Dataset Information

Genomic Diversity of Enterotoxigenic Strains of Bacteroides fragilis.

ABSTRACT: Enterotoxigenic (ETBF) strains of Bacteroides fragilis are the subset of strains that secrete a toxin called fragilysin (Bft). Although ETBF strains are known to cause diarrheal disease and have recently been associated with colorectal cancer, they have not been well characterized. By sequencing the complete genome of four ETBF strains, we found that these strains exhibit considerable variation at the genomic level. Only a small number of genes that are located primarily in the Bft pathogenicity island (BFT PAI) and the flanking CTn86 conjugative transposon are conserved in all four strains and a fifth strain whose genome was previously sequenced. Interestingly, phylogenetic analysis strongly suggests that the BFT PAI was acquired by non-toxigenic (NTBF) strains multiple times during the course of evolution. At the phenotypic level, we found that the ETBF strains were less fit than the NTBF strain NCTC 9343 and were susceptible to a growth-inhibitory protein that it produces. The ETBF strains also showed a greater tendency to form biofilms, which may promote tumor formation, than NTBF strains. Although the genomic diversity of ETBF strains raises the possibility that they vary in their pathogenicity, our experimental results also suggest that they share common properties that are conferred by different combinations of non-universal genetic elements.

SUBMITTER: Pierce JV

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4922554 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) strains, which produce a 20-kDa zinc metalloprotease toxin (BFT), have been associated with diarrheal disease in animals and young children. Studying a collection of ETBF and nontoxigenic B. fragilis (NTBF) strains, we found that bft and a second metalloprotease gene (mpII) are contained in an approximately 6-kb pathogenicity island (termed B. fragilis pathogenicity island or BfPAI) which is present exclusively in all 113 ETBF strains tested (pattern I). Of 191 NTBF strains, 100 (52%) lack both the BfPAI and at least a 12-kb region flanking BfPAI (pattern II), and 82 of 191 NTBF strains (43%) lack the BfPAI but contain the flanking region (pattern III). The nucleotide sequence flanking the left end of the BfPAI revealed a region with the same organization as the mobilization region of the 5-nitroimidazole resistance plasmid pIP417 and the clindamycin resistance plasmid pBFTM10, that is, two mobilization genes (bfmA and bfmB) organized in one operon and a putative origin of transfer (oriT) located in a small, compact region. The region flanking the right end of the BfPAI contains a gene (bfmC) whose predicted protein shares significant identity to the TraD mobilization proteins encoded by plasmids F and R100 from Escherichia coli. Nucleotide sequence analysis of one NTBF pattern III strain (strain I-1345) revealed that bfmB and bfmC are adjacent to each other and separated by a 16-bp GC-rich sequence. Comparison of this sequence with the appropriate sequence of ETBF strain 86-5443-2-2 showed that in this ETBF strain the 16-bp sequence is replaced by the BfPAI. This result defined the BfPAI as being 6,036 bp in length and its precise integration site as being between the bfmB and bfmC stop codons. The G+C content of the BfPAI (35%) and the flanking DNA (47 to 50%) differ greatly from that reported for the B. fragilis chromosome (42%), suggesting that the BfPAI and its flanking region are two distinct genetic elements originating from very different organisms. ETBF strains may have evolved by horizontal transfer of these two genetic elements into a pattern II NTBF strain.

Dataset Information

Genomic Diversity of Enterotoxigenic Strains of Bacteroides fragilis.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets