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Ji Y, Xi H, Chen C, Sun C, Feng X, Lei L, Han W, Gu J. The pig intestinal phageome is an important reservoir and transfer vector for virulence genes. Sci Total Environ 2024; 916:170076. [PMID: 38220020 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Bacteriophages (phages) can significantly influence the composition and functions of their host communities, and enhance host pathogenicity via the transport of phage-encoded virulence genes. Phages are the main component of animal gut viruses, however, there are few reports on the piglet gut phageome and its contribution to virulence genes. Here, a total of 185 virulence genes from 59,955 predicted genes of gut phages in weaned piglets were identified, with 0.688 % of the phage contigs coding for at least one virulence gene. The virulence gene pblA was the most abundant, with various virulence genes significantly correlated with gut phages and their encoded mobile gene element (MGE) genes. Importantly, multiple virulence genes and MGE genes coexist in some phage sequences, and up to 12 virulence genes were detected in a single phage sequence, greatly increasing the risk of phage-mediated transmission of virulence genes into the bacterial genome. In addition, diarrhoea has driven changes in the composition and structure of phage and bacterial communities in the intestinal tract of weaned piglets, significantly increasing the abundance of phage contigs encoding both virulence genes and MGE genes in faecal samples, which potentially increases the risk of phage-mediated virulence genes being transfected into the gut bacterial genome. In summary, this study expands our understanding of the gut microbiome of piglets, advances our understanding of the potential role of phages in driving host pathogenesis in the gut system, and provides new insights into the sources of virulence genes and genetic evolution of bacteria in pig farm environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yalu Ji
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, and College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China
| | - Hengyu Xi
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, and College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China
| | - Chong Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, and College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China
| | - Changjiang Sun
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, and College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China
| | - Xin Feng
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, and College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China
| | - Liancheng Lei
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, and College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China
| | - Wenyu Han
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, and College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for the Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
| | - Jingmin Gu
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Severe Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Key Laboratory for Zoonosis Research of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonosis, and College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for the Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
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Ji Y, Xi H, Zhao Z, Jiang Q, Chen C, Wang X, Li F, Li N, Sun C, Feng X, Lei L, Han W, Gu J. Metagenomics analysis reveals potential pathways and drivers of piglet gut phage-mediated transfer of ARGs. Sci Total Environ 2023; 859:160304. [PMID: 36427721 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The growing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has led to a better understanding of the underlying processes that lead to this expansion. Intensive pig farms are considered one of the hotspots for antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) transmission. Phages, as important mobile carriers of ARGs, are widespread in the animal intestine. However, our understanding of phage-associated ARGs in the pig intestine and their underlying drivers is limited. Here, metagenomic sequencing and analysis of viral DNA and total DNA of different intestinal (ileum, cecum and feces) contents in healthy piglets and piglets with diarrhea were separately conducted. We found that phages in piglet ceca are the main repository for ARGs and mobile genetic element (MGE) genes. Phage-associated MGEs are important factors affecting the maintenance and transfer of ARGs. Interestingly, the colocalization of ARGs and MGE genes in piglet gut phages does not appear to be randomly selected but rather related to a specific phage host (Streptococcus). In addition, in the feces of piglets with diarrhea, the abundance of phages carrying ARGs and MGE genes was significantly increased, as was the diversity of polyvalent phages (phages with broad host ranges), which would facilitate the transfection and wider distribution of ARGs in the bacterial community. Moreover, the predicted host spectrum of polyvalent phages in diarrheal feces tended to be potential enteropathogenic genera, which greatly increased the risk of enteropathogens acquiring ARGs. Notably, we also found ARG-homologous genes in the sequences of piglet intestinal mimiviruses, suggesting that the piglet intestinal mimiviruses are a potential repository of ARGs. In conclusion, this study greatly expands our knowledge of the piglet gut microbiome, revealing the underlying mechanisms of maintenance and dissemination of piglet gut ARGs and providing a reference for the prevention and control of ARG pollution in animal husbandry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yalu Ji
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Hengyu Xi
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhen Zhao
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiujie Jiang
- Jilin Animal Disease Control Center, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Chong Chen
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinwu Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Fengyang Li
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Na Li
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Changjiang Sun
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Feng
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Liancheng Lei
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenyu Han
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for the Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jingmin Gu
- State Key Laboratory for Zoonotic Diseases, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Research, Ministry of Education, College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, People's Republic of China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for the Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, People's Republic of China.
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Huang D, Yu P, Ye M, Schwarz C, Jiang X, Alvarez PJJ. Enhanced mutualistic symbiosis between soil phages and bacteria with elevated chromium-induced environmental stress. Microbiome 2021; 9:150. [PMID: 34183048 PMCID: PMC8240259 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-021-01074-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Microbe-virus interactions have broad implications on the composition, function, and evolution of microbiomes. Elucidating the effects of environmental stresses on these interactions is critical to identify the ecological function of viral communities and understand microbiome environmental adaptation. Heavy metal-contaminated soils represent a relevant ecosystem to study the interplay between microbes, viruses, and environmental stressors. RESULTS Metagenomic analysis revealed that Cr pollution adversely altered the abundance, diversity, and composition of viral and bacterial communities. Host-phage linkage based on CRISPR indicated that, in soils with high Cr contamination, the abundance of phages associated with heavy metal-tolerant hosts increased, as did the relative abundance of phages with broad host ranges (identified as host-phage linkages across genera), which would facilitate transfection and broader distribution of heavy metal resistance genes in the bacterial community. Examining variations along the pollutant gradient, enhanced mutualistic phage-bacterium interactions were observed in the face of greater environmental stresses. Specifically, the fractions of lysogens in bacterial communities (identified by integrase genes within bacterial genomes and prophage induction assay by mitomycin-C) were positively correlated with Cr contamination levels. Furthermore, viral genomic analysis demonstrated that lysogenic phages under higher Cr-induced stresses carried more auxiliary metabolic genes regulating microbial heavy metal detoxification. CONCLUSION With the intensification of Cr-induced environmental stresses, the composition, replication strategy, and ecological function of the phage community all evolve alongside the bacterial community to adapt to extreme habitats. These result in a transformation of the phage-bacterium interaction from parasitism to mutualism in extreme environments and underscore the influential role of phages in bacterial adaptation to pollution-related stress and in related biogeochemical processes. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Huang
- Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People's Republic of China
| | - Pingfeng Yu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, 77005, USA.
| | - Mao Ye
- Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China.
| | - Cory Schwarz
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, 77005, USA
| | - Xin Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China
| | - Pedro J J Alvarez
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, 77005, USA
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