The cost of virulence: retarded growth of Salmonella Typhimurium cells expressing type III secretion system 1

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Requires Regulation of ESX-5 Secretion for Virulence in Irgm1-Deficient Mice

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis type VII secretion system ESX-5, which has been implicated in virulence, is activated at the transcriptional level by the phosphate starvation-responsive Pst/SenX3-RegX3 signal transduction system. Deletion of pstA1, which encodes a Pst phosphate transporter component, causes constitutive activation of the response regulator RegX3, hypersecretion of ESX-5 substrates and attenuation in the mouse infection model. We hypothesized that constitutive activation of ESX-5 secretion causes attenuation of the ΔpstA1 mutant. To test this, we uncoupled ESX-5 from regulation by RegX3. Using electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we defined a RegX3 binding site in the esx-5 locus. Deletion or mutation of the RegX3 binding site reversed hypersecretion of the ESX-5 substrate EsxN by the ΔpstA1 mutant and abrogated induction of EsxN secretion in response to phosphate limitation by wild-type M. tuberculosis The esx-5 RegX3 binding site deletion (ΔBS) also suppressed attenuation of the ΔpstA1 mutant in Irgm1^-/- mice. These data suggest that constitutive ESX-5 secretion sensitizes M. tuberculosis to an immune response that still occurs in Irgm1^-/- mice. However, the ΔpstA1 ΔBS mutant remained attenuated in both NOS2^-/- and C57BL/6 mice, suggesting that factors other than ESX-5 secretion also contribute to attenuation of the ΔpstA1 mutant. In addition, a ΔpstA1 ΔesxN mutant lacking the hypersecreted ESX-5 substrate EsxN remained attenuated in Irgm1^-/- mice, suggesting that ESX-5 substrates other than EsxN cause increased susceptibility to host immunity. Our data indicate that while M. tuberculosis requires ESX-5 for virulence, it tightly controls secretion of ESX-5 substrates to avoid elimination by host immune responses.

Contribution of SPI-1 bistability to Salmonella enterica cooperative virulence: insights from single cell analysis

Salmonella enterica pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) is a gene cluster that encodes a type III secretion system and effectors involved in epithelial cell invasion. SPI-1 undergoes bistable expression, with concomitant formation of SPI-1^ON and SPI-1^OFF lineages. This study describes single cell analysis of SP1-1 bistability and epithelial cell invasion, and reports the unsuspected observation that optimal invasion of epithelial cells requires the presence of both SPI-1^ON and SPI-1^OFF subpopulations. The contribution of SPI-1^OFF cells to optimal invasion may rely on their ability to invade epithelial cells if a SPI-1^ON subpopulation is present. In fact, Salmonella SPI-1 mutants are also able to invade epithelial cells in the presence of SPI-1^ONSalmonellae, a phenomenon described in the 1990’s by Galán and co-workers. Invasion by SPI-1^OFF cells does not seem to involve a diffusible factor. A small number of SPI-1^ON cells is sufficient to endow the bacterial population with invasion capacity, a feature that may permit host colonization regardless of the bottlenecks encountered by Salmonella populations inside animals.

Broad thermal tolerance is negatively correlated with virulence in an opportunistic bacterial pathogen

Predicting the effects of global increase in temperatures on disease virulence is challenging, especially for environmental opportunistic bacteria, because pathogen fitness may be differentially affected by temperature within and outside host environment. So far, there is very little empirical evidence on the connections between optimal temperature range and virulence in environmentally growing pathogens. Here, we explored whether the virulence of an environmentally growing opportunistic fish pathogen, Flavobacterium columnare, is malleable to evolutionary changes via correlated selection on thermal tolerance. To this end, we experimentally quantified the thermal performance curves (TPCs) for maximum biomass yield of 49 F. columnare isolates from eight different geographic locations in Finland over ten years (2003-2012). We also characterized virulence profiles of these strains in a zebra fish (Danio rerio) infection model. We show that virulence among the strains increased over the years, but thermal generalism, and in particular tolerance to higher temperatures, was negatively associated with virulence. Our data suggest that temperature has a strong effect on the pathogen genetic diversity and therefore presumably also on disease dynamics. However, the observed increase in frequency and severity of F. columnare epidemics over the last decade cannot be directly linked to bacterial evolution due to increased mean temperature, but is most likely associated with factors related to increased length of growing season, or other time-dependent change in environment. Our study demonstrates that complex interactions between the host, the pathogen and the environment influence disease virulence of an environmentally growing opportunistic pathogen.

Bimodal Expression of the Salmonella Typhimurium spv Operon

The well-studied spv operon of Salmonellatyphimurium is important for causing full virulence in mice and both the regulation and function of the Spv proteins have been characterized extensively over the past several decades. Using quantitative single-cell fluorescence microscopy, we demonstrate the spv regulon to display a bimodal expression pattern that originates in the bimodal expression of the SpvR activator. The spv expression pattern is influenced by growth conditions and the specific Styphimurium strain used, but does not require Salmonella-specific virulence regulators. By monitoring real-time promoter kinetics, we reveal that SpvA has the ability to impart negative feedback on spvABCD expression without affecting spvR expression. Together, our data suggest that the SpvA protein counteracts the positive feedback loop imposed by SpvR, and could thus be responsible for dampening spvABCD expression and coordinating virulence protein production in time. The results presented here yield new insights in the intriguing regulation of the spv operon and adds this operon to the growing list of virulence factors exhibiting marked expression heterogeneity in Styphimurium.

Formation of phenotypic lineages in Salmonella enterica by a pleiotropic fimbrial switch

The std locus of Salmonella enterica, an operon acquired by horizontal transfer, encodes fimbriae that permit adhesion to epithelial cells in the large intestine. Expression of the std operon is bistable, yielding a major subpopulation of Std^OFF cells (99.7%) and a minor subpopulation of Std^ON cells (0.3%). In addition to fimbrial proteins, the std operon encodes two proteins, StdE and StdF, that have DNA binding capacity and control transcription of loci involved in flagellar synthesis, chemotaxis, virulence, conjugal transfer, biofilm formation, and other cellular functions. As a consequence of StdEF pleiotropic transcriptional control, Std^ON and Std^OFF subpopulations may differ not only in the presence or absence of Std fimbriae but also in additional phenotypic traits. Separation of Std^OFF and Std^ON lineages by cell sorting confirms the occurrence of lineage-specific features. Formation of Std^OFF and Std^ON lineages may thus be viewed as a rudimentary bacterial differentiation program.

We show that the std fimbrial operon of Salmonella enterica undergoes bistable expression, a trait far from exceptional among loci that encode components of the bacterial envelope. However, an unsuspected trait of the std operon is the presence of two genes that encode pleiotropic regulators of gene expression. Indeed, StdE and StdF are DNA-binding proteins that control transcription of hundreds of genes. As a consequence, StdEF govern multiple phenotypic traits, and the fimbriated and non-fimbriated Salmonella lineages may differ in motility, virulence, conjugal transfer, biofilm formation, and potentially in other phenotypic features. We hypothesize that pleiotropic control of gene expression by StdEF may contribute to adapt the non-fimbriated lineage to acute infection and the fimbriated lineage to chronic infection.

One for All, but Not All for One: Social Behavior during Bacterial Diseases

It has been known for decades that individual cells within pathogenic bacterial populations have reduced antibiotic susceptibility, which is linked to decreased metabolic rates. A similar phenomenon occurs with virulence-associated proteins, as reduced expression is associated with increased fitness of individual cells. Non-producers within the population can benefit from the virulence proteins produced by others in the population without suffering a fitness cost, thus maintaining a genetically uniform population. Cooperative behavior has been reported for Salmonella and Yersinia, consistent with selection of social behavior to retain genes associated with pathogenesis; however, cooperation was unclear within Mycobacterium populations. This review focuses on these recent descriptions of cooperation, discusses the mechanisms driving heterogeneity, and evaluates the evidence that expression of virulence-associated proteins comes at a fitness cost.

An estimate is worth about a thousand experiments: using order-of-magnitude estimates to identify cellular engineering targets

Biotechnological processes use microbes to convert abundant molecules, such as glucose, into high-value products, such as pharmaceuticals, commodity and fine chemicals, and energy. However, from the outset of the development of a new bioprocess, it is difficult to determine the feasibility, expected yields, and targets for engineering. In this review, we describe a methodology that uses rough estimates to assess the feasibility of a process, approximate the expected product titer of a biological system, and identify variables to manipulate in order to achieve the desired performance. This methodology uses estimates from literature and biological intuition, and can be applied in the early stages of a project to help plan future engineering. We highlight recent literature examples, as well as two case studies from our own work, to demonstrate the use and power of rough estimates. Describing and predicting biological function using estimates guides the research and development phase of new bioprocesses and is a useful first step to understand and build a new microbial factory.

Regulatory RNAs in Virulence and Host-Microbe Interactions

Bacterial regulatory RNAs are key players in adaptation to changing environmental conditions and response to diverse cellular stresses. However, while regulatory RNAs of bacterial pathogens have been intensely studied under defined conditions in vitro, characterization of their role during the infection of eukaryotic host organisms is lagging behind. This review summarizes our current understanding of the contribution of the different classes of regulatory RNAs and RNA-binding proteins to bacterial virulence and illustrates their role in infection by reviewing the mechanisms of some prominent representatives of each class. Emerging technologies are described that bear great potential for global, unbiased studies of virulence-related RNAs in bacterial model and nonmodel pathogens in the future. The review concludes by deducing common principles of RNA-mediated gene expression control of virulence programs in different pathogens, and by defining important open questions for upcoming research in the field.

CRP-cAMP mediates silencing of Salmonella virulence at the post-transcriptional level

Invasion of epithelial cells by Salmonella enterica requires expression of genes located in the pathogenicity island I (SPI-1). The expression of SPI-1 genes is very tightly regulated and activated only under specific conditions. Most studies have focused on the regulatory pathways that induce SPI-1 expression. Here, we describe a new regulatory circuit involving CRP-cAMP, a widely established metabolic regulator, in silencing of SPI-1 genes under non-permissive conditions. In CRP-cAMP-deficient strains we detected a strong upregulation of SPI-1 genes in the mid-logarithmic growth phase. Genetic analyses revealed that CRP-cAMP modulates the level of HilD, the master regulator of Salmonella invasion. This regulation occurs at the post-transcriptional level and requires the presence of a newly identified regulatory motif within the hilD 3'UTR. We further demonstrate that in Salmonella the Hfq-dependent sRNA Spot 42 is under the transcriptional repression of CRP-cAMP and, when this transcriptional repression is relieved, Spot 42 exerts a positive effect on hilD expression. In vivo and in vitro assays indicate that Spot 42 targets, through its unstructured region III, the 3'UTR of the hilD transcript. Together, our results highlight the biological relevance of the hilD 3'UTR as a hub for post-transcriptional control of Salmonella invasion gene expression.

The Hcp-like protein HilE inhibits homodimerization and DNA binding of the virulence-associated transcriptional regulator HilD in Salmonella

HilD is an AraC-like transcriptional regulator that plays a central role in Salmonella virulence. HilD controls the expression of the genes within the Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) and of several genes located outside SPI-1, which are mainly required for Salmonella invasion of host cells. The expression, amount, and activity of HilD are tightly controlled by the activities of several factors. The HilE protein represses the expression of the SPI-1 genes through its interaction with HilD; however, the mechanism by which HilE affects HilD is unknown. In this study, we used genetic and biochemical assays revealing how HilE controls the transcriptional activity of HilD. We found that HilD needs to assemble in homodimers to induce expression of its target genes. Our results further indicated that HilE individually interacts with each the central and the C-terminal HilD regions, mediating dimerization and DNA binding, respectively. We also observed that these interactions consistently inhibit HilD dimerization and DNA binding. Interestingly, a computational analysis revealed that HilE shares sequence and structural similarities with Hcp proteins, which act as structural components of type 6 secretion systems in Gram-negative bacteria. In conclusion, our results uncover the molecular mechanism by which the Hcp-like protein HilE controls dimerization and DNA binding of the virulence-promoting transcriptional regulator HilD. Our findings may indicate that HilE's activity represents a functional adaptation during the evolution of Salmonella pathogenicity.

Effect of river water exposition on adhesion and invasion abilities of Salmonella Oranienburg and Saintpaul

This study was performed to evaluate in vitro the adherence and invasiveness capacity of Salmonella Oranienburg and Saintpaul (isolated from river water) exposed to laboratory and river water growth conditions and inoculated into epithelial HEp-2 cell. Results showed that Salmonella Oranienburg and Salmonella Saintpaul showed lower ability to adhere and invade epithelial HEp-2 cells under both growth conditions as compared to Salmonella Typhimurium reference strain. S. Oranienburg adhesion capacity was not affected by the growth conditions, while S. Saintpaul exposed to river water significantly (p < 0.05) decreased its adhesion capacity by 75.7 %. On the contrary, S. Oranienburg exposed to river water reduced its invasion efficiency by 80 %, whereas S. Saintpaul showed no differences between growth conditions. In conclusion, this study suggests that the exposure to non-host conditions, such as river water, adversely affects the adhesion and invasiveness of Salmonella serotypes differently, impacting on their ability to re-enter a new host.

Bistability and phase variation in Salmonella enterica

Cell-to-cell differences in bacterial gene expression can merely reflect the occurrence of noise. In certain cases, however, heterogeneous gene expression is a programmed event that results in bistable expression. If bistability is heritable, bacterial lineages are formed. When programmed bistability is reversible, the phenomenon is known as phase variation. In certain cases, bistability is controlled by genetic mechanisms (e. g., DNA rearrangement). In other cases, bistability has epigenetic origin. A robust epigenetic mechanism for the formation of bacterial lineages is the formation of heritable DNA methylation patterns. However, bistability can also arise upon propagation of gene expression patterns by feedback loops that are stable upon cell division. This review describes examples of bistability and phase variation in Salmonella enterica and discusses their adaptive value, sometimes in a speculative manner.

The Biochemistry of Sensing: Enteric Pathogens Regulate Type III Secretion in Response to Environmental and Host Cues

Enteric pathogens employ sophisticated strategies to colonize and infect mammalian hosts. Gram-negative bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter jejuni, are among the leading causes of gastrointestinal tract infections worldwide. The virulence strategies of many of these Gram-negative pathogens rely on type III secretion systems (T3SSs), which are macromolecular syringes that translocate bacterial effector proteins directly into the host cytosol. However, synthesis of T3SS proteins comes at a cost to the bacterium in terms of growth rate and fitness, both in the environment and within the host. Therefore, expression of the T3SS must be tightly regulated to occur at the appropriate time and place during infection. Enteric pathogens have thus evolved regulatory mechanisms to control expression of their T3SSs in response to specific environmental and host cues. These regulatory cascades integrate multiple physical and chemical signals through complex transcriptional networks. Although the power of bacterial genetics has allowed elucidation of many of these networks, the biochemical interactions between signal and sensor that initiate the signaling cascade are often poorly understood. Here, we review the physical and chemical signals that Gram-negative enteric pathogens use to regulate T3SS expression during infection. We highlight the recent structural and functional studies that have elucidated the biochemical properties governing both the interaction between sensor and signal and the mechanisms of signal transduction from sensor to downstream transcriptional networks.

Cell-cell recognition and social networking in bacteria

The ability to recognize self and to recognize partnering cells allows microorganisms to build social networks that perform functions beyond the capabilities of the individual. In bacteria, recognition typically involves genetic determinants that provide cell surface receptors or diffusible signalling chemicals to identify proximal cells at the molecular level that can participate in cooperative processes. Social networks also rely on discriminating mechanisms to exclude competing cells from joining and exploiting their groups. In addition to their appropriate genotypes, cell-cell recognition also requires compatible phenotypes, which vary according to environmental cues or exposures as well as stochastic processes that lead to heterogeneity and potential disharmony in the population. Understanding how bacteria identify their social partners and how they synchronize their behaviours to conduct multicellular functions is an expanding field of research. Here, we review recent progress in the field and contrast the various strategies used in recognition and behavioural networking.

Acetylation Regulating Protein Stability and DNA-Binding Ability of HilD, thus Modulating Salmonella Typhimurium Virulence

HilD, a dominant regulator of Salmonella pathogenicity island 1, can be acetylated by protein acetyltransferase (Pat) in Salmonella Typhimurium, and the acetylation is beneficial to its stability. However, the underlying mechanism of HilD stability regulated by acetylation is not clear. We show here that lysine 297 (K297) located in the helix-turn-helix motif, can be acetylated by Pat. Acetylation of K297 increases HilD stability, but reduces its DNA-binding affinity. In turn, the deacetylated K297 enhances the DNA-binding ability but decreases HilD stability. Under the Salmonella pathogenicity island 1-inducing condition, the acetylation level of K297 is down-regulated. The acetylated K297 (mimicked by glutamine substitution) causes attenuated invasion in HeLa cells, as well as impaired virulence in mouse model, compared with the deacetylated K297 (mimicked by arginine substitution), suggesting that deacetylation of K297 is essential for Salmonella virulence. These findings demonstrate that the acetylation of K297 can regulate both protein stability and DNA-binding ability. This regulation mediated by acetylation not only degrades redundant HilD to keep a moderate protein level to facilitate S. Typhimurium growth but also maintains an appropriate DNA-binding activity of HilD to ensure bacterial pathogenicity.

Predictable, Tunable Protein Production in Salmonella for Studying Host-Pathogen Interactions

Here we describe the use of synthetic genetic elements to improve the predictability and tunability of episomal protein production in Salmonella. We used a multi-pronged approach, in which a series of variable-strength synthetic promoters were combined with a synthetic transcriptional terminator, and plasmid copy number variation. This yielded a series of plasmids that drive uniform production of fluorescent and endogenous proteins, over a wide dynamic range. We describe several examples where this system is used to fine-tune constitutive expression in Salmonella, providing an efficient means to titrate out toxic effects of protein production.

Detection of Mutations Affecting Heterogeneously Expressed Phenotypes by Colony Immunoblot and Dedicated Semi-Automated Image Analysis Pipeline

To understand how bacteria evolve and adapt to their environment, it can be relevant to monitor phenotypic changes that occur in a population. Single cell level analyses and sorting of mutant cells according to a particular phenotypic readout can constitute efficient strategies. However, when the phenotype of interest is expressed heterogeneously in ancestral isogenic populations of cells, single cell level sorting approaches are not optimal. Phenotypic heterogeneity can for instance make no-expression mutant cells indistinguishable from a subpopulation of wild-type cells transiently not expressing the phenotype. The analysis of clonal populations (e.g., isolated colonies), in which the average phenotype is measured, can circumvent this issue. Indeed, no-expression mutants form negative populations while wild-type clones form populations in which average expression of the phenotype yields a positive signal. We present here an optimized colony immunoblot protocol and a semi-automated image analysis pipeline (ImageJ macro) allowing for rapid detection of clones harboring mutations that affect the heterogeneous (i.e., bimodal) expression of the Type Three Secretion System-1 (TTSS-1) in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. We show that this protocol can efficiently differentiate clones expressing TTSS-1 at various levels in mixed populations. We were able to detect the emergence of hilC mutants in which the proportion of cells expressing TTSS-1 was reduced compared to the ancestor. We could also follow changes in the frequency of different mutants during long-term infections. This demonstrates that our protocol constitutes a tractable approach to assess semi-quantitatively the evolutionary dynamics of heterogeneous phenotypes, such as the expression of virulence genes, in bacterial populations.

A transposon-derived small RNA regulates gene expression in Salmonella Typhimurium

Bacterial sRNAs play an important role in regulating many cellular processes including metabolism, outer membrane homeostasis and virulence. Although sRNAs were initially found in intergenic regions, there is emerging evidence that protein coding regions of the genome are a rich reservoir of sRNAs. Here we report that the 5΄UTR of IS200 transposase mRNA (tnpA) is processed to produce regulatory RNAs that affect expression of over 70 genes in Salmonella Typhimurium. We provide evidence that the tnpA derived sRNA base-pairs with invF mRNA to repress expression. As InvF is a transcriptional activator of SPI-1 encoded and other effector proteins, tnpA indirectly represses these genes. We show that deletion of IS200 elements in S. Typhimurium increases invasion in vitro and reduces growth rate, while over-expression of tnpA suppresses invasion. Our work indicates that tnpA acts as an sRNA ‘sponge’ that sets a threshold for activation of Salmonella pathogenicity island (SPI)-1 effector proteins and identifies a new class of ‘passenger gene’ for bacterial transposons, providing the first example of a bacterial transposon producing a regulatory RNA that controls host gene expression.

Basic Processes in Salmonella-Host Interactions: Within-Host Evolution and the Transmission of the Virulent Genotype

Transmission and virulence are central aspects of pathogen evolution. However, in many cases their interconnection has proven difficult to assess by experimentation. Here we discuss recent advances from a mouse model for Salmonella diarrhea. Mouse models mimic the enhanced susceptibility of antibiotic-treated individuals to nontyphoidal salmonellosis. In streptomycin-pretreated mice, Salmonella enterica subspecies 1 serovar Typhimurium efficiently colonizes the gut lumen and elicits pronounced enteropathy. In the host's gut, S. Typhimurium forms two subpopulations that cooperate to elicit disease and optimize transmission. The disease-causing subpopulation expresses a set of dedicated virulence factors (the type 3 secretion system 1 [TTSS-1]) that drive gut tissue invasion. The virulence factor expression is "costly" by retarding the growth rate and exposing the pathogen to innate immune defenses within the gut tissue. These costs are compensated by the gut inflammation (a "public good") that is induced by the invading subpopulation. The inflamed gut lumen fuels S. Typhimurium growth, in particular that of the TTSS-1 "off" subpopulation. The latter grows up to very high densities and promotes transmission. Thus, both phenotypes cooperate to elicit disease and ensure transmission. This system has provided an experimental framework for studying within-host evolution of pathogen virulence, how cooperative virulence is stabilized, and how environmental changes (e.g., antibiotic therapy) affect the transmission of the virulent genotype.

Mechanisms of Salmonella pathogenesis in animal models

Animal models play an important role in understanding the mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis. Here we review recent studies of Salmonella infection in various animal models. Although mice are a classic animal model for Salmonella, mice do not normally get diarrhea, raising the question of how well the model represents normal human infection. However, pretreatment of mice with oral streptomycin, which apparently reduces the normal microbiota, leads to an inflammatory diarrheal response upon oral infection with Salmonella. This has led to a re-evaluation of the role of various Salmonella virulence factors in colonization of the intestine and induction of diarrhea. Indeed, it is now clear that Salmonella purposefully induces inflammation, which leads to the production of both carbon sources and terminal electron acceptors by the host that allow Salmonella to outgrow the normal intestinal microbiota. Overall use of this modified mouse model provides a more nuanced understanding of Salmonella intestinal infection in the context of the microbiota with implications for the ability to predict human risk.

Bacterial-Chromatin Structural Proteins Regulate the Bimodal Expression of the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement (LEE) Pathogenicity Island in Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

In enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) encodes a type 3 secretion system (T3SS) essential for pathogenesis. This pathogenicity island comprises five major operons (LEE1 to LEE5), with the LEE5 operon encoding T3SS effectors involved in the intimate adherence of bacteria to enterocytes. The first operon, LEE1, encodes Ler (LEE-encoded regulator), an H-NS (nucleoid structuring protein) paralog that alleviates the LEE H-NS silencing. We observed that the LEE5 and LEE1 promoters present a bimodal expression pattern, depending on environmental stimuli. One key regulator of bimodal LEE1 and LEE5 expression is ler expression, which fluctuates in response to different growth conditions. Under conditions in vitro considered to be equivalent to nonoptimal conditions for virulence, the opposing regulatory effects of H-NS and Ler can lead to the emergence of two bacterial subpopulations. H-NS and Ler share nucleation binding sites in the LEE5 promoter region, but H-NS binding results in local DNA structural modifications distinct from those generated through Ler binding, at least in vitro. Thus, we show how two nucleoid-binding proteins can contribute to the epigenetic regulation of bacterial virulence and lead to opposing bacterial fates. This finding implicates for the first time bacterial-chromatin structural proteins in the bimodal regulation of gene expression.

Gene expression stochasticity is an emerging phenomenon in microbiology. In certain contexts, gene expression stochasticity can shape bacterial epigenetic regulation. In enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), the interplay between H-NS (a nucleoid structuring protein) and Ler (an H-NS paralog) is required for bimodal LEE5 and LEE1 expression, leading to the emergence of two bacterial subpopulations (with low and high states of expression). The two proteins share mutual nucleation binding sites in the LEE5 promoter region. In vitro, the binding of H-NS to the LEE5 promoter results in local structural modifications of DNA distinct from those generated through Ler binding. Furthermore, ler expression is a key parameter modulating the variability of the proportions of bacterial subpopulations. Accordingly, modulating the production of Ler into a nonpathogenic E. coli strain reproduces the bimodal expression of LEE5. Finally, this study illustrates how two nucleoid-binding proteins can reshape the epigenetic regulation of bacterial virulence.

Effect of decreased BCAA synthesis through disruption of ilvC gene on the virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. It causes a variety of life-threatening infections such as pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis. In bacterial physiology, the metabolic pathway of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) plays an important role in virulence. Nonetheless, the function of IlvC, one of the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of BCAAs, in S. pneumoniae remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that downregulation of BCAA biosynthesis by ilvC ablation can diminish BCAA concentration and expression of pneumolysin (Ply) and LytA, and subsequently attenuate virulence. Infection with an ilvC mutant showed significantly reduced mortality and colonization in comparison with strain D39 (serotype 2, wild type), suggesting that ilvC can potentiate S. pneumoniae virulence due to adequate BCAA synthesis. Taken together, these results suggest that the function of ilvC in BCAA synthesis is essential for virulence factor and could play an important role in the pathogenesis of respiratory infections.

Control of type III protein secretion using a minimal genetic system

Gram-negative bacteria secrete proteins using a type III secretion system (T3SS), which functions as a needle-like molecular machine. The many proteins involved in T3SS construction are tightly regulated due to its role in pathogenesis and motility. Here, starting with the 35 kb Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1), we eliminated internal regulation and simplified the genetics by removing or recoding genes, scrambling gene order and replacing all non-coding DNA with synthetic genetic parts. This process results in a 16 kb cluster that shares no sequence identity, regulation or organizational principles with SPI-1. Building this simplified system led to the discovery of essential roles for an internal start site (SpaO) and small RNA (InvR). Further, it can be controlled using synthetic regulatory circuits, including under SPI-1 repressing conditions. This work reveals an incredible post-transcriptional robustness in T3SS assembly and aids its control as a tool in biotechnology.

Protein Acetylation and Its Role in Bacterial Virulence

Protein acetylation is a universal post-translational modification which is found in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. This process is achieved enzymatically by the protein acetyltransferase Pat, and nonenzymatically by metabolic intermediates (e.g., acetyl phosphate) in bacteria. Protein acetylation plays a role in bacterial chemotaxis, metabolism, DNA replication, and other cellular processes. Recently, accumulating evidence has suggested that protein acetylation might be involved in bacterial virulence because a number of bacterial virulence factors are acetylated. In this review, we summarize the progress in understanding bacterial protein acetylation and discuss how it mediates bacterial virulence.

A second wave of Salmonella T3SS1 activity prolongs the lifespan of infected epithelial cells

Type III secretion system 1 (T3SS1) is used by the enteropathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to establish infection in the gut. Effector proteins translocated by this system across the plasma membrane facilitate invasion of intestinal epithelial cells. One such effector, the inositol phosphatase SopB, contributes to invasion and mediates activation of the pro-survival kinase Akt. Following internalization, some bacteria escape from the Salmonella-containing vacuole into the cytosol and there is evidence suggesting that T3SS1 is expressed in this subpopulation. Here, we investigated the post-invasion role of T3SS1, using SopB as a model effector. In cultured epithelial cells, SopB-dependent Akt phosphorylation was observed at two distinct stages of infection: during and immediately after invasion, and later during peak cytosolic replication. Single cell analysis revealed that cytosolic Salmonella deliver SopB via T3SS1. Although intracellular replication was unaffected in a SopB deletion mutant, cells infected with ΔsopB demonstrated a lack of Akt phosphorylation, earlier time to death, and increased lysis. When SopB expression was induced specifically in cytosolic Salmonella, these effects were restored to levels observed in WT infected cells, indicating that the second wave of SopB protects this infected population against cell death via Akt activation. Thus, T3SS1 has two, temporally distinct roles during epithelial cell colonization. Additionally, we found that delivery of SopB by cytosolic bacteria was translocon-independent, in contrast to canonical effector translocation across eukaryotic membranes, which requires formation of a translocon pore. This mechanism was also observed for another T3SS1 effector, SipA. These findings reveal the functional and mechanistic adaptability of a T3SS that can be harnessed in different microenvironments.

Stochasticity of gene expression as a motor of epigenetics in bacteria: from individual to collective behaviors

Measuring gene expression at the single cell and single molecule level has recently made possible the quantitative measurement of stochasticity of gene expression. This enables identification of the probable sources and roles of noise. Gene expression noise can result in bacterial population heterogeneity, offering specific advantages for fitness and survival in various environments. This trait is therefore selected during the evolution of the species, and is consequently regulated by a specific genetic network architecture. Examples exist in stress-response mechanisms, as well as in infection and pathogenicity strategies, pointing to advantages for multicellularity of bacterial populations.

High binding affinity of repressor IolR avoids costs of untimely induction of myo-inositol utilization by Salmonella Typhimurium

Growth of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain 14028 with myo-inositol (MI) is characterized by a bistable phenotype that manifests with an extraordinarily long (34 h) and variable lag phase. When cells were pre-grown in minimal medium with MI, however, the lag phase shortened drastically to eight hours, and to six hours in the absence of the regulator IolR. To unravel the molecular mechanism behind this phenomenon, we investigated this repressor in more detail. Flow cytometry analysis of the iolR promoter at a single cell level demonstrated bistability of its transcriptional activation. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays were used to narrow the potential binding region of IolR and identified at least two binding sites in most iol gene promoters. Surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy quantified IolR binding and indicated its putative oligomerization and high binding affinity towards specific iol gene promoters. In competitive assays, the iolR deletion mutant, in which iol gene repression is abolished, showed a severe growth disadvantage of ~15% relative to the parental strain in rich medium. We hypothesize that the strong repression of iol gene transcription is required to maintain a balance between metabolic flexibility and fitness costs, which follow the inopportune induction of an unusual metabolic pathway.

A Small Regulatory RNA Contributes to the Preferential Colonization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in the Large Intestine in Response to a Low DNA Concentration

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) serotype O157:H7 (O157) is one of the most notorious human pathogens, causing severe disease in humans worldwide. O157 specifically colonizes the large intestine of mammals after passing through the small intestine, and this process is influenced by differential signals between the two regions. Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) are able to sense and respond to environmental changes and regulate diverse physiological processes in pathogenic bacteria. Although some sRNAs of O157 have been extensively investigated, whether these molecules can sense differences between the small and large intestine and influence the preferential colonization in the large intestine by O157 remains unknown. In this study, we identified a new sRNA, Esr055, in O157 which senses the low DNA concentration in the large intestine and contributes to the preferential colonization of the bacteria in this region. The number of O157 wild-type that adhered to the colon is 30.18 times higher than the number that adhered to the ileum of mice, while the number of the ΔEsr055 mutant that adhered to the colon decreased to 13.27 times higher than the number adhered to the ileum. Furthermore, we found that the expression of Esr055 is directly activated by the regulator, DeoR, and its expression is positively affected by DNA, which is significantly more abundant in the ileum than in the colon of mice. Additionally, combining the results of informatics predictions and transcriptomic analysis, we found that several virulence genes are up-regulated in the ΔEsr055 mutant and five candidate genes (z0568, z0974, z1356, z1926, and z5187) may be its direct targets.

A long-term epigenetic memory switch controls bacterial virulence bimodality

When pathogens enter the host, sensing of environmental cues activates the expression of virulence genes. Opposite transition of pathogens from activating to non-activating conditions is poorly understood. Interestingly, variability in the expression of virulence genes upon infection enhances colonization. In order to systematically detect the role of phenotypic variability in enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), an important human pathogen, both in virulence activating and non-activating conditions, we employed the ScanLag methodology. The analysis revealed a bimodal growth rate. Mathematical modeling combined with experimental analysis showed that this bimodality is mediated by a hysteretic memory-switch that results in the stable co-existence of non-virulent and hyper-virulent subpopulations, even after many generations of growth in non-activating conditions. We identified the per operon as the key component of the hysteretic switch. This unique hysteretic memory switch may result in persistent infection and enhanced host-to-host spreading.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19599.001

Bacteria typically cope with harsh and changing environments by activating specific genes or accumulating those mutations that change genes in a beneficial way. Recently, it was also shown that the levels of gene activity can vary between otherwise identical bacteria in a single population. This provides an alternative strategy to deal with stressful conditions because it generates sub-groups of bacteria that potentially already adapted to different environments. Bacteria that enter the human body face many challenges, and this kind of pre-adaptation could help them to invade humans and overcome the immune system. However, this hypothesis had not previously been tested in a bacterium called enteropathogenic E.coli, which infects the intestines and is responsible for the deaths of many infants worldwide.

Ronin et al. show that cells in enteropathogenic E.coli colonies spontaneously form into two groups when exposed to conditions that mimic the environment inside the human body. Once triggered, one of these groups is particularly dangerous and this “hypervirulent” state is remembered for an extremely long time meaning that the bacteria remain hypervirulent for many generations. In addition, Ronin et al. identified the specific genes that control the switch to the hypervirulent state.

These findings have uncovered the existence of groups of enteropathogenic E.coli that are pre-adapted to invading human hosts. Finding out more about how the switching mechanism works and its relevance in other bacteria may help researchers to develop new therapies that can help fight bacterial infections.

DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19599.002

The Ecological Role of Type Three Secretion Systems in the Interaction of Bacteria with Fungi in Soil and Related Habitats Is Diverse and Context-Dependent

Bacteria and fungi constitute important organisms in many ecosystems, in particular terrestrial ones. Both organismal groups contribute significantly to biogeochemical cycling processes. Ecological theory postulates that bacteria capable of receiving benefits from host fungi are likely to evolve efficient association strategies. The purpose of this review is to examine the mechanisms that underpin the bacterial interactions with fungi in soil and other systems, with special focus on the type III secretion system (T3SS). Starting with a brief description of the versatility of the T3SS as an interaction system with diverse eukaryotic hosts, we subsequently examine the recent advances made in our understanding of its contribution to interactions with soil fungi. The analysis used data sets ranging from circumstantial evidence to gene-knockout-based experimental data. The initial finding that the abundance of T3SSs in microbiomes is often enhanced in fungal-affected habitats like the mycosphere and the mycorrhizosphere is now substantiated with in-depth knowledge of the specific systems involved. Different fungal–interactive bacteria, in positive or negative associations with partner fungi, harbor and express T3SSs, with different ecological outcomes. In some particular cases, bacterial T3SSs have been shown to modulate the physiology of its fungal partner, affecting its ecological characteristics and consequently shaping its own habitat. Overall, the analyses of the collective data set revealed that diverse T3SSs have assumed diverse roles in the interactions of bacteria with host fungi, as driven by ecological and evolutionary niche requirements.

Imaging flow cytometry analysis of intracellular pathogens

Imaging flow cytometry has been applied to address questions in infection biology, in particular, infections induced by intracellular pathogens. This methodology, which utilizes specialized analytic software makes it possible to analyze hundreds of quantified features for hundreds of thousands of individual cellular or subcellular events in a single experiment. Imaging flow cytometry analysis of host cell-pathogen interaction can thus quantitatively addresses a variety of biological questions related to intracellular infection, including cell counting, internalization score, and subcellular patterns of co-localization. Here, we provide an overview of recent achievements in the use of fluorescently labeled prokaryotic or eukaryotic pathogens in human cellular infections in analysis of host-pathogen interactions. Specifically, we give examples of Imagestream-based analysis of cell lines infected with Toxoplasma gondii or Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Furthermore, we illustrate the capabilities of imaging flow cytometry using a combination of standard IDEAS™ software and the more recently developed Feature Finder algorithm, which is capable of identifying statistically significant differences between researcher-defined image galleries. We argue that the combination of imaging flow cytometry with these software platforms provides a powerful new approach to understanding host control of intracellular pathogens.

Beyond Antimicrobial Resistance: Evidence for a Distinct Role of the AcrD Efflux Pump in Salmonella Biology

For over 20 years, bacterial multidrug resistance (MDR) efflux pumps have been studied because of their impact on resistance to antimicrobials. However, critical questions remain, including why produce efflux pumps under non-antimicrobial treatment conditions, and why have multiple pumps if their only purpose is antimicrobial efflux? Salmonella spp. possess five efflux pump families, including the resistance-nodulation-division (RND) efflux pumps. Notably, the RND efflux pump AcrD has a unique substrate profile, distinct from other Salmonella efflux pumps. Here we show that inactivation of acrD results in a profoundly altered transcriptome and modulation of pathways integral to Salmonella biology. The most significant transcriptome changes were central metabolism related, with additional changes observed in pathogenicity, environmental sensing, and stress response pathway expression. The extent of tricarboxylic acid cycle and fumarate metabolism expression changes led us to hypothesize that acrD inactivation may result in motility defects due to perturbation of metabolite concentrations, such as fumarate, for which a role in motility has been established. Despite minimal detectable changes in flagellar gene expression, we found that an acrD mutant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolate was significantly impaired for swarming motility, which was restored by addition of fumarate. The acrD mutant outcompeted the wild type in fitness experiments. The results of these diverse experiments provide strong evidence that the AcrD efflux pump is not simply a redundant system providing response resilience, but also has distinct physiological functions. Together, these data indicate that the AcrD efflux pump has a significant and previously underappreciated impact on bacterial biology, despite only minor perturbations of antibiotic resistance profiles.

Efflux pumps in Gram-negative bacteria are studied because of their important contributions to antimicrobial resistance. However, the role of these pumps in bacterial biology has remained surprisingly elusive. Here, we provide evidence that loss of the AcrD efflux pump significantly impacts the physiology of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Inactivation of acrD led to changes in the expression of 403 genes involved in fundamental processes, including basic metabolism, virulence, and stress responses. Pathways such as these allow Salmonella to grow, survive in the environment, and cause disease. Indeed, our data show that the acrD mutant is more fit than wild-type Salmonella under standard lab conditions. We hypothesized that inactivation of acrD would alter levels of bacterial metabolites, impacting traits such as swarming motility. We demonstrated this by exogenous addition of the metabolite fumarate, which partially restored the acrD mutant’s swarming defect. This work extends our understanding of the role of bacterial efflux pumps.

A Small-Molecule Inhibitor of Iron-Sulfur Cluster Assembly Uncovers a Link between Virulence Regulation and Metabolism in Staphylococcus aureus

The rising problem of antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus aureus necessitates the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for small-molecule intervention. A major obstacle of drug discovery is identifying the target of molecules selected from high-throughput phenotypic assays. Here, we show that the toxicity of a small molecule termed '882 is dependent on the constitutive activity of the S. aureus virulence regulator SaeRS, uncovering a link between virulence factor production and energy generation. A series of genetic, physiological, and biochemical analyses reveal that '882 inhibits iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster assembly most likely through inhibition of the Suf complex, which synthesizes Fe-S clusters. In support of this, '882 supplementation results in decreased activity of the Fe-S cluster-dependent enzyme aconitase. Further information regarding the effects of '882 has deepened our understanding of virulence regulation and demonstrates the potential for small-molecule modulation of Fe-S cluster assembly in S. aureus and other pathogens.

Molecular mechanisms and clinical implications of bacterial persistence

Any bacterial population harbors a small number of phenotypic variants that survive exposure to high concentrations of antibiotic. Importantly, these so-called 'persister cells' compromise successful antibiotic therapy of bacterial infections and are thought to contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance. Intriguingly, drug-tolerant persisters have also been identified as a factor underlying failure of chemotherapy in tumor cell populations. Recent studies have begun to unravel the complex molecular mechanisms underlying persister formation and revolve around stress responses and toxin-antitoxin modules. Additionally, in vitro evolution experiments are revealing insights into the evolutionary and adaptive aspects of this phenotype. Furthermore, ever-improving experimental techniques are stimulating efforts to investigate persisters in their natural, infection-associated, in vivo environment. This review summarizes recent insights into the molecular mechanisms of persister formation, explains how persisters complicate antibiotic treatment of infections, and outlines emerging strategies to combat these tolerant cells.

Autophagy Proteins Promote Repair of Endosomal Membranes Damaged by the Salmonella Type Three Secretion System 1

Salmonella Typhimurium (S.Tm) is an enteropathogen requiring multiple virulence factors, including two type three secretion systems (T1 and T2). T1 triggers epithelium invasion in which the bacteria are taken up into endosomes that mature into Salmonella-containing vacuoles (SCV) and trigger T2 induction upon acidification. Mechanisms controlling endosome membrane integrity or pathogen egress into the cytosol are incompletely understood. We screened for host factors affecting invasion and SCV maturation and identified a role for autophagy in sealing endosomal membranes damaged by T1 during host cell invasion. S.Tm-infected autophagy-deficient (atg5(-/-)) cells exhibit reduced SCV dye retention and lower T2 expression but no effects on steps preceding SCV maturation. However, in the absence of T1, autophagy is dispensable for T2 induction. These findings establish a role of autophagy at early stages of S.Tm infection and suggest that autophagy-mediated membrane repair might be generally important for invasive pathogens and endosomal membrane function.

A perspective on single cell behavior during infection

The interface between immune cells and intracellular bacterial pathogens produces complex, diverse interactions. During individual encounters, highly adaptable and dynamic host cells and bacteria vary in their responses, thereby contributing to well-documented heterogeneous outcomes of infection. The challenge now is to break down the multidimensionality of these interactions into informative readouts of population physiology and predictors of responses to infection. We recently reported one approach to this challenge that couples single cell RNA-seq analysis with fluorescent markers to characterize infection phenotype. ¹ We detected bacterial subpopulations that elicit profoundly different host responses to infection in the specific host cells that they infect. Here we describe how heterogeneity might be maintained in populations of host and pathogens and discuss the advantages that heterogeneity confers to bacteria during infection and to host cells for eradicating a pathogen. We propose that single cell studies will allow the unraveling of host-pathogen biology and lead to an understanding of how the sum of individual encounters leads to the infection outcome of a whole organism.

Single-cell level methods for studying the effect of antibiotics on bacteria during infection

Considerable evidence about phenotypic heterogeneity among bacteria during infection has accumulated during recent years. This heterogeneity has to be considered if the mechanisms of infection and antibiotic action are to be understood, so we need to implement existing and find novel methods to monitor the effects of antibiotics on bacteria at the single-cell level. This review provides an overview of methods by which this aim can be achieved. Fluorescence label-based methods and Raman scattering as a label-free approach are discussed in particular detail. Other label-free methods that can provide single-cell level information, such as impedance spectroscopy and surface plasmon resonance, are briefly summarized. The advantages and disadvantages of these different methods are discussed in light of a challenging in vivo environment.

The Impact of 18 Ancestral and Horizontally-Acquired Regulatory Proteins upon the Transcriptome and sRNA Landscape of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

We know a great deal about the genes used by the model pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to cause disease, but less about global gene regulation. New tools for studying transcripts at the single nucleotide level now offer an unparalleled opportunity to understand the bacterial transcriptome, and expression of the small RNAs (sRNA) and coding genes responsible for the establishment of infection. Here, we define the transcriptomes of 18 mutants lacking virulence-related global regulatory systems that modulate the expression of the SPI1 and SPI2 Type 3 secretion systems of S. Typhimurium strain 4/74. Using infection-relevant growth conditions, we identified a total of 1257 coding genes that are controlled by one or more regulatory system, including a sub-class of genes that reflect a new level of cross-talk between SPI1 and SPI2. We directly compared the roles played by the major transcriptional regulators in the expression of sRNAs, and discovered that the RpoS (σ³⁸) sigma factor modulates the expression of 23% of sRNAs, many more than other regulatory systems. The impact of the RNA chaperone Hfq upon the steady state levels of 280 sRNA transcripts is described, and we found 13 sRNAs that are co-regulated with SPI1 and SPI2 virulence genes. We report the first example of an sRNA, STnc1480, that is subject to silencing by H-NS and subsequent counter-silencing by PhoP and SlyA. The data for these 18 regulatory systems is now available to the bacterial research community in a user-friendly online resource, SalComRegulon.

The transcriptional networks and the functions of small regulatory RNAs of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium are being studied intensively. S. Typhimurium is becoming the ideal model pathogen for linking transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulation to bacterial virulence. Here, we systematically defined the regulatory factors responsible for controlling the expression of S. Typhimurium coding genes and sRNAs under infection-relevant growth conditions. As well as confirming published regulatory inputs for Salmonella pathogenicity islands, such as the positive role played by Fur in the expression of SPI1, we report, for the first time, the global impact of the FliZ, HilE and PhoB/R transcription factors and identify 124 sRNAs that belong to virulence-associated regulons. We found a subset of genes of known and unknown function that are regulated by both HilD and SsrB, highlighting the cross-talk mechanisms that control Salmonella virulence. An integrative analysis of the regulatory datasets revealed 5 coding genes of unknown function that may play novel roles in virulence. We hope that the SalComRegulon resource will be a dynamic database that will be constantly updated to inspire new hypothesis-driven experimentation, and will contribute to the construction of a comprehensive transcriptional network for S. Typhimurium.

Type III secretion systems: the bacterial flagellum and the injectisome

The flagellum and the injectisome are two of the most complex and fascinating bacterial nanomachines. At their core, they share a type III secretion system (T3SS), a transmembrane export complex that forms the extracellular appendages, the flagellar filament and the injectisome needle. Recent advances, combining structural biology, cryo-electron tomography, molecular genetics, in vivo imaging, bioinformatics and biophysics, have greatly increased our understanding of the T3SS, especially the structure of its transmembrane and cytosolic components, the transcriptional, post-transcriptional and functional regulation and the remarkable adaptivity of the system. This review aims to integrate these new findings into our current knowledge of the evolution, function, regulation and dynamics of the T3SS, and to highlight commonalities and differences between the two systems, as well as their potential applications.

Inherent Variability of Growth Media Impacts the Ability of Salmonella Typhimurium to Interact with Host Cells

Efficient invasion of non-phagocytic cells, such as intestinal epithelial cells, by Salmonella Typhimurium is dependent on the Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 1 (SPI-1)-encoded Type Three Secretion System. The environmental cues involved in SPI-1 induction are not well understood. In vitro, various conditions are used to induce SPI-1 and the invasive phenotype. Although lysogeny broth (LB) is widely used, multiple formulations exist, and variation can arise due to intrinsic differences in complex components. Minimal media are also susceptible to variation. Still, the impact of these inconsistencies on Salmonella virulence gene expression has not been well studied. The goal of this project is to identify growth conditions in LB and minimal medium that affect SPI-1 induction in vitro using both whole population and single cell analysis. Here we show, using a fluorescent reporter of the SPI-1 gene prgH, that growth of Salmonella in LB yields variable induction. Deliberate modification of media components can influence the invasive profile. Finally, we demonstrate that changes in SPI-1 inducing conditions can affect the ability of Salmonella to replicate intracellularly. These data indicate that the specific media growth conditions impact how the bacteria interact with host cells.

Epitope-Tagged Autotransporters as Single-Cell Reporters for Gene Expression by a Salmonella Typhimurium wbaP Mutant

Phenotypic diversity is an important trait of bacterial populations and can enhance fitness of the existing genotype in a given environment. To characterize different subpopulations, several studies have analyzed differential gene expression using fluorescent reporters. These studies visualized either single or multiple genes within single cells using different fluorescent proteins. However, variable maturation and folding kinetics of different fluorophores complicate the study of dynamics of gene expression. Here, we present a proof-of-principle study for an alternative gene expression system in a wbaP mutant of Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Tm) lacking the O-sidechain of the lipopolysaccharide. We employed the hemagglutinin (HA)-tagged inverse autotransporter invasin (invA_HA) as a transcriptional reporter for the expression of the type three secretion system 1 (T1) in S. Tm. Using a two-reporter approach with GFP and the InvA_HA in single cells, we verify that this reporter system can be used for T1 gene expression analysis, at least in strains lacking the O-antigen (wbaP), which are permissive for detection of the surface-exposed HA-epitope. When we placed the two reporters gfp and invA_HA under the control of either one or two different promoters of the T1 regulon, we were able to show correlative expression of both reporters. We conclude that the invA_HA reporter system is a suitable tool to analyze T1gene expression in S. Tm and propose its applicability as molecular tool for gene expression studies within single cells.

Bifidobacterium thermophilum RBL67 impacts on growth and virulence gene expression of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium

BACKGROUND

Bifidobacterium thermophilum RBL67 (RBL67), a human fecal isolate and health promoting candidate shows antagonistic and protective effects against Salmonella and Listeria spec. in vitro. However, the underlying mechanisms fostering these effects remain unknown. In this study, the interactions of RBL67 and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium N-15 (N-15) were explored by global transcriptional analysis.

RESULTS

Growth experiments were performed in a complex nutritive medium with controlled pH of 6.0 and suitable for balanced growth of both RBL67 and N-15. RBL67 growth was slightly enhanced in presence of N-15. Conversely, N-15 showed reduced growth in the presence of RBL67. Transcriptional analyses revealed higher expression of stress genes and amino acid related function in RBL67 in co-culture with N-15 when compared to mono-culture. Repression of the PhoP regulator was observed in N-15 in presence of RBL67. Further, RBL67 activated virulence genes located on the Salmonella pathogenicity islands 1 and 2. Flagellar genes, however, were repressed by RBL67. Sequential expression of flagellar, SPI 1 and fimbrial genes is essential for Salmonella infection. Our data revealed that RBL67 triggers expression of SPI 1 and fimbrial determinants prematurely, potentially leading to redundant energy expenditure. In the competitive environment of the gut such energy expenditure could lead to enhanced clearing of Salmonella.

CONCLUSION

Our study provides first insights into probiotic-pathogen interactions on global transcriptional level and suggests that deregulation of virulence gene expression might be an additional protective mechanism of probiotica against infections of the host.

Two overlapping two-component systems in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae contribute to full fitness in rice by regulating virulence factors expression

Two-component signal transduction systems (TCSs) are widely used by bacteria to adapt to the environment. In the present study, StoS (stress tolerance-related oxygen sensor) and SreKRS (salt response kinase, regulator, and sensor) were found to positively regulate extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) production and swarming in the rice pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). Surprisingly, the absence of stoS or sreKRS did not attenuate virulence. To better understand the intrinsic functions of StoS and SreKRS, quantitative proteomics isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) was employed. Consistent with stoS and sreK mutants exhibiting a similar phenotype, the signalling circuits of StoS and SreKRS overlapped. Carbohydrate metabolism proteins and chemotaxis proteins, which could be responsible for EPS and swarming regulation, respectively, were reprogrammed in stoS and sreK mutants. Moreover, StoS and SreKRS demonstrated moderate expression of the major virulence factor, hypersensitive response and pathogenicity (Hrp) proteins through the HrpG-HrpX circuit. Most importantly, Xoo equipped with StoS and SreKRS outcompetes strains without StoS or SreKRS in co-infected rice and grows outside the host. Therefore, we propose that StoS and SreKRS adopt a novel strategy involving the moderation of Hrp protein expression and the promotion of EPS and motility to adapt to the environment.

Growth in Egg Yolk Enhances Salmonella Enteritidis Colonization and Virulence in a Mouse Model of Human Colitis

Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) is one of the most common causes of bacterial food-borne illnesses in the world. Despite the SE's ability to colonize and infect a wide-range of host, the most common source of infection continues to be the consumption of contaminated shell eggs and egg-based products. To date, the role of the source of SE infection has not been studied as it relates to SE pathogenesis and resulting disease. Using a streptomycin-treated mouse model of human colitis, this study examined the virulence of SE grown in egg yolk and Luria Bertani (LB) broth, and mouse feces collected from mice experimentally infected with SEE1 (SEE1 passed through mice). Primary observations revealed that the mice infected with SE grown in egg yolk displayed greater illness and disease markers than those infected with SE passed through mice or grown in LB broth. Furthermore, the SE grown in egg yolk achieved higher rates of colonization in the mouse intestines and extra-intestinal organs of infected mice than the SE from LB broth or mouse feces. Our results here indicate that the source of SE infection may contribute to the overall pathogenesis of SE in a second host. These results also suggest that reservoir-pathogen dynamics may be critical for SE's ability to establish colonization and priming for virulence potential.

Regulation of virulence: the rise and fall of gastrointestinal pathogens

Colonization resistance by the commensal microbiota is a key defense against infectious pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract. The microbiota directly competes with incoming pathogens by occupying the colonization niche, depleting nutrients in the gut lumen as well as indirectly inhibiting the growth of pathogens through activation of host immunity. Enteric pathogens have evolved strategies to cope with microbiota-mediated colonization resistance. Pathogens utilize a wide array of virulence factors to outcompete their commensal rivals in the gut. However, since the expression of virulence factors is costly to maintain and reduces bacterial fitness, pathogens need to regulate their virulence properly in order to maximize their fitness. To this end, most pathogens use environmental cues to regulate their virulence gene expression. Thus, a dynamic regulation of virulence factor expression is a key invasion strategy utilized by enteric pathogens. On the other hand, host immunity selectively targets virulent pathogens in order to counter infection in the gut. The host immune system is generally tolerant of harmless microorganisms, such as the commensal microbiota. Moreover, the host relies on its commensal microbiota to contribute, in concert with its immune system, to the elimination of pathogens. Collectively, regulation of virulence determines the fate of enteric pathogens, from the establishment of infection to the eventual elimination. Here, we will review the dynamics of virulence and its role in infection.

Thermal control of virulence factors in bacteria: a hot topic

Pathogenic bacteria sense environmental cues, including the local temperature, to control the production of key virulence factors. Thermal regulation can be achieved at the level of DNA, RNA or protein and although many virulence factors are subject to thermal regulation, the exact mechanisms of control are yet to be elucidated in many instances. Understanding how virulence factors are regulated by temperature presents a significant challenge, as gene expression and protein production are often influenced by complex regulatory networks involving multiple transcription factors in bacteria. Here we highlight some recent insights into thermal regulation of virulence in pathogenic bacteria. We focus on bacteria which cause disease in mammalian hosts, which are at a significantly higher temperature than the outside environment. We outline the mechanisms of thermal regulation and how understanding this fundamental aspect of the biology of bacteria has implications for pathogenesis and human health.