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Ning D, Wang Y, Fan Y, Wang J, Van Nostrand JD, Wu L, Zhang P, Curtis DJ, Tian R, Lui L, Hazen TC, Alm EJ, Fields MW, Poole F, Adams MWW, Chakraborty R, Stahl DA, Adams PD, Arkin AP, He Z, Zhou J. Environmental stress mediates groundwater microbial community assembly. Nat Microbiol 2024; 9:490-501. [PMID: 38212658 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-023-01573-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Community assembly describes how different ecological processes shape microbial community composition and structure. How environmental factors impact community assembly remains elusive. Here we sampled microbial communities and >200 biogeochemical variables in groundwater at the Oak Ridge Field Research Center, a former nuclear waste disposal site, and developed a theoretical framework to conceptualize the relationships between community assembly processes and environmental stresses. We found that stochastic assembly processes were critical (>60% on average) in shaping community structure, but their relative importance decreased as stress increased. Dispersal limitation and 'drift' related to random birth and death had negative correlations with stresses, whereas the selection processes leading to dissimilar communities increased with stresses, primarily related to pH, cobalt and molybdenum. Assembly mechanisms also varied greatly among different phylogenetic groups. Our findings highlight the importance of microbial dispersal limitation and environmental heterogeneity in ecosystem restoration and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daliang Ning
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Yajiao Wang
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Yupeng Fan
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Jianjun Wang
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Joy D Van Nostrand
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Liyou Wu
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Ping Zhang
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Daniel J Curtis
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Renmao Tian
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Institute for Food Safety and Health, Illinois Institute of Technology, Bedford Park, IL, USA
| | - Lauren Lui
- Division of Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Terry C Hazen
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Bredesen Center, Department of Civil and Environmental Sciences, Center for Environmental Biotechnology, and Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Eric J Alm
- Department of Biological Engineering, Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Matthew W Fields
- Center for Biofilm Engineering and Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - Farris Poole
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Michael W W Adams
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Romy Chakraborty
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - David A Stahl
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Paul D Adams
- Division of Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Adam P Arkin
- Division of Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Zhili He
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Zhuhai, China
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
- School of Computer Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
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Li X, Yang Z, Zhang G, Si S, Wu X, Cai L. Plasmid Genomes Reveal the Distribution, Abundance, and Organization of Mercury-Related Genes and Their Co-Distribution with Antibiotic Resistant Genes in Gammaproteobacteria. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:2149. [PMID: 36421823 PMCID: PMC9690531 DOI: 10.3390/genes13112149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/13/2022] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) pollution poses human health and environmental risks worldwide, as it can have toxic effects and causes selective pressure that facilitates the spread of antibiotic resistant genes (ARGs) among microbes. More and more studies have revealed that numerous Hg-related genes (HRGs) can help to resist and transform Hg. In the present study, we systematically analyzed the HRG distribution, abundance, organization, and their co-distribution with ARGs, using 18,731 publicly available plasmid genomes isolated from a Gammaproteobacteria host. Our results revealed that there were many Hg-resistant (mer) operon genes but they were not extensively distributed across plasmids, with only 9.20% of plasmids harboring HRGs. Additionally, no hgcAB genes (which methylate Hg to create methylmercury) were identified in any of the analyzed plasmids. The host source significantly influenced the number of HRGs harbored by plasmids; plasmids isolated from humans and animals harbored a significantly smaller number of HRGs than plasmids isolated from the wastewater and sludge. HRG clusters displayed an extremely high organizational diversity (88 HRG cluster types), though incidences of more than half of the HRG cluster types was <5. This indicates the frequent rearrangement among HRGs in plasmids. The 1368 plasmids harboring both HRGs and ARGs, were dominated by Klebsiella, followed by Escherichia, Salmonella, and Enterobacter. The tightness of the HRG and ARG co-distribution in plasmids was affected by the host sources but not by pathogenicity. HRGs were more likely to co-occur with specific ARG classes (sulfonamide, macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin, and aminoglycoside resistance genes). Collectively, our results reveal the distribution characteristics of HRGs in plasmids, and they have important implications for further understanding the environmental risks caused by the spread of ARGs through the plasmid-mediated co-transfer of ARGs and HRGs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangyang Li
- School of Life and Health Science, Kaili University, Kaili 556011, China
- Bacterial Genome Data Mining & Bioinformatic Analysis Center, Kaili University, Kaili 556011, China
| | - Zilin Yang
- School of Sciences, Kaili University, Kaili 556018, China
| | - Guohui Zhang
- School of Life and Health Science, Kaili University, Kaili 556011, China
| | - Shengli Si
- School of Life and Health Science, Kaili University, Kaili 556011, China
| | - Xianzhi Wu
- School of Life and Health Science, Kaili University, Kaili 556011, China
| | - Lin Cai
- Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen 518120, China
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Winter M, Buckling A, Harms K, Johnsen PJ, Vos M. Antimicrobial resistance acquisition via natural transformation: context is everything. Curr Opin Microbiol 2021; 64:133-138. [PMID: 34710742 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Natural transformation is a process where bacterial cells actively take up free DNA from the environment and recombine it into their genome or reconvert it into extra-chromosomal genetic elements. Although this mechanism is known to mediate the uptake of antibiotic resistance determinants in a range of human pathogens, its importance in the spread of antimicrobial resistance is not always appreciated. This review highlights the context in which transformation takes place: in diverse microbiomes, in interaction with other forms of horizontal gene transfer and in increasingly polluted environments. This examination of the abiotic and biotic drivers of transformation reveals that it could be more important in the dissemination of resistance genes than is often recognised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macaulay Winter
- European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Environment and Sustainability Institute, Penryn Campus, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - Angus Buckling
- Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - Klaus Harms
- Microbial Pharmacology and Population Biology Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Pål Jarle Johnsen
- Microbial Pharmacology and Population Biology Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Michiel Vos
- European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Environment and Sustainability Institute, Penryn Campus, TR10 9FE, United Kingdom.
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Morgado SM, Vicente ACP. Comprehensive in silico survey of the Mycolicibacterium mobilome reveals an as yet underexplored diversity. Microb Genom 2021; 7:mgen000533. [PMID: 33620305 PMCID: PMC8190616 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The mobilome plays a crucial role in bacterial adaptation and is therefore a starting point to understand and establish the gene flow occurring in the process of bacterial evolution. This is even more so if we consider that the mobilome of environmental bacteria can be the reservoir of genes that may later appear in the clinic. Recently, new genera have been proposed in the family Mycobacteriaceae, including the genus Mycolicibacterium, which encompasses dozens of species of agricultural, biotechnological, clinical and ecological importance, being ubiquitous in several environments. The current scenario in the Mycobacteriaceae mobilome has some bias because most of the characterized mycobacteriophages were isolated using a single host strain, and the few plasmids reported mainly relate to the genus Mycobacterium. To fill in the gaps in these issues, we performed a systematic in silico study of these mobile elements based on 242 available genomes of the genus Mycolicibacterium. The analyses identified 156 putative plasmids (19 conjugative, 45 mobilizable and 92 non-mobilizable) and 566 prophages in 86 and 229 genomes, respectively. Moreover, a contig was characterized by resembling an actinomycete integrative and conjugative element (AICE). Within this diversity of mobile genetic elements, there is a pool of genes associated with several canonical functions, in addition to adaptive traits, such as virulence and resistance to antibiotics and metals (mercury and arsenic). The type-VII secretion system was a common feature in the predicted plasmids, being associated with genes encoding virulent proteins (EsxA, EsxB, PE and PPE). In addition to the characterization of plasmids and prophages of the family Mycobacteriaceae, this study showed an abundance of these genetic elements in a dozen species of the genus Mycolicibacterium.
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Plasmid-Mediated Ampicillin, Quinolone, and Heavy Metal Co-Resistance among ESBL-Producing Isolates from the Yamuna River, New Delhi, India. Antibiotics (Basel) 2020; 9:antibiotics9110826. [PMID: 33227950 PMCID: PMC7699290 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics9110826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is one of the major current global health crises. Because of increasing contamination with antimicrobials, pesticides, and heavy metals, the aquatic environment has become a hotspot for emergence, maintenance, and dissemination of antibiotic and heavy metal resistance genes among bacteria. The aim of the present study was to determine the co-resistance to quinolones, ampicillin, and heavy metals among the bacterial isolates harboring extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) genes. Among 73 bacterial strains isolated from a highly polluted stretch of the Yamuna River in Delhi, those carrying blaCTX-M, blaTEM, or blaSHV genes were analyzed to detect the genetic determinants of resistance to quinolones, ampicillin, mercury, and arsenic. The plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) gene qnrS was found in 22 isolates; however, the qnrA, B, C, and qnrD genes could not be detected in any of the bacteria. Two variants of CMY, blaCMY-2 and blaCMY-42, were identified among eight and seven strains, respectively. Furthermore, merB, merP, merT, and arsC genes were detected in 40, 40, 44, and 24 bacterial strains, respectively. Co-transfer of different resistance genes was also investigated in a transconjugation experiment. Successful transconjugants had antibiotic and heavy metal resistance genes with similar tolerance toward antibiotics and heavy metals as did their donors. This study indicates that the aquatic environment is a major reservoir of bacteria harboring resistance genes to antibiotics and heavy metals and emphasizes the need to study the genetic basis of resistant microorganisms and their public health implications.
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