Project description:Teixobactin is the first novel antimicrobial to be discovered in decades and represents a new class of antimicrobials. Teixobactin shows great promise with proven efficacy against multi-drug resistant organisms such as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. VRE infections are notoriously difficult to treat with complex and adaptable cell wall stress response systems, which confer intrinsic resistance to a wide variety of antimicrobials. The aim of this study was to isolate the teixobactin-induced transcriptional response by challenging lab strain Enterococcus faecalis JH2-2 with sub-MIC levels of teixobactin using RNA sequencing. Two cultures of E. faecalis were grown to an OD600 of 0.2 and subsequently split into three to form a total of six cultures (two samples, with three technical replicates each), and grown to an OD600 of 0.5. One set of three cultures were treated with 0.5 ug/ml (0.25 x MIC), and all six cultures were grown for a further 1h. Cells were harvested by centrifugation and stored at -80 degrees C. RNA was extracted using TRIzol-chloroform and RNA samples were run through the RNAeasy Minikit (Qiagen). The Agilent RNA 6000 Nano kit and the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (RIN >8), was used to verify RNA quality as per the manufacturer’s instructions, and RNA concentration was determined using a NanoDrop ND-100 spectrophotometer. Ribosomal RNA was removed from total RNA using Ribo-Zero and cDNA libraries were created using the Illumina TruSeq™ stranded total RNA library prep kit. Sequencing was completed using Illumina MiSeq_v3 generating 150 bp single end reads. Adapter sequences were removed from raw fastq files using Flexbar and reads shorter than 50bp were discarded. Sequence reads from each sample were mapped against the E. faecalis JH2-2 genome (NZ_KI518257.1) using Bowtie to produce a table of raw read counts for JH2-2 genes for each of the replicates. Statistical and principal component analysis were performed using the Bioconductor DESeq package.
Project description:The enterococci comprise a genus of 49 low-GC content Gram-positive commensal species within the Firmicutes phylum that are known to occupy diverse habitats, notably the gastrointestinal core microbiota of nearly every phylum, including human. Of particular clinical relevance are two rogue species of enterococci, Enterococcus faecalis and the distantly related Enterococcus faecium, standing among the nefarious multi-drug resistant and hospital-acquired pathogens. Despite increasing evidence for RNA-based regulation in the enterococci, including regulation of virulence factors, their transcriptome structure and arsenal of regulatory small sRNAs (sRNAs) are not thoroughly understood. Using dRNA-seq, we have mapped at single-nucleotide resolution the primary transcriptomes of E. faecalis V583 and E. faecium AUS0004. We identified 2517 and 2771 transcription start sites (TSS) in E. faecalis and E. faecium, respectively. Based on the identified TSS, we created a global map of s70 promoter motifs. We also revealed features of 5’ and 3’UTRs across the genomes. The transcriptome maps also predicted 150 and 128 sRNA candidates in E. faecalis and E. faecium, respectively, some of which have been identified in previous studies and many of which are new. Finally, we validated several of the predicted sRNAs by Northern Blot in biologically relevant conditions. Comprehensive TSS mapping of two representative strains will provide a valuable resource for the continued development of RNA biology in the Enterococci.
Project description:Antibiotic use can lead to expansion of multi-drug resistant pathobionts within the gut microbiome that can cause life-threatening infections. Selective alternatives to conventional antibiotics are in dire need. Here, we describe a Klebsiella PhageBank that enables the rapid design of antimicrobial bacteriophage cocktails to treat multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. Using a transposon library in carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae, we identified host factors required for phage infection in major Klebsiella phage families. Leveraging the diversity of the PhageBank and experimental evolution strategies, we formulated combinations of phages that minimize the occurrence of phage resistance in vitro. Optimized bacteriophage cocktails selectively suppressed the burden of multi-drug resistant K. pneumoniae in the mouse gut microbiome and drove bacterial populations to lose key virulence factors that act as phage receptors. Further, phage-mediated diversification of bacterial populations in the gut enabled co-evolution of phage variants with higher virulence and a broader host range. Altogether, the Klebsiella PhageBank represents a roadmap for both phage researchers and clinicians to enable phage therapy against a critical multidrug-resistant human pathogen.
Project description:Phage therapy is a therapeutic approach to treat multidrug resistant infections that employs lytic bacteriophages (phages) to eliminate bacteria. Despite the abundant evidence for its success as an antimicrobial in Eastern Europe, there is scarce data regarding its effects on the human host. Here, we aimed to understand how lytic phages interact with cells of the airway epithelium, the tissue site that is colonized by bacterial biofilms in numerous chronic respiratory disorders. Using a panel of Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages and human airway epithelial cells derived from a person with cystic fibrosis, we determined that interactions between phages and epithelial cells depend on specific phage properties as well as physiochemical features of the microenvironment. Although poor at internalizing phages, the airway epithelium responds to phage exposure by changing its transcriptional profile and secreting antiviral and proinflammatory cytokines that correlate with specific phage families. Overall, our findings indicate that mammalian responses to phages are heterogenous and could potentially alter the way that respiratory local defenses aid in bacterial clearance during phage therapy. Thus, besides phage receptor specificity in a particular bacterial isolate, the criteria to select lytic phages for therapy should be expanded to include mammalian cell responses.