us to understand the starvation physiology of the enteric bacterial pathogen S. Typhimurium.
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Aeromonas sobria as a potential candidate for bioremediation of heavy metal from contaminated environments. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21235. [PMID: 36481784 PMCID: PMC9732040 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25781-3] [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: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The uncontrolled discharge of industrial wastes causes the accumulation of high heavy metal concentrations in soil and water, leading to many health issues. In the present study, a Gram-negative Aeromonas sobria was isolated from heavily contaminated soil in the Tanjaro area, southwest of Sulaymaniyah city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; then, we assessed its ability to uptake heavy metals. A. sobria was molecularly identified based on the partial amplification of 16S rRNA using novel primers. The sequence was aligned with 33 strains to analyze phylogenetic relationships by maximum likelihood. Based on maximum tolerance concentration (MTC), A. sobria could withstand Zn, Cu, and Ni at concentrations of 5, 6, and 8 mM, respectively. ICP-OES data confirmed that A. sobria reduced 54.89% (0.549 mM) of the Cu, 62.33% (0.623 mM) of the Ni, and 36.41% (0.364 mM) of the Zn after 72 h in the culture medium. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that A. sobria accumulated both Cu and Ni, whereas biosorption was suggested for the Zn. These findings suggest that metal-resistant A. sobria could be a promising candidate for heavy metal bioremediation in polluted areas. However, more broadly, research is required to assess the feasibility of exploiting A. sobria in situ.
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45
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da Silva MR, Alves de Almeida F, Coelho AÍM, da Silva FL, Vanetti MCD. Enhancing cell resistance for production of mixed microbiological reference materials with Salmonella and coliforms by freeze-drying. Braz J Microbiol 2022; 53:2107-2119. [PMID: 35962856 PMCID: PMC9679061 DOI: 10.1007/s42770-022-00808-z] [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: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The reference material (RM) is a technical requirement for the quality assurance of analytical results and proficiency tests or interlaboratory comparisons. Microbiological RMs are most available in the dehydrated form, mainly by freeze-drying, and maintaining bacterial survival after preparation is a challenge. Thus, obtaining the most resistant cells is essential. Considering that bacteria present cross-response to dehydration after being submitted to an array of stress conditions, this study aimed to evaluate the influence of growth conditions on enterobacteria for the production of mixed microbiological RMs by freeze-drying in skim milk powder. Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, Cronobacter sakazakii, Escherichia coli, and Citrobacter freundii were grown in a minimal medium with 0.5 M NaCl and 0 to 5.0 mM of manganese sulfate (MnSO4) until stationary phase. Salmonella Enteritidis presented an increased resistance to dehydration in the presence of Mn, while C. sakazakii was the most resistant to freeze-drying and further storage for 90 days. Mixed microbiological RMs were produced by freeze-drying and containing Salmonella Enteritidis and coliforms in skim milk powder with 100 mM of trehalose and the Salmonella survival rate was 91.2 to 93.6%. The mixed RM was stable after 30 days at -20 °C, and Salmonella and coliforms were detected by different methods being, the Rambach Agar the best for the bacterial differentiation. The results showed that the culture conditions applied in this study resulted in bacterial cells being more resistant to dehydration, freeze-drying, and stabilization for the production of mixed microbiological RMs more stable and homogeneous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Roméria da Silva
- Department of Microbiology, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil
| | - Felipe Alves de Almeida
- Department of Nutrition, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Governador Valadares, MG, 35032-620, Brazil
| | | | - Fernanda Lopes da Silva
- Department of Food Technology, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, 36570-900, Brazil
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Aditya A, Rahaman SO, Biswas D. Impact of Lactobacillus-originated metabolites on enterohemorrhagic E. coli in rumen fluid. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2022; 98:6795928. [PMID: 36331030 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiac128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Rumen is one of the richest microbial ecosystems naturally harboring many zoonotic pathogens. Controlling the colonization of cattle originated zoonotic pathogens in rumen, particularly enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), is critical in reducing foodborne enteric diseases in humans. In this study, we aimed to inhibit the growth of EHEC in a simulated rumen system with collected rumen fluids (RFs) using live probiotics, synbiotics, and their metabolites. EHEC inoculated RF was treated with live wild type Lactobacillus casei (LCwt), LCwt with 0.5% peanut flour (LCwt+PF), an engineered LC capable of overexpressing linoleate isomerase (LCCLA), and their metabolites collected in cell-free culture supernatants (CFCSwt, CFCSwt+PF, and CFCSCLA) at various time points. A growth stimulatory effect toward Lactobacillus spp. was exerted by all CFCS, while the EHEC was suppressed. Among other treatments only LCwt+PF reduced EHEC by 2.68 logs after 72 h. This observation was also supported by metataxonomic analysis. A reduction in Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria while increase in Firmicutes was observed at 48 h by the presence of CFCSs as compared to the control. Our observation implies probiotic-originated metabolites modulate rumen microbiota positively which can be deployed to control the transmission of cattle-borne pathogens specifically EHEC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arpita Aditya
- Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States
| | - Shaik O Rahaman
- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States
| | - Debabrata Biswas
- Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States.,Biological Sciences Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States.,Centre for Food Safety and Security Systems, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States
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47
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Raad N, Tandon D, Hapfelmeier S, Polacek N. The stationary phase-specific sRNA FimR2 is a multifunctional regulator of bacterial motility, biofilm formation and virulence. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:11858-11875. [PMID: 36354005 PMCID: PMC9723502 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac1025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial pathogens employ a plethora of virulence factors for host invasion, and their use is tightly regulated to maximize infection efficiency and manage resources in a nutrient-limited environment. Here we show that during Escherichia coli stationary phase the 3' UTR-derived small non-coding RNA FimR2 regulates fimbrial and flagellar biosynthesis at the post-transcriptional level, leading to biofilm formation as the dominant mode of survival under conditions of nutrient depletion. FimR2 interacts with the translational regulator CsrA, antagonizing its functions and firmly tightening control over motility and biofilm formation. Generated through RNase E cleavage, FimR2 regulates stationary phase biology by fine-tuning target mRNA levels independently of the chaperones Hfq and ProQ. The Salmonella enterica orthologue of FimR2 induces effector protein secretion by the type III secretion system and stimulates infection, thus linking the sRNA to virulence. This work reveals the importance of bacterial sRNAs in modulating various aspects of bacterial physiology including stationary phase and virulence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Raad
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland,Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Disha Tandon
- Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, Bern, Switzerland,Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Norbert Polacek
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +41 31 684 43 20;
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48
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Jing H, Liu Z, Chen J, Ho CL. Elucidation of Iron(III) Bioleaching Properties of Gram-Positive Bacteria. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:37212-37220. [PMID: 36312424 PMCID: PMC9608414 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c03413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Microbial-based iron reduction is an emerging technology used as an alternative to conventional chemical-based iron reduction. The iron reduction in kaolin refinement is vital for enhancing its commercial value. Extensive studies on microbial-based iron reduction mainly focus on Gram-negative bacteria, whereas little is understood about Gram-positive bacteria's mechanism and potential application. This study aims to investigate the iron-reducing mechanism of two Gram-positive bacterial isolates, Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). By varying the growth environment of bacteria and monitoring the biochemical changes during the process of iron reduction, the results show that Gram-positive bacterial iron reduction performance depends on the medium composition, differing from Gram-negative bacteria-based reduction processes. Nitrogen-rich medium facilitates the microbial basification of the medium, where the alkaline conditions impact the microbial iron reduction process by altering the gene expression involved in intracellular pH homeostasis and microbial growth. This discovery will contribute to the mineral refining processes and promote the development of microbial-based bioprocesses for ore purification, while also laying the foundation for investigating other Gram-positive bacterial iron-reducing ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Jing
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University
of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen518055, China
| | - Zhao Liu
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University
of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen518055, China
| | - Jun Chen
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University
of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen518055, China
- Shenzhen
Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen
Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen518055, China
| | - Chun Loong Ho
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Southern University
of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen518055, China
- Shenzhen
Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen
Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen518055, China
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49
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Zhan L, Hou Z, Wang Y, Liu H, Liu Y, Huang G. Rapid Profiling of Metabolic Perturbations to Antibiotics in Living Bacteria by Induced Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY 2022; 33:1960-1966. [PMID: 36106750 DOI: 10.1021/jasms.2c00199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Rapid monitoring of real bacterial metabolic perturbations to antibiotics may be helpful to better understand the mechanisms of action and more targeted treatment. In this study, the real metabolic responses to antibiotic treatment in living bacteria were profiled rapidly by induced electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Significant metabolic perturbations were profiled after antibiotic treatment compared with untreated bacteria. Similar and unique metabolic responses were observed with different antibiotic treatments. Further multivariable analysis was performed to determine significant metabolites as potential biomarkers. Moreover, different metabolic disturbances were detected for serial dilutions of antibiotic treatments. Overall, combined with induced electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, the rapid and real bacterial metabolic status caused by antibiotics was monitored, suggesting the potential application of our method in mechanism exploration and clinical diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liujuan Zhan
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, 230001 Hefei, China
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026 Hefei, China
| | - Zhuanghao Hou
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, 230001 Hefei, China
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026 Hefei, China
| | - Yu Wang
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026 Hefei, China
- Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, 230001 Hefei, China
| | - Huimin Liu
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, 230001 Hefei, China
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026 Hefei, China
| | - Yangzhong Liu
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026 Hefei, China
- Department of Pharmacy, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, 230001 Hefei, China
| | - Guangming Huang
- Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, University of Science and Technology of China, 230001 Hefei, China
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026 Hefei, China
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50
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Sultonova M, Blackmore B, Du R, Philips O, Paulo JA, Murphy JP. Integrated changes in thermal stability and proteome abundance during altered nutrient states in Escherichia coli and human cells. Proteomics 2022; 22:e2100254. [PMID: 36082775 PMCID: PMC10782824 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.202100254] [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: 02/22/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Altered thermal solubility measurement techniques are emerging as powerful tools to assess ligand binding, post-translational modification, protein-protein interactions, and many other cellular processes that affect protein state under various cellular conditions. Thermal solubility or stability profiling techniques are enabled on a global proteomic scale by employing isobaric tagging reagents that facilitate multiplexing capacity required to measure changes in the proteome across thermal gradients. Key among these is thermal proteomic profiling (TPP), which requires 8-10 isobaric tags per gradient and generation of multiple proteomic datasets to measure different replicates and conditions. Furthermore, using TPP to measure protein thermal stability state across different conditions may also require measurements of differential protein abundance. Here, we use the proteome integral stability alteration (PISA) assay, a higher throughput version of TPP, to measure global changes in protein thermal stability normalized to their protein abundance. We explore the use of this approach to determine changes in protein state between logarithmic and stationary phase Escherichia coli as well as glucose-starved human Hek293T cells. We observed protein intensity-corrected PISA changes in 290 and 350 proteins due to stationary phase transition in E. coli and glucose starvation, respectively. These data reveal several examples of proteins that were not previously associated with nutrient states by abundance alone. These include E. coli proteins such as putative acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (aidB) and chaperedoxin (cnoX) as well as human RAB vesicle trafficking proteins and many others which may indicate their involvement in metabolic diseases such as cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukhayyo Sultonova
- Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
| | - Beau Blackmore
- Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
| | - Ronnie Du
- Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
| | - Olivier Philips
- Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
| | - Joao A Paulo
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - John Patrick Murphy
- Department of Biology, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
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