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Coxiella burnetii transcriptional analysis reveals serendipity clusters of regulation in intracellular bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of the zoonotic disease Q fever, is mainly transmitted to humans through an aerosol route. A spore-like form allows C. burnetii to resist different environmental conditions. Because of this, analysis of the survival strategies used by this bacterium to adapt to new environmental conditions is critical for our understanding of C. burnetii pathogenicity. Here, we report the early transcriptional response of C. burnetii under temperature stresses. Our data show that C. burnetii exhibited minor changes in gene regulation under short exposure to heat or cold shock. While small differences were observed, C. burnetii seemed to respond similarly to cold and heat shock. The expression profiles obtained using microarrays produced in-house were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR. Under temperature stresses, 190 genes were differentially expressed in at least one condition, with a fold change of up to 4. Globally, the differentially expressed genes in C. burnetii were associated with bacterial division, (p)ppGpp synthesis, wall and membrane biogenesis and, especially, lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan synthesis. These findings could be associated with growth arrest and witnessed transformation of the bacteria to a spore-like form. Unexpectedly, clusters of neighboring genes were differentially expressed. These clusters do not belong to operons or genetic networks; they have no evident associated functions and are not under the control of the same promoters. We also found undescribed but comparable clusters of regulation in previously reported transcriptomic analyses of intracellular bacteria, including Rickettsia sp. and Listeria monocytogenes. The transcriptomic patterns of C. burnetii observed under temperature stresses permits the recognition of unpredicted clusters of regulation for which the trigger mechanism remains unidentified but which may be the result of a new mechanism of epigenetic regulation.

SUBMITTER: Leroy Q

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3006202 | biostudies-literature | 2010

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Coxiella burnetii transcriptional analysis reveals serendipity clusters of regulation in intracellular bacteria.

Leroy Quentin Q Lebrigand Kevin K Armougom Fabrice F Barbry Pascal P Thiéry Richard R Raoult Didier D

PloS one 20101221 12

Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of the zoonotic disease Q fever, is mainly transmitted to humans through an aerosol route. A spore-like form allows C. burnetii to resist different environmental conditions. Because of this, analysis of the survival strategies used by this bacterium to adapt to new environmental conditions is critical for our understanding of C. burnetii pathogenicity. Here, we report the early transcriptional response of C. burnetii under temperature stresses. Our data sho ...[more]

PMID: 21203564

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Project description:BackgroundCoxiella burnetii is a zoonotic pathogen that resides in wild and domesticated animals across the globe and causes a febrile illness, Q fever, in humans. An improved understanding of the genetic diversity of C. burnetii is essential for the development of diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics, but genotyping data is lacking from many parts of the world. Sporadic outbreaks of Q fever have occurred in the United Kingdom, but the local genetic make-up of C. burnetii has not been studied in detail.ResultsHere, we report whole genome data for nine C. burnetii sequences obtained in the UK. All four genomes of C. burnetii from cattle, as well as one sheep sample, belonged to Multi-spacer sequence type (MST) 20, whereas the goat samples were MST33 (three genomes) and MST32 (one genome), two genotypes that have not been described to be present in the UK to date. We established the phylogenetic relationship between the UK genomes and 67 publically available genomes based on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the core genome, which confirmed tight clustering of strains within genomic groups, but also indicated that sub-groups exist within those groups. Variation is mainly achieved through SNPs, many of which are non-synonymous, thereby confirming that evolution of C. burnetii is based on modification of existing genes. Finally, we discovered genomic-group specific genome content, which supports a model of clonal expansion of previously established genotypes, with large scale dissemination of some of these genotypes across continents being observed.ConclusionsThe genetic make-up of C. burnetii in the UK is similar to the one in neighboring European countries. As a species, C. burnetii has been considered a clonal pathogen with low genetic diversity at the nucleotide level. Here, we present evidence for significant variation at the protein level between isolates of different genomic groups, which mainly affects secreted and membrane-associated proteins. Our results thereby increase our understanding of the global genetic diversity of C. burnetii and provide new insights into the evolution of this emerging zoonotic pathogen.

Dataset Information

Coxiella burnetii transcriptional analysis reveals serendipity clusters of regulation in intracellular bacteria.

Publications

Coxiella burnetii transcriptional analysis reveals serendipity clusters of regulation in intracellular bacteria.

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