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Bacteriocin-mediated competition in cystic fibrosis lung infections.

ABSTRACT: Bacteriocins are toxins produced by bacteria to kill competitors of the same species. Theory and laboratory experiments suggest that bacteriocin production and immunity play a key role in the competitive dynamics of bacterial strains. The extent to which this is the case in natural populations,especially human pathogens, remains to be tested. We examined the role of bacteriocins in competition using Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains infecting lungs of humans with cystic fibrosis (CF). We assessed the ability of different strains to kill each other using phenotypic assays, and sequenced their genomes to determine what bacteriocins (pyocins) they carry. We found that(i) isolates from later infection stages inhibited earlier infecting strains less,but were more inhibited by pyocins produced by earlier infecting strains and carried fewer pyocin types; (ii) this difference between early and late infections appears to be caused by a difference in pyocin diversity between competing genotypes and not by loss of pyocin genes within a lineage overtime; (iii) pyocin inhibition does not explain why certain strains outcompete others within lung infections; (iv) strains frequently carry the pyocin-killing gene, but not the immunity gene, suggesting resistance occurs via other unknown mechanisms. Our results show that, in contrast to patterns observed in experimental studies, pyocin production does not appear to have a major influence on strain competition during CF lung infections.

SUBMITTER: Ghoul M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4571691 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Bacteriocin-mediated competition in cystic fibrosis lung infections.

Ghoul Melanie M West Stuart A SA Johansen Helle Krogh HK Molin Søren S Harrison Odile B OB Maiden Martin C J MC Jelsbak Lars L Bruce John B JB Griffin Ashleigh S AS

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20150901 1814

Bacteriocins are toxins produced by bacteria to kill competitors of the same species. Theory and laboratory experiments suggest that bacteriocin production and immunity play a key role in the competitive dynamics of bacterial strains. The extent to which this is the case in natural populations,especially human pathogens, remains to be tested. We examined the role of bacteriocins in competition using Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains infecting lungs of humans with cystic fibrosis (CF). We assessed t ...[more]

PMID: 26311664

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Project description:BackgroundChronic lung infections are the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients. Recent molecular biological based studies have identified a surprisingly wide range of hitherto unreported bacterial species in the lungs of CF patients. The aim of this study was to determine whether the species present were active and, as such, worthy of further investigation as potential pathogens.MethodsTerminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) profiles were generated from PCR products amplified from 16S rDNA and Reverse Transcription Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RT-T-RFLP) profiles, a marker of metabolic activity, were generated from PCR products amplified from 16S rRNA, both extracted from the same CF sputum sample. To test the level of activity of these bacteria, T-RFLP profiles were compared to RT-T-RFLP profiles.ResultsSamples from 17 individuals were studied. Parallel analyses identified a total of 706 individual T-RF and RT-T-RF bands in this sample set. 323 bands were detected by T-RFLP and 383 bands were detected by RT-T-RFLP (statistically significant; P < or = 0.001). For the group as a whole, 145 bands were detected in a T-RFLP profile alone, suggesting metabolically inactive bacteria. 205 bands were detected in an RT-T-RFLP profile alone and 178 bands were detected in both, suggesting a significant degree of metabolic activity. Although Pseudomonas aeruginosa was present and active in many patients, a low occurrence of other species traditionally considered to be key CF pathogens was detected. T-RFLP profiles obtained for induced sputum samples provided by healthy individuals without CF formed a separate cluster indicating a low level of similarity to those from CF patients.ConclusionThese results indicate that a high proportion of the bacterial species detected in the sputum from all of the CF patients in the study are active. The widespread activity of bacterial species in these samples emphasizes the potential importance of these previously unrecognized species within the CF lung.

Project description:RationalePseudomonas aeruginosa, the predominant cause of chronic airway infections of patients with cystic fibrosis, exhibits extensive phenotypic diversity among isolates within and between sputum samples, but little is known about the underlying genetic diversity.ObjectivesTo characterize the population genetic structure of transmissible P. aeruginosa Liverpool Epidemic Strain in chronic infections of nine patients with cystic fibrosis, and infer evolutionary processes associated with adaptation to the cystic fibrosis lung.MethodsWe performed whole-genome sequencing of P. aeruginosa isolates and pooled populations and used comparative analyses of genome sequences including phylogenetic reconstructions and resolution of population structure from genome-wide allele frequencies.Measurements and main resultsGenome sequences were obtained for 360 isolates from nine patients. Phylogenetic reconstruction of the ancestry of 40 individually sequenced isolates from one patient sputum sample revealed the coexistence of two genetically diverged, recombining lineages exchanging potentially adaptive mutations. Analysis of population samples for eight additional patients indicated coexisting lineages in six cases. Reconstruction of the ancestry of individually sequenced isolates from all patients indicated smaller genetic distances between than within patients in most cases.ConclusionsOur population-level analysis demonstrates that coexistence of distinct lineages of P. aeruginosa Liverpool Epidemic Strain within individuals is common. In several cases, coexisting lineages may have been present in the infecting inoculum or assembled through multiple transmissions. Divergent lineages can share mutations via homologous recombination, potentially aiding adaptation to the airway during chronic infection. The genetic diversity of this transmissible strain within infections, revealed by high-resolution genomics, has implications for patient segregation and therapeutic strategies.

Project description:Epidemic strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are highly virulent opportunistic pathogens with increased transmissibility and enhanced antimicrobial resistance. Understanding the cellular mechanisms behind this heightened virulence and resistance is critical. Peptidoglycan (PG) is an integral component of P. aeruginosa cells that is essential to its survival and a target for antimicrobials. Here, we examined the global PG composition of two P. aeruginosa epidemic strains, LESB58 and LESlike1, and compared them to the common laboratory strains PAO1 and PA14. We also examined changes in PG composition when the strains were cultured under nutrient conditions that resembled cystic fibrosis lung infections. We identified 448 unique muropeptides and provide the first evidence for stem peptides modified with O-methylation, meso-diaminopimelic acid (mDAP) deamination, and novel substitutions of mDAP residues within P. aeruginosa PG. Our results also present the first evidence for both d,l- and l,d-endopeptidase activity on the PG sacculus of a Gram-negative organism. The PG composition of the epidemic strains varied significantly when grown under conditions resembling cystic fibrosis (CF) lung infections, showing increases in O-methylated stem peptides and decreases in l,d-endopeptidase activity as well as an increased abundance of de-N-acetylated sugars and l,d-transpeptidase activity, which are related to bacterial virulence and antibiotic resistance, respectively. We also identified strain-specific changes where LESlike1 increased the addition of unique amino acids to the terminus of the stem peptide and LESB58 increased amidase activity. Overall, this study demonstrates that P. aeruginosa PG composition is primarily influenced by nutrient conditions that mimic the CF lung; however, inherent strain-to-strain differences also exist. IMPORTANCE Using peptidoglycomics to examine the global composition of the peptidoglycan (PG) allows insights into the enzymatic activity that functions on this important biopolymer. Changes within the PG structure have implications for numerous physiological processes, including virulence and antimicrobial resistance. The identification of highly unique PG modifications illustrates the complexity of this biopolymer in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Analyzing the PG composition of clinical P. aeruginosa epidemic strains provides insights into the increased virulence and antimicrobial resistance of these difficult-to-eradicate infections.

Dataset Information

Bacteriocin-mediated competition in cystic fibrosis lung infections.

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Bacteriocin-mediated competition in cystic fibrosis lung infections.

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