scholarly journals Experimental Evolution In Vivo To Identify Selective Pressures during Pneumococcal Colonization

mSystems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughn S. Cooper ◽  
Erin Honsa ◽  
Hannah Rowe ◽  
Christopher Deitrick ◽  
Amy R. Iverson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Experimental evolution is a powerful technique to understand how populations evolve from selective pressures imparted by the surrounding environment. With the advancement of whole-population genomic sequencing, it is possible to identify and track multiple contending genotypes associated with adaptations to specific selective pressures. This approach has been used repeatedly with model species in vitro, but only rarely in vivo. Herein we report results of replicate experimentally evolved populations of Streptococcus pneumoniae propagated by repeated murine nasal colonization with the aim of identifying gene products under strong selection as well as the population genetic dynamics of infection cycles. Frameshift mutations in one gene, dltB, responsible for incorporation of d-alanine into teichoic acids on the bacterial surface, evolved repeatedly and swept to high frequency. Targeted deletions of dltB produced a fitness advantage during initial nasal colonization coupled with a corresponding fitness disadvantage in the lungs during pulmonary infection. The underlying mechanism behind the fitness trade-off between these two niches was found to be enhanced adherence to respiratory cells balanced by increased sensitivity to host-derived antimicrobial peptides, a finding recapitulated in the murine model. Additional mutations that are predicted to affect trace metal transport, central metabolism, and regulation of biofilm production and competence were also selected. These data indicate that experimental evolution can be applied to murine models of pathogenesis to gain insight into organism-specific tissue tropisms. IMPORTANCE Evolution is a powerful force that can be experimentally harnessed to gain insight into how populations evolve in response to selective pressures. Herein we tested the applicability of experimental evolutionary approaches to gain insight into how the major human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae responds to repeated colonization events using a murine model. These studies revealed the population dynamics of repeated colonization events and demonstrated that in vivo experimental evolution resulted in highly reproducible trajectories that reflect the environmental niche encountered during nasal colonization. Mutations impacting the surface charge of the bacteria were repeatedly selected during colonization and provided a fitness benefit in this niche that was counterbalanced by a corresponding fitness defect during lung infection. These data indicate that experimental evolution can be applied to models of pathogenesis to gain insight into organism-specific tissue tropisms.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaughn S. Cooper ◽  
Erin Honsa ◽  
Hannah Rowe ◽  
Christopher Deitrick ◽  
Amy R. Iverson ◽  
...  

AbstractExperimental evolution is a powerful technique to understand how populations evolve from selective pressures imparted by the surrounding environment. With the advancement of whole-population genomic sequencing it is possible to identify and track multiple contending genotypes associated with adaptations to specific selective pressures. This approach has been used repeatedly with model species in vitro, but only rarely in vivo. Herein we report results of replicate experimentally evolved populations of Streptococcus pneumoniae propagated by repeated murine nasal colonization with the aim of identifying gene products under strong selection as well as the population-genetic dynamics of infection cycles. Frameshift mutations in one gene, dltB, responsible for incorporation of D-alanine into teichoic acids on the bacterial surface, evolved repeatedly and swept to high frequency. Targeted deletions of dltB produced a fitness advantage during initial nasal colonization coupled with a corresponding fitness disadvantage in the lungs during pulmonary infection. The underlying mechanism behind the fitness tradeoff between these two niches was found to be enhanced adherence to respiratory cells balanced by increased sensitivity to host-derived antimicrobial peptides, a finding recapitulated in the murine model. Additional mutations were also selected that are predicted to affect trace metal transport, central metabolism and regulation of biofilm production and competence. These data indicate that experimental evolution can be applied to murine models of pathogenesis to gain insight into organism-specific tissue tropisms.ImportanceEvolution is a powerful force that can be experimentally harnessed to gain insight into how populations evolve in response to selective pressures. Herein we tested the applicability of experimental evolutionary approaches to gain insight into how the major human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae responds to repeated colonization events using a murine model. These studies revealed the population dynamics of repeated colonization events and demonstrated that in vivo experimental evolution resulted in highly reproducible trajectories that reflect the environmental niche encountered during nasal colonization. Mutations impacting the surface charge of the bacteria were repeatedly selected during colonization and provided a fitness benefit in this niche that was counterbalanced by a corresponding fitness defect during lung infection. These data indicate that experimental evolution can be applied to models of pathogenesis to gain insight into organism-specific tissue tropisms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar J. Scott ◽  
Nicole R. Luke-Marshall ◽  
Anthony A. Campagnari ◽  
David W. Dyer

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Streptococcus pneumoniae EF3030, a pediatric otitis media isolate active in biofilm assays of epithelial colonization. The final draft assembly included 2,209,198 bp; the annotation predicted 2,120 coding DNA sequences (CDSs), 4 complete rRNA operons, 58 tRNAs, 3 noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), and 199 pseudogenes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 4333-4343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barak Hajaj ◽  
Hasan Yesilkaya ◽  
Rachel Benisty ◽  
Maayan David ◽  
Peter W. Andrew ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTStreptococcus pneumoniaeis an aerotolerant Gram-positive bacterium that causes an array of diseases, including pneumonia, otitis media, and meningitis. During aerobic growth,S. pneumoniaeproduces high levels of H2O2. SinceS. pneumoniaelacks catalase, the question of how it controls H2O2levels is of critical importance. Thepsalocus encodes an ABC Mn2+-permease complex (psaBCA) and a putative thiol peroxidase,tpxD. This study shows thattpxDencodes a functional thiol peroxidase involved in the adjustment of H2O2homeostasis in the cell. Kinetic experiments showed that recombinant TpxD removed H2O2efficiently. However,in vivoexperiments revealed that TpxD detoxifies only a fraction of the H2O2generated by the pneumococcus. Mass spectrometry analysis demonstrated that TpxD Cys58undergoes selective oxidationin vivo, under conditions where H2O2is formed, confirming the thiol peroxidase activity. Levels of TpxD expression and synthesisin vitrowere significantly increased in cells grown under aerobic versus anaerobic conditions. The challenge with D39 and TIGR4 with H2O2resulted intpxDupregulation, whilepsaBCAexpression was oppositely affected. However, the challenge of ΔtpxDmutants with H2O2did not affectpsaBCA, implying that TpxD is involved in the regulation of thepsaoperon, in addition to its scavenging activity. Virulence studies demonstrated a notable difference in the survival time of mice infected intranasally with D39 compared to that of mice infected intranasally with D39ΔtpxD. However, when bacteria were administered directly into the blood, this difference disappeared. The findings of this study suggest that TpxD constitutes a component of the organism's fundamental strategy to fine-tune cellular processes in response to H2O2.


2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 3207-3215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Ingram ◽  
William Ellis ◽  
Jennifer Keiser

ABSTRACTInteresting antischistosomal properties have been documented for the antimalarial mefloquine, a 4-quinolinemethanol. We evaluated the antischistosomal activities of nine mefloquine-related compounds belonging to the 4-pyridinemethanols, 9-phenanthrenmethanols, and 4-quinolinemethanols. Eight compounds revealed high activities againstSchistosoma mansoni in vitro, with two drugs (the 4-quinolinemethanols WR7573 and WR7930) characterized by significantly lower half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) (2.7 and 3.5 μM, respectively) compared to mefloquine (11.4 μM). Mefloquine and WR7930 showed significantly decreased IC50s when incubated in the presence of hemoglobin. High worm burden reductions (WBR) were obtained with enpiroline (WBR, 82.7%; dosage, 200 mg/kg of body weight) and itsthreoisomers (+)-threo(WBR, 100%) and (−)-threo(WBR, 89%) and with WR7930 (WBR, 87%; dosage, 100 mg/kg) against adultS. mansoniin mice. Furthermore, excellentin vitroandin vivoantischistosomal activity was observed for two WR7930-related structures (WR29252 and WR7524). In addition, mefloquine (WBR, 81%), enpiroline (WBR, 77%), and WR7930 (WBR, 100%) showed high activities againstS. haematobiumharbored in mice following single oral doses of 200 mg/kg. These results provide a deeper insight into the structural features of the arylmethanols that rule antischistosomal activity. Further studies should be launched with enpiroline and WR7930.


2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Albac ◽  
M. Medina ◽  
D. Labrousse ◽  
D. Hayez ◽  
D. Bonnot ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT This study investigated the in vivo efficacy of three bacteriophages combined compared with linezolid in two mouse models (nondiabetic and diabetic) of Staphylococcus aureus foot infection. In both models, a single injection of bacteriophages in the hindpaw showed significant antibacterial efficacy. Linezolid was as effective as bacteriophages in nondiabetic animals but ineffective in diabetic animals. These findings further support preclinical and clinical studies for the development of phage therapy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (11) ◽  
pp. 7145-7147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Islam M. Ghazi ◽  
Jared L. Crandon ◽  
Emil P. Lesho ◽  
Patrick McGann ◽  
David P. Nicolau

ABSTRACTWe aimed to describe thein vivoactivity of humanized pharmacokinetic exposures of meropenem and comparators against Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) (VIM)-producingEnterobacteriaceaein a murine model. Levofloxacin activity was predicted by its MIC, and cefepime activity displayed variability, whereas meropenem produced a >1 log CFU reduction against all isolates despite high MICs indicative of resistance. Our results suggest that despitein vitroresistance, high-dose meropenem may be a possible option against infections caused byEnterobacteriaceaeproducing MBL-type carbapenemases.


2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 3645-3647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina B. Moraes ◽  
Karen L. White ◽  
Stéphanie Braillard ◽  
Catherine Perez ◽  
Junghyun Goo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWith the aim of improving the available drugs for the treatment of Chagas disease, individual enantiomers of nifurtimox were characterized. The results indicate that the enantiomers are equivalent in theirin vitroactivity against a panel ofTrypanosoma cruzistrains;in vivoefficacy in a murine model of Chagas disease;in vitrotoxicity and absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion characteristics; andin vivopharmacokinetic properties. There is unlikely to be any therapeutic benefit of an individual nifurtimox enantiomer over the racemic mixture.


2014 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 396-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan F. Holt ◽  
Megan R. Kiedrowski ◽  
Kristi L. Frank ◽  
Jing Du ◽  
Changhui Guan ◽  
...  

Enterococcus faecalisis a commensal and pathogen of humans and insects. InManduca sexta,E. faecalisis an infrequent member of the commensal gut community, but its translocation to the hemocoel results in a commensal-to-pathogen switch. To investigateE. faecalisfactors required for commensalism, we identifiedE. faecalisgenes that are upregulated in the gut ofM. sextausing recombinase-basedin vivoexpression technology (RIVET). The RIVET screen produced 113 clones, from which we identified 50 genes that are more highly expressed in the insect gut than in culture. The most frequently recovered gene was locus OG1RF_11582, which encodes a 6-phosphogluconolactonase that we designatedpglA. ApglAdeletion mutant was impaired in both pathogenesis and gut persistence inM. sextaand produced enhanced biofilms compared with the wild type in anin vitropolystyrene plate assay. Mutation of four other genes identified by RIVET did not affect persistence in caterpillar guts but led to impaired pathogenesis. This is the first identification of genetic determinants forE. faecaliscommensal and pathogenic interactions withM. sexta. Bacterial factors identified in this model system may provide insight into colonization or persistence in other host-associated microbial communities and represent potential targets for interventions to preventE. faecalisinfections.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. e02128-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sead Hadziabdic ◽  
Jennie Fischer ◽  
Burkhard Malorny ◽  
Maria Borowiak ◽  
Beatriz Guerra ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The emergence and spread of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in wildlife and livestock animals pose an important safety concern for public health. With our in vivo broiler chicken infection study, we investigated the transfer and experimental microevolution of the blaNDM-1-carrying IncA/C2 plasmid (pRH-1238) introduced by avian native Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Corvallis without inducing antibiotic selection pressure. We evaluated the dependency of the time point of inoculation on donor (S. Corvallis [12-SA01738]) and plasmid-free Salmonella recipient [d-tartrate-fermenting (d-Ta+) S. Paratyphi B (13-SA01617), referred to here as S. Paratyphi B (d-Ta+)] excretion by quantifying their excretion dynamics. Using plasmid profiling by S1 nuclease-restricted pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, we gained insight into the variability of the native plasmid content among S. Corvallis reisolates as well as plasmid acquisition in S. Paratyphi B (d-Ta+) and the enterobacterial gut microflora. Whole-genome sequencing enabled us to gain an in-depth insight into the microevolution of plasmid pRH-1238 in S. Corvallis and enterobacterial recipient isolates. Our study revealed that the fecal excretion of avian native carbapenemase-producing S. Corvallis is significantly higher than that of S. Paratyphi (d-Ta+) and is not hampered by S. Paratyphi (d-Ta+). Acquisition of pRH-1238 in other Enterobacteriaceae and several events of plasmid pRH-1238 transfer to different Escherichia coli sequence types and Klebsiella pneumoniae demonstrated an interspecies broad host range. Regardless of the microevolutionary structural deletions in pRH-1238, the single carbapenem resistance marker blaNDM-1 was maintained on pRH-1238 throughout the trial. Furthermore, we showed the importance of the gut E. coli population as a vector of pRH-1238. In a potential scenario of the introduction of NDM-1-producing S. Corvallis into a broiler flock, the pRH-1238 plasmid could persist and spread to a broad host range even in the absence of antibiotic pressure.


2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
pp. 5337-5348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Čipčić Paljetak ◽  
Donatella Verbanac ◽  
Jasna Padovan ◽  
Miroslava Dominis-Kramarić ◽  
Željko Kelnerić ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAs we face an alarming increase in bacterial resistance to current antibacterial chemotherapeutics, expanding the available therapeutic arsenal in the fight against resistant bacterial pathogens causing respiratory tract infections is of high importance. The antibacterial potency of macrolones, a novel class of macrolide antibiotics, against key respiratory pathogens was evaluatedin vitroandin vivo. MIC values againstStreptococcus pneumoniae,Streptococcus pyogenes,Staphylococcus aureus, andHaemophilus influenzaestrains sensitive to macrolide antibiotics and with defined macrolide resistance mechanisms were determined. The propensity of macrolones to induce the expression of inducibleermgenes was tested by the triple-disk method and incubation in the presence of subinhibitory concentrations of compounds.In vivoefficacy was assessed in a murine model ofS. pneumoniae-induced pneumonia, and pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles in mice were determined. Thein vitroantibacterial profiles of macrolones were superior to those of marketed macrolide antibiotics, including the ketolide telithromycin, and the compounds did not induce the expression of inducibleermgenes. They acted as typical protein synthesis inhibitors in anEscherichia colitranscription/translation assay. Macrolones were characterized by low to moderate systemic clearance, a large volume of distribution, a long half-life, and low oral bioavailability. They were highly efficacious in a murine model of pneumonia after intraperitoneal application even against anS. pneumoniaestrain with constitutive resistance to macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B antibiotics. Macrolones are the class of macrolide antibiotics with an outstanding antibacterial profile and reasonable PK parameters resulting in goodin vivoefficacy.


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