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Cersosimo LM, Worley JN, Bry L. Approaching toxigenic Clostridia from a One Health perspective. Anaerobe 2024; 87:102839. [PMID: 38552896 PMCID: PMC11180571 DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2024.102839] [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: 12/31/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Spore-forming pathogens have a unique capacity to thrive in diverse environments, and with temporal persistence afforded through their ability to sporulate. Their prevalence in diverse ecosystems requires a One Health approach to identify critical reservoirs and outbreak-associated transmission chains, given their capacity to freely move across soils, waterways, foodstuffs and as commensals or infecting pathogens in human and animal populations. Among anaerobic spore-formers, genomic resources for pathogens including C. botulinum, C. difficile, and C. perfringens enable our capacity to identify common and unique factors that support their persistence in diverse reservoirs and capacity to cause disease. Publicly available genomic resources for spore-forming pathogens at NCBI's Pathogen Detection program aid outbreak investigations and longitudinal monitoring in national and international programs in public health and food safety, as well as for local healthcare systems. These tools also enable research to derive new knowledge regarding disease pathogenesis, and to inform strategies in disease prevention and treatment. As global community resources, the continued sharing of strain genomic data and phenotypes further enhances international resources and means to develop impactful applications. We present examples showing use of these resources in surveillance, including capacity to assess linkages among clinical, environmental, and foodborne reservoirs and to further research investigations into factors promoting their persistence and virulence in different settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Cersosimo
- Massachusetts Host-Microbiome Center, Dept. Pathology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Jay N Worley
- Massachusetts Host-Microbiome Center, Dept. Pathology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA; National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lynn Bry
- Massachusetts Host-Microbiome Center, Dept. Pathology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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Cersosimo LM, Worley JN, Bry L. Approaching pathogenic Clostridia from a One Health perspective. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.08.574718. [PMID: 38260382 PMCID: PMC10802438 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.08.574718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Spore-forming pathogens have a unique capacity to thrive in diverse environments, and with temporal persistence afforded through their ability to sporulate. These behaviors require a One Health approach to identify critical reservoirs and outbreak-associated transmission chains, given their capacity to freely move across soils, waterways, foodstuffs, and as commensals or infecting pathogens in human and veterinary populations. Among anaerobic spore-formers, genomic resources for pathogens including C. botulinum, C. difficile, and C. perfringens enable our capacity to identify common and unique factors that support their persistence in diverse reservoirs and capacity to cause disease. Publicly available genomic resources for spore-forming pathogens at NCBI's Pathogen Detection program aid outbreak investigations and longitudinal monitoring in national and international programs in public health and food safety, as well as for local healthcare systems. These tools also enable research to derive new knowledge regarding disease pathogenesis, and to inform strategies in disease prevention and treatment. As global community resources, the continued sharing of strain genomic data and phenotypes further enhances international resources and means to develop impactful applications. We present examples showing use of these resources in surveillance, including capacity to assess linkages among clinical, environmental, and foodborne reservoirs and to further research investigations into factors promoting their persistence and virulence in different settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M. Cersosimo
- Massachusetts Host-Microbiome Center, Dept. Pathology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Jay N. Worley
- Massachusetts Host-Microbiome Center, Dept. Pathology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, NIH, Bethesda, MD
| | - Lynn Bry
- Massachusetts Host-Microbiome Center, Dept. Pathology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
- Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Dept. Pathology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
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Archambault M, Rubin JE. Antimicrobial Resistance in Clostridium and Brachyspira spp. and Other Anaerobes. Microbiol Spectr 2020; 8:10.1128/microbiolspec.arba-0020-2017. [PMID: 31971162 PMCID: PMC10773235 DOI: 10.1128/microbiolspec.arba-0020-2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
This article describes the antimicrobial resistance to date of the most frequently encountered anaerobic bacterial pathogens of animals. The different sections show that antimicrobial resistance can vary depending on the antimicrobial, the anaerobe, and the resistance mechanism. The variability in antimicrobial resistance patterns is also associated with other factors such as geographic region and local antimicrobial usage. On occasion, the same resistance gene was observed in many anaerobes, whereas some were limited to certain anaerobes. This article focuses on antimicrobial resistance data of veterinary origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Archambault
- Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec J2S 2M2, Canada
| | - Joseph E Rubin
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan S7N 5B4, Canada
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Effects of Bile Acids and Nisin on the Production of Enterotoxin by Clostridium perfringens in a Nutrient-Rich Medium. Int J Microbiol 2018; 2018:7276523. [PMID: 29675044 PMCID: PMC5838459 DOI: 10.1155/2018/7276523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Revised: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Clostridium perfringens is the second most common cause of bacterial foodborne illness in the United States, with nearly a million cases each year. C. perfringens enterotoxin (CPE), produced during sporulation, damages intestinal epithelial cells by pore formation, which results in watery diarrhea. The effects of low concentrations of nisin and bile acids on sporulation and toxin production were investigated in C. perfringens SM101, which carries an enterotoxin gene on the chromosome, in a nutrient-rich medium. Bile acids and nisin increased production of enterotoxin in cultures; bile acids had the highest effect. Both compounds stimulated the transcription of enterotoxin and sporulation-related genes and production of spores during the early growth phase. They also delayed spore outgrowth and nisin was more inhibitory. Bile acids and nisin enhanced enterotoxin production in some but not all other C. perfringens isolates tested. Low concentrations of bile acids and nisin may act as a stress signal for the initiation of sporulation and the early transcription of sporulation-related genes in some strains of C. perfringens, which may result in increased strain-specific production of enterotoxin in those strains. This is the first report showing that nisin and bile acids stimulated the transcription of enterotoxin and sporulation-related genes in a nutrient-rich bacterial culture medium.
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Park M, Rafii F. Exposure to β-lactams results in the alteration of penicillin-binding proteins in Clostridium perfringens. Anaerobe 2017; 45:78-85. [PMID: 28185856 DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2017.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2016] [Revised: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Effect of Trehalose and Trehalose Transport on the Tolerance of Clostridium perfringens to Environmental Stress in a Wild Type Strain and Its Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Mutant. Int J Microbiol 2017; 2016:4829716. [PMID: 28058047 PMCID: PMC5183799 DOI: 10.1155/2016/4829716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Accepted: 10/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Trehalose has been shown to protect bacterial cells from environmental stress. Its uptake and osmoprotective effect in Clostridium perfringens were investigated by comparing wild type C. perfringens ATCC 13124 with a fluoroquinolone- (gatifloxacin-) resistant mutant. In a chemically defined medium, trehalose and sucrose supported the growth of the wild type but not that of the mutant. Microarray data and qRT-PCR showed that putative genes for the phosphorylation and transport of sucrose and trehalose (via phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase systems, PTS) and some regulatory genes were downregulated in the mutant. The wild type had greater tolerance than the mutant to salts and low pH; trehalose and sucrose further enhanced the osmotolerance of the wild type to NaCl. Expression of the trehalose-specific PTS was lower in the fluoroquinolone-resistant mutant. Protection of C. perfringens from environmental stress could therefore be correlated with the ability to take up trehalose.
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Park M, Deck J, Foley SL, Nayak R, Songer JG, Seibel JR, Khan SA, Rooney AP, Hecht DW, Rafii F. Diversity of Clostridium perfringens isolates from various sources and prevalence of conjugative plasmids. Anaerobe 2015; 38:25-35. [PMID: 26608548 DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2015.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2015] [Revised: 10/27/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Clostridium perfringens is an important pathogen, causing food poisoning and other mild to severe infections in humans and animals. Some strains of C. perfringens contain conjugative plasmids, which may carry antimicrobial resistance and toxin genes. We studied genomic and plasmid diversity of 145 C. perfringens type A strains isolated from soils, foods, chickens, clinical samples, and domestic animals (porcine, bovine and canine), from different geographic areas in the United States between 1994 and 2006, using multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) and/or pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). MLVA detected the genetic diversity in a majority of the isolates. PFGE, using SmaI and KspI, confirmed the MLVA results but also detected differences among the strains that could not be differentiated by MLVA. All of the PFGE profiles of the strains were different, except for a few of the epidemiologically related strains, which were identical. The PFGE profiles of strains isolated from the same domestic animal species were clustered more closely with each other than with other strains. However, a variety of C. perfringens strains with distinct genetic backgrounds were found among the clinical isolates. Variation was also observed in the size and number of plasmids in the strains. Primers for the internal fragment of a conjugative tcpH gene of C. perfringens plasmid pCPF4969 amplified identical size fragments from a majority of strains tested; and this gene hybridized to the various-sized plasmids of these strains. The sequences of the PCR-amplified tcpH genes from 12 strains showed diversity among the tcpH genes. Regardless of the sources of the isolates, the genetic diversity of C. perfringens extended to the plasmids carrying conjugative genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miseon Park
- Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, FDA, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | - Joanna Deck
- Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, FDA, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | - Steven L Foley
- Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, FDA, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | - Rajesh Nayak
- Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, FDA, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | | | | | - Saeed A Khan
- Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, FDA, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | - Alejandro P Rooney
- Crop Protection Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Peoria, IL 61604, USA
| | - David W Hecht
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL 60126, USA
| | - Fatemeh Rafii
- Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, FDA, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA.
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Zhang YY, Huang Y, He QZ, Luo J, Zhu L, Lu SS, Liu JY, Huang PF, Zeng XZ, Liang SP. Structural and Functional Diversity of Peptide Toxins from Tarantula Haplopelma hainanum (Ornithoctonus hainana) Venom Revealed by Transcriptomic, Peptidomic, and Patch Clamp Approaches. J Biol Chem 2015; 290:14192-207. [PMID: 25770214 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m114.635458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Spider venom is a complex mixture of bioactive peptides to subdue their prey. Early estimates suggested that over 400 venom peptides are produced per species. In order to investigate the mechanisms responsible for this impressive diversity, transcriptomics based on second generation high throughput sequencing was combined with peptidomic assays to characterize the venom of the tarantula Haplopelma hainanum. The genes expressed in the venom glands were identified, and the bioactivity of their protein products was analyzed using the patch clamp technique. A total of 1,136 potential toxin precursors were identified that clustered into 90 toxin groups, of which 72 were novel. The toxin peptides clustered into 20 cysteine scaffolds that included between 4 and 12 cysteines, and 14 of these groups were newly identified in this spider. Highly abundant toxin peptide transcripts were present and resulted from hypermutation and/or fragment insertion/deletion. In combination with variable post-translational modifications, this genetic variability explained how a limited set of genes can generate hundreds of toxin peptides in venom glands. Furthermore, the intraspecies venom variability illustrated the dynamic nature of spider venom and revealed how complex components work together to generate diverse bioactivities that facilitate adaptation to changing environments, types of prey, and milking regimes in captivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Ya Zhang
- From the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China and
| | - Yong Huang
- the State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, 20 Dong-Da Street, Fengtai District, Beijing 100071, China
| | - Quan-Ze He
- From the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China and
| | - Ji Luo
- From the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China and
| | - Li Zhu
- From the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China and
| | - Shan-Shan Lu
- From the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China and
| | - Jin-Yan Liu
- From the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China and
| | - Peng-Fei Huang
- From the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China and
| | - Xiong-Zhi Zeng
- From the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China and
| | - Song-Ping Liang
- From the Key Laboratory of Protein Chemistry and Developmental Biology of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China and
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Global Phenotypic Characterization of Effects of Fluoroquinolone Resistance Selection on the Metabolic Activities and Drug Susceptibilities of Clostridium perfringens Strains. Int J Microbiol 2014; 2014:456979. [PMID: 25587280 PMCID: PMC4283427 DOI: 10.1155/2014/456979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Revised: 11/07/2014] [Accepted: 11/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluoroquinolone resistance affects toxin production of Clostridium perfringens strains differently. To investigate the effect of fluoroquinolone resistance selection on global changes in metabolic activities and drug susceptibilities, four C. perfringens strains and their norfloxacin-, ciprofloxacin-, and gatifloxacin-resistant mutants were compared in nearly 2000 assays, using phenotype microarray plates. Variations among mutant strains resulting from resistance selection were observed in all aspects of metabolism. Carbon utilization, pH range, osmotic tolerance, and chemical sensitivity of resistant strains were affected differently in the resistant mutants depending on both the bacterial genotype and the fluoroquinolone to which the bacterium was resistant. The susceptibilities to gentamicin and erythromycin of all resistant mutants except one increased, but some resistant strains were less susceptible to amoxicillin, cefoxitin, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, and metronidazole than their wild types. Sensitivity to ethidium bromide decreased in some resistant mutants and increased in others. Microarray analysis of two gatifloxacin-resistant mutants showed changes in metabolic activities that were correlated with altered expression of various genes. Both the chemical structures of fluoroquinolones and the genomic makeup of the wild types influenced the changes found in resistant mutants, which may explain some inconsistent reports of the effects of therapeutic use of fluoroquinolones on clinical isolates of bacteria.
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Park M, Sutherland JB, Kim JN, Rafii F. Effect of Fluoroquinolone Resistance Selection on the Fitness of Three Strains of Clostridium perfringens. Microb Drug Resist 2013; 19:421-7. [DOI: 10.1089/mdr.2013.0056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Miseon Park
- Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, Arkansas
| | - John B. Sutherland
- Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, Arkansas
| | - Jong Nam Kim
- Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, Arkansas
| | - Fatemeh Rafii
- Division of Microbiology, National Center for Toxicological Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, Arkansas
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