Project description:We sought to determine how a cystic fibrosis isolate of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia responds to relevant pH gradients (pH 5, 7, and 9) by growing the bacterium in phosphate buffered media and conducting RNAseq experiments. Our data suggests acidic conditions are stressful for strain FLR19, as it responded by increasing expression of stress-response and antibiotic-resistance genes.
Project description:Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an important opportunistic pathogen affecting primarily hospitalized and immuno-compromised hosts. We constructed an hfq deletion mutant (Delta-hfq) of S. maltophilia, and compared the behaviour of wild-type and Delta-hfq S. maltophilia cells in a variety of assays. Differential RNA sequencing analysis (dRNA-seq) of RNA isolated from S. maltophilia wild-type and Delta-hfq strains showed that Hfq regulates expression of genes encoding flagellar and fimbrial components, transmembrane proteins, as well as enzymes involved in different metabolic pathways. Moreover, we analysed expression of several sRNAs identified by dRNA-seq in wild-type. The accumulation of two sRNAs was strongly reduced in the absence of Hfq. TEX (terminator exonuclease) treated and untreated libraries of the wild type and the Delta-hfq mutant were sequenced and compared
Project description:We calculated half-life values of mRNAs quantified by RNA-Seq by a suitable method of normalization. We determined the half-lives of more than 2200 mRNAs in the Stenotrophomonas maltophilia D457 wild-type strain and in an isogenic RNase G deficient mutant. Median half-lives were 2,74 and 3 min in the wild-type and the rng-deficient mutant respectively. We found an overall enhancement of half-life times of mRNAs when the gene encoding RNase G is lacking, showing that many RNAs are targets of RNase G in S. maltophilia. For achieving such goal, we propose a method for the normalization of RNA-Seq based studies on global bacterial mRNA decay.
Project description:The goal of this study was to elucidate genes that are employed by the bacterivorous nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to respond to the emerging nosocomial bacterial pathogen Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.
Project description:Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an important opportunistic pathogen affecting primarily hospitalized and immuno-compromised hosts. We constructed an hfq deletion mutant (Delta-hfq) of S. maltophilia, and compared the behaviour of wild-type and Delta-hfq S. maltophilia cells in a variety of assays. Differential RNA sequencing analysis (dRNA-seq) of RNA isolated from S. maltophilia wild-type and Delta-hfq strains showed that Hfq regulates expression of genes encoding flagellar and fimbrial components, transmembrane proteins, as well as enzymes involved in different metabolic pathways. Moreover, we analysed expression of several sRNAs identified by dRNA-seq in wild-type. The accumulation of two sRNAs was strongly reduced in the absence of Hfq.
Project description:Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an emerging multidrug resistance opportunistic pathogen affecting immunocompromised and hospitalized patients. S. maltophilia is an environmental bacterium which adapts to human body and causing infection. S. rhizophilia, a non-pathogenic and phylogenetic neighbour of S. maltophilia is unable to grow at human body temperature. Thus, to understand molecular mechanism underlying the adaptation of S. maltophilia at human body temperature, we performed the comparative transcriptome analysis of S.maltophilia at 28 °C (representative for the environmental niches) and 37 °C (representative for human body) by using RNA-Seq. The major temperature-induced genes include genes for Type IV secretion system, aerotaxis, and cation diffusion facilitator family transporter suggesting its potential role in the adaptation and virulence of S. maltophilia. The downregulated genes at 37 °C includes the genes for the cell motility, energy generation and metabolism, lipid metabolism, translation, amino acid metabolism and transport, replication and repair, inorganic ion and transport metabolism lipid metabolism, coenzyme metabolism.
Project description:We characterized the transcriptional responses of three S. maltophilia strains during exposure to synthetic CF sputum media (SCFM2) to gain insight into how this organism interacts with the host in the CF lung. These efforts led to the identification of 881 transcripts differentially expressed by all three strains, many of which reflect different metabolic pathways used by S. maltophilia in sputum, and altered stress responses. The latter correlated with increased resistance to peroxide exposure after pre-growth in SCFM2. We also compared the SCFM2 transcriptomes of two S. maltophilia CF isolates with the SCFM2 transcriptome of the acute infection model strain, S. maltophilia K279A, allowing us to identify CF isolate-specific signatures in differential gene expression that may be suggestive of adaptation to the CF lung. Each strain also possessed genes not shared by the other two and here we show that expression of some of the accessory genes in each strain are changed in response to SCFM2. Collectively, this work details the response of S. maltophilia to the CF lung environment, identifying potential survival strategies and metabolic pathways used by S. maltophilia during infections.
Project description:Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an emerging opportunistic multidrug-resistant pathogen frequently co-isolated with other relevant nosocomial pathogens in respiratory tract infections. S. maltophilia uses the endogenous DSF quorum sensing (QS) system to regulate virulence processes but can also respond to exogenous AHL signals produced by neighboring bacteria. A whole-transcriptome sequencing analysis was performed for S. maltophilia strain K279a in the exponential and stationary phases and in exponential cultures after a treatment with exogenous DSF or AHLs. Among the common top upregulated genes, the putative TetR-like regulator Smlt2053 was selected for functional characterization. This regulator was found to sense long-chain fatty acids, including the QS signal DSF, and activate a β-oxidation catabolic pathway.