scholarly journals Genome Shrinkage and Loss of Nutrient-Providing Potential in the Obligate Symbiont of the Primitive Termite Mastotermes darwiniensis

2011 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 204-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zakee L. Sabree ◽  
Charlie Ye Huang ◽  
Gaku Arakawa ◽  
Gaku Tokuda ◽  
Nathan Lo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Essential Amino Acid ◽  
Diet Shift ◽  
Evolutionary Divergence ◽  
Relaxed Selection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gut Microbes ◽  
Termite Gut ◽  
Show Evidence

ABSTRACTBeneficial microbial associations with insects are common and are classified as either one or a few intracellular species that are vertically transmitted and reside intracellularly within specialized organs or as microbial assemblages in the gut. Cockroaches and termites maintain at least one if not both beneficial associations.Blattabacteriumis a flavobacterial endosymbiont of nearly all cockroaches and the termiteMastotermes darwiniensisand can use nitrogenous wastes in essential amino acid and vitamin biosynthesis. Key changes during the evolutionary divergence of termites from cockroaches are loss ofBlattabacterium, diet shift to wood, acquisition of a specialized hindgut microbiota, and establishment of advanced social behavior. Termite gut microbes collaborate to fix nitrogen, degrade lignocellulose, and produce nutrients, and the absence ofBlattabacteriumin nearly all termites suggests that its nutrient-provisioning role has been replaced by gut microbes.M. darwiniensisis a basal, extant termite that solely retainsBlattabacterium, which would show evidence of relaxed selection if it is being supplanted by the gut microbiome. This termite-associatedBlattabacteriumgenome is ∼8% smaller than cockroach-associatedBlattabacteriumgenomes and lacks genes underlying vitamin and essential amino acid biosynthesis. Furthermore, theM. darwiniensisgut microbiome membership is more consistent between individuals and includes specialized termite gut-associated bacteria, unlike the more variable membership of cockroach gut microbiomes. TheM. darwiniensis Blattabacteriumgenome may reflect relaxed selection for some of its encoded functions, and the loss of this endosymbiont in all remaining termite genera may result from its replacement by a functionally complementary gut microbiota.

scholarly journals The Glycine Lipids ofBacteroides thetaiotaomicronAre Important for Fitness during GrowthIn VivoandIn Vitro

2018 ◽  
Vol 85 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alli Lynch ◽  
Seshu R. Tammireddy ◽  
Mary K. Doherty ◽  
Phillip D. Whitfield ◽  
David J. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cellular Membrane ◽  
Bacteroides Thetaiotaomicron ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Acyltransferase Activity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
And Function

ABSTRACTAcylated amino acids function as important components of the cellular membrane in some bacteria. Biosynthesis is initiated by theN-acylation of the amino acid, and this is followed by subsequentO-acylation of the acylated molecule, resulting in the production of the mature diacylated amino acid lipid. In this study, we use both genetics and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to characterize the biosynthesis and function of a diacylated glycine lipid (GL) species produced inBacteroides thetaiotaomicron. We, and others, have previously reported the identification of a gene, namedglsBin this study, that encodes anN-acyltransferase activity responsible for the production of a monoacylated glycine calledN-acyl-3-hydroxy-palmitoyl glycine (or commendamide). In all of theBacteroidalesgenomes sequenced so far, theglsBgene is located immediately downstream from a gene, namedglsA, that is also predicted to encode a protein with acyltransferase activity. We use LC-MS to show that the coexpression ofglsBandglsAresults in the production of GL inEscherichia coli. We constructed a deletion mutant of theglsBgene inB. thetaiotaomicron, and we confirm thatglsBis required for the production of GL inB. thetaiotaomicron. Moreover, we show thatglsBis important for the ability ofB. thetaiotaomicronto adapt to stress and colonize the mammalian gut. Therefore, this report describes the genetic requirements for the biosynthesis of GL, a diacylated amino acid species that contributes to fitness in the human gut bacteriumB. thetaiotaomicron.IMPORTANCEThe gut microbiome has an important role in both health and disease of the host. The mammalian gut microbiome is often dominated by bacteria from theBacteroidales, an order that includesBacteroidesandPrevotella. In this study, we have identified an acylated amino acid, called glycine lipid, produced byBacteroides thetaiotaomicron, a beneficial bacterium originally isolated from the human gut. In addition to identifying the genes required for the production of glycine lipids, we show that glycine lipids have an important role during the adaptation ofB. thetaiotaomicronto a number of environmental stresses, including exposure to either bile or air. We also show that glycine lipids are important for the normal colonization of the murine gut byB. thetaiotaomicron. This work identifies glycine lipids as an important fitness determinant inB. thetaiotaomicronand therefore increases our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underpinning colonization of the mammalian gut by beneficial bacteria.

scholarly journals Essential Amino Acid Supplementation by Gut Microbes of a Wood-Feeding Cerambycid

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Ayayee ◽  
Thomas Larsen ◽  
Cristina Rosa ◽  
Gary W. Felton ◽  
James G. Ferry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Essential Amino Acid ◽  
Amino Acid Supplementation ◽  
Acid Supplementation ◽  
Gut Microbes

scholarly journals Codon-Dependent Transcriptional Changes in Response to Tryptophan Limitation in the Tryptophan Auxotrophic Pathogens Chlamydia trachomatis and Streptococcus pyogenes

mSystems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scot P. Ouellette ◽  
Nathan D. Hatch ◽  
Nicholas A. Wood ◽  
Andrea L. Herrera ◽  
Michael S. Chaussee
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Chlamydia Trachomatis ◽  
Streptococcus Pyogenes ◽  
Essential Amino Acid ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Host Environment ◽  
Transcriptional Changes

Chlamydia trachomatis and Streptococcus pyogenes are important pathogens of humans. Interestingly, both are auxotrophic for tryptophan and acquire this essential amino acid from the host environment.

scholarly journals Relative Rates of Amino Acid Import via the ABC Transporter GlnPQ Determine the Growth Performance of Lactococcus lactis

2015 ◽  
Vol 198 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faizah Fulyani ◽  
Gea K. Schuurman-Wolters ◽  
Dirk-Jan Slotboom ◽  
Bert Poolman
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Glutamic Acid ◽  
Lactococcus Lactis ◽  
Abc Transporter ◽  
Essential Amino Acid ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Affinity Constant ◽  
Remarkable Feature ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACTThe GlnPQ transporter fromLactococcus lactishas the remarkable feature of having two substrate-binding domains (SBDs) fused to the N terminus of the transmembrane domain (TMD), and thus four SBDs are present in the homodimeric complex. Although X-ray structures and ligand binding data are available for both SBDs, little is known of how different amino acids compete with each other for transport via GlnPQ. Here we show GlnPQ has a broader substrate specificity than previously thought, with the ability to take up asparagine, glutamine, and glutamic acid, albeit via different routes and with different affinities. Asparagine and glutamine compete with each other at the level of binding to SBD1 and SBD2 (with differences in dissociation constant), but at the same time SBD1 and SBD2 compete with each other at the level of interaction with the translocator domain (with differences in affinity constant and rate of transport). Although glutamine transport via SBD1 is outcompeted by physiological concentrations of asparagine, SBD2 ensures high rates of import of the essential amino acid glutamine. Taken together, this study demonstrates that even in the presence of competing asparagine concentrations, GlnPQ has a high capacity to transport glutamine, which matches the high needs of the cell for glutamine and glutamate.IMPORTANCEGlnPQ is an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter for glutamine, glutamic acid, and asparagine. The system is essential in various Gram-positive bacteria, includingL. lactisand several pathogens. Here we show how the amino acids compete with each other for binding to the multiple SBDs of GlnPQ and how these SBDs compete with each other for substrate delivery to the transporter. Overall, our results show that GlnPQ has evolved to transport diverse substrates via different paths and to optimally acquire the abundant and essential amino acid glutamine.

scholarly journals Maintenance of essential amino acid synthesis pathways in the Blattabacterium cuenoti symbiont of a wood-feeding cockroach

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 20121153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaku Tokuda ◽  
Liam D. H. Elbourne ◽  
Yukihiro Kinjo ◽  
Seikoh Saitoh ◽  
Zakee Sabree ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Essential Amino Acid ◽  
Acid Synthesis ◽  
Essential Amino Acids ◽  
High Fidelity ◽  
Amino Acid Synthesis ◽  
Gut Microbes ◽  
Intracellular Symbiont ◽  
Rotting Wood ◽  
Cryptocercus Punctulatus

In addition to harbouring intestinal symbionts, some animal species also possess intracellular symbiotic microbes. The relative contributions of gut-resident and intracellular symbionts to host metabolism, and how they coevolve are not well understood. Cockroaches and the termite Mastotermes darwiniensis present a unique opportunity to examine the evolution of spatially separated symbionts, as they harbour gut symbionts and the intracellular symbiont Blattabacterium cuenoti . The genomes of B. cuenoti from M. darwiniensis and the social wood-feeding cockroach Cryptocercus punctulatus are each missing most of the pathways for the synthesis of essential amino acids found in the genomes of relatives from non-wood-feeding hosts. Hypotheses to explain this pathway degradation include: (i) feeding on microbes present in rotting wood by ancestral hosts; (ii) the evolution of high-fidelity transfer of gut microbes via social behaviour. To test these hypotheses, we sequenced the B. cuenoti genome of a third wood-feeding species, the phylogenetically distant and non-social Panesthia angustipennis . We show that host wood-feeding does not necessarily lead to degradation of essential amino acid synthesis pathways in B. cuenoti , and argue that ancestral high-fidelity transfer of gut microbes best explains their loss in strains from M. darwiniensis and C. punctulatus .

scholarly journals Patterns of [FeFe] Hydrogenase Diversity in the Gut Microbial Communities of Lignocellulose-Feeding Higher Termites

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (15) ◽  
pp. 5368-5374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas R. Ballor ◽  
Jared R. Leadbetter
Keyword(s):  
Degenerate Primers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gut Microbes ◽  
Physiological Importance ◽  
Termite Gut ◽  
Host Phylogeny ◽  
Cryptocercus Punctulatus ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Clustering Patterns ◽  
Gut Metagenome

ABSTRACTHydrogen is the central free intermediate in the degradation of wood by termite gut microbes and can reach concentrations exceeding those measured for any other biological system. Degenerate primers targeting the largest family of [FeFe] hydrogenases observed in a termite gut metagenome have been used to explore the evolution and representation of these enzymes in termites. Sequences were cloned from the guts of the higher termitesAmitermessp. strain Cost010,Amitermessp. strain JT2,Gnathamitermessp. strain JT5,Microcerotermessp. strain Cost008,Nasutitermessp. strain Cost003, andRhyncotermessp. strain Cost004. Each gut sample harbored a more rich and evenly distributed population of hydrogenase sequences than observed previously in the guts of lower termites andCryptocercus punctulatus.This accentuates the physiological importance of hydrogen for higher termite gut ecosystems and may reflect an increased metabolic burden, or metabolic opportunity, created by a lack of gut protozoa. The sequences were phylogenetically distinct from previously sequenced [FeFe] hydrogenases. Phylogenetic and UniFrac comparisons revealed congruence between host phylogeny and hydrogenase sequence library clustering patterns. This may reflect the combined influences of the stable intimate relationship of gut microbes with their host and environmental alterations in the gut that have occurred over the course of termite evolution. These results accentuate the physiological importance of hydrogen to termite gut ecosystems.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document