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Zou Y, Zhou C, Chang X, Zhao F, Ye K. Differential mechanism between Listeria monocytogenes strains with different virulence contaminating ready-to-eat sausages during the simulated gastrointestinal tract. Food Res Int 2024; 186:114312. [PMID: 38729688 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.114312] [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: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes exhibits varying levels of pathogenicity when entering the host through contaminated food. However, little is known regarding the stress response and environmental tolerance mechanism of different virulence strains to host gastrointestinal (GI) stimuli. This study analyzed the differences in the survival and genes of stress responses among two strains of L. monocytogenes 10403S (serotype 1/2a, highly virulent strain) and M7 (serotype 4a, low-virulence strain) during simulated gastrointestinal digestion. The results indicated that L. monocytogenes 10403S showed greater acid and bile salt tolerance than L. monocytogenes M7, with higher survival rates and less cell deformation and cell membrane permeability during the in vitro digestion. KEGG analysis of the transcriptomes indicated that L. monocytogenes 10403S displayed significant activity in amino acid metabolism, such as glutamate and arginine, associated with acid tolerance. Additionally, L. monocytogenes 10403S demonstrated a higher efficacy in promoting activities that preserve bacterial cell membrane integrity and facilitate flagellar protein synthesis. These findings will contribute valuable practical insights into the tolerance distinctions among different virulence strains of L. monocytogenes in the GI environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafang Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production and Processing, Quality and Safety Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Cong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production and Processing, Quality and Safety Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Xiaochen Chang
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production and Processing, Quality and Safety Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Fanwen Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production and Processing, Quality and Safety Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China
| | - Keping Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Meat Production and Processing, Quality and Safety Control, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, 210095 Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China.
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Rukit J, Boonmee A, Kijpornyongpan T, Tulsook K, Baranyi J, Chaturongakul S. Roles of Alternative Sigma Factors in Invasion and Growth Characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes 10403S Into Human Epithelial Colorectal Adenocarcinoma Caco-2 Cell. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:901484. [PMID: 35910626 PMCID: PMC9329085 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.901484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive facultative intracellular bacterium with a broad host range. With its housekeeping sigma factor and four alternative ones (namely SigB, SigC, SigH, and SigL), L. monocytogenes can express genes in response to changing environments. However, the roles of these sigma factors in intracellular survival are still unclear. The objectives of this study were to characterize the role of each alternative σ factor on L. monocytogenes invasion and growth inside human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cells. We used L. monocytogenes 10403S wild type and its 15 alternative sigma factor deletion mutants at a multiplicity of infection of 100 and 1 in invasion and intracellular growth assays in the Caco-2 cells, respectively. At 1.5, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 h post-infection, Caco-2 cells were lysed, and intracellular L. monocytogenes were enumerated on brain-heart infusion agar. Colony-forming and growth rates were compared among strains. The results from phenotypic characterization confirmed that (i) SigB is the key factor for L. monocytogenes invasion and (ii) having only SigA (ΔsigBCHL strain) is sufficient to invade and multiply in the host cell at similar levels as the wild type. Our previous study suggested the negative role of SigL in bile stress response. In this study, we have shown that additional deletion of the rpoN (or sigL) gene to ΔsigB, ΔsigC, or ΔsigH could restore the impaired invasion efficiencies of the single mutant, suggesting the absence of SigL could enhance host invasion. Therefore, we further investigated the role of SigL during extracellular and intracellular life cycles. Using RNA sequencing, we identified 118 and 16 SigL-dependent genes during the extracellular and intracellular life cycles, respectively. The sigL gene itself was induced by fivefolds prior to the invasion, and 5.3 folds during Caco-2 infection, further suggesting the role of SigL in intracellular growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junyaluck Rukit
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Atsadang Boonmee
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Teeratas Kijpornyongpan
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Kan Tulsook
- National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathum Thani, Thailand
| | - József Baranyi
- Institute of Nutrition, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Soraya Chaturongakul
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Molecular Medical Biosciences Cluster, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand
- *Correspondence: Soraya Chaturongakul,
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Boonmee A, Oliver HF, Chaturongakul S. Listeria monocytogenes σ A Is Sufficient to Survive Gallbladder Bile Exposure. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2070. [PMID: 31551995 PMCID: PMC6737072 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne Gram-positive bacterium causing listeriosis in both animals and humans. It can persist and grow in various environments including conditions countered during saprophytic or intra-host lifestyles. Sigma (σ) subunit of RNA polymerase is a transcriptional factor responsible for guiding the core RNA polymerase and initiating gene expression under normal growth or physiological changes. In L. monocytogenes, there is one housekeeping sigma factor, σA, and four alternative sigma factors σB, σC, σH, and σL. Generally, σA directs expression of genes required for normal growth while alternative σ factors alter gene expression in response to specific conditions (e.g., stress). In this study, we aimed to determine the exclusive role of σA in L. monocytogenes by comparing a wild type strain with its isogenic mutant lacking genes encoding all alternative sigma factors (i.e., sigB, sigC, sigH, and sigL). We further investigated their survival abilities in 6% porcine bile (pH 8.2) mimicking gallbladder bile and their transcriptomics profiles in rich medium (i.e., BHI) and 1% porcine bile. Surprisingly, the results showed that survival abilities of wild type and ΔsigBΔsigCΔsigHΔsigL (or ΔsigBCHL) quadruple mutant strains in 6% bile were similar suggesting a compensatory role for σA. RNA-seq results revealed that bile stimulon of L. monocytogenes wild type contained 66 genes (43 and 23 genes were up- and down-regulated, respectively); however, only 29 genes (five up- and 24 down-regulated by bile) were differentially expressed in ΔsigBCHL. We have shown that bile exposure mediates increased transcription levels of dlt and ilv operons and decreased transcription levels of prfA and heat shock genes in wild type. Furthermore, we identified σA-dependent bile inducible genes that are involved in phosphotransferase systems, chaperones, and transporter systems; these genes appear to contribute to L. monocytogenes cellular homeostasis. As a result, σA seemingly plays a compensatory role in the absence of alternative sigma factors under bile exposure. Our data support that the bile stimulon is prone to facilitate resistance to bile prior to initiated infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsadang Boonmee
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Haley F. Oliver
- Department of Food Science, College of Agriculture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Soraya Chaturongakul
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
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Liu Y, Orsi RH, Boor KJ, Wiedmann M, Guariglia-Oropeza V. Home Alone: Elimination of All but One Alternative Sigma Factor in Listeria monocytogenes Allows Prediction of New Roles for σ B. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:1910. [PMID: 29075236 PMCID: PMC5641562 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Among Listeria monocytogenes' four alternative σ factors, σB controls the largest regulon. As σB-dependent transcription of some genes may be masked by overlaps among regulons, and as some σB-dependent genes are expressed only under very specific conditions, we hypothesized that the σB regulon is not yet fully defined. To further extend our understanding of the σB regulon, we used RNA-seq to identify σB-dependent genes in an L. monocytogenes strain that expresses σB following rhamnose induction, and in which genes encoding the other alternative sigma factors have been deleted. Analysis of RNA-seq data with multiple bioinformatics approaches, including a sliding window method that detects differentially transcribed 5' untranslated regions (UTRs), identified 105 σB-dependent transcription units (TUs) comprising 201 genes preceded by σB-dependent promoters. Of these 105 TUs, 7 TUs comprising 15 genes had not been identified previously as σB-dependent. An additional 23 genes not reported previously as σB-dependent were identified in 9 previously recognized σB-dependent TUs. Overall, 38 of these 201 genes had not been identified previously as members of the L. monocytogenes σB regulon. These newly identified σB-dependent genes encode proteins annotated as being involved in transcriptional regulation, oxidative and osmotic stress response, and in metabolism of energy, carbon and nucleotides. In total, 18 putative σB-dependent promoters were newly identified. Interestingly, a number of genes previously identified as σB-dependent did not show significant evidence for σB-dependent transcription in our experiments. Based on promoter analyses, a number of these genes showed evidence for co-regulation by σB and other transcriptional factors, suggesting that some σB-dependent genes require additional transcriptional regulators along with σB for transcription. Over-expression of a single alternative sigma factor in the absence of all other alternative sigma factors allowed us to: (i) identify new σB-dependent functions in L. monocytogenes, such as regulation of genes involved in 1,2-propanediol utilization (LMRG_00594-LMRG_00611) and biosynthesis of pyrimidine nucleotides (LMRG_00978-LMRG_00985); and (ii) identify new σB-dependent genes involved in stress response and pathogenesis functions. These data further support that σB not only regulates stress response functions, but also plays a broad role in L. monocytogenes homeostasis and resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yichang Liu
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Renato H Orsi
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Kathryn J Boor
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Martin Wiedmann
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
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Abstract
Lactococcus lactis is one of the most commonly used lactic acid bacteria in the dairy industry. Activation of competence for natural DNA transformation in this species would greatly improve the selection of novel strains with desired genetic traits. Here, we investigated the activation of natural transformation in L. lactis subsp. cremoris KW2, a strain of plant origin whose genome encodes the master competence regulator ComX and the complete set of proteins usually required for natural transformation. In the absence of knowledge about competence regulation in this species, we constitutively overproduced ComX in a reporter strain of late competence phase activation and showed, by transcriptomic analyses, a ComX-dependent induction of all key competence genes. We further demonstrated that natural DNA transformation is functional in this strain and requires the competence DNA uptake machinery. Since constitutive ComX overproduction is unstable, we alternatively expressed comX under the control of an endogenous xylose-inducible promoter. This regulated system was used to successfully inactivate the adaptor protein MecA and subunits of the Clp proteolytic complex, which were previously shown to be involved in ComX degradation in streptococci. In the presence of a small amount of ComX, the deletion of mecA, clpC, or clpP genes markedly increased the activation of the late competence phase and transformability. Altogether, our results report the functionality of natural DNA transformation in L. lactis and pave the way for the identification of signaling mechanisms that trigger the competence state in this species.IMPORTANCE Lactococcus lactis is a lactic acid bacterium of major importance, which is used as a starter species for milk fermentation, a host for heterologous protein production, and a delivery platform for therapeutic molecules. Here, we report the functionality of natural transformation in L. lactis subsp. cremoris KW2 by the overproduction of the master competence regulator ComX. The developed procedure enables a flexible approach to modify the chromosome with single point mutation, sequence insertion, or sequence replacement. These results represent an important step for the genetic engineering of L. lactis that will facilitate the design of strains optimized for industrial applications. This will also help to discover natural regulatory mechanisms controlling competence in the genus Lactococcus.
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Silently transformable: the many ways bacteria conceal their built-in capacity of genetic exchange. Curr Genet 2016; 63:451-455. [DOI: 10.1007/s00294-016-0663-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2016] [Revised: 10/31/2016] [Accepted: 11/02/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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