1
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Eslami SM, van der Donk WA. Proteases Involved in Leader Peptide Removal during RiPP Biosynthesis. ACS BIO & MED CHEM AU 2024; 4:20-36. [PMID: 38404746 PMCID: PMC10885120 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomedchemau.3c00059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) have received much attention in recent years because of their promising bioactivities and the portability of their biosynthetic pathways. Heterologous expression studies of RiPP biosynthetic enzymes identified by genome mining often leave a leader peptide on the final product to prevent toxicity to the host and to allow the attachment of a genetically encoded affinity purification tag. Removal of the leader peptide to produce the mature natural product is then carried out in vitro with either a commercial protease or a protease that fulfills this task in the producing organism. This review covers the advances in characterizing these latter cognate proteases from bacterial RiPPs and their utility as sequence-dependent proteases. The strategies employed for leader peptide removal have been shown to be remarkably diverse. They include one-step removal by a single protease, two-step removal by two dedicated proteases, and endoproteinase activity followed by aminopeptidase activity by the same protease. Similarly, the localization of the proteolytic step varies from cytoplasmic cleavage to leader peptide removal during secretion to extracellular leader peptide removal. Finally, substrate recognition ranges from highly sequence specific with respect to the leader and/or modified core peptide to nonsequence specific mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara M. Eslami
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Illinois at
Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, University of
Illinois at Urbana−Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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2
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Uniacke-Lowe S, Collins FWJ, Hill C, Ross RP. Bioactivity Screening and Genomic Analysis Reveals Deep-Sea Fish Microbiome Isolates as Sources of Novel Antimicrobials. Mar Drugs 2023; 21:444. [PMID: 37623725 PMCID: PMC10456417 DOI: 10.3390/md21080444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
With the increase in antimicrobial resistance and the subsequent demand for novel therapeutics, the deep-sea fish microbiome can be a relatively untapped source of antimicrobials, including bacteriocins. Previously, bacterial isolates were recovered from the gut of deep-sea fish sampled from the Atlantic Ocean.In this study, we used in vitro methods to screen a subset of these isolates for antimicrobial activity, and subsequently mined genomic DNA from isolates of interest for bacteriocin and other antimicrobial metabolite genes. We observed antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus faecalis and Micrococcus luteus. In total, 147 candidate biosynthetic gene clusters were identified in the genomic sequences, including 35 bacteriocin/RiPP-like clusters. Other bioactive metabolite genes detected included non-ribosomal peptide synthases (NRPS), polyketide synthases (PKS; Types 1 and 3), beta-lactones and terpenes. Moreover, four unique bacteriocin gene clusters were annotated and shown to encode novel peptides: a class IIc bacteriocin, two class IId bacteriocins and a class I lanthipeptide (LanM subgroup). Our dual in vitro and in silico approach allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of the bacteriocinogenic potential of these deep-sea isolates and an insight into the antimicrobial molecules that they may produce.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shona Uniacke-Lowe
- Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, T12 K8AF Cork, Ireland
- APC Microbiome Ireland, T12 K8AF Cork, Ireland
- Teagasc Food Research Centre, P61 C996 Fermoy, Ireland
| | | | - Colin Hill
- Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, T12 K8AF Cork, Ireland
- APC Microbiome Ireland, T12 K8AF Cork, Ireland
| | - R Paul Ross
- Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, T12 K8AF Cork, Ireland
- APC Microbiome Ireland, T12 K8AF Cork, Ireland
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3
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Wang X, Chen X, Wang ZJ, Zhuang M, Zhong L, Fu C, Garcia R, Müller R, Zhang Y, Yan J, Wu D, Huo L. Discovery and Characterization of a Myxobacterial Lanthipeptide with Unique Biosynthetic Features and Anti-inflammatory Activity. J Am Chem Soc 2023. [PMID: 37466996 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c06014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
The genomes of myxobacteria harbor a variety of biosynthetic gene clusters encoding numerous secondary metabolites, including ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) with diverse chemical structures and biological activities. However, the biosynthetic potential of RiPPs from myxobacteria remains barely explored. Herein, we report a novel myxobacteria lanthipeptide myxococin identified from Myxococcus fulvus. Myxococins represent the first example of lanthipeptides, of which the characteristic multiple thioether rings are installed by employing a Class II lanthipeptide synthetase MfuM and a Class I lanthipeptide cyclase MfuC in a cascaded way. Unprecedentedly, we biochemically characterized the first M61 family aminopeptidase MfuP involved in RiPP biosynthesis, demonstrating that MfuP showed the activity of an endopeptidase activity. MfuP is leader-independent but strictly selective for the multibridge structure of myxococin A and responsible for unwrapping two rings via amide bond hydrolysis, yielding myxococin B. Furthermore, the X-ray crystal structure of MfuP and structural analysis, including active-site mutations, are reported. Finally, myxococins are evaluated to exhibit anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide-induced macrophages without detectable cytotoxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaotong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoyu Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Zong-Jie Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Mengwei Zhuang
- Department of Diagnostics, Medical Integration and Practice Center, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Lin Zhong
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, Chin
| | - Chengzhang Fu
- Helmholtz International Laboratory, Department of Microbial Natural Products (MINS), Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Department of Pharmacy at Saarland University, Campus E8 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Campus E8 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Ronald Garcia
- Helmholtz International Laboratory, Department of Microbial Natural Products (MINS), Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Department of Pharmacy at Saarland University, Campus E8 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Campus E8 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Rolf Müller
- Helmholtz International Laboratory, Department of Microbial Natural Products (MINS), Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Department of Pharmacy at Saarland University, Campus E8 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Campus E8 1, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Youming Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Jie Yan
- Department of Diagnostics, Medical Integration and Practice Center, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China
| | - Dalei Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
| | - Liujie Huo
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
- Helmholtz International Lab for Anti-Infectives, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, P. R. China
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4
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Structure and Activity Relationships of the Two-Component Lantibiotic Bicereucin. ACS Infect Dis 2022; 8:2529-2539. [PMID: 36354217 DOI: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Identified from the pathogen Bacillus cereus SJ1, the two-component lantibiotic bicereucin is featured by the presence of a series of nonproteogenic amino acids and exhibits potent synergistic activity against a broad spectrum of Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci, as well as hemolytic activity against mammalian cells. In this study, we performed site-directed mutagenesis on the nonproteogenic amino acids as well as truncation of dehydrobutyrine-rich N-terminal residues and evaluated the effects on both biological activities. We identified that D-Ala21 and D-Ala26 of Bsjα and D-Ala23 and D-Ala28 of Bsjβ play an essential role in the antimicrobial activity, while the N-termini of both peptides are important for both activities. We also determined that the integrity of both subunits is essential for hemolytic activity. Finally, we obtained two variants BsjαtS17A+Bsjβ and BsjαS30A+BsjβT19A, which retained the antimicrobial activity and exhibited greatly decreased hemolytic toxicity. Overall, our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the structure-activity relationships of bicereucin and insights into the mechanism of action thereof, facilitating the further exploration of the molecular basis of the binding receptor of bicereucin and genome mining of potential novel two-component lantibiotics.
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5
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Ongpipattanakul C, Desormeaux EK, DiCaprio A, van der Donk WA, Mitchell DA, Nair SK. Mechanism of Action of Ribosomally Synthesized and Post-Translationally Modified Peptides. Chem Rev 2022; 122:14722-14814. [PMID: 36049139 PMCID: PMC9897510 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a natural product class that has undergone significant expansion due to the rapid growth in genome sequencing data and recognition that they are made by biosynthetic pathways that share many characteristic features. Their mode of actions cover a wide range of biological processes and include binding to membranes, receptors, enzymes, lipids, RNA, and metals as well as use as cofactors and signaling molecules. This review covers the currently known modes of action (MOA) of RiPPs. In turn, the mechanisms by which these molecules interact with their natural targets provide a rich set of molecular paradigms that can be used for the design or evolution of new or improved activities given the relative ease of engineering RiPPs. In this review, coverage is limited to RiPPs originating from bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chayanid Ongpipattanakul
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Emily K. Desormeaux
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Adam DiCaprio
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Department of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Departments of Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Corresponding authors Wilfred A. van der Donk, , 217-244-5360, Douglas A. Mitchell, , 217-333-1345, Satish K. Nair, , 217-333-0641
| | - Douglas A. Mitchell
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Departments of Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Corresponding authors Wilfred A. van der Donk, , 217-244-5360, Douglas A. Mitchell, , 217-333-1345, Satish K. Nair, , 217-333-0641
| | - Satish K. Nair
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Departments of Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.,Corresponding authors Wilfred A. van der Donk, , 217-244-5360, Douglas A. Mitchell, , 217-333-1345, Satish K. Nair, , 217-333-0641
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6
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Venkateswaran P, Lakshmanan PM, Muthukrishnan S, Bhagavathi H, Vasudevan S, Neelakantan P, Solomon AP. Hidden agenda of Enterococcus faecalis lifestyle transition: planktonic to sessile state. Future Microbiol 2022; 17:1051-1069. [PMID: 35899477 DOI: 10.2217/fmb-2021-0212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Enterococcus faecalis, a human gastrointestinal tract commensal, is known to cause nosocomial infections. Interestingly, the pathogen's host colonization and persistent infections are possibly linked to its lifestyle changes from planktonic to sessile state. Also, the multidrug resistance and survival fitness acquired in the sessile stage of E. faecalis has challenged treatment regimes. This situation exists because of the critical role played by several root genes and their molecular branches, which are part of quorum sensing, aggregation substance, surface adhesions, stress-related response and sex pheromones in the sessile state. It is therefore imperative to decode the hidden agenda of E. faecalis and understand the significant factors influencing biofilm formation. This would, in turn, augment the development of novel strategies to tackle E. faecalis infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parvathy Venkateswaran
- Quorum Sensing Laboratory, Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID), School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Thanjavur, 613401, India
| | - Priya M Lakshmanan
- Quorum Sensing Laboratory, Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID), School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Thanjavur, 613401, India
| | - Sudhiksha Muthukrishnan
- Quorum Sensing Laboratory, Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID), School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Thanjavur, 613401, India
| | - Hema Bhagavathi
- Quorum Sensing Laboratory, Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID), School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Thanjavur, 613401, India
| | - Sahana Vasudevan
- Quorum Sensing Laboratory, Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID), School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Thanjavur, 613401, India
| | | | - Adline P Solomon
- Quorum Sensing Laboratory, Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID), School of Chemical & Biotechnology, SASTRA Deemed to be University, Thanjavur, 613401, India
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7
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Wu Y, Pang X, Wu Y, Liu X, Zhang X. Enterocins: Classification, Synthesis, Antibacterial Mechanisms and Food Applications. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27072258. [PMID: 35408657 PMCID: PMC9000605 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27072258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Enterococci, a type of lactic acid bacteria, are widely distributed in various environments and are part of the normal flora in the intestinal tract of humans and animals. Although enterococci have gradually evolved pathogenic strains causing nosocomial infections in recent years, the non-pathogenic strains have still been widely used as probiotics and feed additives. Enterococcus can produce enterocin, which are bacteriocins considered as ribosomal peptides that kill or inhibit the growth of other microorganisms. This paper reviews the classification, synthesis, antibacterial mechanisms and applications of enterocins, and discusses the prospects for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajing Wu
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.W.); (X.P.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Xinxin Pang
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.W.); (X.P.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Yansha Wu
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.W.); (X.P.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Xiayu Liu
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.W.); (X.P.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
| | - Xinglin Zhang
- Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China; (Y.W.); (X.P.); (Y.W.); (X.L.)
- College of Agriculture and Forestry, Linyi University, Linyi 276005, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-571-86984316
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8
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Li H, Tan Y, Zhang D. Genomic discovery and structural dissection of a novel type of polymorphic toxin system in gram-positive bacteria. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:4517-4531. [PMID: 36051883 PMCID: PMC9424270 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.08.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacteria have developed several molecular conflict systems to facilitate kin recognition and non-kin competition to gain advantages in the acquisition of growth niches and of limited resources. One such example is a large class of so-called polymorphic toxin systems (PTSs), which comprise a variety of the toxin proteins secreted via T2SS, T5SS, T6SS, T7SS and many others. These systems are highly divergent in terms of sequence/structure, domain architecture, toxin-immunity association, and organization of the toxin loci, which makes it difficult to identify and characterize novel systems using traditional experimental and bioinformatic strategies. In recent years, we have been developing and utilizing unique genome-mining strategies and pipelines, based on the organizational principles of both domain architectures and genomic loci of PTSs, for an effective and comprehensive discovery of novel PTSs, dissection of their components, and prediction of their structures and functions. In this study, we present our systematic discovery of a new type of PTS (S8-PTS) in several gram-positive bacteria. We show that the S8-PTS contains three components: a peptidase of the S8 family (subtilases), a polymorphic toxin, and an immunity protein. We delineated the typical organization of these polymorphic toxins, in which a N-terminal signal peptide is followed by a potential receptor binding domain, BetaH, and one of 16 toxin domains. We classified each toxin domain by the distinct superfamily to which it belongs, identifying nine BECR ribonucleases, one Restriction Endonuclease, one HNH nuclease, two novel toxin domains homologous to the VOC enzymes, one toxin domain with the Frataxin-like fold, and several other unique toxin families such as Ntox33 and HicA. Accordingly, we identified 20 immunity families and classified them into different classes of folds. Further, we show that the S8-PTS-associated peptidases are analogous to many other processing peptidases found in T5SS, T7SS, T9SS, and many proprotein-processing peptidases, indicating that they function to release the toxin domains during secretion. The S8-PTSs are mostly found in animal and plant-associated bacteria, including many pathogens. We propose S8-PTSs will facilitate the competition of these bacteria with other microbes or contribute to the pathogen-host interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan Li
- Department of Biology, College of Arts & Sciences, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63103, USA
| | - Yongjun Tan
- Department of Biology, College of Arts & Sciences, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63103, USA
| | - Dapeng Zhang
- Department of Biology, College of Arts & Sciences, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63103, USA
- Program of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, College of Arts & Sciences, Saint Louis University, MO 63103, USA
- Corresponding author at: Department of Biology, College of Arts & Sciences, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63103, USA.
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9
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Characterization of the Biosynthetic Gene Cluster of Enterocin F4-9, a Glycosylated Bacteriocin. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9112276. [PMID: 34835402 PMCID: PMC8620827 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9112276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Enterocin F4-9 belongs to the glycocin family having post-translational modifications by two molecules of N-acetylglucosamine β-O-linked to Ser37 and Thr46. In this study, the biosynthetic gene cluster of enterocin F4-9 was cloned and expressed in Enterococcus faecalis JH2-2. Production of glycocin by the JH2-2 expression strain was confirmed by expression of the five genes. The molecular weight was greater than glycocin secreted by the wild strain, E. faecalis F4-9, because eight amino acids from the N-terminal leader sequence remained attached. This N-terminal extension was eliminated after treatment with the culture supernatant of strain F4-9, implying an extracellular protease from E. faecalis F4-9 cleaves the N-terminal sequence. Thus, leader sequences cleavage requires two steps: the first via the EnfT protease domain and the second via extracellular proteases. Interestingly, the long peptide, with N-terminal extension, demonstrated advanced antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, enfC was responsible for glycosylation, a necessary step prior to secretion and cleavage of the leader peptide. In addition, enfI was found to grant self-immunity to producer cells against enterocin F4-9. This report demonstrates specifications of the minimal gene set responsible for production of enterocin F4-9, as well as a new biosynthetic mechanism of glycocins.
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10
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Biology and applications of co-produced, synergistic antimicrobials from environmental bacteria. Nat Microbiol 2021; 6:1118-1128. [PMID: 34446927 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-021-00952-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Environmental bacteria, such as Streptomyces spp., produce specialized metabolites that are potent antibiotics and therapeutics. Selected specialized antimicrobials are co-produced and function together synergistically. Co-produced antimicrobials comprise multiple chemical classes and are produced by a wide variety of bacteria in different environmental niches, suggesting that their combined functions are ecologically important. Here, we highlight the exquisite mechanisms that underlie the simultaneous production and functional synergy of 16 sets of co-produced antimicrobials. To date, antibiotic and antifungal discovery has focused mainly on single molecules, but we propose that methods to target co-produced antimicrobials could widen the scope and applications of discovery programs.
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11
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Lengliz S, Abbassi MS, Rehaiem A, Ben Chehida N, Najar T. Characterization of bacteriocinogenic Enterococcus isolates from wild and laboratory rabbits for the selection of autochthonous probiotic strains in Tunisia. J Appl Microbiol 2021; 131:1474-1486. [PMID: 33629433 DOI: 10.1111/jam.15047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
AIM The objective of this study was to characterize lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from rabbits to be used as potential autochthonous probiotic. METHODS AND RESULTS Fifteen faecal samples were collected from wild and laboratory rabbits. One hundred and eight isolates were collected and tested for their inhibitory power against eight pathogenic bacteria. Among them, 43 Enterococcus isolates were able to inhibit at least one pathogen. Enterocine genes entA, entB and entP were detected in 14, 17 and 22 isolates, respectively. These isolates were tested for their antibiotic susceptibility and genes encoding virulence factors. Relevant phenotypes of antibiotic resistance were observed especially for ampicillin, vancomycin and linezolid. The following virulence genes were detected (number of positive isolates): hyl (5), esp (8), gelE (30), agg (2), ace (21), efa (6), CylLL/s (5), cob (26), cpd (32) and ccf (33). Five isolates were considered as safe and showed tolerance to both acid and bile salt. CONCLUSION Bacteriocinogenic enterococci isolates from rabbits may show relevant resistance phenotypes and virulence factors. In addition, one Enterococcus durans isolate presents promising autochthonous probiotic candidate. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY This study reveals interesting properties for E. durans isolate and supports their utilization as autochthonous probiotic in rabbit husbandry.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Lengliz
- Laboratory of Materials, Molecules and Application, Preparatory Institute for Scientific and Technical Studies LR11ES22, University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia.,Institute of Veterinary Research of Tunisia, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - M S Abbassi
- Institute of Veterinary Research of Tunisia, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.,Faculty of Medecine of Tunis, Research Laboratory "Antimicrobial Resistance" LR99ES09, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - A Rehaiem
- Faculty of Medecine of Tunis, Research Laboratory "Antimicrobial Resistance" LR99ES09, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.,Laboratory of Microbiology, Charles Nicolle Hospital, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - N Ben Chehida
- Institute of Veterinary Research of Tunisia, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - T Najar
- Laboratory of Materials, Molecules and Application, Preparatory Institute for Scientific and Technical Studies LR11ES22, University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia.,Department of Animal Sciences, National Institute of Agronomy of Tunisia, University of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia
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12
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Bobeica SC, Zhu L, Acedo JZ, Tang W, van der Donk WA. Structural determinants of macrocyclization in substrate-controlled lanthipeptide biosynthetic pathways. Chem Sci 2020; 11:12854-12870. [PMID: 34094481 PMCID: PMC8163290 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc01651a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Lanthipeptides are characterized by thioether crosslinks formed by post-translational modifications. The cyclization process that favors a single ring pattern over many other possible ring patterns has been the topic of much speculation. Recent studies suggest that for some systems the cyclization pattern and stereochemistry is determined not by the enzyme, but by the sequence of the precursor peptide. However, the factors that govern the outcome of the cyclization process are not understood. This study presents the three-dimensional structures of seven lanthipeptides determined by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, including five prochlorosins and the two peptides that make up cytolysin, a virulence factor produced by Enterococcus faecalis that is directly linked to human disease. These peptides were chosen because their substrate sequence determines either the ring pattern (prochlorosins) or the stereochemistry of cyclization (cytolysins). We present the structures of prochlorosins 1.1, 2.1, 2.8, 2.10 and 2.11, the first three-dimensional structures of prochlorosins. Our findings provide insights into the molecular determinants of cyclization as well as why some prochlorosins may be better starting points for library generation than others. The structures of the large and small subunits of the enterococcal cytolysin show that these peptides have long helical stretches, a rare observation for lanthipeptides characterized to date. These helices may explain their pore forming activity and suggest that the small subunit may recognize a molecular target followed by recruitment of the large subunit to span the membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia C Bobeica
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 600 South Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA +1-217-244-8533 +1-217-244-5360
| | - Lingyang Zhu
- School of Chemical Sciences NMR Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 505 South Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA
| | - Jeella Z Acedo
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 600 South Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA +1-217-244-8533 +1-217-244-5360
| | - Weixin Tang
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 600 South Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA +1-217-244-8533 +1-217-244-5360
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 600 South Mathews Avenue Urbana Illinois 61801 USA +1-217-244-8533 +1-217-244-5360
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13
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Sanderson H, Ortega-Polo R, Zaheer R, Goji N, Amoako KK, Brown RS, Majury A, Liss SN, McAllister TA. Comparative genomics of multidrug-resistant Enterococcus spp. isolated from wastewater treatment plants. BMC Microbiol 2020; 20:20. [PMID: 31980014 PMCID: PMC6982392 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-019-1683-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered hotspots for the environmental dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants. Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE) are candidates for gauging the degree of AMR bacteria in wastewater. Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are recognized indicators of fecal contamination in water. Comparative genomics of enterococci isolated from conventional activated sludge (CAS) and biological aerated filter (BAF) WWTPs was conducted. RESULTS VRE isolates, including E. faecalis (n = 24), E. faecium (n = 11), E. casseliflavus (n = 2) and E. gallinarum (n = 2) were selected for sequencing based on WWTP source, species and AMR phenotype. The pangenomes of E. faecium and E. faecalis were both open. The genomic fraction related to the mobilome was positively correlated with genome size in E. faecium (p < 0.001) and E. faecalis (p < 0.001) and with the number of AMR genes in E. faecium (p = 0.005). Genes conferring vancomycin resistance, including vanA and vanM (E. faecium), vanG (E. faecalis), and vanC (E. casseliflavus/E. gallinarum), were detected in 20 genomes. The most prominent functional AMR genes were efflux pumps and transporters. A minimum of 16, 6, 5 and 3 virulence genes were detected in E. faecium, E. faecalis, E. casseliflavus and E. gallinarum, respectively. Virulence genes were more common in E. faecalis and E. faecium, than E. casseliflavus and E. gallinarum. A number of mobile genetic elements were shared among species. Functional CRISPR/Cas arrays were detected in 13 E. faecalis genomes, with all but one also containing a prophage. The lack of a functional CRISPR/Cas arrays was associated with multi-drug resistance in E. faecium. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated differential clustering of isolates based on original source but not WWTP. Genes related to phage and CRISPR/Cas arrays could potentially serve as environmental biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS There was no discernible difference between enterococcal genomes from the CAS and BAF WWTPs. E. faecalis and E. faecium have smaller genomes and harbor more virulence, AMR, and mobile genetic elements than other Enterococcus spp.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley Sanderson
- Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Center, 5403 1 Avenue South, PO Box 3000, Lethbridge, T1J 4B1 Canada
- School of Environmental Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, K7L 3N6 Canada
| | - Rodrigo Ortega-Polo
- Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Center, 5403 1 Avenue South, PO Box 3000, Lethbridge, T1J 4B1 Canada
| | - Rahat Zaheer
- Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Center, 5403 1 Avenue South, PO Box 3000, Lethbridge, T1J 4B1 Canada
| | - Noriko Goji
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National Centre for Animal Disease, Lethbridge Laboratory, Lethbridge, T1J 3Z4 Canada
| | - Kingsley K. Amoako
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National Centre for Animal Disease, Lethbridge Laboratory, Lethbridge, T1J 3Z4 Canada
| | - R. Stephen Brown
- School of Environmental Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, K7L 3N6 Canada
- Department of Chemistry, Queen’s University, Kingston, K7L 3N6 Canada
| | - Anna Majury
- School of Environmental Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, K7L 3N6 Canada
- Public Health Ontario, Kingston, K7L 3K3 Canada
| | - Steven N. Liss
- School of Environmental Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, K7L 3N6 Canada
- Department of Biology, Ryerson University, Toronto, M5B 2K3 Canada
| | - Tim A. McAllister
- Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, Lethbridge Research and Development Center, 5403 1 Avenue South, PO Box 3000, Lethbridge, T1J 4B1 Canada
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14
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Singh M, Chaudhary S, Sareen D. Roseocin, a novel two‐component lantibiotic from an actinomycete. Mol Microbiol 2019; 113:326-337. [DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mangal Singh
- Department of Biochemistry Basic Medical Sciences Block‐II Panjab University Chandigarh India
| | - Sandeep Chaudhary
- Department of Biochemistry Basic Medical Sciences Block‐II Panjab University Chandigarh India
| | - Dipti Sareen
- Department of Biochemistry Basic Medical Sciences Block‐II Panjab University Chandigarh India
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15
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Risks associated with enterococci as probiotics. Food Res Int 2019; 129:108788. [PMID: 32036912 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2019.108788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Revised: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Probiotics are naturally occurring microorganisms that confer health benefits by altering host commensal microbiota, modulating immunity, enhancing intestinal barrier function, or altering pain perception. Enterococci are human and animal intestinal commensals that are used as probiotics and in food production. These microorganisms, however, express many virulence traits including cytolysin, proteases, aggregation substance, capsular polysaccharide, enterococcal surface protein, biofilm formation, extracellular superoxide, intestinal translocation, and resistance to innate immunity that can lead to serious hospital-acquired infections. In addition, enterococci are facile in acquiring antibiotic resistance genes to many clinically important antibiotics encoded on a wide variety of conjugative plasmids, transposons, and bacteriophages. The pathogenicity and disease burden caused by enterococci render them poor choices as probiotics. No large, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of any enterococcal probiotic. As a result, no enterococcal probiotic has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment, cure, or amelioration of human disease. In 2007, the European Food Safety Authority concluded that enterococci do not meet the standard for "Qualified Presumption of Safety". Enterococcal strains used or proposed for use as probiotics should be carefully screened for efficacy and safety.
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16
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Chiumento S, Roblin C, Kieffer-Jaquinod S, Tachon S, Leprètre C, Basset C, Aditiyarini D, Olleik H, Nicoletti C, Bornet O, Iranzo O, Maresca M, Hardré R, Fons M, Giardina T, Devillard E, Guerlesquin F, Couté Y, Atta M, Perrier J, Lafond M, Duarte V. Ruminococcin C, a promising antibiotic produced by a human gut symbiont. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaaw9969. [PMID: 31579822 PMCID: PMC6760926 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaw9969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
A major public health challenge today is the resurgence of microbial infections caused by multidrug-resistant strains. Consequently, novel antimicrobial molecules are actively sought for development. In this context, the human gut microbiome is an under-explored potential trove of valuable natural molecules, such as the ribosomally-synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs). The biological activity of the sactipeptide subclass of RiPPs remains under-characterized. Here, we characterize an antimicrobial sactipeptide, Ruminococcin C1, purified from the caecal contents of rats mono-associated with Ruminococcus gnavus E1, a human symbiont. Its heterologous expression and post-translational maturation involving a specific sactisynthase establish a thioether network, which creates a double-hairpin folding. This original structure confers activity against pathogenic Clostridia and multidrug-resistant strains but no toxicity towards eukaryotic cells. Therefore, the Ruminococcin C1 should be considered as a valuable candidate for drug development and its producer strain R. gnavus E1 as a relevant probiotic for gut health enhancement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steve Chiumento
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, CBM-UMR5249, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Clarisse Roblin
- Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France
- ADISSEO France SAS, Centre d’Expertise et de Recherche en Nutrition, Commentry, France
| | | | - Sybille Tachon
- Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France
| | - Chloé Leprètre
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, CBM-UMR5249, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Christian Basset
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, CBM-UMR5249, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Dwi Aditiyarini
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, CBM-UMR5249, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Hamza Olleik
- Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France
| | | | | | - Olga Iranzo
- Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France
| | - Marc Maresca
- Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France
| | - Renaud Hardré
- Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France
| | - Michel Fons
- Unité de Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines UMR7281, Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée, Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Thierry Giardina
- Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France
| | - Estelle Devillard
- ADISSEO France SAS, Centre d’Expertise et de Recherche en Nutrition, Commentry, France
| | | | - Yohann Couté
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, INSERM, BGE U1038, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Mohamed Atta
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, CBM-UMR5249, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Josette Perrier
- Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France
| | - Mickael Lafond
- Aix-Marseille Univ., CNRS, Centrale Marseille, iSm2, Marseille, France
- Corresponding author. (M.L.); (V.D.)
| | - Victor Duarte
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, CBM-UMR5249, 38000 Grenoble, France
- Corresponding author. (M.L.); (V.D.)
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17
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Enterococcus faecalis CRISPR-Cas Is a Robust Barrier to Conjugative Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination in the Murine Intestine. mSphere 2019; 4:4/4/e00464-19. [PMID: 31341074 PMCID: PMC6656873 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00464-19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas is a type of immune system in bacteria that is hypothesized to be a natural impediment to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. In this study, we directly assessed the impact of CRISPR-Cas on antibiotic resistance dissemination in the mammalian intestine and under different in vitro conditions. We observed a robust effect of CRISPR-Cas on in vivo but not in vitro dissemination of antibiotic resistance plasmids in the native mammalian intestinal colonizer Enterococcus faecalis. We conclude that standard in vitro experiments currently do not appropriately model the in vivo conditions where antibiotic resistance dissemination occurs between E. faecalis strains in the intestine. Moreover, our results demonstrate that CRISPR-Cas present in native members of the mammalian intestinal microbiota can block the spread of antibiotic resistance plasmids. CRISPR-Cas systems are barriers to horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in bacteria. Little is known about CRISPR-Cas interactions with conjugative plasmids, and studies investigating CRISPR-Cas/plasmid interactions in in vivo models relevant to infectious disease are lacking. These are significant gaps in knowledge because conjugative plasmids disseminate antibiotic resistance genes among pathogens in vivo, and it is essential to identify strategies to reduce the spread of these elements. We use enterococci as models to understand the interactions of CRISPR-Cas with conjugative plasmids. Enterococcus faecalis is a native colonizer of the mammalian intestine and harbors pheromone-responsive plasmids (PRPs). PRPs mediate inter- and intraspecies transfer of antibiotic resistance genes. We assessed E. faecalis CRISPR-Cas anti-PRP activity in the mouse intestine and under different in vitro conditions. We observed striking differences in CRISPR-Cas efficiency in vitro versus in vivo. With few exceptions, CRISPR-Cas blocked intestinal PRP dissemination, while in vitro, the PRP frequently escaped CRISPR-Cas defense. Our results further the understanding of CRISPR-Cas biology by demonstrating that standard in vitro experiments do not adequately model the in vivo antiplasmid activity of CRISPR-Cas. Additionally, our work identifies several variables that impact the apparent in vitro antiplasmid activity of CRISPR-Cas, including planktonic versus biofilm settings, different donor-to-recipient ratios, production of a plasmid-encoded bacteriocin, and the time point at which matings are sampled. Our results are clinically significant because they demonstrate that barriers to HGT encoded by normal (healthy) human microbiota can have significant impacts on in vivo antibiotic resistance dissemination. IMPORTANCE CRISPR-Cas is a type of immune system in bacteria that is hypothesized to be a natural impediment to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. In this study, we directly assessed the impact of CRISPR-Cas on antibiotic resistance dissemination in the mammalian intestine and under different in vitro conditions. We observed a robust effect of CRISPR-Cas on in vivo but not in vitro dissemination of antibiotic resistance plasmids in the native mammalian intestinal colonizer Enterococcus faecalis. We conclude that standard in vitro experiments currently do not appropriately model the in vivo conditions where antibiotic resistance dissemination occurs between E. faecalis strains in the intestine. Moreover, our results demonstrate that CRISPR-Cas present in native members of the mammalian intestinal microbiota can block the spread of antibiotic resistance plasmids.
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18
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Funck GD, de Lima Marques J, da Silva Dannenberg G, Dos Santos Cruxen CE, Sehn CP, Prigol M, Silva MRP, da Silva WP, Fiorentini ÂM. Characterization, Toxicity, and Optimization for the Growth and Production of Bacteriocin-like Substances by Lactobacillus curvatus. Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins 2019; 12:91-101. [PMID: 30843169 DOI: 10.1007/s12602-019-09531-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to characterize, evaluate toxicity and optimize the conditions for the growth and production of bacteriocin-like substances by Lactobacillus curvatus P99. The antibacterial activity of the cell-free supernatant (CFS) containing bacteriocin-like substances was evaluated by the agar diffusion technique. The stability of the CFS was also examined after heat treatment, refrigeration, freezing, pH variations, and treatment with different chemical substances. The toxic effect of CFS on Drosophila melanogaster diet was determined by calculating the survival rate of the flies. The effects of pH, temperature, and incubation time were the parameters used to optimize cell growth and production of bacteriocin-like substances through response surface methodology. The CFS was stable for 36 weeks under freezing and refrigeration, as well as under heat treatment, in acidic and basic pH and for all chemical substances tested. Fewer than 50,000 AU/mL of CFS added to D. melanogaster diet showed no toxic effect. The optimum growth condition was pH 6.3 at 29.3 °C for 18.6 h, and the optimum production of bacteriocin-like substances was under pH 6.22 at 30.6 °C for 17.9 h. The data on the optimization of cell growth and the characterization and optimization of bacteriocin-like substances provided information to support the industrial-scale production of this microorganism and its metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graciele Daiana Funck
- Department of Agroindustrial Science and Technology, Federal University of Pelotas, P.O. Box: 354, Pelotas, RS, 96010-900, Brazil
| | - Juliana de Lima Marques
- Center for Technology Development, Federal University of Pelotas, P.O. Box: 354, Pelotas, RS, 96010-900, Brazil
| | - Guilherme da Silva Dannenberg
- Department of Agroindustrial Science and Technology, Federal University of Pelotas, P.O. Box: 354, Pelotas, RS, 96010-900, Brazil
| | | | - Carla Pohl Sehn
- Laboratory of Pharmacological and Toxicological Reviews Applied to Bioactive Molecules-LaftamBio Pampa, Federal University of Pampa, Itaqui, RS, 97650-000, Brazil
| | - Marina Prigol
- Laboratory of Pharmacological and Toxicological Reviews Applied to Bioactive Molecules-LaftamBio Pampa, Federal University of Pampa, Itaqui, RS, 97650-000, Brazil
| | - Márcia Rósula Poetini Silva
- Laboratory of Pharmacological and Toxicological Reviews Applied to Bioactive Molecules-LaftamBio Pampa, Federal University of Pampa, Itaqui, RS, 97650-000, Brazil
| | - Wladimir Padilha da Silva
- Department of Agroindustrial Science and Technology, Federal University of Pelotas, P.O. Box: 354, Pelotas, RS, 96010-900, Brazil.,Center for Technology Development, Federal University of Pelotas, P.O. Box: 354, Pelotas, RS, 96010-900, Brazil
| | - Ângela Maria Fiorentini
- Department of Agroindustrial Science and Technology, Federal University of Pelotas, P.O. Box: 354, Pelotas, RS, 96010-900, Brazil.
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19
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Zn-dependent bifunctional proteases are responsible for leader peptide processing of class III lanthipeptides. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:2533-2538. [PMID: 30679276 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1815594116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Lanthipeptides are an important subfamily of ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptides, and the removal of their N-terminal leader peptides by a designated protease(s) is a key step during maturation. Whereas proteases for class I and II lanthipeptides are well-characterized, the identity of the protease(s) responsible for class III leader processing remains unclear. Herein, we report that the class III lanthipeptide NAI-112 employs a bifunctional Zn-dependent protease, AplP, with both endo- and aminopeptidase activities to complete leader peptide removal, which is unprecedented in the biosynthesis of lanthipeptides. AplP displays a broad substrate scope in vitro by processing a number of class III leader peptides. Furthermore, our studies reveal that AplP-like proteases exist in the genomes of all class III lanthipeptide-producing strains but are usually located outside the biosynthetic gene clusters. Biochemical studies show that AplP-like proteases are universally responsible for the leader removal of the corresponding lanthipeptides. In addition, AplP-like proteases are phylogenetically correlated with aminopeptidase N from Escherichia coli, and might employ a single active site to catalyze both endo- and aminopeptidyl hydrolysis. These findings solve the long-standing question as to the mechanism of leader peptide processing during class III lanthipeptide biosynthesis, and pave the way for the production and bioengineering of this class of natural products.
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20
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Tang W, Bobeica SC, Wang L, van der Donk WA. CylA is a sequence-specific protease involved in toxin biosynthesis. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 2018; 46:537-549. [PMID: 30484123 DOI: 10.1007/s10295-018-2110-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
CylA is a subtilisin-like protein belonging to a recently expanded serine protease family related to class II lanthipeptide biosynthesis. As a leader peptidase, CylA is responsible for maturation of the enterococcal cytolysin, a lantibiotic important for Enterococcus faecalis virulence. In vitro reconstitution of CylA reveals that it accepts both linear and modified cytolysin peptides with a preference for cyclized peptides. Further characterization indicates that CylA activates itself by removing its N-terminal 95 amino acids. CylA achieves sequence-specific traceless cleavage of non-cognate peptides even if they are post-translationally modified, which makes the peptidase a powerful tool for mining novel lanthipeptides by providing a general strategy for leader peptide removal. Knowledge about the substrate specificity of CylA may also facilitate the development of protease inhibitors targeting cytolysin biosynthesis as a potential therapeutic approach for enterococcal infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weixin Tang
- Department of Chemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Silvia C Bobeica
- Department of Chemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Li Wang
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
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Vasilchenko AS, Vasilchenko A, Valyshev A, Rogozhin E. A Novel High-Molecular-Mass Bacteriocin Produced by Enterococcus faecium: Biochemical Features and Mode of Action. Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins 2018; 10:427-434. [DOI: 10.1007/s12602-018-9392-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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22
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Virulence Factor and Biofilm Formation in Clinical Enterococcal Isolates of the West of Iran. Jundishapur J Microbiol 2017. [DOI: 10.5812/jjm.14379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
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Ali L, Goraya MU, Arafat Y, Ajmal M, Chen JL, Yu D. Molecular Mechanism of Quorum-Sensing in Enterococcus faecalis: Its Role in Virulence and Therapeutic Approaches. Int J Mol Sci 2017; 18:ijms18050960. [PMID: 28467378 PMCID: PMC5454873 DOI: 10.3390/ijms18050960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Quorum-sensing systems control major virulence determinants in Enterococcusfaecalis, which causes nosocomial infections. The E. faecalis quorum-sensing systems include several virulence factors that are regulated by the cytolysin operon, which encodes the cytolysin toxin. In addition, the E. faecalis Fsr regulator system controls the expression of gelatinase, serine protease, and enterocin O16. The cytolysin and Fsr virulence factor systems are linked to enterococcal diseases that affect the health of humans and other host models. Therefore, there is substantial interest in understanding and targeting these regulatory pathways to develop novel therapies for enterococcal infection control. Quorum-sensing inhibitors could be potential therapeutic agents for attenuating the pathogenic effects of E. faecalis. Here, we discuss the regulation of cytolysin, the LuxS system, and the Fsr system, their role in E. faecalis-mediated infections, and possible therapeutic approaches to prevent E. faecalis infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liaqat Ali
- College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
- College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan.
| | - Mohsan Ullah Goraya
- College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
- College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
| | - Yasir Arafat
- College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
| | - Muhammad Ajmal
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan.
| | - Ji-Long Chen
- College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
- CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Daojin Yu
- College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
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Repka LM, Chekan JR, Nair SK, van der Donk WA. Mechanistic Understanding of Lanthipeptide Biosynthetic Enzymes. Chem Rev 2017; 117:5457-5520. [PMID: 28135077 PMCID: PMC5408752 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 301] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
![]()
Lanthipeptides
are ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally
modified peptides (RiPPs) that display a wide variety of biological
activities, from antimicrobial to antiallodynic. Lanthipeptides that
display antimicrobial activity are called lantibiotics. The post-translational
modification reactions of lanthipeptides include dehydration of Ser
and Thr residues to dehydroalanine and dehydrobutyrine, a transformation
that is carried out in three unique ways in different classes of lanthipeptides.
In a cyclization process, Cys residues then attack the dehydrated
residues to generate the lanthionine and methyllanthionine thioether
cross-linked amino acids from which lanthipeptides derive their name.
The resulting polycyclic peptides have constrained conformations that
confer their biological activities. After installation of the characteristic
thioether cross-links, tailoring enzymes introduce additional post-translational
modifications that are unique to each lanthipeptide and that fine-tune
their activities and/or stability. This review focuses on studies
published over the past decade that have provided much insight into
the mechanisms of the enzymes that carry out the post-translational
modifications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsay M Repka
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Chemistry, ‡Department of Biochemistry, and §Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Jonathan R Chekan
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Chemistry, ‡Department of Biochemistry, and §Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Satish K Nair
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Chemistry, ‡Department of Biochemistry, and §Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Chemistry, ‡Department of Biochemistry, and §Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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25
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Mousa WK, Athar B, Merwin NJ, Magarvey NA. Antibiotics and specialized metabolites from the human microbiota. Nat Prod Rep 2017; 34:1302-1331. [DOI: 10.1039/c7np00021a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Human microbiota associated with each body site produce specialized molecules to kill human pathogens. Advanced bioinformatics tools will help to discover unique microbiome chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Walaa K. Mousa
- Departments of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences & Chemistry and Chemical Biology
- M. G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research
- McMaster University
- Hamilton
- Canada L8S 4K1
| | - Bilal Athar
- Departments of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences & Chemistry and Chemical Biology
- M. G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research
- McMaster University
- Hamilton
- Canada L8S 4K1
| | - Nishanth J. Merwin
- Departments of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences & Chemistry and Chemical Biology
- M. G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research
- McMaster University
- Hamilton
- Canada L8S 4K1
| | - Nathan A. Magarvey
- Departments of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences & Chemistry and Chemical Biology
- M. G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research
- McMaster University
- Hamilton
- Canada L8S 4K1
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26
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Abstract
Enterococci belong to the group of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and inhabit the gastrointestinal tracts of a wide variety of animals from insects and to human, and the commensal organism in humans and animals. The commensal/probiotic role of enterococci has evolved through thousands of years in mutual coexistence. Enterococcus have many favorable traits that have been appreciated in food fermentation and preservation, and many serve as probiotics to promote health. While lactobacillus have been shown to confer numerous benefits on and often regarded as health bringing organisms, enterococci have become more recognized as emerging human pathogens in recent years. Mac Callum and Hastings characterized an organism, now known to be Enterococcal faecalis, which was isolated from a lethal case of endocarditis on 1899. The report was the first detailed description of its pathogenic capabilities. Over the past few decades, multi-drug resistance enterococci have become as important health-care associated pathogen, and leading causes of drug resistance infection. The modern life style including the broad use of antibiotics in medical practice and animal husbandry have selected for the convergence of potential virulence factors to the specific enterococcus species such as E. faecium and E. faecalis. The development of modern medical care of intensive and invasive medical therapies and treatments for human disease, and existence of severe compromised patients in hospitals has contributed to the increased prevalence of these opportunistic organisms. The virulence factors converged in E. faecalis and E. faecium which have been isolated in nosocomial infections, include antibiotic resistance, extracellular proteins (toxins), extrachromosome and mobile genetic elements, cell wall components, biofilm formation, adherence factors, and colonization factor such as bacteriocin, etc. In these potential virulence factors, I presented characteristics of enterococcal conjugative plasmid, cytolysin, collagen binding protein of adhesion, bacteriocins, and drug resistances. I made reference to our original reports, and review books for this review. The review books are "Enterococci: from Commensals to Leading Causes of Drug Resistant Infection, NCBI Bookshelf. A service of the National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health. Ed. by Michael S Gilmore, Don B Clewell, Yasuyoshi Ike, and Nathan Shankar", and "The Enterococci: Pathogenesis, Molecular Biology, and Antibiotic Resistance, Gilmore M., Clewell D., Courvadin P., Dunny G., Murray B., Rice L., (ed) 2002. ASM Press".
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuyoshi Ike
- Professor Emeritus, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine
- Representative Director, Association for Education in Bacterial Drug Resistance
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27
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Tang W, Thibodeaux GN, van der Donk WA. The Enterococcal Cytolysin Synthetase Coevolves with Substrate for Stereoselective Lanthionine Synthesis. ACS Chem Biol 2016; 11:2438-46. [PMID: 27348535 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.6b00397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Stereochemical control is critical in natural product biosynthesis. For ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs), the mechanism(s) by which stereoselectivity is achieved is still poorly understood. In this work, we focused on the stereoselective lanthionine synthesis in lanthipeptides, a major class of RiPPs formed by the addition of Cys residues to dehydroalanine (Dha) or dehydrobutyrine (Dhb). Nonenzymatic cyclization of the small subunit of a virulence lanthipeptide, the enterococcal cytolysin, resulted in the native modified peptide as the major product, suggesting that both regioselectivity and stereoselectivity are inherent to the dehydrated peptide sequence. These results support previous computational studies that a Dhx-Dhx-Xxx-Xxx-Cys motif (Dhx = Dha or Dhb; Xxx = any amino acid except Dha, Dhb, and Cys) preferentially cyclizes by attack on the Re face of Dha or Dhb. Characterization of the stereochemistry of the products formed enzymatically with substrate mutants revealed that the lanthionine synthetase actively reinforces Re face attack. These findings support the hypothesis of substrate-controlled selectivity in lanthionine synthesis but also reveal likely coevolution of substrates and lanthionine synthetases to ensure the stereoselective synthesis of lanthipeptides with defined biological activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weixin Tang
- Department of Chemistry and
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Gabrielle N. Thibodeaux
- Department of Chemistry and
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Wilfred A. van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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28
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Montalbán-López M, van Heel AJ, Kuipers OP. Employing the promiscuity of lantibiotic biosynthetic machineries to produce novel antimicrobials. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2016; 41:5-18. [PMID: 27591436 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuw034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 03/07/2016] [Accepted: 07/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
As the number of new antibiotics that reach the market is decreasing and the demand for them is rising, alternative sources of novel antimicrobials are needed. Lantibiotics are potent peptide antimicrobials that are ribosomally synthesized and stabilized by post-translationally introduced lanthionine rings. Their ribosomal synthesis and enzymatic modifications provide excellent opportunities to design and engineer a large variety of novel antimicrobial compounds. The research conducted in this area demonstrates that the modularity present in both the peptidic rings as well as in the combination of promiscuous modification enzymes can be exploited to further increase the diversity of lantibiotics. Various approaches, where the modifying enzymes and corresponding leader peptides are decoupled from their natural core peptide and integrated in designed plug-and-play production systems, enable the production of modified peptides that are either derived from vast genomic data or designed using functional parts from a wide diversity of core peptides. These approaches constitute a powerful discovery platform to develop novel antimicrobials with high therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Montalbán-López
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Auke J van Heel
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Oscar P Kuipers
- Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747AG Groningen, the Netherlands
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29
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Fagundes P, Farias F, Santos O, de Oliveira N, da Paz J, Ceotto-Vigoder H, Alviano D, Romanos M, Bastos M. The antimicrobial peptide aureocin A53 as an alternative agent for biopreservation of dairy products. J Appl Microbiol 2016; 121:435-44. [DOI: 10.1111/jam.13189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2016] [Revised: 05/09/2016] [Accepted: 05/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- P.C. Fagundes
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral; Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro Brazil
| | - F.M. Farias
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral; Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro Brazil
| | - O.C.S. Santos
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral; Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro Brazil
| | - N.E.M. de Oliveira
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral; Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro Brazil
| | - J.A.S. da Paz
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral; Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro Brazil
| | - H. Ceotto-Vigoder
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral; Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro Brazil
| | - D.S. Alviano
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral; Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro Brazil
| | - M.T.V. Romanos
- Departamento de Virologia; Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro Brazil
| | - M.C.F. Bastos
- Departamento de Microbiologia Geral; Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro Brazil
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30
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Kim DH, Chung YS, Park YK, Yang SJ, Lim SK, Park YH, Park KT. Antimicrobial resistance and virulence profiles of Enterococcus spp. isolated from horses in korea. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis 2016; 48:6-13. [PMID: 27638114 DOI: 10.1016/j.cimid.2016.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2015] [Revised: 06/04/2016] [Accepted: 07/08/2016] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Antimicrobial-resistant (AR) enterococci have emerged as leading nosocomial pathogens. Transmission of AR Enterococci from animals to humans has been demonstrated. However, there is limited information on the transmission of enterococci from horses to humans. To address this issue, we characterized 260 enterococci isolated from horse-associated samples in Korea in 2013 based on their AR profiles and virulence traits. AR profiling revealed an average ratio of AR enterococci of 23.8%. Seven isolates (2.7%) were multidrug-resistant Enterococcus faecalis. Most tetracycline-resistant enterococci harbored either tetM or tetL or both genes; genes conferring resistance to other antimicrobials were detected at low rates. Biofilm formation and gelatinase activity were observed in 51.1% and 47.7% of isolates, respectively; most were E. faecalis harboring the gelE gene. Evidence of transmission of AR enterococci between horses and their environments was provided by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and highlights the risk of AR enterococcus transmission to horse riders and handlers through close contact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dae Ho Kim
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeon Soo Chung
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea
| | - Young Kyung Park
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea
| | - Soo-Jin Yang
- Department of Animal Science and Technology, College of Biotechnology and Natural Resource, Chung-Ang University, 2nd Campus, Anseong 456-756, Republic of Korea
| | - Suk Kyung Lim
- Animal and Plant Quarantine and Inspection Agency (QIA), Anyang 430-757, Republic of Korea
| | - Yong Ho Park
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea
| | - Kun Taek Park
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
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31
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Bacteriocinogenic Potential of Enterococcus faecium Isolated from Wine. Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins 2016; 8:150-60. [DOI: 10.1007/s12602-016-9222-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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32
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Ongey EL, Neubauer P. Lanthipeptides: chemical synthesis versus in vivo biosynthesis as tools for pharmaceutical production. Microb Cell Fact 2016; 15:97. [PMID: 27267232 PMCID: PMC4897893 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-016-0502-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2016] [Accepted: 06/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Lanthipeptides (also called lantibiotics for those with antibacterial activities) are ribosomally synthesized post-translationally modified peptides having thioether cross-linked amino acids, lanthionines, as a structural element. Lanthipeptides have conceivable potentials to be used as therapeutics, however, the lack of stable, high-yield, well-characterized processes for their sustainable production limit their availability for clinical studies and further pharmaceutical commercialization. Though many reviews have discussed the various techniques that are currently employed to produce lanthipeptides, a direct comparison between these methods to assess industrial applicability has not yet been described. In this review we provide a synoptic comparison of research efforts on total synthesis and in vivo biosynthesis aimed at fostering lanthipeptides production. We further examine current applications and propose measures to enhance product yields. Owing to their elaborate chemical structures, chemical synthesis of these biomolecules is economically less feasible for large-scale applications, and hence biological production seems to be the only realistic alternative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvis Legala Ongey
- Chair of Bioprocess Engineering, Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Berlin, Ackerstraße 76, ACK24, 13355, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Peter Neubauer
- Chair of Bioprocess Engineering, Department of Biotechnology, Technische Universität Berlin, Ackerstraße 76, ACK24, 13355, Berlin, Germany
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33
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Biswas PP, Dey S, Sen A, Adhikari L. Molecular Characterization of Virulence Genes in Vancomycin-Resistant and Vancomycin-Sensitive Enterococci. J Glob Infect Dis 2016; 8:16-24. [PMID: 27013840 PMCID: PMC4785752 DOI: 10.4103/0974-777x.176141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The aim of this study was to find out the correlation between presence of virulence (gelatinase [gel E], enterococcal surface protein [esp], cytolysin A [cyl A], hyaluronidase [hyl], and aggregation substance [asa1]) and vancomycin-resistant genes (van A and van B) in enterococci, with their phenotypic expression. Materials and Methods: A total of 500 isolates (250 each clinical and fecal) were processed. Enterococci were isolated from various clinical samples and from fecal specimens of colonized patients. Various virulence determinants namely asa1, esp, hyl, gel E, and cyl were detected by phenotypic methods. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of vancomycin was determined by agar dilution method. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the presence of virulence and van genes. Results: Out of all the samples processed, 12.0% (60/500) isolates carried van A or van B genes as confirmed by MIC test and PCR methods. Genes responsible for virulence were detected by multiplex PCR and at least one of the five was detected in all the clinical vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and vancomycin-sensitive enterococci (VSE). gel E, esp, and hyl genes were found to be significantly higher in clinical VRE. Of the fecal isolates, presence of gel E, esp, and asa1 was significantly higher in VRE as compared to VSE. The presence of hyl gene in the clinical VRE was found to be statistically significant (P = 0.043) as against the fecal VRE. Correlation between the presence of virulence genes and their expression as detected by phenotypic tests showed that while biofilm production was seen in 61.1% (22/36) of clinical VRE, the corresponding genes, i.e., asa1 and esp were detected in 30.5% (11/36) and 27.8% (10/36) of strains only. Conclusion: Enterococcus faecium isolates were found to carry esp gene, a phenomenon that has been described previously only for Enterococcus faecalis, but we were unable to correlate the presence of esp with their capacity to form biofilms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sangeeta Dey
- Department of Microbiology, Katihar Medical College, Katihar, Bihar, India
| | - Aninda Sen
- Department of Microbiology, Katihar Medical College, Katihar, Bihar, India
| | - Luna Adhikari
- Department of Microbiology, Sikkim Manipal University, Gangtok, Sikkim, India
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34
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Barbosa M, Todorov S, Ivanova I, Belguesmia Y, Choiset Y, Rabesona H, Chobert JM, Haertlé T, Franco B. Characterization of a two-peptide plantaricin produced by Lactobacillus plantarum MBSa4 isolated from Brazilian salami. Food Control 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.07.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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35
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Tang W, Dong SH, Repka LM, He C, Nair SK, van der Donk WA. Applications of the class II lanthipeptide protease LicP for sequence-specific, traceless peptide bond cleavage. Chem Sci 2015; 6:6270-6279. [PMID: 30090246 PMCID: PMC6054071 DOI: 10.1039/c5sc02329g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2015] [Accepted: 08/30/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The class II lanthipeptide protease LicP maturates through self-cleavage and enables sequence-specific, traceless peptide bond cleavage.
The final step of lanthipeptide biosynthesis involves the removal of leader peptides by dedicated proteases. In vitro characterization of LicP, a class II LanP protease involved in the biosynthesis of the lantibiotic lichenicidin, revealed a self-cleavage step that removes 100 amino acids from the N-terminus. The 2.35 Å resolution crystal structure provides insights into the active site geometry and substrate specificity, and unveiled an unusual calcium-independent maturation mechanism of a subtilisin family member. LicP processes LicA2 peptides with or without post-translational modifications, but dehydrated and cyclized LicA2 is favored. Investigation of its substrate specificity demonstrated that LicP can serve as an efficient sequence-specific traceless protease and may have great utility in basic research and biotechnology. Encouraged by these findings for LicP, we identified 13 other class II LanPs, ten of which were previously unknown, and suggest that these proteins may serve as a pool of proteases with diverse recognition sequences for general traceless tag removal applications, expanding the current toolbox of proteases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weixin Tang
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 S. Mathews Ave. , Urbana , IL 61801 , USA . ; ; Tel: +1 217 244 5360
| | - Shi-Hui Dong
- Department of Biochemistry , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 S. Mathews Ave. , Urbana , IL 61801 , USA
| | - Lindsay M Repka
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 S. Mathews Ave. , Urbana , IL 61801 , USA . ; ; Tel: +1 217 244 5360
| | - Chang He
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 S. Mathews Ave. , Urbana , IL 61801 , USA . ; ; Tel: +1 217 244 5360
| | - Satish K Nair
- Department of Biochemistry , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 S. Mathews Ave. , Urbana , IL 61801 , USA.,Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 S. Mathews Ave. , Urbana , IL 61801 , USA . ; ; Tel: +1 217 333 0641
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Chemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 S. Mathews Ave. , Urbana , IL 61801 , USA . ; ; Tel: +1 217 244 5360.,Department of Biochemistry , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , 600 S. Mathews Ave. , Urbana , IL 61801 , USA
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36
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Dong SH, Tang W, Lukk T, Yu Y, Nair SK, van der Donk WA. The enterococcal cytolysin synthetase has an unanticipated lipid kinase fold. eLife 2015; 4. [PMID: 26226635 PMCID: PMC4550811 DOI: 10.7554/elife.07607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2015] [Accepted: 07/29/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The enterococcal cytolysin is a virulence factor consisting of two post-translationally modified peptides that synergistically kill human immune cells. Both peptides are made by CylM, a member of the LanM lanthipeptide synthetases. CylM catalyzes seven dehydrations of Ser and Thr residues and three cyclization reactions during the biosynthesis of the cytolysin large subunit. We present here the 2.2 Å resolution structure of CylM, the first structural information on a LanM. Unexpectedly, the structure reveals that the dehydratase domain of CylM resembles the catalytic core of eukaryotic lipid kinases, despite the absence of clear sequence homology. The kinase and phosphate elimination active sites that affect net dehydration are immediately adjacent to each other. Characterization of mutants provided insights into the mechanism of the dehydration process. The structure is also of interest because of the interactions of human homologs of lanthipeptide cyclases with kinases such as mammalian target of rapamycin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi-Hui Dong
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
| | - Weixin Tang
- Roger Adams Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
| | - Tiit Lukk
- Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, Ithaca, United States
| | - Yi Yu
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
| | - Satish K Nair
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
| | - Wilfred A van der Donk
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, United States
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37
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A genomic virulence reference map of Enterococcus faecalis reveals an important contribution of phage03-like elements in nosocomial genetic lineages to pathogenicity in a Caenorhabditis elegans infection model. Infect Immun 2015; 83:2156-67. [PMID: 25776747 DOI: 10.1128/iai.02801-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2014] [Accepted: 03/07/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In the present study, the commensal and pathogenic host-microbe interaction of Enterococcus faecalis was explored using a Caenorhabditis elegans model system. The virulence of 28 E. faecalis isolates representing 24 multilocus sequence types (MLSTs), including human commensal and clinical isolates as well as isolates from animals and of insect origin, was investigated using C. elegans strain glp-4 (bn2ts); sek-1 (km4). This revealed that 6 E. faecalis isolates behaved in a commensal manner with no nematocidal effect, while the remaining strains showed a time to 50% lethality ranging from 47 to 120 h. Principal component analysis showed that the difference in nematocidal activity explained 94% of the variance in the data. Assessment of known virulence traits revealed that gelatinase and cytolysin production accounted for 40.8% and 36.5% of the observed pathogenicity, respectively. However, coproduction of gelatinase and cytolysin did not increase virulence additively, accounting for 50.6% of the pathogenicity and therefore indicating a significant (26.7%) saturation effect. We employed a comparative genomic analysis approach using the 28 isolates comprising a collection of 82,356 annotated coding sequences (CDS) to identify 2,325 patterns of presence or absence among the investigated strains. Univariate statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) established that individual patterns positively correlated (n = 61) with virulence. The patterns were investigated to identify potential new virulence traits, among which we found five patterns consisting of the phage03-like gene clusters. Strains harboring phage03 showed, on average, 17% higher killing of C. elegans (P = 4.4e(-6)). The phage03 gene cluster was also present in gelatinase-and-cytolysin-negative strain E. faecalis JH2-2. Deletion of this phage element from the JH2-2 clinical strain rendered the mutant apathogenic in C. elegans, and a similar mutant of the nosocomial V583 isolate showed significantly attenuated virulence. Bioinformatics investigation indicated that, unlike other E. faecalis virulence traits, phage03-like elements were found at a higher frequency among nosocomial isolates. In conclusion, our report provides a valuable virulence map that explains enhancement in E. faecalis virulence and contributes to a deeper comprehension of the genetic mechanism leading to the transition from commensalism to a pathogenic lifestyle.
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38
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Müller S, Garcia-Gonzalez E, Genersch E, Süssmuth RD. Involvement of secondary metabolites in the pathogenesis of the American foulbrood of honey bees caused by Paenibacillus larvae. Nat Prod Rep 2015; 32:765-78. [DOI: 10.1039/c4np00158c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae is the causative agent of the fatal disease American Foulbrood of the western honey bee. This article highlights recent findings on secondary metabolites synthesized by P. larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eva Garcia-Gonzalez
- Institute for Bee Research
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Bee Diseases
- Hohen Neuendorf
- Germany
| | - Elke Genersch
- Institute for Bee Research
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Bee Diseases
- Hohen Neuendorf
- Germany
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39
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Abstract
Gram-positive bacteria are leading causes of many types of human infection, including pneumonia, skin and nasopharyngeal infections, as well as urinary tract and surgical wound infections among hospitalized patients. These infections have become particularly problematic because many of the species causing them have become highly resistant to antibiotics. The role of mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids, in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance among Gram-positive bacteria has been well studied; less well understood is the role of mobile elements in the evolution and spread of virulence traits among these pathogens. While these organisms are leading agents of infection, they are also prominent members of the human commensal ecology. It appears that these bacteria are able to take advantage of the intimate association between host and commensal, via virulence traits that exacerbate infection and cause disease. However, evolution into an obligate pathogen has not occurred, presumably because it would lead to rejection of pathogenic organisms from the host ecology. Instead, in organisms that exist as both commensal and pathogen, selection has favored the development of mechanisms for variability. As a result, many virulence traits are localized on mobile genetic elements, such as virulence plasmids and pathogenicity islands. Virulence traits may occur within a minority of isolates of a given species, but these minority populations have nonetheless emerged as a leading problem in infectious disease. This chapter reviews virulence plasmids in nonsporulating Gram-positive bacteria, and examines their contribution to disease pathogenesis.
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Liu X, Wang Y, Wang H, Lu W. Effect of a liquid culture of Enterococcus faecalis CGMCC1.101 cultivated by a high density process on the performance of weaned piglets. Livest Sci 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2014.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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41
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Lohans CT, Li JL, Vederas JC. Structure and Biosynthesis of Carnolysin, a Homologue of Enterococcal Cytolysin with d-Amino Acids. J Am Chem Soc 2014; 136:13150-3. [DOI: 10.1021/ja5070813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jessica L. Li
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2G2
| | - John C. Vederas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2G2
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Purification and characterization of antimicrobial peptides from fish isolate Carnobacterium maltaromaticum C2: Carnobacteriocin X and carnolysins A1 and A2. Int J Food Microbiol 2014; 173:81-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2013.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2013] [Revised: 12/18/2013] [Accepted: 12/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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43
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Cerecidins, novel lantibiotics from Bacillus cereus with potent antimicrobial activity. Appl Environ Microbiol 2014; 80:2633-43. [PMID: 24532070 DOI: 10.1128/aem.03751-13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Lantibiotics are ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified antimicrobial peptides that are widely produced by Gram-positive bacteria, including many species of the Bacillus group. In the present study, one novel gene cluster coding lantibiotic cerecidins was unveiled in Bacillus cereus strain As 1.1846 through genomic mining and PCR screening. The designated cer locus is different from that of conventional class II lantibiotics in that it included seven tandem precursor cerA genes, one modification gene (cerM), two processing genes (cerT and cerP), one orphan regulator gene (cerR), and two immunity genes (cerF and cerE). In addition, one unprecedented quorum sensing component, comQXPA, was inserted between cerM and cerR. The expression of cerecidins was not detected in this strain of B. cereus, which might be due to repressed transcription of cerM. We constitutively coexpressed cerA genes and cerM in Escherichia coli, and purified precerecidins were proteolytically processed with the endoproteinase GluC and a truncated version of putative serine protease CerP. Thus, two natural variants of cerecidins A1 and A7 were obtained which contained two terminal nonoverlapping thioether rings rarely found in lantibiotics. Both cerecidins A1 and A7 were active against a broad spectrum of Gram-positive bacteria. Cerecidin A7, especially its mutant Dhb13A, showed remarkable efficacy against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MDRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), and even Streptomyces.
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Völler GH, Krawczyk B, Ensle P, Süssmuth RD. Involvement and Unusual Substrate Specificity of a Prolyl Oligopeptidase in Class III Lanthipeptide Maturation. J Am Chem Soc 2013; 135:7426-9. [DOI: 10.1021/ja402296m] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ginka H. Völler
- Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17 Juni 124,
10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Bartlomiej Krawczyk
- Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17 Juni 124,
10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Paul Ensle
- Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17 Juni 124,
10623 Berlin, Germany
| | - Roderich D. Süssmuth
- Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17 Juni 124,
10623 Berlin, Germany
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Structure, function, and biology of the Enterococcus faecalis cytolysin. Toxins (Basel) 2013; 5:895-911. [PMID: 23628786 PMCID: PMC3709268 DOI: 10.3390/toxins5050895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2013] [Revised: 04/22/2013] [Accepted: 04/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive commensal member of the gut microbiota of a wide range of organisms. With the advent of antibiotic therapy, it has emerged as a multidrug resistant, hospital-acquired pathogen. Highly virulent strains of E. faecalis express a pore-forming exotoxin, called cytolysin, which lyses both bacterial and eukaryotic cells in response to quorum signals. Originally described in the 1930s, the cytolysin is a member of a large class of lanthionine-containing bacteriocins produced by Gram-positive bacteria. While the cytolysin shares some core features with other lantibiotics, it possesses unique characteristics as well. The current understanding of cytolysin biosynthesis, structure/function relationships, and contribution to the biology of E. faecalis are reviewed, and opportunities for using emerging technologies to advance this understanding are discussed.
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46
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Phenotypic Detection of Virulence Traits and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Endodontic Enterococcus faecalis Isolates. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.12691/ajmr-1-1-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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47
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Tang W, van der Donk WA. The sequence of the enterococcal cytolysin imparts unusual lanthionine stereochemistry. Nat Chem Biol 2013; 9:157-9. [PMID: 23314913 PMCID: PMC3578037 DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.1162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2012] [Accepted: 12/12/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The enterococcal cytolysin is a two-component lantibiotic of unknown structure with hemolytic activity that is important for virulence. We prepared cytolysin by co-expression of each precursor peptide with the synthetase CylM in E. coli, and characterized its structure. Surprisingly, cytolysin is the first example of a lantibiotic containing lanthionine and methyllanthionine structures with different stereochemistries in the same peptide, which is determined by the sequence of the substrate peptide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weixin Tang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA
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Transcriptional regulator PerA influences biofilm-associated, platelet binding, and metabolic gene expression in Enterococcus faecalis. PLoS One 2012; 7:e34398. [PMID: 22496800 PMCID: PMC3319582 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2011] [Accepted: 02/27/2012] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Enterococcus faecalis is an opportunistic pathogen and a leading cause of nosocomial infections, traits facilitated by the ability to quickly acquire and transfer virulence determinants. A 150 kb pathogenicity island (PAI) comprised of genes contributing to virulence is found in many enterococcal isolates and is known to undergo horizontal transfer. We have shown that the PAI-encoded transcriptional regulator PerA contributes to pathogenicity in the mouse peritonitis infection model. In this study, we used whole-genome microarrays to determine the PerA regulon. The PerA regulon is extensive, as transcriptional analysis showed 151 differentially regulated genes. Our findings reveal that PerA coordinately regulates genes important for metabolism, amino acid degradation, and pathogenicity. Further transcriptional analysis revealed that PerA is influenced by bicarbonate. Additionally, PerA influences the ability of E. faecalis to bind to human platelets. Our results suggest that PerA is a global transcriptional regulator that coordinately regulates genes responsible for enterococcal pathogenicity.
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Abstract
The genus Enterococcus includes some of the most important nosocomial multidrug-resistant organisms, and these pathogens usually affect patients who are debilitated by other, concurrent illnesses and undergoing prolonged hospitalization. This Review discusses the factors involved in the changing epidemiology of enterococcal infections, with an emphasis on Enterococcus faecium as an emergent and challenging nosocomial problem. The effects of antibiotics on the gut microbiota and on colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci are highlighted, including how enterococci benefit from the antibiotic-mediated eradication of gram-negative members of the gut microbiota. Analyses of enterococcal genomes indicate that there are certain genetic lineages, including an E. faecium clade of ancient origin, with the ability to succeed in the hospital environment, and the possible virulence determinants that are found in these genetic lineages are discussed. Finally, we review the most important mechanisms of resistance to the antibiotics that are used to treat vancomycin-resistant enterococci.
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50
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Hassan M, Diep DB, Javadzadeh Y, Dastmalchi S, Nes IF, Sharifi Y, Yari S, Farajnia S, Lotfipour F. Prevalence of bacteriocin activities and bacteriocin-encoding genes in enterococcal clinical isolates in Iran. Can J Microbiol 2012; 58:359-68. [PMID: 22414091 DOI: 10.1139/w11-136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The aim of the project was to isolate and characterize bacteriocin-producing enterococci, as well as determine the prevalence of enterocin structural genes in 187 enterococcal clinical isolates from the northwest of Iran. The isolates were screened for antibacterial activity against 15 different indicator strains. The proteinaceous nature of the antimicrobial substances was confirmed by sensitivity to proteinase K; their stability to heat treatment was tested at 60 °C and 100 °C for 20 and 10 min, respectively. The PCR method was applied to detect previously identified enterocin genes. Our results showed that 38 (20.3%) of the enterococcal isolates were considered to be potential bacteriocinogenic strains. Furthermore, genes encoding diverse bacteriocin are highly distributed among clinical enterococci, and the strains with multi-bacteriocin genes displayed high antimicrobial activity. Enterocin A, enterolysin A, and enterocin L50A/B were the most abundant structural genes detected in bacteriocinogenic strains. This work is the first survey on the prevalence of bacteriocin genes among clinical enterococci in Iran that has isolated a strain with high antimicrobial activity and sensitivity to clinically relevant antibiotics.
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