Comparison of SXT and R391, two conjugative integrating elements: definition of a genetic backbone for the mobilization of resistance determinants

Pangenome Analysis Reveals Novel Contact-Dependent Growth Inhibition System and Phenazine Biosynthesis Operons in Proteus mirabilis BL95 That Are Located in An Integrative and Conjugative Element

Proteus mirabilis is a leading cause of urinary tract infections and a common commensal of the gastrointestinal tract. Our recent study (JB) showed that P. mirabilis strain BL95 employs a novel contact-dependent killing system against enteric bacteria in the mouse gut and in vitro. To uncover the genetic determinants of this system, we performed whole-genome sequencing of BL95 and compared it with 98 complete genomes of P. mirabilis. BL95 carries 56 coding sequences (CDSs) not found in other P. mirabilis. Over half of these unique genes are located on a novel integrative conjugative element (ICE) named ICEPm2, inserted in tRNA-Phe and exclusive to BL95. ICEPm2 has integration, conjugation, and DNA replication modules nearly identical to ICEPm1 (common in P. mirabilis), but ICEPm2 of BL95 carries two unique operons for P. mirabilis-a phenazine biosynthesis and a contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) system. ICEPm2 is absent in the P. mirabilis (AR_0156) closest to BL95 and it is present in the genomes of several Escherichia coli from mouse intestines, indicating its recent horizontal mobilization. BL95 shares over 100 genes of five different secretion systems with other P. mirabilis, mostly poorly studied, making a large pool of candidate genes for the contact-dependent growth inhibition.

Integrative Conjugative Elements (ICEs) of the SXT/R391 family drive adaptation and evolution in γ-Proteobacteria

Integrative Conjugative Elements (ICEs) are mosaics containing functional modules allowing maintenance by site-specific integration and excision into and from the host genome and conjugative transfer to a specific host range. Many ICEs encode a range of adaptive functions that aid bacterial survival and evolution in a range of niches. ICEs from the SXT/R391 family are found in γ-Proteobacteria. Over 100 members have undergone epidemiological and molecular characterization allowing insight into their diversity and function. Comparative analysis of SXT/R391 elements from a wide geographic distribution has revealed conservation of key functions, and the accumulation and evolution of adaptive genes. This evolution is associated with gene acquisition in conserved hotspots and variable regions within the SXT/R391 ICEs catalysed via element-encoded recombinases. The elements can carry IS elements and transposons, and a mutagenic DNA polymerase, PolV, which are associated with their evolution. SXT/R391 ICEs isolated from different niches appear to have retained adaptive functions related to that specific niche; phage resistance determinants in ICEs carried by wastewater bacteria, antibiotic resistance determinants in clinical isolates and metal resistance determinants in bacteria recovered from polluted environments/ocean sediments. Many genes found in the element hotspots are undetermined and have few homologs in the nucleotide databases.

Genomic and functional insights into antibiotic resistance genes floR and strA linked with the SXT element of Vibrio cholerae non-O1/non-O139

The emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens are a critical public health concern across the globe. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) play an important role in the horizontal acquisition of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in bacteria. In this study, we have decoded the whole genome sequences of multidrug-resistant Vibrio cholerae clinical isolates carrying the ARG-linked SXT, an integrative and conjugative element, in their large chromosomes. As in others, the SXT element has been found integrated into the 5'-end of the prfC gene (which encodes peptide chain release factor 3 involved in translational regulation) on the large chromosome of V. cholerae non-O1/non-O139 strains. Further, we demonstrate the functionality of SXT-linked floR and strAB genes, which confer resistance to chloramphenicol and streptomycin, respectively. The floR gene-encoded protein FloR belongs to the major facilitator superfamily efflux transporter containing 12 transmembrane domains (TMDs). Deletion analysis confirmed that even a single TMD of FloR is critical for the export function of chloramphenicol. The floR gene has two putative promoters, P1 and P2. Sequential deletions reveal that P2 is responsible for the expression of the floR. Deletion analysis of the N- and/or C-terminal coding regions of strA established their importance for conferring resistance against streptomycin. Interestingly, qPCR analysis of the floR and strA genes indicated that both of the genes are constitutively expressed in V. cholerae cells. Further, whole genome-based global phylogeography confirmed the presence of the integrative and conjugative element SXT in non-O1/non-O139 strains despite being non-multidrug resistant by lacking antimicrobial resistance (AMR) gene cassettes, which needs monitoring.

Atypical integrative element with strand-biased circularization activity assists interspecies antimicrobial resistance gene transfer from Vibrio alfacsensis

The exchange of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes between aquaculture and terrestrial microbial populations has emerged as a serious public health concern. However, the nature of the mobile genetic elements in marine bacteria is poorly documented. To gain insight into the genetic mechanisms underlying AMR gene transfer from marine bacteria, we mated a multidrug-resistant Vibrio alfacsensis strain with an Escherichia coli strain, and then determined the complete genome sequences of the donor and the transconjugant strains. Sequence analysis revealed a conjugative multidrug resistance plasmid in the donor strain, which was integrated into the chromosome of the recipient. The plasmid backbone in the transconjugant chromosome was flanked by two copies of a 7.1 kb unclassifiable integrative element harboring a β-lactamase gene. The 7.1 kb element and the previously reported element Tn6283 share four coding sequences, two of which encode the catalytic R-H-R-Y motif of tyrosine recombinases. Polymerase chain reaction and sequencing experiments revealed that these elements generate a circular copy of one specific strand without leaving an empty site on the donor molecule, in contrast to the movement of integron gene cassettes or ICE/IMEs discovered to date. These elements are termed SEs (strand-biased circularizing integrative elements): SE-6945 (the 7.1 kb element) and SE-6283 (Tn6283). The copy number and location of SE-6945 in the chromosome affected the antibiotic resistance levels of the transconjugants. SEs were identified in the genomes of other Vibrio species. Overall, these results suggest that SEs are involved in the spread of AMR genes among marine bacteria.

Abundance and environmental host range of the SXT/R391 ICEs in aquatic environmental communities

Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) such as plasmids or integrative conjugative elements (ICEs) are widely involved in the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs), but their environmental host-range and reservoirs remain poorly known, as mainly assessed through the analysis of culturable and clinical bacterial isolates. In this study, we used a gradual approach for determining the environmental abundance and host-range of ICEs belonging to the SXT/R391 family, otherwise well known to bring ARGs in Vibrio spp. epidemic clones and other pathogens. First, by screening a set of aquatic bacteria libraries covering 1794 strains, we found that almost 1% of the isolates hosted an SXT/R391 element, all belonging to a narrow group of non-O1/non-O139 Vibrio cholerae. However, when SXT/R391 ICEs were then quantified in various aquatic communities, they appeared to be ubiquitous and relatively abundant, from 10^-6 to 10^-3 ICE copies per 16 S rDNA. Finally, the molecular exploration of the SXT/R391 host-range in two river ecosystems impacted by anthropogenic activities, using the single-cell genomic approach epicPCR, revealed several new SXT/R391 hosts mostly in the Proteobacteria phylum. Some, such as the pathogen Arcobacter cryaerophilus (Campylobacteraceae), have only been encountered in discharged treated wastewaters and downstream river waters, thus revealing a likely anthropogenic origin. Others, such as the non-pathogenic bacterium Neptunomonas acidivorans (Oceanospirillaceae), were solely identified in rivers waters upstream and downstream the treated wastewaters discharge points and may intrinsically belong to the SXT/R391 environmental reservoir. This work points out that not only the ICEs of the SXT/R391 family are more abundant in the environment than anticipated, but also that a variety of unsuspected hosts may well represent a missing link in the environmental dissemination of MGEs from and to bacteria of anthropogenic origin.

VicPred: A Vibrio cholerae Genotype Prediction Tool

Genomic information can be used to predict major pathogenic traits of pathogens without the need for laboratory experimentation. However, no Vibrio cholerae genome-based trait identification tools currently exist. The aim of this study was to develop a web-based prediction tool to identify Vibrio pathogenic traits using publicly available 796 whole-genome sequences of V. cholerae. Using this application, 68 structural O-antigen gene clusters belonging to 49 serogroups of V. cholerae were classified, and the composition of the genes within the O-antigen cluster of each serogroup was identified. The arrangement and location of the CTX prophage and related elements of the seventh cholera pandemic strains were also revealed. With the versatile tool, named VicPred, we analyzed the assemblage of various SXTs (sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim resistance element) and major genomic islands (GIs) of V. cholerae, and the increasing trend in drug-resistance revealing high resistance of the V. cholerae strains to certain antibiotics. The pathogenic traits of newly sequenced V. cholerae strains could be analyzed based on these characteristics. The accumulation of further genome data will expedite the establishment of a more precise genome-based pathogenic traits analysis tool.

Mobile Genetic Elements of Vibrio cholerae and the Evolution of Its Antimicrobial Resistance

Vibrio cholerae (VC) is the causative agent of the severe dehydrating diarrheal disease cholera. The primary treatment for cholera is oral rehydration therapy (ORT). However, in case of moderate to severe dehydration, antibiotics are administered to reduce morbidity. Due to the emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) strains of VC routinely used antibiotics fail to be effective in cholera patients. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is encoded in the genome of bacteria and is usually acquired from other organisms cohabiting in the environment or in the gut with which it interacts in the gut or environmental niche. The antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) are usually borne on mobile genetic elements (MGEs) like plasmids, transposons, integrons and SXT constin. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) helps in the exchange of ARGs among bacteria leading to dissemination of AMR. In VC the acquisition and loss of AMR to many antibiotics have been found to be a dynamic process. This review describes the different AMR determinants and mechanisms of resistance that have been discovered in VC. These ARGs borne usually on MGEs have been recovered from isolates associated with past and present epidemics worldwide. These are responsible for resistance of VC to common antibiotics and are periodically lost and gained contributing to its genetic evolution. These resistance markers can be routinely used for AMR surveillance in VC. The review also presents a precise perspective on the importance of the gut microbiome in the emergence of MDR VC and concludes that the gut microbiome is a potential source of molecular markers and networks which can be manipulated for the interception of AMR in the future.

D, lydie N. A, Allico J. D, Mady N, Mireille D. Resistance Profile of Vibrio spp. Strains Collected from Lagoon Bays and Wastewater in the City of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from January to June 2017

Background:

Lagoons and wastewater constitute aquatics environments which receive or accounts for most domestic discharges. These waters constitute an important ecosystem for the proliferation of microorganisms. The microorganisms that harbor these waters can provide information on the persistence of certain diseases in the human population, including gastrointestinal infections such as Cholera. The genus Vibrio contains pathogenic aquatic bacteria found in lagoon bays and wastewater.

Objective:

The main objectives of this work were to confirm the presence of Vibrio spp. in lagoon bays and sewage of the city of Abidjan over the entire interepidemic period, and to evaluate their sensitivity to commonly used antibiotics.

Methods:

The isolation and identification of the microorganisms were carried out using classical bacteriological techniques (biochemical test, API 20E gallery). When necessary, serotyping was carried out using agglutination tests on slides. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was carried out using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion (KBDD) method.

Results:

This study identified 12 bacterial strains, 9/12 (75%) of which were Vibrio sp. strains. Two Vibrio species, namely Vibrio parahaemolyticus 2/9 (22%) and 7/9 Vibrio cholerae (78%) were identified.

V. cholerae was isolated from both sewage and lagoon waters with dominance of serotype O1. The V. cholerae O1 and non-O1 strains showed a high level of resistance to sulfonamides, quinolones, fluoroquinolones, and moderate sensitivity to penicillins and tetracyclines. Resistant V. parahaemolyticus strains were also identified.

Conclusion:

The increased resistance of these bacteria could pose potential problems in the treatment of epidemics and other communicable diseases. The emergence of these multi-drug resistant strains of the genus Vibrio should prompt the Ivorian health authorities to maintain an epidemiological surveillance network for waterborne diseases throughout the country and to continue bacteriological sampling to monitor Vibrio's sensitivity to antibiotics.

Genomic Analysis of SXT/R391 Integrative Conjugative Elements From Proteus mirabilis Isolated in Brazil

Integrative conjugative elements (ICEs) are widespread in many bacterial species, often carrying antibiotic resistance determinants. In the present work, we screened a collection of Proteus mirabilis clinical isolates for the presence of type 1 SXT/R391 ICEs. Among the 76 isolates analyzed, 5 of them carry such elements. The complete sequences of these elements were obtained. One of the isolates carried the CMY-2 beta-lactamase gene in a transposon and is nearly identical to the element ICEPmiJpn1 previously described in Japan, and later shown to be present in other parts of the world, indicating global spread of this element. Nevertheless, the Brazilian isolate carrying ICEPmiJpn1 is not clonally related to the other lineages carrying the same element around the world. The other ICEs identified in this work do not carry known antibiotic resistance markers and are diverse in variable gene content and size, suggesting that these elements may be responsible for the acquisition of other advantageous traits by bacteria. Some sequences carried by these elements in Brazilian strains were not previously found in other SXT/R391 variants.

Deciphering the Structural Diversity and Classification of the Mobile Tigecycline Resistance Gene tet(X)-Bearing Plasmidome among Bacteria

Tigecycline is an expanded-spectrum tetracycline used as a last-resort antimicrobial for treating infections caused by superbugs such as carbapenemase-producing or colistin-resistant pathogens. Emergence of the plasmid-mediated mobile tigecycline resistance gene tet(X4) created a great public health concern. However, the diversity of tet(X4)-bearing plasmids and bacteria remains largely uninvestigated. To cover this knowledge gap, we comprehensively identified and characterized the tet(X)-bearing plasmidome in different sources using advanced sequencing technologies for the first time. The huge diversity of tet(X4)-bearing mobile elements demonstrates the high level of transmissibility of the tet(X4) gene among bacteria. It is crucial to enhance stringent surveillance of tet(X) genes in animal and human pathogens globally.

The emergence of novel plasmid-mediated resistance genes constitutes a great public concern. Recently, mobile tet(X) variants were reported in diverse pathogens from different sources. However, the diversity of tet(X)-bearing plasmids remains largely unknown. In this study, the phenotypes and genotypes of all the tet(X)-positive tigecycline-resistant strains isolated from a slaughterhouse in China were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, conjugation, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with S1 nuclease (S1-PFGE), and PCR. The diversity and polymorphism of tet(X)-harboring strains and plasmidomes were investigated by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and single-plasmid-molecule analysis. Seventy-four tet(X4)-harboring Escherichia coli strains and one tet(X6)-bearing Providencia rettgeri strain were identified. The tet(X4)-bearing elements in 27 strains could be transferred to the recipient strain via plasmids. All tet(X4)-bearing plasmids isolated in this study and 15 tet(X4)-bearing plasmids reported online were analyzed. tet(X4)-bearing plasmids ranged from 9 to 294 kb and were categorized as ColE2-like, IncQ, IncX1, IncA/C2, IncFII, IncFIB, and hybrid plasmids with different replicons. The core tet(X4)-bearing genetic contexts were divided into four major groups: ISCR2-tet(X4)-abh, △ISCR2-abh-tet(X4)-ISCR2, ISCR2-abh-tet(X4)-ISCR2-virD2-floR, and abh-tet(X4)-ISCR2-yheS-cat-zitR-ISCR2-virD2-floR. Tandem repeats of tet(X4) were universally mediated by ISCR2. Different tet(X)-bearing strains existed in the same microbiota. Reorganization of tet(X4)-bearing multidrug resistance plasmids was found to be mediated by IS26 and other homologous regions. Finally, single-plasmid-molecule analysis captured the heterogenous state of tet(X4)-bearing plasmids. These findings significantly expand our knowledge of the tet(X)-bearing plasmidome among microbiotas, which establishes a baseline for investigating the structure and diversity of human, animal, and environmental tigecycline resistomes. Characterization of tet(X) genes among different microbiotas should be performed systematically to understand the evolution and ecology.

IMPORTANCE Tigecycline is an expanded-spectrum tetracycline used as a last-resort antimicrobial for treating infections caused by superbugs such as carbapenemase-producing or colistin-resistant pathogens. Emergence of the plasmid-mediated mobile tigecycline resistance gene tet(X4) created a great public health concern. However, the diversity of tet(X4)-bearing plasmids and bacteria remains largely uninvestigated. To cover this knowledge gap, we comprehensively identified and characterized the tet(X)-bearing plasmidome in different sources using advanced sequencing technologies for the first time. The huge diversity of tet(X4)-bearing mobile elements demonstrates the high level of transmissibility of the tet(X4) gene among bacteria. It is crucial to enhance stringent surveillance of tet(X) genes in animal and human pathogens globally.

Antibiotic resistance in Vibrio cholerae El Tor strains isolated during cholera complications in Siberia and the Far East of Russia

Currently, the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global trend and poses a severe threat to public health. The causative agent of cholera, a severe infectious disease with pandemic expansion, becomes more and more resistant to a wider range of drugs with every coming year. The Vibrio cholerae genome is highly flexible and adaptive; the acquisition of the SXT mobile element with a cluster of antibiotic resistance genes on it has marked a new stage in the adaptive evolution of the pathogen. The territory of Siberia and the Russian Far East is free of cholera; however, in the 1970s and 1990s a number of infection importation cases and acute outbreaks associated with the cholera importation were reported. The aim of this study was to describe the phenotypic characteristics and genetic determinants of AMR in V. cholerae strains isolated during epidemic complications in Siberia and the Far East of Russia, as well as to clarify the origin of the strains. The present research comprises analysis of nine V. cholerae El Tor strains isolated from patients and water sources during epidemic complications in Siberia and the Russian Far East in the 1990s. Here, we compared the phenotypic manifestations of antibiotic resistance among strains, harbored the resistance patterns in genomes; we also determined the structure, the type of SXT elements, and the mobilome profile based on the accepted classification. We identified that strains that caused outbreaks in Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in 1999 had ICEVchCHN4210 type SXT element with deletion of some loci. The research shows that the integration of the genome, SNP and the mobilome, associated with antibiotic resistance, analyses is necessary to understand the cholera epidemiology, it also helps to establish the origin of strains. The study of resistance determinants features allowed to make a conclusion about the heterogeneity of V. cholerae strains that were isolated during outbreaks in Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in 1999.

SetRICE391, a negative transcriptional regulator of the integrating conjugative element 391 mutagenic response

The integrating conjugative element ICE391 (formerly known as IncJ R391) harbors an error-prone DNA polymerase V ortholog, polV_ICE391, encoded by the ICE391 rumAB operon. polV and its orthologs have previously been shown to be major contributors to spontaneous and DNA damage-induced mutagenesis in vivo. As a result, multiple levels of regulation are imposed on the polymerases so as to avoid aberrant mutagenesis. We report here, that the mutagenesis-promoting activity of polV_ICE391 is additionally regulated by a transcriptional repressor encoded by SetR_ICE391, since Escherichia coli expressing SetR_ICE391 demonstrated reduced levels of polV_ICE391-mediated spontaneous mutagenesis relative to cells lacking SetR_ICE391. SetR_ICE391 regulation was shown to be specific for the rumAB operon and in vitro studies with highly purified SetR_ICE391 revealed that under alkaline conditions, as well as in the presence of activated RecA, SetR_ICE391 undergoes a self-mediated cleavage reaction that inactivates repressor functions. Conversely, a non-cleavable SetR_ICE391 mutant capable of maintaining repressor activity, even in the presence of activated RecA, exhibited low levels of polV_ICE391-dependent mutagenesis. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that SetR_ICE391 acts as a transcriptional repressor by binding to a site overlapping the -35 region of the rumAB operon promoter. Our study therefore provides evidence indicating that SetR_ICE391 acts as a transcriptional repressor of the ICE391-encoded mutagenic response.

Growth arrest and a persister state enable resistance to osmotic shock and facilitate dissemination of Vibrio cholerae

Vibrio cholerae is a water-borne bacterial pathogen and causative agent of cholera. Although V. cholerae is a halophile, it can survive in fresh water, and this has a major role in cholera epidemics through consumption of contaminated water and subsequent fecal-oral spread. After dissemination from humans back into fresh water, V. cholerae encounters limited nutrient availability and an abrupt drop in conductivity but little is known about how V. cholerae adapts to, and survives in this environment. In this work, by abolishing or altering the expression of V. cholerae genes in a high-throughput manner, we observed that many osmotic shock tolerant mutants exhibited slowed or arrested growth, and/or generated a higher proportion of persister cells. In addition, we show that growth-arrested V. cholerae, including a persister subpopulation, are generated during infection of the intestinal tract and together allow for the successful dissemination to fresh water. Our results suggest that growth-arrested and persister subpopulations enable survival of V. cholerae upon shedding to the aquatic environment.

The hidden life of integrative and conjugative elements

Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are widespread mobile DNA that transmit both vertically, in a host-integrated state, and horizontally, through excision and transfer to new recipients. Different families of ICEs have been discovered with more or less restricted host ranges, which operate by similar mechanisms but differ in regulatory networks, evolutionary origin and the types of variable genes they contribute to the host. Based on reviewing recent experimental data, we propose a general model of ICE life style that explains the transition between vertical and horizontal transmission as a result of a bistable decision in the ICE-host partnership. In the large majority of cells, the ICE remains silent and integrated, but hidden at low to very low frequencies in the population specialized host cells appear in which the ICE starts its process of horizontal transmission. This bistable process leads to host cell differentiation, ICE excision and transfer, when suitable recipients are present. The ratio of ICE bistability (i.e. ratio of horizontal to vertical transmission) is the outcome of a balance between fitness costs imposed by the ICE horizontal transmission process on the host cell, and selection for ICE distribution (i.e. ICE 'fitness'). From this emerges a picture of ICEs as elements that have adapted to a mostly confined life style within their host, but with a very effective and dynamic transfer from a subpopulation of dedicated cells.

Networking in microbes: conjugative elements and plasmids in the genus Alteromonas

Background

To develop evolutionary models for the free living bacterium Alteromonas the genome sequences of isolates of the genus have been extensively analyzed. However, the main genetic exchange drivers in these microbes, conjugative elements (CEs), have not been considered in detail thus far. In this work, CEs have been searched in several complete Alteromonas genomes and their sequence studied to understand their role in the evolution of this genus. Six genomes are reported here for the first time.

Results

We have found nine different plasmids of sizes ranging from 85 to 600 Kb, most of them were found in a single strain. Networks of gene similarity could be established among six of the plasmids that were also connected with another cluster of plasmids found in Shewanella strains. The cargo genes found in these plasmids included cassettes found before in chromosome flexible genomic islands of Alteromonas strains. We describe also the plasmids pAMCP48-600 and pAMCP49-600, the largest found in Alteromonas thus far (ca. 600 Kb) and containing all the hallmarks to be classified as chromids. We found in them some housekeeping genes and a cluster that code for an exocellular polysaccharide. They could represent the transport vectors for the previously described replacement flexible genomic islands. Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) were more common than plasmids and showed similar patterns of variation with cargo genes coding for components of additive flexible genomic islands. A nearly identical ICE was found in A. mediterranea MED64 and Vibrio cholera AHV1003 isolated from a human pathogen, indicating the potential exchange of these genes across phylogenetic distances exceeding the family threshold.

Conclusion

We have seen evidence of how CEs can be vectors to transfer gene cassettes acquired in the chromosomal flexible genomic islands, both of the additive and replacement kind. These CEs showed evidence of how genetic material is exchanged among members of the same species but also (albeit less frequently) across genus and family barriers. These gradients of exchange frequency are probably one of the main drivers of species origin and maintenance in prokaryotes and also provide these taxa with large genetic diversity.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3461-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

SXT/R391 Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICEs) Encode a Novel 'Trap-Door' Strategy for Mobile Element Escape

Integrative conjugative elements (ICEs) are a class of bacterial mobile elements that have the ability to mediate their own integration, excision, and transfer from one host genome to another by a mechanism of site-specific recombination, self-circularisation, and conjugative transfer. Members of the SXT/R391 ICE family of enterobacterial mobile genetic elements display an unusual UV-inducible sensitization function which results in stress induced killing of bacterial cells harboring the ICE. This sensitization has been shown to be associated with a stress induced overexpression of a mobile element encoded conjugative transfer gene, orf43, a traV homolog. This results in cell lysis and release of a circular form of the ICE. Induction of this novel system may allow transfer of an ICE, enhancing its survival potential under conditions not conducive to conjugative transfer.

Biology of Three ICE Families: SXT/R391, ICEBs1, and ICESt1/ICESt3

Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICEs) are bacterial mobile genetic elements that play a key role in bacterial genomes dynamics and evolution. ICEs are widely distributed among virtually all bacterial genera. Recent extensive studies have unraveled their high diversity and complexity. The present review depicts the general conserved features of ICEs and describes more precisely three major families of ICEs that have been extensively studied in the past decade for their biology, their evolution and their impact on genomes dynamics. First, the large SXT/R391 family of ICEs disseminates antibiotic resistance genes and drives the exchange of mobilizable genomic islands (MGIs) between many enteric pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae. Second, ICEBs1 of Bacillus subtilis is the most well understood ICE of Gram-positive bacteria, notably regarding the regulation of its dissemination and its initially unforeseen extrachromosomal replication, which could be a common feature of ICEs of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Finally, ICESt1 and ICESt3 of Streptococcus thermophilus are the prototypes of a large family of ICEs widely distributed among various streptococci. These ICEs carry an original regulation module that associates regulators related to those of both SXT/R391 and ICEBs1. Study of ICESt1 and ICESt3 uncovered the cis-mobilization of related genomic islands (CIMEs) by a mechanism called accretion-mobilization, which likely represents a paradigm for the evolution of many ICEs and genomic islands. These three major families of ICEs give a glimpse about ICEs dynamics and their high impact on bacterial adaptation.

Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICEs): What They Do and How They Work

Horizontal gene transfer plays a major role in microbial evolution, allowing microbes to acquire new genes and phenotypes. Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs, a.k.a. conjugative transposons) are modular mobile genetic elements integrated into a host genome and are passively propagated during chromosomal replication and cell division. Induction of ICE gene expression leads to excision, production of the conserved conjugation machinery (a type IV secretion system), and the potential to transfer DNA to appropriate recipients. ICEs typically contain cargo genes that are not usually related to the ICE life cycle and that confer phenotypes to host cells. We summarize the life cycle and discovery of ICEs, some of the regulatory mechanisms, and how the types of cargo have influenced our view of ICEs. We discuss how ICEs can acquire new cargo genes and describe challenges to the field and various perspectives on ICE biology.

A λ Cro-Like Repressor Is Essential for the Induction of Conjugative Transfer of SXT/R391 Elements in Response to DNA Damage

Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) of the SXT/R391 family are the main contributors to acquired multidrug resistance in the seventh pandemic lineage of Vibrio cholerae, the etiological agent of the diarrheal disease cholera. Conjugative transfer of SXT/R391 ICEs is triggered by antibiotics and agents promoting DNA damage through RecA-dependent autoproteolysis of SetR, an ICE-encoded λ CI-like repressor. Here, we describe the role of CroS, a distant λ Cro homolog, as a key component contributing to the regulation of expression of the activator SetCD that orchestrates the expression of the conjugative transfer genes. We show that deletion of croS abolishes the SOS response-dependent induction of SXT despite the presence of a functional setR gene. Using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and lacZ reporter assays, we also show that CroS represses setR and setCD expression by binding to operator sites shared with SetR. Furthermore, we provide evidence of an additional operator site bound by SetR and CroS. Finally, we show that SetCD expression generates a positive feedback loop due to SXT excision and replication in a fraction of the cell population. Together, these results refine our understanding of the genetic regulation governing the propagation of major vectors of multidrug resistance.

IMPORTANCE

Healthcare systems worldwide are challenged by an alarming drug resistance crisis caused by the massive and rapid propagation of antibiotic resistance genes and the associated emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria. SXT/R391 ICEs contribute to this phenomenon not only in clinical and environmental vibrios but also in several members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. We have identified and characterized here the regulator CroS as a key factor in the stimulation of conjugative transfer of these ICEs in response to DNA-damaging agents. We have also untangled conflicting evidence regarding autoactivation of transfer by the master activator of SXT/R391 ICEs, SetCD. Discovery of CroS provides a clearer and more complete understanding of the regulatory network that governs the dissemination of SXT/R391 ICEs in bacterial populations.

The extended regulatory networks of SXT/R391 integrative and conjugative elements and IncA/C conjugative plasmids

Nowadays, healthcare systems are challenged by a major worldwide drug resistance crisis caused by the massive and rapid dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes and associated emergence of multidrug resistant pathogenic bacteria, in both clinical and environmental settings. Conjugation is the main driving force of gene transfer among microorganisms. This mechanism of horizontal gene transfer mediates the translocation of large DNA fragments between two bacterial cells in direct contact. Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) of the SXT/R391 family (SRIs) and IncA/C conjugative plasmids (ACPs) are responsible for the dissemination of a broad spectrum of antibiotic resistance genes among diverse species of Enterobacteriaceae and Vibrionaceae. The biology, diversity, prevalence and distribution of these two families of conjugative elements have been the subject of extensive studies for the past 15 years. Recently, the transcriptional regulators that govern their dissemination through the expression of ICE- or plasmid-encoded transfer genes have been described. Unrelated repressors control the activation of conjugation by preventing the expression of two related master activator complexes in both types of elements, i.e., SetCD in SXT/R391 ICEs and AcaCD in IncA/C plasmids. Finally, in addition to activating ICE- or plasmid-borne genes, these master activators have been shown to specifically activate phylogenetically unrelated mobilizable genomic islands (MGIs) that also disseminate antibiotic resistance genes and other adaptive traits among a plethora of pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella enterica.

Replication and Active Partition of Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICEs) of the SXT/R391 Family: The Line between ICEs and Conjugative Plasmids Is Getting Thinner

Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICEs) of the SXT/R391 family disseminate multidrug resistance among pathogenic Gammaproteobacteria such as Vibrio cholerae. SXT/R391 ICEs are mobile genetic elements that reside in the chromosome of their host and eventually self-transfer to other bacteria by conjugation. Conjugative transfer of SXT/R391 ICEs involves a transient extrachromosomal circular plasmid-like form that is thought to be the substrate for single-stranded DNA translocation to the recipient cell through the mating pore. This plasmid-like form is thought to be non-replicative and is consequently expected to be highly unstable. We report here that the ICE R391 of Providencia rettgeri is impervious to loss upon cell division. We have investigated the genetic determinants contributing to R391 stability. First, we found that a hipAB-like toxin/antitoxin system improves R391 stability as its deletion resulted in a tenfold increase of R391 loss. Because hipAB is not a conserved feature of SXT/R391 ICEs, we sought for alternative and conserved stabilization mechanisms. We found that conjugation itself does not stabilize R391 as deletion of traG, which abolishes conjugative transfer, did not influence the frequency of loss. However, deletion of either the relaxase-encoding gene traI or the origin of transfer (oriT) led to a dramatic increase of R391 loss correlated with a copy number decrease of its plasmid-like form. This observation suggests that replication initiated at oriT by TraI is essential not only for conjugative transfer but also for stabilization of SXT/R391 ICEs. Finally, we uncovered srpMRC, a conserved locus coding for two proteins distantly related to the type II (actin-type ATPase) parMRC partitioning system of plasmid R1. R391 and plasmid stabilization assays demonstrate that srpMRC is active and contributes to reducing R391 loss. While partitioning systems usually stabilizes low-copy plasmids, srpMRC is the first to be reported that stabilizes a family of ICEs.

Role of integrons, plasmids and SXT elements in multidrug resistance of Vibrio cholerae and Providencia vermicola obtained from a clinical isolate of diarrhea

The isolates of Vibrio cholerae and Providencia vermicola obtained from a diarrheal patient were investigated for genetic elements governing their drug resistance phenotypes. Out of 14 antibiotics tested, V. cholerae Vc IDH02365 isolate showed resistance to nine antibiotics, while P. vermicola Pv NBA2365 was found to be resistant to all the antibiotics except polymyxin B. Though SXT integrase was depicted in both the bacteria, class 1 integron was found to be associated only with Pv NBA2365. Integrons in Pv NBA2365 conferred resistance to β-lactams, aminoglycosides, and trimethoprim. Pv NBA2365 carried two transformable plasmids imparting distinct antibiotic resistance traits to their Escherichia coli transformants. In rabbit ileal loop assays, Pv NBA2365 did not show any fluid accumulation (FA) in contrast with Vc IDH02365 that showed high FA. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a highly drug resistant P. vermicola and additionally co-existence of multidrug resistant V. cholerae and P. vermicola. Both the microbes appeared to possess a wide array of mobile genetic elements for a large spectrum of antimicrobial agents, some of which are being used in the treatment of acute diarrhea.

Worldwide occurrence of integrative conjugative element encoding multidrug resistance determinants in epidemic Vibrio cholerae O1

In the last decades, there has been an increase of cholera epidemics caused by multidrug resistant strains. Particularly, the integrative and conjugative element (ICE) seems to play a major role in the emergence of multidrug resistant Vibrio cholerae. This study fully characterized, by whole genome sequencing, new ICEs carried by multidrug resistant V. cholerae O1 strains from Nigeria (2010) (ICEVchNig1) and Nepal (1994) (ICEVchNep1). The gene content and gene order of these two ICEs are the same, and identical to ICEVchInd5, ICEVchBan5 and ICEVchHai1 previously identified in multidrug resistant V. cholerae O1. This ICE is characterized by dfrA1, sul2, strAB and floR antimicrobial resistance genes, and by unique gene content in HS4 and HS5 ICE regions. Screening for ICEs, in publicly available V. cholerae genomes, revealed the occurrence and widespread distribution of this ICE among V. cholerae O1. Metagenomic analysis found segments of this ICE in marine environments far from the direct influence of the cholera epidemic. Therefore, this study revealed the epidemiology of a spatio-temporal prevalent ICE in V. cholerae O1. Its occurrence and dispersion in V. cholerae O1 strains from different continents throughout more than two decades can be indicative of its role in the fitness of the current pandemic lineage.

Genomic diversity of "deep ecotype" Alteromonas macleodii isolates: evidence for Pan-Mediterranean clonal frames

We have compared genomes of Alteromonas macleodii “deep ecotype” isolates from two deep Mediterranean sites and two surface samples from the Aegean and the English Channel. A total of nine different genomes were analyzed. They belong to five clonal frames (CFs) that differ among them by approximately 30,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) over their core genomes. Two of the CFs contain three strains each with nearly identical genomes (∼100 SNPs over the core genome). One of the CFs had representatives that were isolated from samples taken more than 1,000 km away, 2,500 m deeper, and 5 years apart. These data mark the longest proven persistence of a CF in nature (outside of clinical settings). We have found evidence for frequent recombination events between or within CFs and even with the distantly related A. macleodii surface ecotype. The different CFs had different flexible genomic islands. They can be classified into two groups; one type is additive, that is, containing different numbers of gene cassettes, and is very variable in short time periods (they often varied even within a single CF). The other type was more stable and produced the complete replacement of a genomic fragment by another with different genes. Although this type was more conserved within each CF, we found examples of recombination among distantly related CFs including English Channel and Mediterranean isolates.

The mosaic accessory gene structures of the SXT/R391-like integrative and conjugative elements derived from Vibrio spp. isolated from aquatic products and environment in the Yangtze River Estuary, China

Background

The emergence, resurgence and spread of human food-borne pathogenic Vibrios are one of the major contributors to disease burden and mortality particularly in developing countries with disputable sanitary conditions. Previous research on pathogenic Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolitycus derived from clinical samples has proposed links between acquisition of virulence and multiple drug resistance traits and intercellular transmissibility of mobile genetic elements in the environment. To date, very few information is available on environmental Vibrio isolates. In this study, we characterized eleven Vibrio strains bearing the SXT/R391-like integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) derived from aquatic products and environment in the Yangtze River Estuary, China.

Results

The eleven Vibrio strains were isolated in 2010 to 2011, and taxonomically identified, which included six Vibrio cholerae, three Vibrio parahaemolyticus, one Vibrio alginolyticus and one Vibrio natriegens. Most of the strains displayed strong resistance phenotypes to ampicillin, mercury and chromium. The majority of their ICEs, which belong to S and R exclusion system groups, contain ICEs-chromosome junction sequences and highly conserved core-genes required for ICE transfer. However, comparative sequence analysis uncovered interesting diversity in their mosaic accessory gene structures, which carry many novel genes that have not been described in any known ICEs to date. In addition, antibiotic resistance was transmitted by ICEVchChn6 and ICEVpaChn1 from V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus to E. coli MG1655 via conjugation, respectively. Our data also revealed that the ICEs characterized in this study are phylogenetically distant from most of the SXT/R391 ICEs reported previously, which may represent a novel cluster likely shaped by the ecological environment in the Yangtze River Estuary, China.

Conclusions

This study constitutes the first investigation of ICEs-positive Vibrio spp. in the Yangze River Estuary, China. The newly identified ICEs were characterized with mosaic accessory gene structures and many novel genes. The results demonstrated self-transmissibility of antibiotic resistance mediated by two of the ICEs from V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus to E. coli via conjugation, respectively. Our results also revealed that the ICEs examined in this study may represent a novel cluster in the SXT/R391 family.

DNA-damaging agents induce the RecA-independent homologous recombination functions of integrating conjugative elements of the SXT/R391 family

Integrating conjugative elements (ICEs) of the SXT/R391 family are major contributors to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. These elements also catalyze their own diversity by promoting inter-ICE recombination through the action of the RecA-independent homologous recombination system that they encode. Here, we report that expression of this recombination system, which consists of the single-stranded DNA annealing protein Bet and the exonuclease Exo, is induced by DNA-damaging agents via ICE-encoded transcriptional regulators. We show that the bet and exo genes are part of a large polycistronic transcript that contains many conserved ICE genes that are not involved in the main integration/excision and conjugative transfer processes. We show that although the recombination genes are highly transcribed, their translation is subject to additional strong regulatory mechanisms. We also show that an ICE-encoded putative single-stranded DNA binding protein (Ssb) limits hybrid ICE formation. Finally, a thorough in silico analysis reveals that orthologues of Bet and Exo are widely distributed in bacterial strains belonging to very distantly related bacterial species and are carried by various mobile genetic elements. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that the annealing proteins and exonucleases that compose these systems sometimes have different evolutionary origins, underscoring the strong selective pressure to maintain the functionality of these unrelated cooperating proteins.

Differential regulation of two closely related integrative and conjugative elements from Streptococcus thermophilus

BACKGROUND

Two closely related ICEs, ICESt1 and ICESt3, have been identified in the lactic acid bacterium Streptococcus thermophilus. While their conjugation and recombination modules are almost identical (95% nucleotide identity) and their regulation modules related, previous work has demonstrated that transconjugants carrying ICESt3 were generated at rate exceeding by a 1000 factor that of ICESt1.

RESULTS

The functional regulation of ICESt1 and ICESt3 transcription, excision and replication were investigated under different conditions (exponential growth or stationary phase, DNA damage by exposition to mitomycin C). Analysis revealed an identical transcriptional organization of their recombination and conjugation modules (long unique transcript) whereas the transcriptional organization of their regulation modules were found to be different (two operons in ICESt1 but only one in ICESt3) and to depend on the conditions (promoter specific of stationary phase in ICESt3). For both elements, stationary phase and DNA damage lead to the rise of transcript levels of the conjugation-recombination and regulation modules. Whatever the growth culture conditions, excision of ICESt1 was found to be lower than that of ICESt3, which is consistent with weaker transfer frequencies. Furthermore, for both elements, excision increases in stationary phase (8.9-fold for ICESt1 and 1.31-fold for ICESt3) and is strongly enhanced by DNA damage (38-fold for ICESt1 and 18-fold for ICESt3). Although ICEs are generally not described as replicative elements, the copy number of ICESt3 exhibited a sharp increase (9.6-fold) after mitomycin C exposure of its harboring strain CNRZ385. This result was not observed when ICESt3 was introduced in a strain deriving ICESt1 host strain CNRZ368, deleted for this element. This finding suggests an impact of the host cell on ICE behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

All together, these results suggest a novel mechanism of regulation shared by ICESt1, ICESt3 and closely related ICEs, which we identified by analysis of recently sequenced genomes of firmicutes. This is the first report of a partial shutdown of the activity of an ICE executed by a strain belonging to its primary host species. The sharp increase of ICESt3 copy number suggests an induction of replication; such conditional intracellular replication may be common among ICEs.

Description of a 2,683-base-pair plasmid containing qnrD in two Providencia rettgeri isolates

qnr genes are plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes mainly harbored on large conjugative multiresistant plasmids. The qnrD gene was recently observed in Salmonella enterica on a small nonconjugative plasmid (p2007057). We describe two strains of Providencia rettgeri harboring qnrD on nonconjugative plasmids. The plasmids were 99% identical, with 2,683 bp and four open reading frames, including qnrD, but exhibited only 53% identity with the plasmid found in S. enterica.

Antibiotic resistance determinants in the interplay between food and gut microbiota

A complex and heterogeneous microflora performs sugar and lactic acid fermentations in food products. Depending on the fermentable food matrix (dairy, meat, vegetable etc.) as well as on the species composition of the microbiota, specific combinations of molecules are produced that confer unique flavor, texture, and taste to each product. Bacterial populations within such “fermented food microbiota” are often of environmental origin, they persist alive in foods ready for consumption, eventually reaching the gastro-intestinal tract where they can interact with the resident gut microbiota of the host. Although this interaction is mostly of transient nature, it can greatly contribute to human health, as several species within the food microbiota also display probiotic properties. Such an interplay between food and gut microbiota underlines the importance of the microbiological quality of fermented foods, as the crowded environment of the gut is also an ideal site for genetic exchanges among bacteria. Selection and spreading of antibiotic resistance genes in foodborne bacteria has gained increasing interest in the past decade, especially in light of the potential transferability of antibiotic resistance determinants to opportunistic pathogens, natural inhabitants of the human gut but capable of acquiring virulence in immunocompromised individuals. This review aims at describing major findings and future prospects in the field, especially after the use of antibiotics as growth promoters was totally banned in Europe, with special emphasis on the application of genomic technologies to improve quality and safety of fermented foods.

Chromosomally encoded blaCMY-2 located on a novel SXT/R391-related integrating conjugative element in a Proteus mirabilis clinical isolate

Integrating conjugative elements (ICEs) are mobile genetic elements that can transfer from the chromosome of a host to the chromosome of a new host through the process of excision, conjugation, and integration. Although SXT/R391-related ICEs, originally demonstrated in Vibrio cholerae O139 isolates, have become prevalent among V. cholerae isolates in Asia, the prevalence of the ICEs among gram-negative bacteria other than Vibrio spp. remains unknown. In addition, SXT/R391-related ICEs carrying genes conferring resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins have never been described. Here we carried out a genetic analysis of a cefoxitin-resistant Proteus mirabilis clinical isolate, TUM4660, which revealed the presence of a novel SXT/R391-related ICE, ICEPmiJpn1. ICEPmiJpn1 had a core genetic structure showing high similarity to that of R391 and carried xis and int genes completely identical to those of R391, while an IS10-mediated composite transposon carrying bla(CMY-2) was integrated into the ICE. A nucleotide sequence identical to the 3' part of ISEcp1 was located upstream of the bla(CMY-2) gene, and other genes observed around bla(CMY-2) in earlier studies were also present. Furthermore, the nucleotide sequences of hot spot 2 and hot spot 4 in ICEPmiJpn1 showed high similarity to that of hot spot 2 in SXT(MO10) and with a part of the nucleotide sequence found in P. mirabilis ATCC 29906, respectively. ICEPmiJpn1 was successfully transferred to Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Citrobacter koseri in conjugation experiments. These observations suggest that ICEs may contribute to the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes among clinically relevant Enterobacteriaceae, which warrants careful observation of the prevalence of ICEs, including SXT/R391-related ICEs.

The contribution of small cryptic plasmids to the antibiotic resistance of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli E2348/69

Two uncharacterized small cryptic plasmids (SCPs) were isolated from enteropathogenic Escherichia coli strain E2348/69. Genomic DNA sequence analysis of both SCPs indicated that the smaller plasmid, p5217, encoded several mobilization genes, whereas the larger plasmid, p6148, encoded several putative antibiotic resistance determinants. Complementation analysis showed that p6148 encodes functional streptomycin resistance genes but, owing to the presence of several frameshift mutations, a nonfunctional sulfonamide resistance determinant. A plasmid similar to p6148 has previously been shown to confer a slight growth advantage on E. coli. However, we were unable to observe any significant growth advantage in different E. coli strains transformed with p6148. The p6148 DNA sequence is homologous in sequence and arrangement to DNA from other plasmid families, including large conjugative plasmids and SXT integrative and conjugative elements. This study suggests that gene clusters of the sul2-strAB antibiotic resistance genes are widespread and highly transferable, owing to their presence in a wide variety of mobile genetic elements.

Identification of tetracycline- and erythromycin-resistant Gram-positive cocci within the fermenting microflora of an Italian dairy food product

AIMS

Microbiological and molecular analysis of antibiotic resistance in Gram-positive cocci derived from the Italian PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) dairy food product Mozzarella di Bufala Campana.

METHODS AND RESULTS

One hundred and seven coccal colonies were assigned to Enterococcus faecalis, Lactococcus lactis and Streptococcus bovis genera by ARDRA analysis (amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis). Among them, 16 Ent. faecalis, 26 L. lactis and 39 Strep. bovis displayed high minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for tetracycline, while 17 L. lactis showed high MIC values for both tetracycline and erythromycin. Strain typing and molecular analysis of the phenotypically resistant isolates demonstrated the presence of the tet(M) gene in the tetracycline-resistant strains and of tet(S) and erm(B) in the double-resistant strains. Southern blot analysis revealed plasmid localization of L. lactis tet(M), as well as of the erm(B) and tet(S) genes. Genetic linkage of erm(B) and tet(S) was also demonstrated by PCR amplification. Conjugation experiments demonstrated horizontal transfer to Ent. faecalis strain JH2-2 only for the plasmid-borne L. lactis tet(M) gene.

CONCLUSIONS

We characterized tetracycline-and erythromycin-resistance genes in coccal species, representing the fermenting microflora of a typical Italian dairy product.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

These results are of particular relevance from the food safety viewpoint, especially in the light of the potential risk of horizontal transfer of antibiotic-resistance genes among foodborne commensal bacteria.

Molecular characterisation of Vibrio cholerae O1 strains carrying an SXT/R391-like element from cholera outbreaks in Kenya: 1994-2007

BACKGROUND

Over the last decade, cholera outbreaks in parts of Kenya have become common. Although a number of recent studies describe the epidemiology of cholera in Kenya, there is paucity of information concerning the diversity and occurrence of mobile genetic elements in Vibrio cholerae strains implicated in these outbreaks. A total of 65 Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor serotype Inaba isolated between 1994 and 2007 from various outbreaks in Kenya were investigated for mobile genetic elements including integrons, transposons, the integrating conjugative elements (ICEs), conjugative plasmids and for their genotypic relatedness.

RESULTS

All the strains were haemolytic on 5% sheep blood and positive for the Vibrio cholerae El Tor-specific haemolysin toxin gene (hylA) by PCR. They all contained strB, sulII, floR and the dfrA1 genes encoding resistance to streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, chloramphenicol and trimethoprim respectively. These genes, together with an ICE belonging to the SXT/R391 family were transferable to the rifampicin-resistant E. coli C600 en bloc. All the strains were negative for integron class 1, 2 and 3 and for transposase gene of transposon Tn7 but were positive for integron class 4 and the trpM gene of transposon Tn21. No plasmids were isolated from any of the 65 strains. All the strains were also positive for all V. cholera El Tor pathogenic genes except the NAG- specific heat-stable toxin (st) gene. None of the strains were positive for virulence genes associated with the V. cholerae classical biotype. All the strains were positive for El Tor-specific CTXphi bacteriophage rstrR repressor gene (CTXETPhi) but negative for the Classical, Calcutta, and the Environmental repressor types. Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) showed that regardless of the year of isolation, all the strains bearing the SXT element were clonally related.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that the V. cholerae O1 strains carrying an SXT/R391-like element implicated in recent cholera outbreaks in Kenya has not changed significantly between 1994 and 2007 and are clonally related.

Comparative ICE genomics: insights into the evolution of the SXT/R391 family of ICEs

Integrating and conjugative elements (ICEs) are one of the three principal types of self-transmissible mobile genetic elements in bacteria. ICEs, like plasmids, transfer via conjugation; but unlike plasmids and similar to many phages, these elements integrate into and replicate along with the host chromosome. Members of the SXT/R391 family of ICEs have been isolated from several species of gram-negative bacteria, including Vibrio cholerae, the cause of cholera, where they have been important vectors for disseminating genes conferring resistance to antibiotics. Here we developed a plasmid-based system to capture and isolate SXT/R391 ICEs for sequencing. Comparative analyses of the genomes of 13 SXT/R391 ICEs derived from diverse hosts and locations revealed that they contain 52 perfectly syntenic and nearly identical core genes that serve as a scaffold capable of mobilizing an array of variable DNA. Furthermore, selection pressure to maintain ICE mobility appears to have restricted insertions of variable DNA into intergenic sites that do not interrupt core functions. The variable genes confer diverse element-specific phenotypes, such as resistance to antibiotics. Functional analysis of a set of deletion mutants revealed that less than half of the conserved core genes are required for ICE mobility; the functions of most of the dispensable core genes are unknown. Several lines of evidence suggest that there has been extensive recombination between SXT/R391 ICEs, resulting in re-assortment of their respective variable gene content. Furthermore, our analyses suggest that there may be a network of phylogenetic relationships among sequences found in all types of mobile genetic elements.

Mobile antibiotic resistance encoding elements promote their own diversity

Integrating conjugative elements (ICEs) are a class of bacterial mobile genetic elements that disseminate via conjugation and then integrate into the host cell genome. The SXT/R391 family of ICEs consists of more than 30 different elements that all share the same integration site in the host chromosome but often encode distinct properties. These elements contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in several gram-negative bacteria including Vibrio cholerae, the agent of cholera. Here, using comparative analyses of the genomes of several SXT/R391 ICEs, we found evidence that the genomes of these elements have been shaped by inter–ICE recombination. We developed a high throughput semi-quantitative method to explore the genetic determinants involved in hybrid ICE formation. Recombinant ICE formation proved to be relatively frequent, and to depend on host (recA) and ICE (s065 and s066) loci, which can independently and potentially cooperatively mediate hybrid ICE formation. s065 and s066, which are found in all SXT/R391 ICEs, are orthologues of the bacteriophage λ Red recombination genes bet and exo, and the s065/s066 recombination system is the first Red-like recombination pathway to be described in a conjugative element. Neither ICE excision nor conjugative transfer proved to be essential for generation of hybrid ICEs. Instead conjugation facilitates the segregation of hybrids and could provide a means to select for functional recombinant ICEs containing novel combinations of genes conferring resistance to antibiotics. Thus, ICEs promote their own diversity and can yield novel mobile elements capable of disseminating new combinations of antibiotic resistance genes.

Integrating and conjugative elements (ICEs) are a class of mobile elements found in diverse bacteria. ICEs of the SXT/R391 family have enabled the dissemination of genes conferring resistance to antibiotics among several important pathogens, including Vibrio cholerae, the agent of cholera. Here, using comparative analyses of the genomes of several SXT/R391 ICEs, we found that these elements are mosaics that have been shaped by inter–ICE recombination. We developed a plate-based method for semi-quantitative analyses of the genetic requirements for hybrid ICE formation. We discovered that hybrids form at relatively high frequencies and that both host and ICE genes can function independently and potentially cooperatively to mediate hybrid formation. The ICE–encoded recombination genes, which are found in all SXT/R391 ICEs, are related to genes that mediate recombination in bacteriophages, but have not been described previously in conjugative elements. Conjugative ICE transfer was not required for hybrid ICE formation but facilitates the segregation of hybrids. Thus, ICEs promote their own diversity and the generation of recombinant ICEs can yield novel mobile elements capable of disseminating new combinations of antibiotic resistance genes.

The diversity of conjugative relaxases and its application in plasmid classification

Bacterial conjugation is an efficient and sophisticated mechanism of DNA transfer among bacteria. While mobilizable plasmids only encode a minimal MOB machinery that allows them to be transported by other plasmids, conjugative plasmids encode a complete set of transfer genes (MOB1T4SS). The only essential ingredient of the MOB machinery is the relaxase, the protein that initiates and terminates conjugative DNA processing. In this review we compared the sequences and properties of the relaxase proteins contained in gene sequence databases. Proteins were arranged in families and phylogenetic trees constructed from the family alignments. This allowed the classification of conjugative transfer systems in six MOB families:MOB(F), MOB(H), MOB(Q), MOB(C), MOB(P) and MOB(V). The main characteristics of each family were reviewed. The phylogenetic relationships of the coupling proteins were also analysed and resulted in phylogenies congruent to those of the cognate relaxases. We propose that the sequences of plasmid relaxases can be used for plasmid classification. We hope our effort will provide researchers with a useful tool for further mining and analysing the plasmid universe both experimentally and in silico.

A toxin-antitoxin system promotes the maintenance of an integrative conjugative element

SXT is an integrative and conjugative element (ICE) that confers resistance to multiple antibiotics upon many clinical isolates of Vibrio cholerae. In most cells, this ∼100 Kb element is integrated into the host genome in a site-specific fashion; however, SXT can excise to form an extrachromosomal circle that is thought to be the substrate for conjugative transfer. Daughter cells lacking SXT can theoretically arise if cell division occurs prior to the element's reintegration. Even though ∼2% of SXT-bearing cells contain the excised form of the ICE, cells that have lost the element have not been detected. Here, using a positive selection-based system, SXT loss was detected rarely at a frequency of ∼1×10⁻⁷. As expected, excision appears necessary for loss, and factors influencing the frequency of excision altered the frequency of SXT loss. We screened the entire 100 kb SXT genome and identified two genes within SXT, now designated mosA and mosT (for maintenance of SXT Antitoxin and Toxin), that promote SXT stability. These two genes, which lack similarity to any previously characterized genes, encode a novel toxin-antitoxin pair; expression of mosT greatly impaired cell growth and mosA expression ameliorated MosT toxicity. Factors that promote SXT excision upregulate mosAT expression. Thus, when the element is extrachromosomal and vulnerable to loss, SXT activates a TA module to minimize the formation of SXT-free cells.

Integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are a diverse group of mobile genetic elements found in many bacteria. These elements integrate into the host chromosome as well as excise and transfer to other bacteria. SXT, an ICE that encodes resistances to multiple antibiotics, is currently present in most clinical isolates of V. cholerae, the cause of cholera. Cells in which SXT is excised can potentially lose the ICE if cell division occurs prior to its re-integration, but explorations of mechanisms that promote ICE maintenance have received almost no attention. Using a positive selection-based strategy to detect SXT loss, we found that loss of this ICE was very rare (1 in 10⁷ cells). Two genes, mosAT, that lack similarity to genes of known function were found to promote SXT maintenance. We show that MosT blocks cell growth in the absence of SXT and its activity can be neutralized by MosA. Thus, these genes encode a functional toxin–antitoxin (TA) system. When SXT is extrachromosomal and vulnerable to loss, mosAT expression increases, minimizing the formation of SXT-free cells. The activity of mosAT may contribute to the maintenance of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations.

Vibrio cholerae O139 multiple-drug resistance mediated by Yersinia pestis pIP1202-like conjugative plasmids

A conjugative plasmid, pMRV150, which mediated multiple-drug resistance (MDR) to at least six antibiotics, including ampicillin, streptomycin, gentamicin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, was identified in a Vibrio cholerae O139 isolate from Hangzhou, eastern China, in 2004. According to partial pMRV150 DNA sequences covering 15 backbone regions, the plasmid is most similar to pIP1202, an IncA/C plasmid in an MDR Yersinia pestis isolate from a Madagascar bubonic plague patient, at an identity of 99.99% (22,180/22,183 nucleotides). pMRV150-like plasmids were found in only 7.69% (1/13) of the O139 isolates tested during the early period of the O139 epidemic in Hangzhou (1994, 1996, and 1997); then the frequency increased gradually from 60.00% (3/5) during 1998 and 1999 to 92.16% (47/51) during 2000 to 2006. Most (42/51) of the O139 isolates bearing pMRV150-like plasmids were resistant to five to six antibiotics, whereas the plasmid-negative isolates were resistant only to one to three antibiotics. In 12 plasmid-bearing O139 isolates tested, the pMRV150-like plasmids ranged from approximately 140 kb to 170 kb and remained at approximately 1 or 2 copies per cell. High (4.50 x 10(-2) and 3.08 x 10(-2)) and low (0.88 x 10(-8) to 3.29 x 10(-5)) plasmid transfer frequencies, as well as no plasmid transfer (under the detection limit), from these O139 isolates to the Escherichia coli recipient were observed. The emergence of pMRV150-like or pIP1202-like plasmids in many bacterial pathogens and nonpathogens occupying diverse niches with global geographical distribution indicates an increasing risk to public health worldwide. Careful tracking of these plasmids in the microbial ecosystem is warranted.

Identification of the origin of transfer (oriT) and a new gene required for mobilization of the SXT/R391 family of integrating conjugative elements

Integrating conjugative elements (ICEs) are self-transmissible, mobile elements that are widespread among bacteria. Following their excision from the chromosome, ICEs transfer by conjugation, a process initiated by a single-stranded DNA break at a specific locus called the origin of transfer (oriT). The SXT/R391 family of ICEs includes SXT(MO10), R391, and more than 25 related ICEs found in gammaproteobacteria. A previous study mapped the oriT locus of SXT(MO10) to a 550-bp intergenic region between traD and s043. We suspected that this was not the correct oriT locus, because the identical traD-s043 region in R391 and other SXT/R391 family ICEs was annotated as a gene of an unknown function. Here, we investigated the location and structure of the oriT locus in the ICEs of the SXT/R391 family and demonstrated that oriT(SXT) corresponds to a 299-bp sequence that contains multiple imperfect direct and inverted repeats and is located in the intergenic region between s003 and rumB'. The oriT(SXT) locus is well conserved among SXT/R391 ICEs, like R391, R997, and pMERPH, and cross-recognition of oriT(SXT) and oriT(R391) by R391 and SXT(MO10) was demonstrated. Furthermore, we identified a previously unannotated gene, mobI, located immediately downstream from oriT(SXT), which proved to be essential for SXT(MO10) transfer and SXT(MO10)-mediated chromosomal DNA mobilization. Deletion of mobI did not impair the SXT(MO10)-dependent transfer of the mobilizable plasmid CloDF13, suggesting that mobI has no role in the assembly of the SXT(MO10) mating pair apparatus. Instead, mobI appears to be involved in the recognition of oriT(SXT).

Transferable, multiple antibiotic and mercury resistance in Atlantic Canadian isolates of Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida is associated with carriage of an IncA/C plasmid similar to the Salmonella enterica plasmid pSN254

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to examine the molecular basis for multiple antibiotic and mercury resistance in Canadian isolates of Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida.

METHODS

Phenotypic and genotypic methods were employed to identify plasmid-associated antibiotic and mercury resistance genes and to determine the organization of those genes in multidrug-resistant (MDR) A. salmonicida isolates.

RESULTS

The MDR phenotype was transferable via conjugation using Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila and Edwardseilla tarda as recipients. Antibiotic and mercury resistance genes were carried by a conjugative IncA/C plasmid. Three distinct antibiotic resistance cassettes were characterized; first a class I integron containing an aadA7 gene encoding for an aminoglycoside-3'-adenyltransferase, the second cassette showed 99.9% nucleotide sequence homology to a cassette previously identified in the Salmonella enterica IncA/C plasmid pSN254, containing floR, tetA, sulII and strA/strB sequences. The third cassette showed 100% nucleotide sequence similarity to a transposon-like element, containing a bla(CMY-2) beta-lactamase in association with sugE and blc sequences. This element is known to be widely distributed among clinical and food-borne Salmonella and other Enterobacteriaceae throughout Asia and the United States. Mercury resistance was linked to the presence of a mer operon that showed 100% nucleotide sequence homology to the mer operon carried by plasmid pSN254.

CONCLUSIONS

Each MDR A. salmonicida isolate carried the same plasmid, which was related to plasmid pSN254. This is the first report of plasmid-mediated florfenicol-resistant A. salmonicida in North America. In addition, it is the first report of a plasmid-associated AmpC beta-lactamase sequence in a member of the Aeromonadaceae.

Genomic and functional analysis of ICEPdaSpa1, a fish-pathogen-derived SXT-related integrating conjugative element that can mobilize a virulence plasmid

Integrating conjugative elements (ICEs) are self-transmissible mobile elements that transfer between bacteria via conjugation and integrate into the host chromosome. SXT and related ICEs became prevalent in Asian Vibrio cholerae populations in the 1990s and play an important role in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in V. cholerae. Here, we carried out genomic and functional analyses of ICEPdaSpa1, an SXT-related ICE derived from a Spanish isolate of Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida, the causative agent of fish pasteurellosis. The approximately 102-kb DNA sequence of ICEPdaSpa1 shows nearly 97% DNA sequence identity to SXT in genes that encode essential ICE functions, including integration and excision, conjugal transfer, and regulation. However, approximately 25 kb of ICEPdaSpa1 DNA, including a tetracycline resistance locus, is not present in SXT. Most ICEPdaSpa1-specific DNA is inserted at loci where other SXT-related ICEs harbor element-specific DNA. ICEPdaSpa1 excises itself from the chromosome and is transmissible to other Photobacterium strains, as well as to Escherichia coli, in which it integrates into prfC. Interestingly, the P. damselae virulence plasmid pPHDP10 could be mobilized from E. coli in an ICEPdaSpa1-dependent fashion via the formation of a cointegrate between pPHDP10 and ICEPdaSpa1. pPHDP10-Cm integrated into ICEPdaSpa1 in a non-site-specific fashion independently of RecA. The ICEPdaSpa1::pPHDP10 cointegrates were stable, and markers from both elements became transmissible at frequencies similar to those observed for the transfer of ICEPdaSpa1 alone. Our findings reveal the plasticity of ICE genomes and demonstrate that ICEs can enable virulence gene transfer.

The SOS Regulatory Network

All organisms possess a diverse set of genetic programs that are used to alter cellular physiology in response to environmental cues. The gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli, mounts what is known as the "SOS response" following DNA damage, replication fork arrest, and a myriad of other environmental stresses. For over 50 years, E. coli has served as the paradigm for our understanding of the transcriptional, and physiological changes that occur following DNA damage (400). In this chapter, we summarize the current view of the SOS response and discuss how this genetic circuit is regulated. In addition to examining the E. coli SOS response, we also include a discussion of the SOS regulatory networks in other bacteria to provide a broader perspective on how prokaryotes respond to DNA damage.

Theorf4 gene of the enterobacterial ICE, R391, encodes a novel UV-inducible recombination directionality factor, Jef, involved in excision and transfer of the ICE

The enterobacterial mobile genetic element R391, the prototype ICE (integrating-conjugative element) of the SXT/R391 family, shows increased conjugative transfer following UV irradiation. This is dependent on a functioning R391 orf4 gene, which is adjacent to the element encoded integrase gene, int. orf4 mutants fail to form a detectable circular transfer intermediate, do not show UV induced transfer and show a much reduced general transfer ability. The orf4 gene product, termed Jef (IncJ excision factor), shows little homology to anything currently in the nucleotide or protein databases. It is predicted to encode a 66 amino acid, 8.03 kDa, basic, DNA-binding protein with an iso-electric point of pH 8.1: these characteristics being similar to those of recombinational directionality factors involved in excision. Jef expression is up-regulated upon UV irradiation as demonstrated by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR and is controlled by two element encoded genes orf90 and orf91, which show similarity to the transcriptional activator complex FlhC and FlhD. orf4, orf90 and orf91 are conserved in all the SXT/R391-like elements sequenced to date including SXT, ICESpuPO1 and ICEVchMex1. orf4 is also conserved in other SXT/R391 family members such as R997, R392, R705 and pMERPH as shown by sequencing amplicons from these ICEs generated using orf4 specific primers.

Determinants of entry exclusion within Eex and TraG are cytoplasmic

We report here functional and topological analyses of TraG and Eex, the donor and recipient cell inner membrane proteins that mediate entry exclusion in the SXT/R391 family of integrative conjugative elements. We found that the exclusion-determining regions of the Eex variants EexS (SXT) and EexR (R391) are located in distinct yet overlapping regions of the proteins. Unexpectedly, the carboxyl-terminal regions of TraG and Eex, which contain the residues essential for exclusion activity and specificity, were found to localize in the cell cytoplasm. These observations suggest that complex topological rearrangements of conjugative proteins must occur during mating to enable these domains to interact.

Molecular characterization of ICEVchVie0 and its disappearance in Vibrio cholerae O1 strains isolated in 2003 in Vietnam

We analyzed 28 epidemic Vibrio cholerae O1 strains isolated in the region of Thua Thien Hue (Vietnam) in 2003. Ubiquitous amoxicillin, prevalent aminoglycosides and sporadic erythromycin resistances were observed. All were devoid of plasmids, class 1 integrons and ICEs and showed the same BglI ribotype, irrespective of their site of isolation and resistance pattern. A strain isolated in 1990 in the same area was resistant to amoxicillin and aminoglycosides but characterized by a different ribotype. This strain contained ICEVchVie0, belonging to the SXT/R391 ICE family, devoid of any resistance cluster. The molecular analysis of three conserved and six variable regions outlined an original genetic profile. ICEs not coding for resistance to drugs seem to be more frequent than supposed, and this finding reinforces the idea that the SXT/R391 family of genetic elements is wide and composite. The clearance of ICEVchVie0 in the 2003 epidemic may be explained by the lack of any resistance determinant as a favorable selective marker.

The SXT/R391 family of integrative conjugative elements is composed of two exclusion groups

Conjugative elements often encode entry exclusion systems that convert host cells into poor recipients for identical or similar elements. The diversity of exclusion systems within families of conjugative elements has received little attention. We report here the most comprehensive study to date of the diversity of exclusion determinants within a single family of conjugative elements. Unexpectedly, our analyses indicate that there are only two exclusion groups among the diverse members of the SXT/R391 family of integrative conjugative elements.