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Sheets MB, Tague N, Dunlop MJ. An optogenetic toolkit for light-inducible antibiotic resistance. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1034. [PMID: 36823420 PMCID: PMC9950086 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36670-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibiotics are a key control mechanism for synthetic biology and microbiology. Resistance genes are used to select desired cells and regulate bacterial populations, however their use to-date has been largely static. Precise spatiotemporal control of antibiotic resistance could enable a wide variety of applications that require dynamic control of susceptibility and survival. Here, we use light-inducible Cre recombinase to activate expression of drug resistance genes in Escherichia coli. We demonstrate light-activated resistance to four antibiotics: carbenicillin, kanamycin, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline. Cells exposed to blue light survive in the presence of lethal antibiotic concentrations, while those kept in the dark do not. To optimize resistance induction, we vary promoter, ribosome binding site, and enzyme variant strength using chromosome and plasmid-based constructs. We then link inducible resistance to expression of a heterologous fatty acid enzyme to increase production of octanoic acid. These optogenetic resistance tools pave the way for spatiotemporal control of cell survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael B Sheets
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.,Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Nathan Tague
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.,Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Mary J Dunlop
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. .,Biological Design Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
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Kessler C, Hou J, Neo O, Buckner MMC. In situ, in vivo, and in vitro approaches for studying AMR plasmid conjugation in the gut microbiome. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2022; 47:6807411. [PMID: 36341518 PMCID: PMC9841969 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuac044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat, with evolution and spread of resistance to frontline antibiotics outpacing the development of novel treatments. The spread of AMR is perpetuated by transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) between bacteria, notably those encoded by conjugative plasmids. The human gut microbiome is a known 'melting pot' for plasmid conjugation, with ARG transfer in this environment widely documented. There is a need to better understand the factors affecting the incidence of these transfer events, and to investigate methods of potentially counteracting the spread of ARGs. This review describes the use and potential of three approaches to studying conjugation in the human gut: observation of in situ events in hospitalized patients, modelling of the microbiome in vivo predominantly in rodent models, and the use of in vitro models of various complexities. Each has brought unique insights to our understanding of conjugation in the gut. The use and development of these systems, and combinations thereof, will be pivotal in better understanding the significance, prevalence, and manipulability of horizontal gene transfer in the gut microbiome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celia Kessler
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection College of Medical and Dental Sciences Biosciences Building University Road West University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Jingping Hou
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection College of Medical and Dental Sciences Biosciences Building University Road West University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Onalenna Neo
- Institute of Microbiology and Infection College of Medical and Dental Sciences Biosciences Building University Road West University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Michelle M C Buckner
- Corresponding author: Biosciences Building, University Road West, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0)121 415 8758; E-mail:
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Laskey A, Devenish J, Kang M, Savic M, Chmara J, Dan H, Lin M, Robertson J, Bessonov K, Gurnik S, Liu K, Nash JHE, Topp E, Guan J. Mobility of β-lactam resistance under ampicillin treatment in gut microbiota suffering from pre-disturbance. Microb Genom 2021; 7:000713. [PMID: 34882531 PMCID: PMC8767350 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Ingestion of food- or waterborne antibiotic-resistant bacteria may lead to dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the gut microbiota. The gut microbiota often suffers from various disturbances. It is not clear whether and how disturbed microbiota may affect ARG mobility under antibiotic treatments. For proof of concept, in the presence or absence of streptomycin pre-treatment, mice were inoculated orally with a β-lactam-susceptible Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg clinical isolate (recipient) and a β-lactam resistant Escherichia coli O80:H26 isolate (donor) carrying a blaCMY-2 gene on an IncI2 plasmid. Immediately following inoculation, mice were treated with or without ampicillin in drinking water for 7 days. Faeces were sampled, donor, recipient and transconjugant were enumerated, blaCMY-2 abundance was determined by quantitative PCR, faecal microbial community composition was determined by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and cecal samples were observed histologically for evidence of inflammation. In faeces of mice that received streptomycin pre-treatment, the donor abundance remained high, and the abundance of S. Heidelberg transconjugant and the relative abundance of Enterobacteriaceae increased significantly during the ampicillin treatment. Co-blooming of the donor, transconjugant and commensal Enterobacteriaceae in the inflamed intestine promoted significantly (P<0.05) higher and possibly wider dissemination of the blaCMY-2 gene in the gut microbiota of mice that received the combination of streptomycin pre-treatment and ampicillin treatment (Str-Amp) compared to the other mice. Following cessation of the ampicillin treatment, faecal shedding of S. Heidelberg transconjugant persisted much longer from mice in the Str-Amp group compared to the other mice. In addition, only mice in the Str-Amp group shed a commensal E. coli O2:H6 transconjugant, which carries three copies of the blaCMY-2 gene, one on the IncI2 plasmid and two on the chromosome. The findings highlight the significance of pre-existing gut microbiota for ARG dissemination and persistence during and following antibiotic treatments of infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Laskey
- Ottawa Laboratory-Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - John Devenish
- Ottawa Laboratory-Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Mingsong Kang
- Ottawa Laboratory-Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Mirjana Savic
- Ottawa Laboratory-Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - John Chmara
- Ottawa Laboratory-Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Hanhong Dan
- Ottawa Laboratory-Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Min Lin
- Ottawa Laboratory-Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - James Robertson
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Kyrylo Bessonov
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Simone Gurnik
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Kira Liu
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - John H. E. Nash
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Edward Topp
- London Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, ON, Canada
| | - Jiewen Guan
- Ottawa Laboratory-Fallowfield, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON, Canada
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