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Chapman JE, George SE, Wolz C, Olson ME. Biofilms: A developmental niche for vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus. INFECTION, GENETICS AND EVOLUTION : JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES 2024; 117:105545. [PMID: 38160879 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2023.105545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus are gram-positive bacteria responsible for a wide array of diseases, ranging from skin and soft tissue infections to more chronic illnesses such as toxic shock syndrome, osteomyelitis, and endocarditis. Vancomycin is currently one of the most effective antibiotics available in treating patients infected with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), however the emergence of vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA), and more commonly vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA), threaten the future efficacy of vancomycin. Intermediate resistance to vancomycin occurs due to mutations within the loci of Staphylococcal genes involved in cell wall formation such as rpoB, graS, and yycG. We hypothesized the VISA phenotype may also arise as a result of the natural stress occurring within S. aureus biofilms, and that this phenomenon is mediated by the RecA/SOS response. Wildtype and recA null mutant/lexAG94E strains of S. aureus biofilms were established in biofilm microtiter assays or planktonic cultures with or without the addition of sub-inhibitory concentrations of vancomycin (0.063 mg/l - 0.25 mg/L ciprofloxacin, 0.5 mg/l vancomycin). Efficiency of plating techniques were used to quantify the subpopulation of biofilm-derived S. aureus cells that developed vancomycin-intermediate resistance. The results indicated that a greater subpopulation of cells from wildtype biofilms (4.16 × 102 CFUs) emerged from intermediate-resistant concentrations of vancomycin (4 μg/ml) compared with the planktonic counterpart (1.53 × 101 CFUs). Wildtype biofilms (4.16 × 102 CFUs) also exhibited greater resistance to intermediate-resistant concentrations of vancomycin compared with strains deficient in the recA null mutant (8.15 × 101 CFUs) and lexA genes (8.00 × 101 CFUs). While the VISA phenotype would be an unintended consequence of genetic diversity and potentially gene transfer in the biofilm setting, it demonstrates that mutations occurring within biofilms allow for S. aureus to adapt to new environments, including the presence of widely used antibiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenelle E Chapman
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, USA
| | - Shilpa E George
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christiane Wolz
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Michael E Olson
- Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, USA.
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Kubiak AM, Claessen L, Zhang Y, Khazaie K, Bailey TS. Refined control of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in Clostridium sporogenes: the creation of recombinant strains for therapeutic applications. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1241632. [PMID: 37869009 PMCID: PMC10585264 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1241632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite considerable clinical success, the potential of cancer immunotherapy is restricted by a lack of tumour-targeting strategies. Treatment requires systemic delivery of cytokines or antibodies at high levels to achieve clinically effective doses at malignant sites. This is exacerbated by poor penetration of tumour tissue by therapeutic antibodies. High-grade immune-related adverse events (irAEs) occur in a significant number of patients (5-15%, cancer- and therapeutic-dependent) that can lead to lifelong issues and can exclude from treatment patients with pre-existing autoimmune diseases. Tumour-homing bacteria, genetically engineered to produce therapeutics, is one of the approaches that seeks to mitigate these drawbacks. The ability of Clostridium sporogenes to form spores that are unable to germinate in the presence of oxygen (typical of healthy tissue) offers a unique advantage over other vectors. However, the limited utility of existing gene editing tools hinders the development of therapeutic strains. To overcome the limitations of previous systems, expression of the Cas9 protein and the gRNA was controlled using tetracycline inducible promoters. Furthermore, the components of the system were divided across two plasmids, improving the efficiency of cloning and conjugation. Genome integrated therapeutic genes were assayed biochemically and in cell-based functional assays. The potency of these strains was further improved through rationally-conceived gene knock-outs. The new system was validated by demonstrating the efficient addition and deletion of large sequences from the genome. This included the creation of recombinant strains expressing two pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-2 (IL-2) and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and a pro-drug converting enzyme (PCE). A comparative, temporal in vitro analysis of the integrant strains and their plasmid-based equivalents revealed a substantial reduction of cytokine activity in chromosome-based constructs. To compensate for this loss, a 7.6 kb operon of proteolytic genes was deleted from the genome. The resultant knock-out strains showed an 8- to 10-fold increase in cytokine activity compared to parental strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra M. Kubiak
- Exomnis Biotech BV, Maastricht, Netherlands
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Luuk Claessen
- Exomnis Biotech BV, Maastricht, Netherlands
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Yanchao Zhang
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Khashayarsha Khazaie
- Department of Immunology and Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Tom S. Bailey
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - School for Oncology and Reproduction, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
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The intrinsic resistome of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Int J Antimicrob Agents 2018; 53:29-33. [PMID: 30236960 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2018.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Revised: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 09/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Molecular epidemiology studies aiming at understanding the acquisition of antimicrobial resistance by clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae are regularly published; however, information on the genes that contribute to its characteristic phenotype of resistance to antibiotics (intrinsic resistome) is scarce. To fill this gap, a K. pneumoniae transposon mutant library was screened and 171 mutants presenting changes in their susceptibility to antibiotics were selected, in which the transposon insertion site was determined in 75. Twenty-seven mutants for which insertion points had been previously identified were included in the analysis. A total of 102 mutants were selected for further studies. In 70 mutants the transposon was inserted in a gene with a known function, whilst in 19 the insertion occurred in genes encoding proteins with unknown functions and 13 insertions occurred in intergenic regions. Moreover, 87 of the insertions were localised in the chromosome, with 15 insertions located in the two plasmids carried by this strain. Whereas some of the mutated genes are already known to be involved in antimicrobial resistance (ampG, acrB, tolC), several of them are involved in regular processes of bacterial physiology, including K. pneumoniae virulence. Together with results published for other organisms, these results support that determinants involved in basic processes of bacterial physiology may contribute to antimicrobial resistance. These findings also indicate that, besides acquired resistance genes, plasmids may harbour other genes belonging to their backbone that can also be involved in resistance.
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Abstract
This chapter presents a historical overview of the development and changes in scientific approaches to classifying members of the Agrobacterium genus. We also describe the changes in the inference of evolutionary relationships among Agrobacterium biovars and Agrobacterium strains from using the 16S rRNA marker to recA genes and to the use of multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA). Further, the impacts of the genomic era enabling low cost and rapid whole genome sequencing on Agrobacterium phylogeny are reviewed with a focus on the use of new and sophisticated bioinformatics approaches to refine phylogenetic inferences. An updated genome-based phylogeny of ninety-seven Agrobacterium tumefaciens complex isolates representing ten known genomic species is presented, providing additional support to the monophyly of the Agrobacterium clade. Additional taxon sampling within Agrobacterium genomovar G3 indicates potential exceptions to interpretation of the concept of bacterial genomics species as ecological species because the genomovar G3 genomic cluster, which initially includes clinical strains, now also includes plant-associated and cave isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Ming Gan
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia.
| | - Michael A Savka
- Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA.
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Perron GG, Lee AEG, Wang Y, Huang WE, Barraclough TG. Bacterial recombination promotes the evolution of multi-drug-resistance in functionally diverse populations. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 279:1477-84. [PMID: 22048956 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.1933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacterial recombination is believed to be a major factor explaining the prevalence of multi-drug-resistance (MDR) among pathogenic bacteria. Despite extensive evidence for exchange of resistance genes from retrospective sequence analyses, experimental evidence for the evolutionary benefits of bacterial recombination is scarce. We compared the evolution of MDR between populations of Acinetobacter baylyi in which we manipulated both the recombination rate and the initial diversity of strains with resistance to single drugs. In populations lacking recombination, the initial presence of multiple strains resistant to different antibiotics inhibits the evolution of MDR. However, in populations with recombination, the inhibitory effect of standing diversity is alleviated and MDR evolves rapidly. Moreover, only the presence of DNA harbouring resistance genes promotes the evolution of resistance, ruling out other proposed benefits for recombination. Together, these results provide direct evidence for the fitness benefits of bacterial recombination and show that this occurs by mitigation of functional interference between genotypes resistant to single antibiotics. Although analogous to previously described mechanisms of clonal interference among alternative beneficial mutations, our results actually highlight a different mechanism by which interactions among co-occurring strains determine the benefits of recombination for bacterial evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel G Perron
- Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK.
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Mariscotti JF, García-Del Portillo F. Instability of the Salmonella RcsCDB signalling system in the absence of the attenuator IgaA. MICROBIOLOGY-SGM 2008; 154:1372-1383. [PMID: 18451046 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.2007/015891-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
IgaA is a Salmonella enterica membrane protein that attenuates the response of the RcsCDB signalling system to envelope stress. This protein is essential unless the RcsCDB system is inactivated, suggesting that IgaA may constantly adjust the magnitude of the response. Such a functional link is also supported by the concurrence of the igaA and rcsD-rcsB-rcsC loci in genomes of enteric bacteria and the selection of spontaneous mutations in the RcsCDB system following IgaA deprivation. However, the exact nature of the spontaneous mutations rendering IgaA dispensable remains undefined. In this work, we examined how the transduction of an igaA null allele affects the status of the RcsCDB system. Loss of RcsCDB response was registered in approximately 90 % of the IgaA-defective clones, which failed to produce the capsule material positively regulated by this system. About half of these non-mucoid clones suppressed the loss of IgaA with large deletions encompassing variable regions of the rcsD-rcsB-rcsC locus. Unexpectedly, mucoid transductants were also reproducibly obtained and indicated the capacity of S. enterica to retain a functional RcsCDB system in the absence of IgaA. Decreased levels of either RcsC or RcsD were shown in 'mucoid' clones lacking IgaA and displaying low responsiveness to stimuli. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the stability and responsiveness of the RcsCDB system relies on its attenuator IgaA. The type of suppressions found also support a model with IgaA controlling the level of signal flowing through RcsC and RcsD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier F Mariscotti
- Departamento de Biotecnología Microbiana, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Darwin 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco García-Del Portillo
- Departamento de Biotecnología Microbiana, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Darwin 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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Hasegawa K, Yoshiyama K, Maki H. Spontaneous mutagenesis associated with nucleotide excision repair in Escherichia coli. Genes Cells 2008; 13:459-69. [PMID: 18429818 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2443.2008.01185.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The vast majority of spontaneous mutations occurring in Escherichia coli are thought to be derived from spontaneous DNA lesions, which include oxidative base damage. Systems for removing intrinsic mutagens and repairing DNA lesions contribute to the suppression of spontaneous mutations. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a general DNA repair system that eliminates various kinds of lesions from DNA. We therefore predicted that NER might be involved in suppression of spontaneous mutations, and analyzed base substitutions occurring spontaneously within the rpoB gene in NER-proficient (wild-type), -deficient and -overproducing E. coli strains. Surprisingly, the mutation frequency was lower in NER-deficient strains, and higher in NER-overproducing strains, than in the NER-proficient strain. These results suggest, paradoxically, that NER contributes to the generation of spontaneous mutation rather than to its suppression under normal growth conditions, and that transcription-coupled repair also participates in this process. Using E. coli strains that carried an editing exonuclease-deficient polA mutation, we further obtained data suggesting that unnecessary NER might account for these findings, so that errors introduced during repair DNA synthesis by DNA polymerase I would result in unwanted base substitutions. The repair system itself may thus be an important generator of spontaneous mutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimiko Hasegawa
- Department of Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan
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