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Forsyth JH, Barron NL, Scott L, Watson BNJ, Chisnall MAW, Meaden S, van Houte S, Raymond B. Decolonizing drug-resistant E. coli with phage and probiotics: breaking the frequency-dependent dominance of residents. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2023; 169:001352. [PMID: 37418300 PMCID: PMC10433417 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Widespread antibiotic resistance in commensal bacteria creates a persistent challenge for human health. Resident drug-resistant microbes can prevent clinical interventions, colonize wounds post-surgery, pass resistance traits to pathogens or move to more harmful niches following routine interventions such as catheterization. Accelerating the removal of resistant bacteria or actively decolonizing particular lineages from hosts could therefore have a number of long-term benefits. However, removing resident bacteria via competition with probiotics, for example, poses a number of ecological challenges. Resident microbes are likely to have physiological and numerical advantages and competition based on bacteriocins or other secreted antagonists is expected to give advantages to the dominant partner, via positive frequency dependence. Since a narrow range of Escherichia coli genotypes (primarily those belonging to the clonal group ST131) cause a significant proportion of multidrug-resistant infections, this group presents a promising target for decolonization with bacteriophage, as narrow-host-range viral predation could lead to selective removal of particular genotypes. In this study we tested how a combination of an ST131-specific phage and competition from the well-known probiotic E. coli Nissle strain could displace E. coli ST131 under aerobic and anaerobic growth conditions in vitro. We showed that the addition of phage was able to break the frequency-dependent advantage of a numerically dominant ST131 isolate. Moreover, the addition of competing E. coli Nissle could improve the ability of phage to suppress ST131 by two orders of magnitude. Low-cost phage resistance evolved readily in these experiments and was not inhibited by the presence of a probiotic competitor. Nevertheless, combinations of phage and probiotic produced stable long-term suppression of ST131 over multiple transfers and under both aerobic and anaerobic growth conditions. Combinations of phage and probiotic therefore have real potential for accelerating the removal of drug-resistant commensal targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica H. Forsyth
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
- Present address: Division of Evolution, Infection and Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
| | - Natalie L. Barron
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Lucy Scott
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
| | | | | | - Sean Meaden
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
- Present address: Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Stineke van Houte
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Ben Raymond
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
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2
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Wang Y, Ni K, Zhang Z, Xu N, Lei C, Chen B, Zhang Q, Sun L, Chen Y, Lu T, Qian H. Metatranscriptome deciphers the effects of non-antibiotic antimicrobial agents on antibiotic resistance and virulence factors in freshwater microcosms. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY (AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS) 2023; 258:106513. [PMID: 37001199 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2023.106513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
The emergence and transmission of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence factors (VFs) pose health risks to the ecosystem and humans. Understanding how non-antibiotic antimicrobial agents drive the expression of ARGs and VFs in freshwater ecosystems, however, remains large challenges. Here, we employed freshwater microcosms and performed metatranscriptomic analysis to investigate the expression profiles of ARGs and VFs in response to pollutants of non-antibiotic antimicrobial agents, including silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and azoxystrobin. Results showed that AgNPs significantly inhibited the total expression of ARGs and VFs and decreased the number of pathogenic microorganisms expressing these genes. Azoxystrobin increased the total expression of ARGs and VFs, as well as the number of pathogens expressing VFs, but concomitantly reduced the number of pathogens expressing ARGs. Two tested pollutants dramatically changed the expression profiles of ARGs and VFs, with distinct patterns: AgNPs displayed a negative effect, while azoxystrobin showed a positive effect on their expression profiles. Our findings provided a systematical insight to demonstrate that non-antibiotic antimicrobial agents with different mechanisms of action showed various effects on ARGs and VFs, and therefore represented different ecological risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wang
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
| | - Kepin Ni
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
| | - Zhenyan Zhang
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
| | - Nuohan Xu
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
| | - Chaotang Lei
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
| | - Bingfeng Chen
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
| | - Liwei Sun
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
| | - Yiling Chen
- Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Tao Lu
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China.
| | - Haifeng Qian
- College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China
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Ji X, Lu P, Hu Y, Xue J, Wu J, Zhang B, Zhang Y, Dong L, Lv H, Wang S. Function Characterization of Endogenous Plasmids in Cronobacter sakazakii and Identification of p-Coumaric Acid as Plasmid-Curing Agent. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:687243. [PMID: 34248908 PMCID: PMC8267800 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.687243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Virulence traits and antibiotic resistance are frequently provided by genes located on plasmids. However, experimental verification of the functions of these genes is often lacking due to a lack of related experimental technology. In the present study, an integrated suicide vector was used to efficiently and specifically delete a bacterial endogenous plasmid in Cronobacter sakazakii. The pESA3 plasmid was removed from C. sakazakii BAA-894, and we confirmed that this plasmid contributes to the invasion and virulence of this strain. In addition, the pGW1 plasmid was expunged from C. sakazakii GZcsf-1, and we confirmed that this plasmid confers multidrug resistance. We further screened plasmid-curing agents and found that p-coumaric acid had a remarkable effect on the curing of pESA3 and pGW1 at sub-inhibitory concentrations. Our study investigated the contribution of endogenous plasmids pESA3 and pGW1 by constructing plasmid-cured strains using suicide vectors and suggested that p-coumaric acid can be a safe and effective plasmid-curing agent for C. sakazakii.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuemeng Ji
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Ping Lu
- Institute of Radiation Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical Collage, Tianjin, China
| | - Yaozhong Hu
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Juan Xue
- Institute of Infection and Immunity, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China
| | - Jing Wu
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Bowei Zhang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Lu Dong
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Huan Lv
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Shuo Wang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
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4
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Role of Plasmids in the Ecology and Evolution of "High-Risk" Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Clones. EcoSal Plus 2021; 9. [PMID: 33634776 DOI: 10.1128/ecosalplus.esp-0013-2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Bacterial plasmids have been linked to virulence in Escherichia coli and Salmonella since their initial discovery. Though the plasmid repertoire of these bacterial species is extremely diverse, virulence-associated attributes tend to be limited to a small subset of plasmid types. This is particularly true for extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli, or ExPEC, where a handful of plasmids have been recognized to confer virulence- and fitness-associated traits. The purpose of this review is to highlight the biological and genomic attributes of ExPEC virulence-associated plasmids, with an emphasis on high-risk dominant ExPEC clones. Two specific plasmid types are highlighted to illustrate the independently evolved commonalities of these clones relative to plasmid content. Furthermore, the dissemination of these plasmids within and between bacterial species is examined. These examples demonstrate the evolution of high-risk clones toward common goals, and they show that rare transfer events can shape the ecological landscape of dominant clones within a pathotype.
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5
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Strong Environment-Genotype Interactions Determine the Fitness Costs of Antibiotic Resistance In Vitro and in an Insect Model of Infection. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2020; 64:AAC.01033-20. [PMID: 32661001 DOI: 10.1128/aac.01033-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of antibiotic resistance commonly imposes fitness costs, a reduction in the fitness of bacteria in the absence of drugs. These costs have been quantified primarily using in vitro experiments and a small number of in vivo studies in mice, and it is commonly assumed that these diverse methods are consistent. Here, we used an insect model of infection to compare the fitness costs of antibiotic resistance in vivo to those in vitro Experiments explored diverse mechanisms of resistance in a Gram-positive pathogen, Bacillus thuringiensis, and a Gram-negative intestinal symbiont, Enterobacter cloacae Rifampin resistance in B. thuringiensis showed fitness costs that were typically elevated in vivo, although these were modulated by genotype-environment interactions. In contrast, resistance to cefotaxime via derepression of AmpC β-lactamase in E. cloacae resulted in no detectable costs in vivo or in vitro, while spontaneous resistance to nalidixic acid, and carriage of the IncP plasmid RP4, imposed costs that increased in vivo Overall, fitness costs in vitro were a poor predictor of fitness costs in vivo because of strong genotype-environment interactions throughout this study. Insect infections provide a cheap and accessible means of assessing the fitness consequences of resistance mutations, data that are important for understanding the evolution and spread of resistance. This study emphasizes that the fitness costs imposed by particular mutations or different modes of resistance are extremely variable and that only a subset of these mutations is likely to be prevalent outside the laboratory.
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Zhou D, Sun Z, Lu J, Liu H, Lu W, Lin H, Zhang X, Li Q, Zhou W, Zhu X, Xu H, Lin X, Zhang H, Xu T, Li K, Bao Q. Characterization of a Novel Chromosomal Class C β-Lactamase, YOC-1, and Comparative Genomics Analysis of a Multidrug Resistance Plasmid in Yokenella regensburgei W13. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:2021. [PMID: 32973731 PMCID: PMC7468467 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.02021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Yokenella regensburgei, a member of the family Enterobacteriaceae, is usually isolated from environmental samples and generally resistant to early generations of cephalosporins. To characterize the resistance mechanism of Y. regensburgei strain W13 isolated from the sewage of an animal farm, whole genome sequencing, comparative genomics analysis and molecular cloning were performed. The results showed that a novel chromosomally encoded class C β-lactamase gene with the ability to confer resistance to β-lactam antibiotics, designated bla YOC - 1, was identified in the genome of Y. regensburgei W13. Kinetic analysis revealed that the β-lactamase YOC-1 has a broad spectrum of substrates, including penicillins, cefazolin, cefoxitin and cefotaxime. The two functionally characterized β-lactamases with the highest amino acid identities to YOC-1 were CDA-1 (71.69%) and CMY-2 (70.65%). The genetic context of the bla YOC - 1 -ampR-encoding region was unique compared with the sequences in the NCBI nucleotide database. The plasmid pRYW13-125 of Y. regensburgei W13 harbored 11 resistance genes (bla OXA - 10, bla LAP - 2, dfrA14, tetA, tetR, cmlA5, floR, sul2, ant(3″)-IIa, arr-2 and qnrS1) within an ∼34 kb multidrug resistance region; these genes were all related to mobile genetic elements. The multidrug resistance region of pYRW13-125 shared the highest identities with those of two plasmids from clinical Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, indicating the possibility of horizontal transfer of these resistance genes between bacteria of various origins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danying Zhou
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Zhewei Sun
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Junwan Lu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Hongmao Liu
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Wei Lu
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Hailong Lin
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Xueya Zhang
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Qiaoling Li
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Wangxiao Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Xinyi Zhu
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Haili Xu
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Xi Lin
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Hailin Zhang
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Teng Xu
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Baotou Central Hospital, Baotou, China
| | - Kewei Li
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Qiyu Bao
- The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of Zhejiang Province, Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education of China, School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
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7
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Biofilms facilitate cheating and social exploitation of β-lactam resistance in Escherichia coli. NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes 2019; 5:36. [PMID: 31814991 PMCID: PMC6884583 DOI: 10.1038/s41522-019-0109-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli commonly resist β-lactam antibiotics using plasmid-encoded β-lactamase enzymes. Bacterial strains that express β-lactamases have been found to detoxify liquid cultures and thus to protect genetically susceptible strains, constituting a clear laboratory example of social protection. These results are not necessarily general; on solid media, for instance, the rapid bactericidal action of β-lactams largely prevents social protection. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the greater tolerance of biofilm bacteria for β-lactams would facilitate social interactions. We used a recently isolated E. coli strain, capable of strong biofilm formation, to compare how cooperation and exploitation in colony biofilms and broth culture drives the dynamics of a non-conjugative plasmid encoding a clinically important β-lactamase. Susceptible cells in biofilms were tolerant of ampicillin—high doses and several days of exposure were required to kill them. In support of our hypothesis, we found robust social protection of susceptible E. coli in biofilms, despite fine-scale physical separation of resistant and susceptible cells and lower rates of production of extracellular β-lactamase. In contrast, social interactions in broth were restricted to a relatively narrow range of ampicillin doses. Our results show that β-lactam selection pressure on Gram-negative biofilms leads to cooperative resistance characterized by a low equilibrium frequency of resistance plasmids, sufficient to protect all cells.
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Tymensen L, Booker CW, Hannon SJ, Cook SR, Jokinen CC, Zaheer R, Read R, Boerlin P, McAllister TA. Plasmid Distribution among Escherichia coli from Livestock and Associated Wastewater: Unraveling Factors That Shape the Presence of Genes Conferring Third-Generation Cephalosporin Resistance. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2019; 53:11666-11674. [PMID: 31532641 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b03486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
A key concern with agricultural wastewater storage ponds is that they may provide an environment conducive for horizontal exchange of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), thereby facilitating the emergence of antibiotic resistant pathogens. Central to this exchange are mobile genetic elements like plasmids; yet, the factors shaping their presence in agricultural environments remain poorly understood. Here, using Escherichia coli as a model bacterium, we examined genetic backgrounds and plasmid profiles of generic fecal and wastewater isolates and those possessing blaCTX-M and blaCMY-2 genes (which confer resistance to third-generation cephalosporins) to delineate factors shaping the environmental persistence of plasmid-associated ARGs in beef cattle feedlots. The wastewater environment exerted minimal influence on plasmid repertoires, as the number of plasmids and distribution of different incompatibility groups did not differ between generic fecal and wastewater isolates. The blaCTX-M and blaCMY-2 genes were associated with IncF and IncA/C plasmids, respectively, and host isolates possessing these ARGs had fewer plasmids than generic isolates, suggesting ARG-bearing plasmids may associate predominantly with such hosts to compensate for the metabolic burden imposed by these plasmids. Phylogeny also appeared to be a factor for blaCTX-M genes, as their bacterial hosts were restricted to particular genetic lineages, including the environmentally adapted ET-1 clade, as noted previously for these genes. Ultimately, these findings have important implications for evaluating human health risks of agricultural wastewater with respect to environmental persistence of ARGs and may help identify options for improving wastewater treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Tymensen
- Irrigation and Farm Water Branch, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry , Lethbridge , Alberta Canada , T1J 4V6
| | - Calvin W Booker
- Feedlot Health Management Services, Ltd. , Okotoks , Alberta Canada , T1S 2A2
| | - Sherry J Hannon
- Feedlot Health Management Services, Ltd. , Okotoks , Alberta Canada , T1S 2A2
| | - Shaun R Cook
- Irrigation and Farm Water Branch, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry , Lethbridge , Alberta Canada , T1J 4V6
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada , Lethbridge , Alberta Canada , T1J 4B1
| | - Cassandra C Jokinen
- Irrigation and Farm Water Branch, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry , Lethbridge , Alberta Canada , T1J 4V6
| | - Rahat Zaheer
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada , Lethbridge , Alberta Canada , T1J 4B1
| | - Ron Read
- Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases , University of Calgary , Calgary , Alberta Canada , T1Y 6J4
| | - Patrick Boerlin
- Department of Pathobiology , University of Guelph , 50 Stone Road East , Guelph , Ontario Canada , N1G 2W1
| | - Tim A McAllister
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada , Lethbridge , Alberta Canada , T1J 4B1
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9
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Dimitriu T, Marchant L, Buckling A, Raymond B. Bacteria from natural populations transfer plasmids mostly towards their kin. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191110. [PMID: 31238848 PMCID: PMC6599995 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmids play a key role in microbial ecology and evolution, yet the determinants of plasmid transfer rates are poorly understood. Particularly, interactions between donor hosts and potential recipients are understudied. Here, we investigate the importance of genetic similarity between naturally co-occurring Escherichia coli isolates in plasmid transfer. We uncover extensive variability, spanning over five orders of magnitude, in the ability of isolates to donate and receive two different plasmids, R1 and RP4. Overall, transfer is strongly biased towards clone-mates, but not correlated to genetic distance when donors and recipients are not clone-mates. Transfer is limited by the presence of a functional restriction-modification system in recipients, suggesting sharing of strain-specific defence systems contributes to bias towards kin. Such restriction of transfer to kin sets the stage for longer-term coevolutionary interactions leading to mutualism between plasmids and bacterial hosts in natural communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiana Dimitriu
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter , Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE , UK
| | - Lauren Marchant
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter , Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE , UK
| | - Angus Buckling
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter , Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE , UK
| | - Ben Raymond
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter , Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE , UK
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10
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Tymensen L, Zaheer R, Cook SR, Amoako KK, Goji N, Read R, Booker CW, Hannon SJ, Neumann N, McAllister TA. Clonal expansion of environmentally-adapted Escherichia coli contributes to propagation of antibiotic resistance genes in beef cattle feedlots. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 637-638:657-664. [PMID: 29758422 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Revised: 05/01/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Livestock wastewater lagoons represent important environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), although factors contributing to their proliferation within these reservoirs remain poorly understood. Here, we characterized Escherichia coli from feedlot cattle feces and associated wastewater lagoons using CRISPR1 subtyping, and demonstrated that while generic E. coli were genetically diverse, populations were dominated by several 'feedlot-adapted' CRISPR types (CTs) that were widely distributed throughout the feedlot. Moreover, E. coli bearing beta-lactamase genes, which confer reduced susceptibility to third-generation cephalosporin's, predominantly belonged to these feedlot-adapted CTs. Remarkably, the genomic region containing the CRISPR1 allele was more frequently subject to genetic exchange among wastewater isolates compared to fecal isolates, implicating this region in environmental adaptation. This allele is proximal to the mutS-rpoS-nlpD region, which is involved in regulating recombination barriers and adaptive stress responses. There were no loss-of-function mutS or rpoS mutations or beneficial accessory genes present within the mutS-rpoS-nlpD region that would account for increased environmental fitness among feedlot-adapted isolates. However, comparative sequence analysis revealed that protein sequences within this region were conserved among most feedlot-adapted CTs, but not transient fecal CTs, and did not reflect phylogenetic relatedness, implying that adaptation to wastewater environments may be associated with genetic variation related to stress resistance. Collectively, our findings suggest adaptation of E. coli to feedlot environments may contribute to propagation of ARGs in wastewater lagoons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Tymensen
- Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Irrigation and Farm Water Branch, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 4V6, Canada.
| | - Rahat Zaheer
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 4B1, Canada
| | - Shaun R Cook
- Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Irrigation and Farm Water Branch, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 4V6, Canada
| | - Kingsley K Amoako
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National Center for Animal Disease, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Noriko Goji
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National Center for Animal Disease, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Ron Read
- Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Alberta T1Y 6J4, Canada
| | - Calvin W Booker
- Feedlot Health Management Services, Ltd., Okotoks, Alberta T1S 2A2, Canada
| | - Sherry J Hannon
- Feedlot Health Management Services, Ltd., Okotoks, Alberta T1S 2A2, Canada
| | - Norman Neumann
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 3-300 Edmonton Clinic Health Authority, 11405-87 Ave, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1C9, Canada
| | - Tim A McAllister
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 4B1, Canada
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11
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Abstract
Plasmids mediate the horizontal transmission of genetic information between bacteria, facilitating their adaptation to multiple environmental conditions. An especially important example of the ability of plasmids to catalyze bacterial adaptation and evolution is their instrumental role in the global spread of antibiotic resistance, which constitutes a major threat to public health. Plasmids provide bacteria with new adaptive tools, but they also entail a metabolic burden that, in the absence of selection for plasmid-encoded traits, reduces the competitiveness of the plasmid-carrying clone. Although this fitness reduction can be alleviated over time through compensatory evolution, the initial cost associated with plasmid carriage is the main constraint on the vertical and horizontal replication of these genetic elements. The fitness effects of plasmids therefore have a crucial influence on their ability to associate with new bacterial hosts and consequently on the evolution of plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying plasmid fitness cost remain poorly understood. Here, we analyze the literature in the field and examine the potential fitness effects produced by plasmids throughout their life cycle in the host bacterium. We also explore the various mechanisms evolved by plasmids and bacteria to minimize the cost entailed by these mobile genetic elements. Finally, we discuss potential future research directions in the field.
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