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Survival and dormancy of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the environment.

ABSTRACT: The survival of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis was studied by culture of fecal material sampled at intervals for up to 117 weeks from soil and grass in pasture plots and boxes. Survival for up to 55 weeks was observed in a dry fully shaded environment, with much shorter survival times in unshaded locations. Moisture and application of lime to soil did not affect survival. UV radiation was an unlikely factor, but infrared wavelengths leading to diurnal temperature flux may be the significant detrimental component that is correlated with lack of shade. The organism survived for up to 24 weeks on grass that germinated through infected fecal material applied to the soil surface in completely shaded boxes and for up to 9 weeks on grass in 70% shade. The observed patterns of recovery in three of four experiments and changes in viable counts were indicative of dormancy, a hitherto unreported property of this taxon. A dps-like genetic element and relA, which are involved in dormancy responses in other mycobacteria, are present in the M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis genome sequence, providing indirect evidence for the existence of physiological mechanisms enabling dormancy. However, survival of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the environment is finite, consistent with its taxonomic description as an obligate parasite of animals.

SUBMITTER: Whittington RJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC404446 | biostudies-literature | 2004 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Survival and dormancy of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the environment.

Whittington Richard J RJ Marshall D Jeff DJ Nicholls Paul J PJ Marsh Ian B IB Reddacliff Leslie A LA

Applied and environmental microbiology 20040501 5

The survival of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis was studied by culture of fecal material sampled at intervals for up to 117 weeks from soil and grass in pasture plots and boxes. Survival for up to 55 weeks was observed in a dry fully shaded environment, with much shorter survival times in unshaded locations. Moisture and application of lime to soil did not affect survival. UV radiation was an unlikely factor, but infrared wavelengths leading to diurnal temperature flux may be the sig ...[more]

PMID: 15128561

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Project description:Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis is a host-adapted pathogen that evolved from the environmental bacterium M. avium subsp. hominissuis through gene loss and gene acquisition. Growth of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the laboratory is enhanced by supplementation of the media with the iron-binding siderophore mycobactin J. Here we examined the production of mycobactins by related organisms and searched for an alternative iron uptake system in M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. Through thin-layer chromatography and radiolabeled iron-uptake studies, we showed that M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis is impaired for both mycobactin synthesis and iron acquisition. Consistent with these observations, we identified several mutations, including deletions, in M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis genes coding for mycobactin synthesis. Using a transposon-mediated mutagenesis screen conditional on growth without myobactin, we identified a potential mycobactin-independent iron uptake system on a M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis-specific genomic island, LSP(P)15. We obtained a transposon (Tn) mutant with a disruption in the LSP(P)15 gene MAP3776c for targeted study. The mutant manifests increased iron uptake as well as intracellular iron content, with genes downstream of the transposon insertion (MAP3775c to MAP3772c [MAP3775-2c]) upregulated as the result of a polar effect. As an independent confirmation, we observed the same iron uptake phenotypes by overexpressing MAP3775-2c in wild-type M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. These data indicate that the horizontally acquired LSP(P)15 genes contribute to iron acquisition by M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis, potentially allowing the subsequent loss of siderophore production by this pathogen.Many microbes are able to scavenge iron from their surroundings by producing iron-chelating siderophores. One exception is Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis, a fastidious, slow-growing animal pathogen whose growth needs to be supported by exogenous mycobacterial siderophore (mycobactin) in the laboratory. Data presented here demonstrate that, compared to other closely related M. avium subspecies, mycobactin production and iron uptake are different in M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis, and these phenotypes may be caused by numerous deletions in its mycobactin biosynthesis pathway. Using a genomic approach, supplemented by targeted genetic and biochemical studies, we identified that LSP(P)15, a horizontally acquired genomic island, may encode an alternative iron uptake system. These findings shed light on the potential physiological consequence of horizontal gene transfer in M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis evolution.

Project description:BackgroundMycobacterium avium subspecies avium (M. avium) is frequently encountered in the environment, but also causes infections in animals and immunocompromised patients. In contrast, Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (M. paratuberculosis) is a slow-growing organism that is the causative agent of Johne's disease in cattle and chronic granulomatous infections in a variety of other ruminant hosts. Yet we show that despite their divergent phenotypes and the diseases they present, the genomes of M. avium and M. paratuberculosis share greater than 97% nucleotide identity over large (25 kb) genomic regions analyzed in this study.ResultsTo characterize genome similarity between these two subspecies as well as attempt to understand their different growth rates, we designed oligonucleotide primers from M. avium sequence to amplify 15 minimally overlapping fragments of M. paratuberculosis genomic DNA encompassing the chromosomal origin of replication. These strategies resulted in the successful amplification and sequencing of a contiguous 11-kb fragment containing the putative Mycobacterium paratuberculosis origin of replication (oriC). This fragment contained 11 predicted open reading frames that showed a conserved gene order in the oriC locus when compared with several other Gram-positive bacteria. In addition, a GC skew analysis identified the origin of chromosomal replication which lies between the genes dnaA and dnaN. The presence of multiple DnaA boxes and the ATP-binding site in dnaA were also found in M. paratuberculosis. The strong nucleotide identity of M. avium and M. paratuberculosis in the region surrounding the origin of chromosomal replication led us to compare other areas of these genomes. A DNA homology matrix of 2 million nucleotides from each genome revealed strong synteny with only a few sequences present in one genome but absent in the other. Finally, the 16s rRNA gene from these two subspecies is 100% identical.ConclusionsWe present for the first time, a description of the oriC region in M. paratuberculosis. In addition, genomic comparisons between these two mycobacterial subspecies suggest that differences in the oriC region may not be significant enough to account for the diverse bacterial replication rates. Finally, the few genetic differences present outside the origin of chromosomal replication in each genome may be responsible for the diverse growth rates or phenotypes observed between the avium and paratuberculosis subspecies.

Project description:The genetic similarity between Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis and other mycobacterial species has confounded the development of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis-specific diagnostic reagents. Random shotgun sequencing of the M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis genome in our laboratories has shown >98% sequence identity with Mycobacterium avium subsp. avium in some regions. However, an in silico comparison of the largest annotated M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis contigs, totaling 2,658,271 bp, with the unfinished M. avium subsp. avium genome has revealed 27 predicted M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis coding sequences that do not align with M. avium subsp. avium sequences. BLASTP analysis of the 27 predicted coding sequences (genes) shows that 24 do not match sequences in public sequence databases, such as GenBank. These novel sequences were examined by PCR amplification with genomic DNA from eight mycobacterial species and ten independent isolates of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. From these analyses, 21 genes were found to be present in all M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolates and absent from all other mycobacterial species tested. One region of the M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis genome contains a cluster of eight genes, arranged in tandem, that is absent in other mycobacterial species. This region spans 4.4 kb and is separated from other predicted coding regions by 1,408 bp upstream and 1,092 bp downstream. The gene upstream of this eight-gene cluster has strong similarity to mycobacteriophage integrase sequences. The GC content of this 4.4-kb region is 66%, which is similar to the rest of the genome, indicating that this region was not horizontally acquired recently. Southern hybridization analysis confirmed that this gene cluster is present only in M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis. Collectively, these studies suggest that a genomics approach will help in identifying novel M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis genes as candidate diagnostic sequences.

Project description:The cross-reactivity of mycobacterial antigens in immune-based diagnostic assays has been a major concern and a criticism of the current tests that are used for the detection of paratuberculosis. In the present study, Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis recombinant proteins were evaluated for antigenic specificity compared to a whole-cell sonicate preparation (MPS). Measures of cell-mediated immunity to M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis antigens were compared in calves inoculated with live M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis, M. avium subsp. avium (M. avium), Mycobacterium kansasii, or Mycobacterium bovis. Gamma interferon (IFN-γ) responses to MPS were observed in all calves that were exposed to mycobacteria compared to control calves at 4 months postinfection. Pooled recombinant M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis proteins also elicited nonspecific IFN-γ responses in inoculated calves, with the exception of calves infected with M. bovis. M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis proteins failed to elicit antigen-specific responses for the majority of immune measures; however, the expression of CD25 and CD26 was upregulated on CD4, CD8, gamma/delta (γδ) T, and B cells for the calves that were inoculated with either M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis or M. avium after antigen stimulation of the cells. Stimulation with MPS also resulted in the increased expression of CD26 on CD45RO(+) CD25(+) T cells from calves inoculated with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and M. avium. Although recombinant proteins failed to elicit specific responses for the calves inoculated with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis, the differences in immune responses to M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis antigens were dependent upon mycobacterial exposure. The results demonstrated a close alignment in immune responses between calves inoculated with M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis and those inoculated with M. avium that were somewhat disparate from the responses in calves infected with M. bovis, suggesting that the biology of mycobacterial infection plays an important role in diagnosis.

Project description:BackgroundMycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) causes Johne's disease (JD), a chronic enteritis widespread in ruminants, resulting in substantial economic losses, especially to the dairy industry. Understanding the genetic diversity of Map in Australia will assist epidemiological studies for tracking disease transmission and identify subtype characteristics for use in development of improved diagnostic typing methods. Here we investigated the phylogenetic relationships of 351 Map isolates and compared different subtyping methods to assess their suitability for use in diagnostics and accuracy.ResultsSNP-based phylogenetic analysis of 228 Australian isolates and 123 publicly available international isolates grouped Type S and Type C strains into two distinct lineages. Type C strains were highly monomorphic with only 20 SNP differences separating them. Type S strains, when aligned separately to the Telford strain, fell into two distinct clades: The first clade contained seven international isolates while the second clade contained one international isolate from Scotland and all 59 Australian isolates. The Australian Type B strain clustered with US bison strains. IS1311 PCR and Restriction Enzyme Analysis (REA) intermittently generated incorrect results when compared to Long Sequence Polymorphism (LSP) analysis, whole genome SNP-based phylogenetic analysis, IS1311 sequence alignment and average nucleotide identity (ANI). These alternative methods generated consistent Map typing results. A published SNP based assay for genotyping Map was found to be unsuitable for differentiating between Australian and international strain types of Map.ConclusionThis is the first phylogenetic analysis of Australian Map isolates. The Type C lineage was highly monomorphic, and the Type S lineage clustered all Australian isolates into one clade with a single Scottish sheep strain. The Australian isolate classified as Type B by IS1311 PCR and REA is likely to be descended from bison and most closely related to US bison strains. Limitations of the current typing methods were identified in this study.

Dataset Information

Survival and dormancy of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the environment.

Publications

Survival and dormancy of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in the environment.

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