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Zhao Y, Yan Z, Song K, Li Y, Shen L, Cui Y, Du Z, Yang R, Song Y, Jing L, Zhao Y. Development and evaluation of a multi-target droplet digital PCR assay for highly sensitive and specific detection of Yersinia pestis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2024; 18:e0012167. [PMID: 38701065 PMCID: PMC11095742 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012167] [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: 01/27/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is a zoonotic disease that poses considerable threats to human health. Nucleic acid tests are crucial for plague surveillance and the rapid detection of Y. pestis. However, inhibitors in complex samples such as soil and animal tissues often hamper nucleic acid detection, leading to a reduced rate of identifying low concentrations of Y. pestis. To address this challenge, we developed a sensitive and specific droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) assay for detecting Y. pestis DNA from soil and animal tissue samples. METHODS Three genes (ypo2088, caf1, and pla) from Y. pestis were used to develop a multi-target ddPCR assay. The limits of detection (LoD), reproducibility, and specificity were assessed for bacterial genomic DNA samples. The ability of the assay to detect low concentrations of Y. pestis DNA from simulated soil and mouse liver tissue samples was respectively evaluated and compared with that of quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). RESULTS The results showed that the ddPCR LoDs ranged from 6.2 to 15.4 copies/reaction for the target genes, with good reproducibility and high specificity for Y. pestis. By testing 130 soil and mouse liver tissue samples spiked with Y. pestis, the ddPCR assay exhibited a better sensitivity than that of the qPCR assay used in the study, with LoDs of 102 colony forming units (CFU)/100 mg soil and 103 CFU/20 mg liver. Moreover, the assay presented good quantitative linearity (R2 = 0.99) for Y. pestis at 103-106 CFU/sample for soil and liver samples. CONCLUSION The ddPCR assay presented good performance for detecting Y. pestis DNA from soil and mouse tissue samples, showing great potential for improving the detection rate of low concentrations of Y. pestis in plague surveillance and facilitating the early diagnosis of plague cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanting Zhao
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Ziheng Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Kai Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yanbing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Leiming Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Yiming Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
| | - Zongmin Du
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of POCT for Bioemergency and Clinic, Beijing, China
| | - Ruifu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of POCT for Bioemergency and Clinic, Beijing, China
| | - Yajun Song
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of POCT for Bioemergency and Clinic, Beijing, China
| | - Lan Jing
- College of Horticulture and Plant Protection, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
| | - Yong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of POCT for Bioemergency and Clinic, Beijing, China
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Meng B, Qi Z, Li X, Peng H, Bi S, Wei X, Li Y, Zhang Q, Xu X, Zhao H, Yang X, Wang C, Zhao X. Characterization of Mu-Like Yersinia Phages Exhibiting Temperature Dependent Infection. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0020323. [PMID: 37466430 PMCID: PMC10434027 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00203-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of plague. Marmota himalayana of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau is the primary host of flea-borne Y. pestis. This study is the report of isolation of Mu-like bacteriophages of Y. pestis from M. himalayana. The isolation and characterization of four Mu-like phages of Y. pestis were reported, which were named as vB_YpM_3, vB_YpM_5, vB_YpM_6, and vB_YpM_23 according to their morphology. Comparative genome analysis revealed that vB_YpM_3, vB_YpM_5, vB_YpM_6, and vB_YpM_23 are phylogenetically closest to Escherichia coli phages Mu, D108 and Shigella flexneri phage SfMu. The role of LPS core structure of Y. pestis in the phages' receptor was pinpointed. All the phages exhibit "temperature dependent infection," which is independent of the growth temperature of the host bacteria and dependent of the temperature of phage infection. The phages lyse the host bacteria at 37°C, but enter the lysogenic cycle and become prophages in the chromosome of the host bacteria at 26°C. IMPORTANCE Mu-like bacteriophages of Y. pestis were isolated from M. himalayana of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau in China. These bacteriophages have a unique temperature dependent life cycle, follow a lytic cycle at the temperature of warm-blooded mammals (37°С), and enter the lysogenic cycle at the temperature of its flea-vector (26°С). A switch from the lysogenic to the lytic cycle occurred when lysogenic bacteria were incubated from lower temperature to higher temperature (initially incubating at 26°C and shifting to 37°C). It is speculated that the temperature dependent lifestyle of bacteriophages may affect the population dynamics and pathogenicity of Y. pestis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biao Meng
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese PLA, Beijing, China
| | - Zhizhen Qi
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Key Laboratory for Plague Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Xining, China
| | - Xiang Li
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Key Laboratory for Plague Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Xining, China
| | - Hong Peng
- Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese PLA, Beijing, China
| | - Shanzheng Bi
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese PLA, Beijing, China
| | - Xiao Wei
- Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese PLA, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Li
- Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese PLA, Beijing, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Key Laboratory for Plague Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Xining, China
| | - Xiaoqing Xu
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Key Laboratory for Plague Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Xining, China
| | - Haihong Zhao
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Key Laboratory for Plague Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Xining, China
| | - Xiaoyan Yang
- Qinghai Institute for Endemic Disease Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Key Laboratory for Plague Prevention and Control of Qinghai Province, Xining, China
| | - Changjun Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese PLA, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangna Zhao
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese PLA, Beijing, China
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3
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Kane SR, Shah SR, Alfaro TM. Development of a rapid viability polymerase chain reaction method for detection of Yersinia pestis. J Microbiol Methods 2019; 162:21-27. [PMID: 31095987 DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2019.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Revised: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 05/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Due to the occurrence of natural plague outbreaks and its historical usage as a biological weapon, Yersinia pestis is considered one of the high-priority biological threat agents. It can remain viable in certain environments including water for >100 days. Because of its slow-growth characteristic, it usually takes three or more days to detect and confirm the identity of viable Y. pestis cells by PCR, serological, or biochemical assays when using the traditional microbiological plate-culture-based analysis, and that too, assuming faster growing microbes present in a water sample do not mask the Y. pestis colonies and interfere with analysis. Therefore, a rapid-viability Polymerase Chain Reaction (RV-PCR) method was developed for detection of Y. pestis. The RV-PCR method combines 24 h-incubation broth culture in a 48-well plate, and pre- and post-incubation differential PCR analyses, thereby allowing for rapid and high-throughput sample analysis compared with the current plate culture method. One chromosomal and two plasmid gene target-based real-time PCR assays were down-selected, showing ca. 10 genome equivalent detection; the chromosomal assay was then used for RV-PCR method development. A 101-cell level (10-99 cells) sensitivity of detection was demonstrated even with complex sample backgrounds including known PCR inhibitors (ferrous sulfate and humic acid), as well as metal oxides and microbes present in Arizona Test Dust (ATD). The method sensitivity was maintained in the presence of dead Y. pestis cells up to 104 cells per sample. While affording high-throughput and rapid sample analysis, the 48-well plate format used in this method for sample enrichment significantly reduced labor requirements and generation of BioSafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory waste as compared to the usual microbiological plate-culture-based methods. This method may serve as a model for other vegetative bacterial pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Staci R Kane
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Sanjiv R Shah
- National Homeland Security Research Center, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA.
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Differential Gene Expression Patterns of Yersinia pestis and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis during Infection and Biofilm Formation in the Flea Digestive Tract. mSystems 2019; 4:mSystems00217-18. [PMID: 30801031 PMCID: PMC6381227 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00217-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague, emerged as a fleaborne pathogen only within the last 6,000 years. Just five simple genetic changes in the Yersinia pseudotuberculosis progenitor, which served to eliminate toxicity to fleas and to enhance survival and biofilm formation in the flea digestive tract, were key to the transition to the arthropodborne transmission route. To gain a deeper understanding of the genetic basis for the development of a transmissible biofilm infection in the flea foregut, we evaluated additional gene differences and performed in vivo transcriptional profiling of Y. pestis, a Y. pseudotuberculosis wild-type strain (unable to form biofilm in the flea foregut), and a Y. pseudotuberculosis mutant strain (able to produce foregut-blocking biofilm in fleas) recovered from fleas 1 day and 14 days after an infectious blood meal. Surprisingly, the Y. pseudotuberculosis mutations that increased c-di-GMP levels and enabled biofilm development in the flea did not change the expression levels of the hms genes responsible for the synthesis and export of the extracellular polysaccharide matrix required for mature biofilm formation. The Y. pseudotuberculosis mutant uniquely expressed much higher levels of Yersinia type VI secretion system 4 (T6SS-4) in the flea, and this locus was required for flea blockage by Y. pseudotuberculosis but not for blockage by Y. pestis. Significant differences between the two species in expression of several metabolism genes, the Psa fimbrial genes, quorum sensing-related genes, transcription regulation genes, and stress response genes were evident during flea infection. IMPORTANCE Y. pestis emerged as a highly virulent, arthropod-transmitted pathogen on the basis of relatively few and discrete genetic changes from Y. pseudotuberculosis. Parallel comparisons of the in vitro and in vivo transcriptomes of Y. pestis and two Y. pseudotuberculosis variants that produce a nontransmissible infection and a transmissible infection of the flea vector, respectively, provided insights into how Y. pestis has adapted to life in its flea vector and point to evolutionary changes in the regulation of metabolic and biofilm development pathways in these two closely related species.
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5
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Abstract
The plague bacillus Yersinia pestis is unique among the pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae in utilizing an arthropod-borne transmission route. Transmission by fleabite is a recent evolutionary adaptation that followed the divergence of Y. pestis from the closely related food- and waterborne enteric pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis A combination of population genetics, comparative genomics, and investigations of Yersinia-flea interactions have disclosed the important steps in the evolution and emergence of Y. pestis as a flea-borne pathogen. Only a few genetic changes, representing both gene gain by lateral transfer and gene loss by loss-of-function mutation (pseudogenization), were fundamental to this process. The emergence of Y. pestis fits evolutionary theories that emphasize ecological opportunity in adaptive diversification and rapid emergence of new species.
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6
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Guinet F, Avé P, Filali S, Huon C, Savin C, Huerre M, Fiette L, Carniel E. Dissociation of Tissue Destruction and Bacterial Expansion during Bubonic Plague. PLoS Pathog 2015; 11:e1005222. [PMID: 26484539 PMCID: PMC4615631 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2015] [Accepted: 09/22/2015] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Activation and/or recruitment of the host plasmin, a fibrinolytic enzyme also active on extracellular matrix components, is a common invasive strategy of bacterial pathogens. Yersinia pestis, the bubonic plague agent, expresses the multifunctional surface protease Pla, which activates plasmin and inactivates fibrinolysis inhibitors. Pla is encoded by the pPla plasmid. Following intradermal inoculation, Y. pestis has the capacity to multiply in and cause destruction of the lymph node (LN) draining the entry site. The closely related, pPla-negative, Y. pseudotuberculosis species lacks this capacity. We hypothesized that tissue damage and bacterial multiplication occurring in the LN during bubonic plague were linked and both driven by pPla. Using a set of pPla-positive and pPla-negative Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis strains in a mouse model of intradermal injection, we found that pPla is not required for bacterial translocation to the LN. We also observed that a pPla-cured Y. pestis caused the same extensive histological lesions as the wild type strain. Furthermore, the Y. pseudotuberculosis histological pattern, characterized by infectious foci limited by inflammatory cell infiltrates with normal tissue density and follicular organization, was unchanged after introduction of pPla. However, the presence of pPla enabled Y. pseudotuberculosis to increase its bacterial load up to that of Y. pestis. Similarly, lack of pPla strongly reduced Y. pestis titers in LNs of infected mice. This pPla-mediated enhancing effect on bacterial load was directly dependent on the proteolytic activity of Pla. Immunohistochemistry of Pla-negative Y. pestis-infected LNs revealed extensive bacterial lysis, unlike the numerous, apparently intact, microorganisms seen in wild type Y. pestis-infected preparations. Therefore, our study demonstrates that tissue destruction and bacterial survival/multiplication are dissociated in the bubo and that the primary action of Pla is to protect bacteria from destruction rather than to alter the tissue environment to favor Y. pestis propagation in the host. The hallmark of bubonic plague, a disease that ravaged Medieval Europe and is still prevalent in several countries, is the bubo, a highly inflammatory and painful lymph node, which is characterized by high concentrations of bacteria within a severely damaged organ. Yersinia pestis, the causative agent, expresses a surface protease, Pla, critical to the development of bubonic plague. This multitarget protease has the potential to activate the fibrinolytic pathway and to promote destruction of extracellular protein networks within tissues. Hence, it was expected that Pla was responsible for the tissue destructions of the bubo, and consequently, for bacterial propagation and virulence. However, we found, using various engineered Yersinia strains in a mouse model of bubonic plague, that Pla proteolytic activity was dispensable for lymph node alteration, but was required to achieve high bacterial loads in the organ. Further analysis showed that Pla is essential for preventing the bacteria from being destroyed in the host. Therefore, the role of Pla as a virulence factor is to protect Y. pestis survival and integrity in the host, rather than to assist its spread through tissue destruction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Françoise Guinet
- Unité de Recherche Yersinia, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
- * E-mail: (FG); (EC)
| | - Patrick Avé
- Unité d’Histopathologie Humaine et Modèles Animaux, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Sofia Filali
- Unité de Recherche Yersinia, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Christèle Huon
- Unité de Recherche Yersinia, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Cyril Savin
- Unité de Recherche Yersinia, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Michel Huerre
- Unité de Recherche et d’Expertise d’Histotechnologie et Pathologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Laurence Fiette
- Unité d’Histopathologie Humaine et Modèles Animaux, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
| | - Elisabeth Carniel
- Unité de Recherche Yersinia, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
- * E-mail: (FG); (EC)
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7
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Zimbler DL, Schroeder JA, Eddy JL, Lathem WW. Early emergence of Yersinia pestis as a severe respiratory pathogen. Nat Commun 2015; 6:7487. [PMID: 26123398 PMCID: PMC4491175 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2015] [Accepted: 05/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Yersinia pestis causes the fatal respiratory disease pneumonic plague. Y. pestis recently evolved from the gastrointestinal pathogen Y. pseudotuberculosis; however, it is not known at what point Y. pestis gained the ability to induce a fulminant pneumonia. Here we show that the acquisition of a single gene encoding the protease Pla was sufficient for the most ancestral, deeply rooted strains of Y. pestis to cause pneumonic plague, indicating that Y. pestis was primed to infect the lungs at a very early stage in its evolution. As Y. pestis further evolved, modern strains acquired a single amino-acid modification within Pla that optimizes protease activity. While this modification is unnecessary to cause pneumonic plague, the substitution is instead needed to efficiently induce the invasive infection associated with bubonic plague. These findings indicate that Y. pestis was capable of causing pneumonic plague before it evolved to optimally cause invasive infections in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L Zimbler
- Department of Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Jay A Schroeder
- Department of Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Justin L Eddy
- Department of Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
| | - Wyndham W Lathem
- Department of Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA
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8
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Sun YC, Jarrett CO, Bosio CF, Hinnebusch BJ. Retracing the evolutionary path that led to flea-borne transmission of Yersinia pestis. Cell Host Microbe 2015; 15:578-86. [PMID: 24832452 DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2014.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2014] [Revised: 03/07/2014] [Accepted: 03/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Yersinia pestis is an arthropod-borne bacterial pathogen that evolved recently from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, an enteric pathogen transmitted via the fecal-oral route. This radical ecological transition can be attributed to a few discrete genetic changes from a still-extant recent ancestor, thus providing a tractable case study in pathogen evolution and emergence. Here, we determined the genetic and mechanistic basis of the evolutionary adaptation of Y. pestis to flea-borne transmission. Remarkably, only four minor changes in the bacterial progenitor, representing one gene gain and three gene losses, enabled transmission by flea vectors. All three loss-of-function mutations enhanced cyclic-di-GMP-mediated bacterial biofilm formation in the flea foregut, which greatly increased transmissibility. Our results suggest a step-wise evolutionary model in which Y. pestis emerged as a flea-borne clone, with each genetic change incrementally reinforcing the transmission cycle. The model conforms well to the ecological theory of adaptive radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Cheng Sun
- Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4(th) Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | - Clayton O Jarrett
- Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4(th) Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | - Christopher F Bosio
- Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4(th) Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA
| | - B Joseph Hinnebusch
- Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4(th) Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA.
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Heroven AK, Dersch P. Coregulation of host-adapted metabolism and virulence by pathogenic yersiniae. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2014; 4:146. [PMID: 25368845 PMCID: PMC4202721 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2014.00146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2014] [Accepted: 09/30/2014] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Deciphering the principles how pathogenic bacteria adapt their metabolism to a specific host microenvironment is critical for understanding bacterial pathogenesis. The enteric pathogenic Yersinia species Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica and the causative agent of plague, Yersinia pestis, are able to survive in a large variety of environmental reservoirs (e.g., soil, plants, insects) as well as warm-blooded animals (e.g., rodents, pigs, humans) with a particular preference for lymphatic tissues. In order to manage rapidly changing environmental conditions and interbacterial competition, Yersinia senses the nutritional composition during the course of an infection by special molecular devices, integrates this information and adapts its metabolism accordingly. In addition, nutrient availability has an impact on expression of virulence genes in response to C-sources, demonstrating a tight link between the pathogenicity of yersiniae and utilization of nutrients. Recent studies revealed that global regulatory factors such as the cAMP receptor protein (Crp) and the carbon storage regulator (Csr) system are part of a large network of transcriptional and posttranscriptional control strategies adjusting metabolic changes and virulence in response to temperature, ion and nutrient availability. Gained knowledge about the specific metabolic requirements and the correlation between metabolic and virulence gene expression that enable efficient host colonization led to the identification of new potential antimicrobial targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann Kathrin Heroven
- Department of Molecular Infection Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Institut für Mikrobiology, Technische Universität Braunschweig Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Petra Dersch
- Department of Molecular Infection Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Institut für Mikrobiology, Technische Universität Braunschweig Braunschweig, Germany
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Abstract
Na(+)/H(+) antiporters are ubiquitous membrane proteins that play a central role in the ion homeostasis of cells. In this study, we examined the possible role of Na(+)/H(+) antiport in Yersinia pestis virulence and found that Y. pestis strains lacking the major Na(+)/H(+) antiporters, NhaA and NhaB, are completely attenuated in an in vivo model of plague. The Y. pestis derivative strain lacking the nhaA and nhaB genes showed markedly decreased survival in blood and blood serum ex vivo. Complementation of either nhaA or nhaB in trans restored the survival of the Y. pestis nhaA nhaB double deletion mutant in blood. The nhaA nhaB double deletion mutant also showed inhibited growth in an artificial serum medium, Opti-MEM, and a rich LB-based medium with Na(+) levels and pH values similar to those for blood. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that intact Na(+)/H(+) antiport is indispensable for the survival of Y. pestis in the bloodstreams of infected animals and thus might be regarded as a promising noncanonical drug target for infections caused by Y. pestis and possibly for those caused by other blood-borne bacterial pathogens.
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Larson MA, Ding SJ, Slater SR, Hanway A, Bartling AM, Fey PD, Lockridge O, Francesconi SC, Hinrichs SH. Application of chromosomal DNA and protein targeting for the identification ofYersinia pestis. Proteomics Clin Appl 2013; 7:416-23. [DOI: 10.1002/prca.201200092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2012] [Revised: 11/12/2012] [Accepted: 12/01/2012] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Marilynn A. Larson
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology; University of Nebraska Medical Center; Omaha; NE; USA
| | - Shi-Jian Ding
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology; University of Nebraska Medical Center; Omaha; NE; USA
| | - Shawn R. Slater
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology; University of Nebraska Medical Center; Omaha; NE; USA
| | - Anna Hanway
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology; University of Nebraska Medical Center; Omaha; NE; USA
| | - Amanda M. Bartling
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology; University of Nebraska Medical Center; Omaha; NE; USA
| | - Paul D. Fey
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology; University of Nebraska Medical Center; Omaha; NE; USA
| | - Oksana Lockridge
- Eppley Institute; University of Nebraska Medical Center; Omaha; NE; USA
| | | | - Steven H. Hinrichs
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology; University of Nebraska Medical Center; Omaha; NE; USA
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Yang R, Du Z, Han Y, Zhou L, Song Y, Zhou D, Cui Y. Omics strategies for revealing Yersinia pestis virulence. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2012; 2:157. [PMID: 23248778 PMCID: PMC3521224 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2012.00157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2012] [Accepted: 11/27/2012] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Omics has remarkably changed the way we investigate and understand life. Omics differs from traditional hypothesis-driven research because it is a discovery-driven approach. Mass datasets produced from omics-based studies require experts from different fields to reveal the salient features behind these data. In this review, we summarize omics-driven studies to reveal the virulence features of Yersinia pestis through genomics, trascriptomics, proteomics, interactomics, etc. These studies serve as foundations for further hypothesis-driven research and help us gain insight into Y. pestis pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruifu Yang
- Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology Beijing, China.
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Lenz JD, Temple BRS, Miller VL. Evolution and virulence contributions of the autotransporter proteins YapJ and YapK of Yersinia pestis CO92 and their homologs in Y. pseudotuberculosis IP32953. Infect Immun 2012; 80:3693-705. [PMID: 22802344 PMCID: PMC3457547 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00529-12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2012] [Accepted: 07/08/2012] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, evolved from the gastrointestinal pathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Both species have numerous type Va autotransporters, most of which appear to be highly conserved. In Y. pestis CO92, the autotransporter genes yapK and yapJ share a high level of sequence identity. By comparing yapK and yapJ to three homologous genes in Y. pseudotuberculosis IP32953 (YPTB0365, YPTB3285, and YPTB3286), we show that yapK is conserved in Y. pseudotuberculosis, while yapJ is unique to Y. pestis. All of these autotransporters exhibit >96% identity in the C terminus of the protein and identities ranging from 58 to 72% in their N termini. By extending this analysis to include homologous sequences from numerous Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis strains, we determined that these autotransporters cluster into a YapK (YPTB3285) class and a YapJ (YPTB3286) class. The YPTB3286-like gene of most Y. pestis strains appears to be inactivated, perhaps in favor of maintaining yapJ. Since autotransporters are important for virulence in many bacterial pathogens, including Y. pestis, any change in autotransporter content should be considered for its impact on virulence. Using established mouse models of Y. pestis infection, we demonstrated that despite the high level of sequence identity, yapK is distinct from yapJ in its contribution to disseminated Y. pestis infection. In addition, a mutant lacking both of these genes exhibits an additive attenuation, suggesting nonredundant roles for yapJ and yapK in systemic Y. pestis infection. However, the deletion of the homologous genes in Y. pseudotuberculosis does not seem to impact the virulence of this organism in orogastric or systemic infection models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D. Lenz
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Brenda R. S. Temple
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- R. L. Juliano Structural Bioinformatics Core Facility, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Virginia L. Miller
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Abstract
With plague being not only a subject of interest for historians, but still a disease of public health concern in several countries, mainly in Africa, there were hopes that analyses of the Yersinia pestis genomes would put an end to this deadly epidemic pathogen. Genomics revealed that Y. pestis isolates evolved from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in Central Asia some millennia ago, after the acquisition of two Y. pestis-specific plasmids balanced genomic reduction parallel with the expansion of insertion sequences, illustrating the modern concept that, except for the acquisition of plasmid-borne toxin-encoding genes, the increased virulence of Y. pestis resulted from gene loss rather than gene acquisition. The telluric persistence of Y. pestis reminds us of this close relationship, and matters in terms of plague epidemiology. Whereas biotype Orientalis isolates spread worldwide, the Antiqua and Medievalis isolates showed more limited expansion. In addition to animal ectoparasites, human ectoparasites such as the body louse may have participated in this expansion and in devastating historical epidemics. The recent analysis of a Black Death genome indicated that it was more closely related to the Orientalis branch than to the Medievalis branch. Modern Y. pestis isolates grossly exhibit the same gene content, but still undergo micro-evolution in geographically limited areas by differing in the genome architecture, owing to inversions near insertion sequences and the stabilization of the YpfPhi prophage in Orientalis biotype isolates. Genomics have provided several new molecular tools for the genotyping and phylogeographical tracing of isolates and description of plague foci. However, genomics and post-genomics approaches have not yet provided new tools for the prevention, diagnosis and management of plague patients and the plague epidemics still raging in some sub-Saharan countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Drancourt
- URMITE UMR CNRS 6236 IRD 98, IFR48, Méditerranée Infection, Aix-Marseille-Université, Marseille, France.
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Expression during host infection and localization of Yersinia pestis autotransporter proteins. J Bacteriol 2011; 193:5936-49. [PMID: 21873491 DOI: 10.1128/jb.05877-11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Yersinia pestis CO92 has 12 open reading frames encoding putative conventional autotransporters (yaps), nine of which appear to produce functional proteins. Here, we demonstrate the ability of the Yap proteins to localize to the cell surface of both Escherichia coli and Yersinia pestis and show that a subset of these proteins undergoes processing by bacterial surface omptins to be released into the supernatant. Numerous autotransporters have been implicated in pathogenesis, suggesting a role for the Yaps as virulence factors in Y. pestis. Using the C57BL/6 mouse models of bubonic and pneumonic plague, we determined that all of these genes are transcribed in the lymph nodes during bubonic infection and in the lungs during pneumonic infection, suggesting a role for the Yaps during mammalian infection. In vitro transcription studies did not identify a particular environmental stimulus responsible for transcriptional induction. The primary sequences of the Yaps reveal little similarity to any characterized autotransporters; however, two of the genes are present in operons, suggesting that the proteins encoded in these operons may function together. Further work aims to elucidate the specific functions of the Yaps and clarify the contributions of these proteins to Y. pestis pathogenesis.
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