Draft Genome Sequences of Three Clinical Isolates of Tannerella forsythia Isolated from Subgingival Plaque from Periodontitis Patients in the United States

Tannerella forsythia strains differentially induce interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10) expression in macrophages due to lipopolysaccharide heterogeneity

Tannerella forsythia is strongly implicated in the development of periodontitis, an inflammatory disease that destroys the bone and soft tissues supporting the tooth.  To date, the knowledge of the virulence attributes of T. forsythia species has mainly come from studies with a laboratory adapted strain (ATCC 43 037). In this study, we focused on two T. forsythia clinical isolates, UB4 and UB20, in relation to their ability to activate macrophages. We found that these clinical isolates differentially induced proinflammatory cytokine expression in macrophages. Prominently, the expression of the chemokine protein IP-10 (CXCL10) was highly induced by UB20 as compared to UB4 and the laboratory strain ATCC 43 037. Our study focused on the lipopolysaccharide component (LPS) of these strains and found that UB20 expressed a smooth-type LPS, unlike UB4 and ATCC 43 037 each of which expressed a rough-type LPS. The LPS from UB20, via activation of TLR4, was found to be a highly potent inducer of IP-10 expression via signaling through STAT1 (signal transducer and activator of transcription-1). These data suggest that pathogenicity of T. forsythia species could be strain dependent and the LPS heterogeneity associated with the clinical strains might be responsible for their pathogenic potential and severity of periodontitis.

Paleogenomic insights into the red complex bacteria Tannerella forsythia in Pre-Hispanic and Colonial individuals from Mexico

The 'red complex' is an aggregate of three oral bacteria (Tannerella forsythia, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Treponema denticola) responsible for severe clinical manifestation of periodontal disease. Here, we report the first direct evidence of ancient T.forsythia DNA in dentin and dental calculus samples from archaeological skeletal remains that span from the Pre-Hispanic to the Colonial period in Mexico. We recovered twelve partial ancient T. forsythia genomes and observed a distinct phylogenetic placement of samples, suggesting that the strains present in Pre-Hispanic individuals likely arrived with the first human migrations to the Americas and that new strains were introduced with the arrival of European and African populations in the sixteenth century. We also identified instances of the differential presence of genes between periods in the T. forsythia ancient genomes, with certain genes present in Pre-Hispanic individuals and absent in Colonial individuals, and vice versa. This study highlights the potential for studying ancient T. forsythia genomes to unveil past social interactions through analysis of disease transmission. Our results illustrate the long-standing relationship between this oral pathogen and its human host, while also unveiling key evidence to understand its evolutionary history in Pre-Hispanic and Colonial Mexico. This article is part of the theme issue 'Insights into health and disease from ancient biomolecules'.

Comparative genome characterization of the periodontal pathogen Tannerella forsythia

BACKGROUND

Tannerella forsythia is a bacterial pathogen implicated in periodontal disease. Numerous virulence-associated T. forsythia genes have been described, however, it is necessary to expand the knowledge on T. forsythia's genome structure and genetic repertoire to further elucidate its role within pathogenesis. Tannerella sp. BU063, a putative periodontal health-associated sister taxon and closest known relative to T. forsythia is available for comparative analyses. In the past, strain confusion involving the T. forsythia reference type strain ATCC 43037 led to discrepancies between results obtained from in silico analyses and wet-lab experimentation.

RESULTS

We generated a substantially improved genome assembly of T. forsythia ATCC 43037 covering 99% of the genome in three sequences. Using annotated genomes of ten Tannerella strains we established a soft core genome encompassing 2108 genes, based on orthologs present in > = 80% of the strains analysed. We used a set of known and hypothetical virulence factors for comparisons in pathogenic strains and the putative periodontal health-associated isolate Tannerella sp. BU063 to identify candidate genes promoting T. forsythia's pathogenesis. Searching for pathogenicity islands we detected 38 candidate regions in the T. forsythia genome. Only four of these regions corresponded to previously described pathogenicity islands. While the general protein O-glycosylation gene cluster of T. forsythia ATCC 43037 has been described previously, genes required for the initiation of glycan synthesis are yet to be discovered. We found six putative glycosylation loci which were only partially conserved in other bacteria. Lastly, we performed a comparative analysis of translational bias in T. forsythia and Tannerella sp. BU063 and detected highly biased genes.

CONCLUSIONS

We provide resources and important information on the genomes of Tannerella strains. Comparative analyses enabled us to assess the suitability of T. forsythia virulence factors as therapeutic targets and to suggest novel putative virulence factors. Further, we report on gene loci that should be addressed in the context of elucidating T. forsythia's protein O-glycosylation pathway. In summary, our work paves the way for further molecular dissection of T. forsythia biology in general and virulence of this species in particular.

A General Protein O-Glycosylation Gene Cluster Encodes the Species-Specific Glycan of the Oral Pathogen Tannerella forsythia: O-Glycan Biosynthesis and Immunological Implications

The cell surface of the oral pathogen Tannerella forsythia is heavily glycosylated with a unique, complex decasaccharide that is O-glycosidically linked to the bacterium’s abundant surface (S-) layer, as well as other proteins. The S-layer glycoproteins are virulence factors of T. forsythia and there is evidence that protein O-glycosylation underpins the bacterium’s pathogenicity. To elucidate the protein O-glycosylation pathway, genes suspected of encoding pathway components were first identified in the genome sequence of the ATCC 43037 type strain, revealing a 27-kb gene cluster that was shown to be polycistronic. Using a gene deletion approach targeted at predicted glycosyltransferases (Gtfs) and methyltransferases encoded in this gene cluster, in combination with mass spectrometry of the protein-released O-glycans, we show that the gene cluster encodes the species-specific part of the T. forsythia ATCC 43037 decasaccharide and that this is assembled step-wise on a pentasaccharide core. The core was previously proposed to be conserved within the Bacteroidetes phylum, to which T. forsythia is affiliated, and its biosynthesis is encoded elsewhere on the bacterial genome. Next, to assess the prevalence of protein O-glycosylation among Tannerella sp., the publicly available genome sequences of six T. forsythia strains were compared, revealing gene clusters of similar size and organization as found in the ATCC 43037 type strain. The corresponding region in the genome of a periodontal health-associated Tannerella isolate showed a different gene composition lacking most of the genes commonly found in the pathogenic strains. Finally, we investigated whether differential cell surface glycosylation impacts T. forsythia’s overall immunogenicity. Release of proinflammatory cytokines by dendritic cells (DCs) upon stimulation with defined Gtf-deficient mutants of the type strain was measured and their T cell-priming potential post-stimulation was explored. This revealed that the O-glycan is pivotal to modulating DC effector functions, with the T. forsythia-specific glycan portion suppressing and the pentasaccharide core activating a Th17 response. We conclude that complex protein O-glycosylation is a hallmark of pathogenic T. forsythia strains and propose it as a valuable target for the design of novel antimicrobials against periodontitis.

A pseudaminic acid or a legionaminic acid derivative transferase is strain-specifically implicated in the general protein O-glycosylation system of the periodontal pathogen Tannerella forsythia

The occurrence of nonulosonic acids in bacteria is wide-spread and linked to pathogenicity. However, the knowledge of cognate nonulosonic acid transferases is scarce. In the periodontopathogen Tannerella forsythia, several proposed virulence factors carry strain-specifically either a pseudaminic or a legionaminic acid derivative as terminal sugar on an otherwise structurally identical, protein-bound oligosaccharide. This study aims to shed light on the transfer of either nonulosonic acid derivative on a proximal N-acetylmannosaminuronic acid residue within the O-glycan structure, exemplified with the bacterium's abundant S-layer glycoproteins. Bioinformatic analyses provided the candidate genes Tanf_01245 (strain ATCC 43037) and TFUB4_00887 (strain UB4), encoding a putative pseudaminic and a legionaminic acid derivative transferase, respectively. These transferases have identical C-termini and contain motifs typical of glycosyltransferases (DXD) and bacterial sialyltransferases (D/E-D/E-G and HP). They share homology to type B glycosyltransferases and TagB, an enzyme catalyzing glycerol transfer to an N-acetylmannosamine residue in teichoic acid biosynthesis. Analysis of a cellular pool of nucleotide-activated sugars confirmed the presence of the CMP-activated nonulosonic acid derivatives, which are most likely serving as substrates for the corresponding transferase. Single gene knock-out mutants targeted at either transferase were analyzed for S-layer O-glycan composition by ESI-MS, confirming the loss of the nonulosonic acid derivative. Cross-complementation of the mutants with the nonnative nonulosonic acid transferase was not successful indicating high stringency of the enzymes. This study identified plausible candidates for a pseudaminic and a legionaminic acid derivative transferase; these may serve as valuable tools for engineering of novel sialoglycoconjugates.

Immune response profiling of primary monocytes and oral keratinocytes to different Tannerella forsythia strains and their cell surface mutants

The oral pathogen Tannerella forsythia possesses a unique surface (S-) layer with a complex O-glycan containing a bacterial sialic acid mimic in the form of either pseudaminic acid or legionaminic acid at its terminal position. We hypothesize that different T. forsythia strains employ these stereoisomeric sugar acids for interacting with the immune system and resident host tissues in the periodontium. Here, we show how T. forsythia strains ATCC 43037 and UB4 displaying pseudaminic acid and legionaminic acid, respectively, and selected cell surface mutants of these strains modulate the immune response in monocytes and human oral keratinocytes (HOK) using a multiplex immunoassay. When challenged with T. forsythia, monocytes secrete proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) with the release of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-7 being differentially regulated by the two T. forsythia wild-type strains. Truncation of the bacteria's O-glycan leads to significant reduction of IL-1β and regulates macrophage inflammatory protein-1. HOK infected with T. forsythia produce IL-1Ra, chemokines and VEGF. Although the two wild-type strains elicit preferential immune responses for IL-8, both truncation of the O-glycan and deletion of the S-layer result in significantly increased release of IL-8, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Through immunofluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy of infected HOK we additionally show that T. forsythia is highly invasive and tends to localize to the perinuclear region. This indicates, that the T. forsythia S-layer and attached sugars, particularly pseudaminic acid in ATCC 43037, contribute to dampening the response of epithelial tissues to initial infection and hence play a pivotal role in orchestrating the bacterium's virulence.

Tannerella forsythia strains display different cell-surface nonulosonic acids: biosynthetic pathway characterization and first insight into biological implications

Tannerella forsythia is an anaerobic, Gram-negative periodontal pathogen. A unique O-linked oligosaccharide decorates the bacterium's cell surface proteins and was shown to modulate the host immune response. In our study, we investigated the biosynthesis of the nonulosonic acid (NulO) present at the terminal position of this glycan. A bioinformatic analysis of T. forsythia genomes revealed a gene locus for the synthesis of pseudaminic acid (Pse) in the type strain ATCC 43037 while strains FDC 92A2 and UB4 possess a locus for the synthesis of legionaminic acid (Leg) instead. In contrast to the NulO in ATCC 43037, which has been previously identified as a Pse derivative (5-N-acetimidoyl-7-N-glyceroyl-3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-l-glycero-l-manno-NulO), glycan analysis of strain UB4 performed in this study indicated a 350-Da, possibly N-glycolyl Leg (3,5,7,9-tetradeoxy-d-glycero-d-galacto-NulO) derivative with unknown C5,7 N-acyl moieties. We have expressed, purified and characterized enzymes of both NulO pathways to confirm these genes’ functions. Using capillary electrophoresis (CE), CE–mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy, our studies revealed that Pse biosynthesis in ATCC 43037 essentially follows the UDP-sugar route described in Helicobacter pylori, while the pathway in strain FDC 92A2 corresponds to Leg biosynthesis in Campylobacter jejuni involving GDP-sugar intermediates. To demonstrate that the NulO biosynthesis enzymes are functional in vivo, we created knockout mutants resulting in glycans lacking the respective NulO. Compared to the wild-type strains, the mutants exhibited significantly reduced biofilm formation on mucin-coated surfaces, suggestive of their involvement in host-pathogen interactions or host survival. This study contributes to understanding possible biological roles of bacterial NulOs.

Behavior of two Tannerella forsythia strains and their cell surface mutants in multispecies oral biofilms

As a member of subgingival multispecies biofilms, Tannerella forsythia is commonly associated with periodontitis. The bacterium has a characteristic cell surface (S‐) layer modified with a unique O‐glycan. Both the S‐layer and the O‐glycan were analyzed in this study for their role in biofilm formation by employing an in vitro multispecies biofilm model mimicking the situation in the oral cavity. Different T. forsythia strains and mutants with characterized defects in cell surface composition were incorporated into the model, together with nine species of select oral bacteria. The influence of the T. forsythia S‐layer and attached glycan on the bacterial composition of the biofilms was analyzed quantitatively using colony‐forming unit counts and quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction, as well as qualitatively by fluorescence in situ hybridization and confocal laser scanning microscopy. This revealed that changes in the T. forsythia cell surface did not affect the quantitative composition of the multispecies consortium, with the exception of Campylobacter rectus cell numbers. The localization of T. forsythia within the bacterial agglomeration varied depending on changes in the S‐layer glycan, and this also affected its aggregation with Porphyromonas gingivalis. This suggests a selective role for the glycosylated T. forsythia S‐layer in the positioning of this species within the biofilm, its co‐localization with P. gingivalis, and the prevalence of C. rectus. These findings might translate into a potential role of T. forsythia cell surface structures in the virulence of this species when interacting with host tissues and the immune system, from within or beyond the biofilm.