scholarly journals Susceptibility to Antibiotics and β-Lactamase Induction in Murein Hydrolase Mutants of Escherichia coli

2005 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 1404-1409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorota Korsak ◽  
Sylvia Liebscher ◽  
Waldemar Vollmer
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Peptidoglycan Hydrolase ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Lytic Transglycosylases ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Lytic Transglycosylase ◽  
Antibiotic Susceptibilities ◽  
Type Mutant ◽  
Murein Hydrolase ◽  
Mutant Cells

ABSTRACT The antibiotic susceptibilities and capabilities to induce β-lactamases were studied in multiple Escherichia coli murein (peptidoglycan) hydrolase mutants. E. coli mutants lacking either three amidases, three amidases and one lytic transglycosylase, or six lytic transglycosylases showed higher levels of susceptibility to bacitracin, erythromycin, gallidermin, and vancomycin than the wild type. Mutant cells without three amidases lost viability in the presence of vancomycin and gallidermin, whereas the wild type was resistant to both antibiotics. β-Lactamase induction was studied after introduction of a plasmid carrying the ampC and ampR genes. Upon addition of cefoxitin to the growth medium, the wild type as well as a mutant lacking all known amidases and dd-endopeptidases induced β-lactamase, whereas a mutant lacking all known lytic transglycosylases was unable to induce β-lactamase, showing that lytic transglycosylase activity is essential for β-lactamase induction. Consequently, cells lacking lytic transglycosylase activity lysed in the presence of penicillin, despite the presence of the inducible β-lactamase system. We discuss the potential of murein hydrolase inhibitors for antibiotic therapy.

scholarly journals TolC-Dependent Exclusion of Porphyrins in Escherichia coli

2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (18) ◽  
pp. 6228-6233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryoko Tatsumi ◽  
Masaaki Wachi
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Uv Irradiation ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Aminolevulinic Acid ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Chromatography Analysis ◽  
Increased Sensitivity ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Reddish Brown Color

ABSTRACT We found that Escherichia coli tolC mutants showed increased sensitivity to 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a precursor of porphyrins. The tolC mutant cells grown in the presence of ALA showed a reddish brown color under visible light and a strong red fluorescence under near-UV irradiation. Fluorescence spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography analysis showed that the tolC mutant cells grown in the presence of ALA accumulated a large amount of coproporphyrin(ogen) intracellularly. In contrast, the wild-type cells produced coproporphyrin extracellularly. The tolC mutant cells grown in the presence of ALA, which were capable of surviving in the dark, were killed by near-UV irradiation, suggesting that the intracellular coproporphyrin(ogen) renders these cells photosensitive. These results suggest that the TolC-dependent efflux system is involved in the exclusion of porphyrin(ogen)s in E. coli.

scholarly journals Effects of Multiple Deletions of Murein Hydrolases on Viability, Septum Cleavage, and Sensitivity to Large Toxic Molecules in Escherichia coli

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (22) ◽  
pp. 6093-6099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Heidrich ◽  
Astrid Ursinus ◽  
Jürgen Berger ◽  
Heinz Schwarz ◽  
Joachim-Volker Höltje
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Membrane Permeability ◽  
Outer Membrane ◽  
High Molecular Weight ◽  
Macconkey Agar ◽  
Lytic Transglycosylases ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Murein Hydrolase ◽  
Outer Membrane Permeability

ABSTRACT The multiplicity of murein hydrolases found in most bacteria presents an obstacle to demonstrating the necessity of these potentially autolytic enzymes. Therefore, Escherichia coli mutants with deletions in multiple murein hydrolases, including lytic transglycosylases, amidases, and dd-endopeptidases, were constructed. Even a mutant from which seven different hydrolases were deleted was viable and grew at a normal rate. However, penicillin-induced lysis was retarded. Most of the mutants were affected in septum cleavage, which resulted in the formation of chains of cells. All three enzymes were shown to be capable of splitting the septum. Failure to cleave the septum resulted in an increase in outer membrane permeability, and thus the murein hydrolase mutants did not grow on MacConkey agar plates. In addition, the hydrolase mutants not only could be lysed by lysozyme in the absence of EDTA but also were sensitive to high-molecular-weight antibiotics, such as vancomycin and bacitracin, which are normally ineffective against E. coli.

scholarly journals degS Is Necessary for Virulence and Is among Extraintestinal Escherichia coli Genes Induced in Murine Peritonitis

2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 3088-3096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Redford ◽  
Paula L. Roesch ◽  
Rodney A. Welch
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Urinary Tract Infection ◽  
Urinary Tract ◽  
Tract Infection ◽  
Luria Bertani ◽  
Broth Culture ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Virulence Attenuation

ABSTRACT Extraintestinal Escherichia coli strains cause meningitis, sepsis, urinary tract infection, and other infections outside the bowel. We examined here extraintestinal E. coli strain CFT073 by differential fluorescence induction. Pools of CFT073 clones carrying a CFT073 genomic fragment library in a promoterless gfp vector were inoculated intraperitoneally into mice; bacteria were recovered by lavage 6 h later and then subjected to fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Eleven promoters were found to be active in the mouse but not in Luria-Bertani (LB) broth culture. Three are linked to genes for enterobactin, aerobactin, and yersiniabactin. Three others are linked to the metabolic genes metA, gltB, and sucA, and another was linked to iha, a possible adhesin. Three lie before open reading frames of unknown function. One promoter is associated with degS, an inner membrane protease. Mutants of the in vivo-induced loci were tested in competition with the wild type in mouse peritonitis. Of the mutants tested, only CFT073 degS was found to be attenuated in peritoneal and in urinary tract infection, with virulence restored by complementation. CFT073 degS shows growth similar to that of the wild type at 37°C but is impaired at 43°C or in 3% ethanol LB broth at 37°C. Compared to the wild type, the mutant shows similar serum survival, motility, hemolysis, erythrocyte agglutination, and tolerance to oxidative stress. It also has the same lipopolysaccharide appearance on a silver-stained gel. The basis for the virulence attenuation is unclear, but because DegS is needed for σE activity, our findings implicate σE and its regulon in E. coli extraintestinal pathogenesis.

scholarly journals Enhancement of the Efficiency of Secretion of Heterologous Lipase in Escherichia coli by Directed Evolution of the ABC Transporter System

2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 3468-3474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gyeong Tae Eom ◽  
Jae Kwang Song ◽  
Jung Hoon Ahn ◽  
Yeon Soo Seo ◽  
Joon Shick Rhee
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Directed Evolution ◽  
Abc Transporter ◽  
Microtiter Plate ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Single Amino Acid Change ◽  
Secretion Efficiency

ABSTRACT The ABC transporter (TliDEF) from Pseudomonas fluorescens SIK W1, which mediated the secretion of a thermostable lipase (TliA) into the extracellular space in Escherichia coli, was engineered using directed evolution (error-prone PCR) to improve its secretion efficiency. TliD mutants with increased secretion efficiency were identified by coexpressing the mutated tliD library with the wild-type tliA lipase in E. coli and by screening the library with a tributyrin-emulsified indicator plate assay and a microtiter plate-based assay. Four selected mutants from one round of error-prone PCR mutagenesis, T6, T8, T24, and T35, showed 3.2-, 2.6-, 2.9-, and 3.0-fold increases in the level of secretion of TliA lipase, respectively, but had almost the same level of expression of TliD in the membrane as the strain with the wild-type TliDEF transporter. These results indicated that the improved secretion of TliA lipase was mediated by the transporter mutations. Each mutant had a single amino acid change in the predicted cytoplasmic regions in the membrane domain of TliD, implying that the corresponding region of TliD was important for the improved and successful secretion of the target protein. We therefore concluded that the efficiency of secretion of a heterologous protein in E. coli can be enhanced by in vitro engineering of the ABC transporter.

scholarly journals Quorum Sensing Is a Global Regulatory Mechanism in Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (17) ◽  
pp. 5187-5197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Sperandio ◽  
Alfredo G. Torres ◽  
Jorge A. Girón ◽  
James B. Kaper
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Type Strain ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Regulatory Mechanism ◽  
Sos Response ◽  
Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia Coli ◽  
Trna Genes ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
E Coli

ABSTRACT Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is responsible for outbreaks of bloody diarrhea and hemolytic-uremic syndrome in many countries. EHEC virulence mechanisms include the production of Shiga toxins (Stx) and formation of attaching and effacing (AE) lesions on intestinal epithelial cells. We recently reported that genes involved in the formation of the AE lesion were regulated by quorum sensing through autoinducer-2, which is synthesized by the product of the luxS gene. In this study we hybridized an E. coli gene array with cDNA synthesized from RNA that was extracted from EHEC strain 86-24 and its isogenicluxS mutant. We observed that 404 genes were regulated by luxS at least fivefold, which comprises approximately 10% of the array genes; 235 of these genes were up-regulated and 169 were down-regulated in the wild-type strain compared to in theluxS mutant. Down-regulated genes included several involved in cell division, as well as ribosomal and tRNA genes. Consistent with this pattern of gene expression, theluxS mutant grows faster than the wild-type strain (generation times of 37.5 and 60 min, respectively, in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium). Up-regulated genes included several involved in the expression and assembly of flagella, motility, and chemotaxis. Using operon::lacZ fusions to class I, II, and III flagellar genes, we were able to confirm this transcriptional regulation. We also observed fewer flagella by Western blotting and electron microscopy and decreased motility halos in semisolid agar in the luxS mutant. The average swimming speeds for the wild-type strain and the luxS mutant are 12.5 and 6.6 μm/s, respectively. We also observed an increase in the production of Stx due to quorum sensing. Genes encoding Stx, which are transcribed along with λ-like phage genes, are induced by an SOS response, and genes involved in the SOS response were also regulated by quorum sensing. These results indicate that quorum sensing is a global regulatory mechanism for basic physiological functions of E. coli as well as for virulence factors.

O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase in wild-type and ada mutants of Escherichia coli

1982 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 534-537
Author(s):  
S Mitra ◽  
B C Pal ◽  
R S Foote
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Dna Methyltransferase ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Methylguanine Dna Methyltransferase ◽  
Synthetic Dna ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Enzyme Molecules ◽  
Dna Substrate

O(6)-Methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase is induced in Escherichia coli during growth in low levels of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. We have developed a sensitive assay for quantitating low levels of this activity with a synthetic DNA substrate containing 3H-labeled O(6)-methylguanine as the only modified base. Although both wild-type and adaptation-deficient (ada) mutants of E. coli contained low but comparable numbers (from 13 to 60) of the enzyme molecules per cell, adaptation treatment caused a significant increase of the enzyme in the wild type but not in the ada mutants, suggesting that the ada mutation is in a regulatory locus and not in the structural gene for the methyltransferase.

scholarly journals Contributions of individual mechanisms to fluoroquinolone resistance in 36 Escherichia coli strains isolated from humans and animals.

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 2380-2386 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J Everett ◽  
Y F Jin ◽  
V Ricci ◽  
L J Piddock
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Quinolone Resistance ◽  
Fluoroquinolone Resistance ◽  
Polymorphism Analysis ◽  
Single Mutation ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Single Strand Conformational Polymorphism ◽  
E Coli ◽  
High Level

Twenty-eight human isolates of Escherichia coli from Argentina and Spain and eight veterinary isolates received from the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Foods in the United Kingdom required 2 to > 128 micrograms of ciprofloxacin per ml for inhibition. Fragments of gyrA and parC encompassing the quinolone resistance-determining region were amplified by PCR, and the DNA sequences of the fragments were determined. All isolates contained a mutation in gyrA of a serine at position 83 (Ser83) to an Leu, and 26 isolates also contained a mutation of Asp87 to one of four amino acids: Asn (n = 14), Tyr (n = 6), Gly (n = 5), or His (n = 1). Twenty-four isolates contained a single mutation in parC, either a Ser80 to Ile (n = 17) or Arg (n = 2) or a Glu84 to Lys (n = 3). The role of a mutation in gyrB was investigated by introducing wild-type gyrB (pBP548) into all isolates; for three transformants MICs of ciprofloxacin were reduced; however, sequencing of PCR-derived fragments containing the gyrB quinolone resistance-determining region revealed no changes. The analogous region of parE was analyzed in 34 of 36 isolates by single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis and sequencing; however, no amino acid substitutions were discovered. The outer membrane protein and lipopolysaccharide profiles of all isolates were compared with those of reference strains, and the concentration of ciprofloxacin accumulated (with or without 100 microM carbony cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone [CCCP] was determined. Twenty-two isolates accumulated significantly lower concentrations of ciprofloxacin than the wild-type E. coli isolate; nine isolates accumulated less then half the concentration. The addition of CCCP increased the concentration of ciprofloxacin accumulated, and in all but one isolate the percent increase was greater than that in the control strains. The data indicate that high-level fluoroquinolone resistance in E. coli involves the acquisition of mutations at multiple loci.

scholarly journals Zebrafish nephrosin helps host defence against Escherichia coli infection

Open Biology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 170040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianqian Di ◽  
Qing Lin ◽  
Zhibin Huang ◽  
Yali Chi ◽  
Xiaohui Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Innate Immunity ◽  
Host Defence ◽  
Bacterial Burden ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Lower Survival Rate ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Escherichia Coli Infection ◽  
Effective Models

Neutrophils play important roles in innate immunity and are mainly dependent on various enzyme-containing granules to kill engulfed microorganisms. Zebrafish nephrosin ( npsn ) is specifically expressed in neutrophils; however, its function is largely unknown. Here, we generated an npsn mutant ( npsn smu5 ) via CRISPR/Cas9 to investigate the in vivo function of Npsn. The overall development and number of neutrophils remained unchanged in npsn -deficient mutants, whereas neutrophil antibacterial function was defective. Upon infection with Escherichia coli , the npsn smu5 mutants exhibited a lower survival rate and more severe bacterial burden, as well as augmented inflammatory response to challenge with infection when compared with wild-type embryos, whereas npsn -overexpressing zebrafish exhibited enhanced host defence against E. coli infection. These findings demonstrated that zebrafish Npsn promotes host defence against bacterial infection. Furthermore, our findings suggested that npsn -deficient and -overexpressing zebrafish might serve as effective models of in vivo innate immunity.

scholarly journals Ferric uptake regulator (Fur) reversibly binds a [2Fe-2S] cluster to sense intracellular iron homeostasis in Escherichia coli

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (46) ◽  
pp. 15454-15463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsey R. Fontenot ◽  
Homyra Tasnim ◽  
Kathryn A. Valdes ◽  
Codrina V. Popescu ◽  
Huangen Ding
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Iron Content ◽  
Iron Homeostasis ◽  
Ferric Uptake Regulator ◽  
Intracellular Iron ◽  
Free Iron ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Fur Protein ◽  
Mutant Cells

The ferric uptake regulator (Fur) is a global transcription factor that regulates intracellular iron homeostasis in bacteria. The current hypothesis states that when the intracellular “free” iron concentration is elevated, Fur binds ferrous iron, and the iron-bound Fur represses the genes encoding for iron uptake systems and stimulates the genes encoding for iron storage proteins. However, the “iron-bound” Fur has never been isolated from any bacteria. Here we report that the Escherichia coli Fur has a bright red color when expressed in E. coli mutant cells containing an elevated intracellular free iron content because of deletion of the iron–sulfur cluster assembly proteins IscA and SufA. The acid-labile iron and sulfide content analyses in conjunction with the EPR and Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements and the site-directed mutagenesis studies show that the red Fur protein binds a [2Fe-2S] cluster via conserved cysteine residues. The occupancy of the [2Fe-2S] cluster in Fur protein is ∼31% in the E. coli iscA/sufA mutant cells and is decreased to ∼4% in WT E. coli cells. Depletion of the intracellular free iron content using the membrane-permeable iron chelator 2,2´-dipyridyl effectively removes the [2Fe-2S] cluster from Fur in E. coli cells, suggesting that Fur senses the intracellular free iron content via reversible binding of a [2Fe-2S] cluster. The binding of the [2Fe-2S] cluster in Fur appears to be highly conserved, because the Fur homolog from Hemophilus influenzae expressed in E. coli cells also reversibly binds a [2Fe-2S] cluster to sense intracellular iron homeostasis.

scholarly journals Enhanced nutrient uptake is sufficient to drive emergent cross-feeding between bacteria in a synthetic community

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan K Fritts ◽  
Jordan T Bird ◽  
Megan G Behringer ◽  
Anna Lipzen ◽  
Joel Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Nutrient Uptake ◽  
Rhodopseudomonas Palustris ◽  
Biogeochemical Cycles ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Fermentation Products ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Constitutive Activation ◽  
Host Health ◽  
Nitrogen Scavenging

ABSTRACTInteractive microbial communities are ubiquitous, influencing biogeochemical cycles and host health. One widespread interaction is nutrient exchange, or cross-feeding, wherein metabolites are transferred between microbes. Some cross-fed metabolites, such as vitamins, amino acids, and ammonium (NH4+), are communally valuable and impose a cost on the producer. The mechanisms that enforce cross-feeding of communally valuable metabolites are not fully understood. Previously we engineered mutualistic cross-feeding between N2-fixing Rhodopseudomonas palustris and fermentative Escherichia coli. Engineered R. palustris excreted essential nitrogen as NH4+ to E. coli while E. coli excreted essential carbon as fermentation products to R. palustris. Here, we enriched for nascent cross-feeding in cocultures with wild-type R. palustris, not known to excrete NH4+. Emergent NH4+ cross-feeding was driven by adaptation of E. coli alone. A missense mutation in E. coli NtrC, a regulator of nitrogen scavenging, resulted in constitutive activation of an NH4+ transporter. This activity likely allowed E. coli to subsist on the small amount of leaked NH4+ and better reciprocate through elevated excretion of organic acids from a larger E. coli population. Our results indicate that enhanced nutrient uptake by recipients, rather than increased excretion by producers, is an underappreciated yet possibly prevalent mechanism by which cross-feeding can emerge.

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