scholarly journals Nonredundant Roles of Iron Acquisition Systems in Vibrio cholerae

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 511-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric D. Peng ◽  
Elizabeth E. Wyckoff ◽  
Alexandra R. Mey ◽  
Carolyn R. Fisher ◽  
Shelley M. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Diarrheal Disease ◽  
Iron Acquisition ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Growth Defect ◽  
Null Mutant ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Infant Mouse ◽  
Iron Transporter

Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the severe diarrheal disease cholera, thrives in both marine environments and the human host. To do so, it must encode the tools necessary to acquire essential nutrients, including iron, under these vastly different conditions. A number ofV. choleraeiron acquisition systems have been identified; however, the precise role of each system is not fully understood. To test the roles of individual systems, we generated a series of mutants in which only one of the four systems that support iron acquisition on unsupplemented LB agar, Feo, Fbp, Vct, and Vib, remains functional. Analysis of these mutants under different growth conditions showed that these systems are not redundant. The strain carrying only the ferrous iron transporter Feo grew well at acidic, but not alkaline, pH, whereas the ferric iron transporter Fbp promoted better growth at alkaline than at acidic pH. A strain defective in all four systems (null mutant) had a severe growth defect under aerobic conditions but accumulated iron and grew as well as the wild type in the absence of oxygen, suggesting the presence of an additional, unidentified iron transporter inV. cholerae. In support of this, the null mutant was only moderately attenuated in an infant mouse model of infection. While the null mutant used heme as an iron sourcein vitro, we demonstrate that heme is not available toV. choleraein the infant mouse intestine.

scholarly journals Analysis of theIn VivoTranscriptome ofBordetella pertussisduring Infection of Mice

mSphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Y. Wong ◽  
Jesse M. Hall ◽  
Evan S. Nowak ◽  
Dylan T. Boehm ◽  
Laura A. Gonyar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Iron Acquisition ◽  
Expression Profiles ◽  
Gene Expression Profiles ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Rna Seq ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Murine Lung

ABSTRACTBordetella pertussiscauses the disease whooping cough through coordinated control of virulence factors by theBordetellavirulence gene system. Microarrays and, more recently, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) have been used to describein vitrogene expression profiles ofB. pertussisand other pathogens. In previous studies, we have analyzed thein vitrogene expression profiles ofB. pertussis, and we hypothesize that the infection transcriptome profilein vivois significantly different from that under laboratory growth conditions. To study the infection transcriptome ofB. pertussis, we developed a simple filtration technique for isolation of bacteria from infected lungs. The work flow involves filtering the bacteria out of the lung homogenate using a 5-μm-pore-size syringe filter. The captured bacteria are then lysed to isolate RNA for Illumina library preparation and RNA-seq analysis. Upon comparing thein vitroandin vivogene expression profiles, we identified 351 and 255 genes as activated and repressed, respectively, during murine lung infection. As expected, numerous genes associated with virulent-phase growth were activated in the murine host, including pertussis toxin (PT), the PT secretion apparatus, and the type III secretion system. A significant number of genes encoding iron acquisition and heme uptake proteins were highly expressed during infection, supporting iron acquisition as critical forB. pertussissurvivalin vivo. Numerous metabolic genes were repressed during infection. Overall, these data shed light on the gene expression profile ofB. pertussisduring infection, and this method will facilitate efforts to understand how this pathogen causes infection.IMPORTANCEIn vitrogrowth conditions for bacteria do not fully recapitulate the host environment. RNA sequencing transcriptome analysis allows for the characterization of the infection gene expression profiles of pathogens in complex environments. Isolation of the pathogen from infected tissues is critical because of the large amounts of host RNA present in crude lysates of infected organs. A filtration method was developed that enabled enrichment of the pathogen RNA for RNA-seq analysis. The resulting data describe the “infection transcriptome” ofB. pertussisin the murine lung. This strategy can be utilized for pathogens in other hosts and, thus, expand our knowledge of what bacteria express during infection.

scholarly journals Inactivation of NMB0419, Encoding a Sel1-Like Repeat (SLR) Protein, in Neisseria meningitidis Is Associated with Differential Expression of Genes Belonging to the Fur Regulon and Reduced Intraepithelial Replication

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Shi Li ◽  
Paul R. Langford ◽  
J. Simon Kroll
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Neisseria Meningitidis ◽  
Iron Acquisition ◽  
Regulatory Function ◽  
Growth Defect ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
New Perspective

ABSTRACT Neisseria meningitidis is a commensal microbe that colonizes the human nasopharynx but occasionally invades the bloodstream to cause life-threatening infection. N. meningitidis MC58 NMB0419 encodes a Sel1-like repeat (SLR)-containing protein, previously implicated in invasion of epithelial cells. A gene-regulatory function was revealed in Escherichia coli expressing plasmid-borne NMB0419 and showing significantly increased epithelial adherence compared to the wild type, due to increased expression of mannose-sensitive type 1 pili. While a meningococcal NMB0419 mutant did not have altered epithelial adherence, in a transcriptome-wide comparison of the wild type and an NMB0419 mutant, a large proportion of genes differentially regulated in the mutant were involved in iron acquisition and metabolism. Fifty-one percent and 38% of genes, respectively, up- and downregulated in the NMB0419 mutant had previously been identified as being induced and repressed by meningococcal Fur. An in vitro growth defect of the NMB0419 mutant under iron restriction was consistent with the downregulation of tbpAB and hmbR, while an intraepithelial replication defect was consistent with the downregulation of tonB, exbB, and exbD, based on a known phenotype of a meningococcal tonB mutant. Disruption of the N-terminal NMB0419 signal peptide, predicted to export the protein beyond the cytoplasmic membrane, resulted in loss of functional traits in N. meningitidis and E. coli. Our study indicates that the expression of NMB0419 is associated with transcriptional changes counterbalancing the regulatory function of Fur, offering a new perspective on regulatory mechanisms involved in meningococcal interaction with epithelial cells, and suggests new insights into the roles of SLR-containing genes in other bacteria.

scholarly journals Expression of Virulence Factors by Staphylococcus aureus Grown in Serum

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (22) ◽  
pp. 8097-8105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuichi Oogai ◽  
Miki Matsuo ◽  
Masahito Hashimoto ◽  
Fuminori Kato ◽  
Motoyuki Sugai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Virulence Factors ◽  
Iron Acquisition ◽  
Calf Serum ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Defined Medium ◽  
Chemically Defined Medium ◽  
Regulatory Factor ◽  
Content Type

ABSTRACTStaphylococcus aureusproduces many virulence factors, including toxins, immune-modulatory factors, and exoenzymes. Previous studies involving the analysis of virulence expression were mainly performed byin vitroexperiments using bacterial medium. However, whenS. aureusinfects a host, the bacterial growth conditions are quite different from those in a medium, which may be related to the different expression of virulence factors in the host. In this study, we investigated the expression of virulence factors inS. aureusgrown in calf serum. The expression of many virulence factors, including hemolysins, enterotoxins, proteases, and iron acquisition factors, was significantly increased compared with that in bacterial medium. In addition, the expression of RNA III, a global regulon for virulence expression, was significantly increased. This effect was partially restored by the addition of 300 μM FeCl3into serum, suggesting that iron depletion is associated with the increased expression of virulence factors in serum. In chemically defined medium without iron, a similar effect was observed. In a mutant withagrinactivated grown in serum, the expression of RNA III,psm, andsec4was not increased, while other factors were still induced in the mutant, suggesting that another regulatory factor(s) is involved. In addition, we found that serum albumin is a major factor for the capture of free iron to prevent the supply of iron to bacteria grown in serum. These results indicate thatS. aureusexpresses virulence factors in adaptation to the host environment.

scholarly journals The Vibrio cholerae Pst2 Phosphate Transport System Is Upregulated in Biofilms and Contributes to Biofilm-Induced Hyperinfectivity

2012 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 1794-1802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Mudrak ◽  
Rita Tamayo
Keyword(s):  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Diarrheal Disease ◽  
Phosphate Transport ◽  
Uptake System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Infant Mouse ◽  
Membrane Complex ◽  
Inner Membrane Complex ◽  
Infectious Form

ABSTRACTVibrio choleraeis the causative agent of the deadly diarrheal disease cholera. As part of its life cycle,V. choleraepersists in marine environments, where it forms surface-attached communities commonly described as biofilms. Evidence indicates that these biofilms constitute the infectious form of the pathogen during outbreaks. Previous work has shown that biofilm-derivedV. choleraecells, even when fully dispersed from the biofilm matrix, are vastly more infectious than planktonic (free-living) cells. Here, we sought to identify factors that contribute to biofilm-induced hyperinfectivity inV. cholerae, and we present evidence for one aspect of the molecular basis of this phenotype. We identified proteins upregulated during growth in biofilms and determined their contributions to the hyperinfectivity phenotype. We found that PstS2, the periplasmic component of the Pst2 phosphate uptake system, was enriched in biofilms. Another gene in thepst2locus was transcriptionally upregulated in biofilms. Using the infant mouse model, we found that mutation of twopst2components resulted in impaired colonization. Importantly, deletion of the Pst2 inner membrane complex caused a greater colonization defect after growth in a biofilm compared to shaking culture. Based on these data, we propose thatV. choleraecells in biofilms upregulate the Pst2 system and therefore gain an advantage upon entry into the host. Further characterization of factors contributing to biofilm-induced hyperinfectivity inV. choleraewill improve our understanding of the transmission of the bacteria from natural aquatic habitats to the human host.

scholarly journals Differential Requirement for PBP1a and PBP1b inIn VivoandIn VitroFitness of Vibrio cholerae

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 2115-2124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Dörr ◽  
Andrea Möll ◽  
Michael C. Chao ◽  
Felipe Cava ◽  
Hubert Lam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stationary Phase ◽  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Synthetic Lethality ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Infant Mouse ◽  
Mouse Small Intestine ◽  
Membrane Lipoproteins

ABSTRACTWe investigated the roles of theVibrio choleraehigh-molecular-weight bifunctional penicillin binding proteins, PBP1a and PBP1b, in the fitness of this enteric pathogen. Using a screen for synthetic lethality, we found that theV. choleraePBP1a and PBP1b proteins, like theirEscherichia colihomologues, are each essential in the absence of the other and in the absence of the other's putative activator, the outer membrane lipoproteins LpoA and LpoB, respectively. Comparative analyses ofV. choleraemutants suggest that PBP1a/LpoA ofV. choleraeplay a more prominent role in generating and/or maintaining the pathogen's cell wall than PBP1b/LpoB.V. choleraelacking PBP1b or LpoB exhibited wild-type growth under all conditions tested. In contrast,V. choleraelacking PBP1a or LpoA exhibited growth deficiencies in minimal medium, in the presence of deoxycholate and bile, and in competition assays with wild-type cells bothin vitroand in the infant mouse small intestine. PBP1a pathway mutants are particularly impaired in stationary phase, which renders them sensitive to a product(s) present in supernatants from stationary-phase wild-type cells. The marked competitive defect of the PBP1a pathway mutantsin vivowas largely absent when exponential-phase cells rather than stationary-phase cells were used to inoculate suckling mice. Thus, at least forV. choleraePBP1a pathway mutants, the growth phase of the inoculum is a key modulator of infectivity.

scholarly journals Enhanced Interaction of Vibrio cholerae Virulence Regulators TcpP and ToxR under Oxygen-Limiting Conditions

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 1676-1682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fenxia Fan ◽  
Zhi Liu ◽  
Nusrat Jabeen ◽  
L. Dillon Birdwell ◽  
Jun Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Diarrheal Disease ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Anaerobic Growth ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multiple Components ◽  
Effect Of Oxygen ◽  
Protein Disulfide

ABSTRACTVibrio choleraeis the causative agent of the diarrheal disease cholera. The ability ofV. choleraeto colonize and cause disease requires the intricately regulated expression of a number of virulence factors during infection. One of the signals sensed byV. choleraeis the presence of oxygen-limiting conditions in the gut. It has been shown that the virulence activator AphB plays a key role in sensing low oxygen concentrations and inducing the transcription of another key virulence activator, TcpP. In this study, we used a bacterial two-hybrid system to further examine the effect of oxygen on different virulence regulators. We found that anoxic conditions enhanced the interaction between TcpP and ToxR, identified as the first positive regulator ofV. choleraevirulence genes. We further demonstrated that the TcpP-ToxR interaction was dependent on the primary periplasmic protein disulfide formation enzyme DsbA and cysteine residues in the periplasmic domains of both ToxR and TcpP. Furthermore, we showed that inV. cholerae, an interaction between TcpP and ToxR is important for virulence gene induction. Under anaerobic growth conditions, we detected ToxR-TcpP heterodimers, which were abolished in the presence of the reducing agent dithiothreitol. Our results suggest thatV. choleraemay sense intestinal anoxic signals by multiple components to activate virulence.

scholarly journals Iron Limitation Triggers Early Egress by the Intracellular Bacterial Pathogen Legionella pneumophila

2016 ◽  
Vol 84 (8) ◽  
pp. 2185-2197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara J. O'Connor ◽  
Huaixin Zheng ◽  
Susan M. VanRheenen ◽  
Soma Ghosh ◽  
Nicholas P. Cianciotto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Host Cell ◽  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Iron Acquisition ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Transport Protein ◽  
Iron Limitation ◽  
Growth Defect ◽  
Content Type

Legionella pneumophilais an intracellular bacterial pathogen that replicates in alveolar macrophages, causing a severe form of pneumonia. Intracellular growth of the bacterium depends on its ability to sequester iron from the host cell. In theL. pneumophilastrain 130b, one mechanism used to acquire this essential nutrient is the siderophore legiobactin. Iron-bound legiobactin is imported by the transport protein LbtU. Here, we describe the role of LbtP, a paralog of LbtU, in iron acquisition in theL. pneumophilastrain Philadelphia-1. Similar to LbtU, LbtP is a siderophore transport protein and is required for robust growth under iron-limiting conditions. Despite their similar functions, however, LbtU and LbtP do not contribute equally to iron acquisition. The Philadelphia-1 strain lacking LbtP is more sensitive to iron deprivationin vitro. Moreover, LbtP is important forL. pneumophilagrowth within macrophages while LbtU is dispensable. These results demonstrate that LbtP plays a dominant role over LbtU in iron acquisition. In contrast, loss of both LbtP and LbtU does not impairL. pneumophilagrowth in the amoebal hostAcanthamoeba castellanii, demonstrating a host-specific requirement for the activities of these two transporters in iron acquisition. The growth defect of the ΔlbtPmutant in macrophages is not due to alterations in growth kinetics. Instead, the absence of LbtP limitsL. pneumophilareplication and causes bacteria to prematurely exit the host cell. These results demonstrate the existence of a preprogrammed exit strategy in response to iron limitation that allowsL. pneumophilato abandon the host cell when nutrients are exhausted.

scholarly journals Siderophore piracy enhances Vibrio cholerae environmental survival and pathogenesis

Microbiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 166 (11) ◽  
pp. 1038-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyuntae Byun ◽  
I-Ji Jung ◽  
Jiandong Chen ◽  
Jessie Larios Valencia ◽  
Jay Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Vibrio Cholerae ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Iron Acquisition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Iron Restriction ◽  
Environmental Survival ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Polymicrobial Communities

Vibrio cholerae, the aetiological agent of cholera, possesses multiple iron acquisition systems, including those for the transport of siderophores. How these systems benefit V. cholerae in low-iron, polymicrobial communities in environmental settings or during infection remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that in iron-limiting conditions, co-culture of V. cholerae with a number of individual siderophore-producing microbes significantly promoted V. cholerae growth in vitro. We further show that in the host environment with low iron, V. cholerae colonizes better in adult mice in the presence of the siderophore-producing commensal Escherichia coli . Taken together, our results suggest that in aquatic reservoirs or during infection, V. cholerae may overcome environmental and host iron restriction by hijacking siderophores from other microbes.

scholarly journals A Rhodobacter sphaeroides Protein Mechanistically Similar to Escherichia coli DksA Regulates Photosynthetic Growth

mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Lennon ◽  
Kimberly C. Lemmer ◽  
Jessica L. Irons ◽  
Max I. Sellman ◽  
Timothy J. Donohue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Structure Function ◽  
Rhodobacter Sphaeroides ◽  
Fatty Acid Content ◽  
Regulatory Protein ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Globular Domain ◽  
Content Type ◽  
E Coli

ABSTRACTDksA is a global regulatory protein that, together with the alarmone ppGpp, is required for the “stringent response” to nutrient starvation in the gammaproteobacteriumEscherichia coliand for more moderate shifts between growth conditions. DksA modulates the expression of hundreds of genes, directly or indirectly. Mutants lacking a DksA homolog exhibit pleiotropic phenotypes in other gammaproteobacteria as well. Here we analyzed the DksA homolog RSP2654 in the more distantly relatedRhodobacter sphaeroides, an alphaproteobacterium. RSP2654 is 42% identical and similar in length toE. coliDksA but lacks the Zn finger motif of theE. coliDksA globular domain. Deletion of the RSP2654 gene results in defects in photosynthetic growth, impaired utilization of amino acids, and an increase in fatty acid content. RSP2654 complements the growth and regulatory defects of anE. colistrain lacking thedksAgene and modulates transcriptionin vitrowithE. coliRNA polymerase (RNAP) similarly toE. coliDksA. RSP2654 reduces RNAP-promoter complex stabilityin vitrowith RNAPs fromE. coliorR. sphaeroides, alone and synergistically with ppGpp, suggesting that even though it has limited sequence identity toE. coliDksA (DksAEc), it functions in a mechanistically similar manner. We therefore designate the RSP2654 protein DksARsp. Our work suggests that DksARsphas distinct and important physiological roles in alphaproteobacteria and will be useful for understanding structure-function relationships in DksA and the mechanism of synergy between DksA and ppGpp.IMPORTANCEThe role of DksA has been analyzed primarily in the gammaproteobacteria, in which it is best understood for its role in control of the synthesis of the translation apparatus and amino acid biosynthesis. Our work suggests that DksA plays distinct and important physiological roles in alphaproteobacteria, including the control of photosynthesis inRhodobacter sphaeroides. The study of DksARsp, should be useful for understanding structure-function relationships in the protein, including those that play a role in the little-understood synergy between DksA and ppGpp.

scholarly journals Within-Host Evolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Reveals Adaptation toward Iron Acquisition from Hemoglobin

mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasmus Lykke Marvig ◽  
Søren Damkiær ◽  
S. M. Hossein Khademi ◽  
Trine M. Markussen ◽  
Søren Molin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cystic Fibrosis ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Iron Acquisition ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Airway Infections ◽  
Host Evolution ◽  
Promoter Mutations

ABSTRACTPseudomonas aeruginosaairway infections are a major cause of mortality and morbidity of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. In order to persist,P. aeruginosadepends on acquiring iron from its host, and multiple different iron acquisition systems may be active during infection. This includes the pyoverdine siderophore and thePseudomonasheme utilization (phu) system. While the regulation and mechanisms of several iron-scavenging systems are well described, it is not clear whether such systems are targets for selection during adaptation ofP. aeruginosato the host environment. Here we investigated the within-host evolution of the transmissibleP. aeruginosaDK2 lineage. We found positive selection for promoter mutations leading to increased expression of thephusystem. By mimicking conditions of the CF airwaysin vitro, we experimentally demonstrate that increased expression ofphuRconfers a growth advantage in the presence of hemoglobin, thus suggesting thatP. aeruginosaevolves toward iron acquisition from hemoglobin. To rule out that this adaptive trait is specific to the DK2 lineage, we inspected the genomes of additionalP. aeruginosalineages isolated from CF airways and found similar adaptive evolution in two distinct lineages (DK1 and PA clone C). Furthermore, in all three lineages,phuRpromoter mutations coincided with the loss of pyoverdine production, suggesting that within-host adaptation toward heme utilization is triggered by the loss of pyoverdine production. Targeting heme utilization might therefore be a promising strategy for the treatment ofP. aeruginosainfections in CF patients.IMPORTANCEMost bacterial pathogens depend on scavenging iron within their hosts, which makes the battle for iron between pathogens and hosts a hallmark of infection. Accordingly, the ability of the opportunistic pathogenPseudomonas aeruginosato cause chronic infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients also depends on iron-scavenging systems. While the regulation and mechanisms of several such iron-scavenging systems have been well described, not much is known about how the within-host selection pressures act on the pathogens’ ability to acquire iron. Here, we investigated the within-host evolution ofP. aeruginosa, and we found evidence thatP. aeruginosaduring long-term infections evolves toward iron acquisition from hemoglobin. This adaptive strategy might be due to a selective loss of other iron-scavenging mechanisms and/or an increase in the availability of hemoglobin at the site of infection. This information is relevant to the design of novel CF therapeutics and the development of models of chronic CF infections.

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