Development of a markerless gene deletion strategy using rpsL as a counterselectable marker and characterization of the function of RA0C_1534 in Riemerella anatipestifer ATCC11845 using this strategy

Efficient markerless genetic manipulation of Pasteurella multocida using lacZ and pheSm as selection markers

Pasteurella multocida is a zoonotic conditional pathogen that infects multiple livestock species, causing substantial economic losses in the animal husbandry industry. An efficient markerless method for gene manipulation may facilitate the investigations of P. multocida gene function and pathogenesis of P. multocida. Herein, a temperature-sensitive shuttle vector was constructed using lacZ as a selection marker, and markerless glgB, opa, and hyaE mutants of P. multocida were subsequently constructed through blue-white colony screening. The screening efficiency of markerless deletion strains was improved by the lacZ system, and the method could be used for multiple gene deletions. However, the fur mutant was unavailable via this method. Therefore, we constructed a pheSm screening system based on mutated phenylalanine tRNA synthetase as a counterselection marker to achieve fur deletion mutant. The transformed strain was sensitive to 20 mM p-chloro-phenylalanine, demonstrating the feasibility of pheSm as a counter-selective marker. The pheSm system was used for markerless deletions of glgB, opa, and hyaE as well as fur that could not be screened by the lacZ system. A comparison of screening efficiencies of the system showed that the pheSm counterselection system was more efficient than the lacZ system and broadly applicable for mutant screening. The methods developed herein may provide valuable tools for genetic manipulation of P. multocida.IMPORTANCEPasteurella multocida is a highly contagious zoonotic pathogen. An understanding of its underlying pathogenic mechanisms is of considerable importance and requires efficient species-specific genetic tools. Herein, we propose a screening system for P. multocida mutants using lacZ or pheSm screening markers. We evaluated the efficiencies of both systems, which were used to achieve markerless deletion of multiple genes. The results of this study support the use of lacZ or pheSm as counterselection markers to improve counterselection efficiency in P. multocida. This study provides an effective genetic tool for investigations of the virulence gene functions and pathogenic mechanisms of P. multocida.

Effect of Nutritional Determinants and TonB on the Natural Transformation of Riemerella anatipestifer

Riemerella anatipestifer is a gram-negative bacterium that is the first naturally competent bacterium identified in the family Flavobacteriaceae. However, the determinants that influence the natural transformation and the underlying mechanism remain unknown. In this study, we evaluated the effects of various nutritional factors of the GCB medium [glucose, L-glutamine, vitamin B1, Fe (NO₃)₃, NaCl, phosphate, and peptone], on the natural transformation of R. anatipestifer ATCC 11845. Among the assayed nutrients, peptone and phosphate affected the natural transformation of R. anatipestifer ATCC 11845, and the transformation frequency was significantly decreased when phosphate or peptone was removed from the GCB medium. When the iron chelator 2,2′-dipyridyl (Dip) was added, the transformation frequency was decreased by approximately 100-fold and restored gradually when Fe (NO₃)₃ was added, suggesting that the natural transformation of R. anatipestifer ATCC 11845 requires iron. Given the importance of TonB in nutrient transportation, we further identified whether TonB is involved in the natural transformation of R. anatipestifer ATCC 11845. Mutation of tonBA or tonBB, but not tbfA, was shown to inhibit the natural transformation of R. anatipestifer ATCC 11845 in the GCB medium. In parallel, it was shown that the tonBB mutant, but not the tonBA mutant, decreased iron acquisition in the GCB medium. This result suggested that the tonBB mutant affects the natural transformation frequency due to the deficiency of iron utilization.

Functional characterization of Fur in iron metabolism, oxidative stress resistance and virulence of Riemerella anatipestifer

Iron is essential for most bacteria to survive, but excessive iron leads to damage by the Fenton reaction. Therefore, the concentration of intracellular free iron must be strictly controlled in bacteria. Riemerella anatipestifer (R. anatipestifer), a Gram-negative bacterium, encodes the iron uptake system. However, the iron homeostasis mechanism remains largely unknown. In this study, it was shown that compared with the wild type R. anatipestifer CH-1, R. anatipestifer CH-1Δfur was more sensitive to streptonigrin, and this effect was alleviated when the bacteria were cultured in iron-depleted medium, suggesting that the fur mutant led to excess iron accumulation inside cells. Similarly, compared with R. anatipestifer CH-1∆recA, R. anatipestifer CH-1∆recAΔfur was more sensitive to H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress when the bacteria were grown in iron-rich medium rather than iron-depleted medium. Accordingly, it was shown that R. anatipestifer CH-1∆recAΔfur produced more intracellular ROS than R. anatipestifer CH-1∆recA in iron-rich medium. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that R. anatipestifer CH-1 Fur suppressed the transcription of putative iron uptake genes through binding to their promoter regions. Finally, it was shown that compared with the wild type, R. anatipestifer CH-1Δfur was significantly attenuated in ducklings and that the colonization ability of R. anatipestifer CH-1Δfur in various tissues or organs was decreased. All these results suggested that Fur is important for iron homeostasis in R. anatipestifer and its pathogenic mechanism.

Comparative genomics and metabolomics analysis of Riemerella anatipestifer strain CH-1 and CH-2

Riemerella anatipestifer is a major pathogenic microorganism in poultry causing serositis with significant mortality. Serotype 1 and 2 were most pathogenic, prevalent, and liable over the world. In this study, the intracellular metabolites in R. anatipestifer strains RA-CH-1 (serotype 1) and RA-CH-2 (serotype 2) were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC–MS). The metabolic profiles were performed using hierarchical clustering and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The results of hierarchical cluster analysis showed that the amounts of the detected metabolites were more abundant in RA-CH-2. RA-CH-1 and RA-CH-2 were separated by the PLS-DA model. 24 potential biomarkers participated in nine metabolisms were contributed predominantly to the separation. Based on the complete genome sequence database and metabolite data, the first large-scale metabolic models of iJL463 (RA-CH-1) and iDZ470 (RA-CH-2) were reconstructed. In addition, we explained the change of purine metabolism combined with the transcriptome and metabolomics data. The study showed that it is possible to detect and differentiate between these two organisms based on their intracellular metabolites using GC–MS. The present research fills a gap in the metabolomics characteristics of R. anatipestifer.

The UTP-glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase of Brucella melitensis inhibits the activation of NF-κB via regulating the bacterial type IV secretion system

UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (UGPase) is an important pyrophosphatase that reversibly catalyzes the synthesis of UDP-glucose during glucose metabolism. We previously found that the deletion of UGPase may affect structure, growth, the virulence of Brucella, and the activation of cellular NF-κB. However, the exact mechanism of activation of NF-κB regulated by Brucella UGPase is still unclear. Here, we found for the first time that UGPase can regulate the expression of virB proteins (virB3, virB4, virB5, virB6, virB8, virB9, virB10, and virB11) of type IV secretion system (T4SS) as well as effectors (vceC, btpA, btpB, ricA, bspB, bspC, and bspF) of Brucella by promoting the expression of ribosomal S12 protein (rpsL), BMEI1825, and quinone of 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenylalanine (topA) proteins, and further inhibits the activation of cellular NF-κB and affects the virulence of Brucella. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanism used by Brucella to escape the immune recognition, which is expected to be of great value in the designing of Brucella vaccines and the screening of drug targets.