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Somprasong N, Hagen JP, Sahl JW, Webb JR, Hall CM, Currie BJ, Wagner DM, Keim P, Schweizer HP. A conserved active site PenA β-lactamase Ambler motif specific for Burkholderia pseudomallei/B. mallei is likely responsible for intrinsic amoxicillin-clavulanic acid sensitivity and facilitates a simple diagnostic PCR assay for melioidosis. Int J Antimicrob Agents 2023; 61:106714. [PMID: 36640845 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2023.106714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Burkholderia pseudomallei is a soil- and water-dwelling Gram-negative bacterium that causes melioidosis in humans and animals. Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (AMC) susceptibility has been hailed as an integral part of the screening algorithm for identification of B. pseudomallei, but the molecular basis for the inherent AMC susceptibility of this bacterium remains undefined. This study showed that B. pseudomallei (and the closely-related B. mallei) wild-type strains are the only Burkholderia spp. that contain a 70STSK73 PenA Ambler motif. This motif was present in >99.5% of 1820 analysed B. pseudomallei strains and 100% of 83 analysed B. mallei strains, and is proposed as the likely cause for their inherent AMC sensitivity. The authors developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that specifically amplifies the penA70ST(S/F)K73-containing region from B. pseudomallei and B. mallei, but not from the remaining B. pseudomallei complex species or the 70STFK73 region from the closely-related penB of B. cepacia complex species. The abundance and purity of the 193-bp PCR fragment from putative B. pseudomallei isolates from clinical and environmental samples is likely sufficient for reliable confirmation of the presence of B. pseudomallei. The PCR assay is designed to be especially suited for use in resource-constrained areas. While not further explored in this study, the assay may allow diagnosis of putative B. mallei in culture isolates from animal and human samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nawarat Somprasong
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, 1395 S Knoles Dr. Flagstaff, AZ 86001-4073, USA
| | - Johannah P Hagen
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, 1395 S Knoles Dr. Flagstaff, AZ 86001-4073, USA
| | - Jason W Sahl
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, 1395 S Knoles Dr. Flagstaff, AZ 86001-4073, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Jessica R Webb
- Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Carina M Hall
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, 1395 S Knoles Dr. Flagstaff, AZ 86001-4073, USA
| | - Bart J Currie
- Global and Tropical Health Division, Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia; Department of Infectious Diseases and Northern Territory Medical Programme, Royal Darwin Hospital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
| | - David M Wagner
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, 1395 S Knoles Dr. Flagstaff, AZ 86001-4073, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Paul Keim
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, 1395 S Knoles Dr. Flagstaff, AZ 86001-4073, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Herbert P Schweizer
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, 1395 S Knoles Dr. Flagstaff, AZ 86001-4073, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
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Hall CM, Romero-Alvarez D, Martz M, Santana-Propper E, Versluis L, Jiménez L, Alkishe A, Busch JD, Maness T, Stewart J, Sidwa T, Gee JE, Elrod MG, Weiner Z, Hoffmaster AR, Sahl JW, Salzer JS, Peterson AT, Kieffer A, Wagner DM. Low risk of acquiring melioidosis from the environment in the continental United States. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0270997. [PMID: 35905049 PMCID: PMC9337633 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Melioidosis is an underreported human disease of tropical and sub-tropical regions caused by the saprophyte Burkholderia pseudomallei. Although most global melioidosis cases are reported from tropical regions in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, there are multiple occurrences from sub-tropical regions, including the United States (U.S.). Most melioidosis cases reported from the continental U.S. are the result of acquiring the disease during travel to endemic regions or from contaminated imported materials. Only two human melioidosis cases from the continental U.S. have likely acquired B. pseudomallei directly from local environments and these cases lived only ~7 km from each other in rural Texas. In this study, we assessed the risk of acquiring melioidosis from the environment within the continental U.S. by surveying for B. pseudomallei in the environment in Texas where these two human melioidosis cases likely acquired their infections. We sampled the environment near the homes of the two cases and at additional sampling locations in surrounding counties in Texas that were selected based on ecological niche modeling. B. pseudomallei was not detected at the residences of these two cases or in the surrounding region. These negative data are important to demonstrate that B. pseudomallei is rare in the environment in the U.S. even at locations where locally acquired human cases likely have occurred, documenting the low risk of acquiring B. pseudomallei infection from the environment in the continental U.S.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carina M. Hall
- Pathogen Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Daniel Romero-Alvarez
- University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
- OneHealth Research Group, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Madison Martz
- Pathogen Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Ella Santana-Propper
- Pathogen Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Lora Versluis
- Pathogen Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Laura Jiménez
- University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | | | - Joseph D. Busch
- Pathogen Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Trevor Maness
- Texas Department of State Health Services, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
| | - Jonathan Stewart
- Texas Department of State Health Services, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
| | - Tom Sidwa
- Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, Texas, United States of America
| | - Jay E. Gee
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Mindy G. Elrod
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Zachary Weiner
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Alex R. Hoffmaster
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Jason W. Sahl
- Pathogen Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Johanna S. Salzer
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | | | - Amanda Kieffer
- Texas Department of State Health Services, San Antonio, Texas, United States of America
| | - David M. Wagner
- Pathogen Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Roe C, Vazquez AJ, Phillips PD, Allender CJ, Bowen RA, Nottingham RD, Doyle A, Wongsuwan G, Wuthiekanun V, Limmathurotsakul D, Peacock S, Keim P, Tuanyok A, Wagner DM, Sahl JW. Multiple phylogenetically-diverse, differentially-virulent Burkholderia pseudomallei isolated from a single soil sample collected in Thailand. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010172. [PMID: 35143500 PMCID: PMC8865643 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Burkholderia pseudomallei is a soil-dwelling bacterium endemic to Southeast Asia and northern Australia that causes the disease, melioidosis. Although the global genomic diversity of clinical B. pseudomallei isolates has been investigated, there is limited understanding of its genomic diversity across small geographic scales, especially in soil. In this study, we obtained 288 B. pseudomallei isolates from a single soil sample (~100g; intensive site 2, INT2) collected at a depth of 30cm from a site in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand. We sequenced the genomes of 169 of these isolates that represent 7 distinct sequence types (STs), including a new ST (ST1820), based on multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) analysis. A core genome SNP phylogeny demonstrated that all identified STs share a recent common ancestor that diverged an estimated 796-1260 years ago. A pan-genomics analysis demonstrated recombination between clades and intra-MLST phylogenetic and gene differences. To identify potential differential virulence between STs, groups of BALB/c mice (5 mice/isolate) were challenged via subcutaneous injection (500 CFUs) with 30 INT2 isolates representing 5 different STs; over the 21-day experiment, eight isolates killed all mice, 2 isolates killed an intermediate number of mice (1-2), and 20 isolates killed no mice. Although the virulence results were largely stratified by ST, one virulent isolate and six attenuated isolates were from the same ST (ST1005), suggesting that variably conserved genomic regions may contribute to virulence. Genomes from the animal-challenged isolates were subjected to a bacterial genome-wide association study to identify genomic regions associated with differential virulence. One associated region is a unique variant of Hcp1, a component of the type VI secretion system, which may result in attenuation. The results of this study have implications for comprehensive sampling strategies, environmental exposure risk assessment, and understanding recombination and differential virulence in B. pseudomallei.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandler Roe
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Adam J. Vazquez
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Paul D. Phillips
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Chris J. Allender
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Richard A. Bowen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Roxanne D. Nottingham
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Adina Doyle
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Gumphol Wongsuwan
- Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Vanaporn Wuthiekanun
- Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | - Sharon Peacock
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England
| | - Paul Keim
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Apichai Tuanyok
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - David M. Wagner
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Jason W. Sahl
- The Pathogen and Microbiome Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
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