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Hoque MM, Noorian P, Espinoza-Vergara G, Adhikary S, To J, Rice SA, McDougald D. Increased iron utilization and oxidative stress tolerance in a Vibrio cholerae flrA mutant confers resistance to amoeba predation. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0109523. [PMID: 37882527 PMCID: PMC10686080 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01095-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Persistence of V. cholerae in the aquatic environment contributes to the fatal diarrheal disease cholera, which remains a global health burden. In the environment, bacteria face predation pressure by heterotrophic protists such as the free-living amoeba A. castellanii. This study explores how a mutant of V. cholerae adapts to acquire essential nutrients and survive predation. Here, we observed that up-regulation of iron acquisition genes and genes regulating resistance to oxidative stress enhances pathogen fitness. Our data show that V. cholerae can defend predation to overcome nutrient limitation and oxidative stress, resulting in an enhanced survival inside the protozoan hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Mozammel Hoque
- Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Parisa Noorian
- Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Gustavo Espinoza-Vergara
- Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Srijon Adhikary
- Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Joyce To
- Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Scott A. Rice
- Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- CSIRO Animal, Food and Health Sciences, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Diane McDougald
- Australian Institute for Microbiology and Infection, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Hoque MM, Noorian P, Espinoza-Vergara G, Manuneedhi Cholan P, Kim M, Rahman MH, Labbate M, Rice SA, Pernice M, Oehlers SH, McDougald D. Adaptation to an amoeba host drives selection of virulence-associated traits in Vibrio cholerae. ISME J 2022; 16:856-867. [PMID: 34654895 PMCID: PMC8857207 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-021-01134-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Predation by heterotrophic protists drives the emergence of adaptive traits in bacteria, and often these traits lead to altered interactions with hosts and persistence in the environment. Here we studied adaptation of the cholera pathogen, Vibrio cholerae during long-term co-incubation with the protist host, Acanthamoeba castellanii. We determined phenotypic and genotypic changes associated with long-term intra-amoebal host adaptation and how this impacts pathogen survival and fitness. We showed that adaptation to the amoeba host leads to temporal changes in multiple phenotypic traits in V. cholerae that facilitate increased survival and competitive fitness in amoeba. Genome sequencing and mutational analysis revealed that these altered lifestyles were linked to non-synonymous mutations in conserved regions of the flagellar transcriptional regulator, flrA. Additionally, the mutations resulted in enhanced colonisation in zebrafish, establishing a link between adaptation of V. cholerae to amoeba predation and enhanced environmental persistence. Our results show that pressure imposed by amoeba on V. cholerae selects for flrA mutations that serves as a key driver for adaptation. Importantly, this study provides evidence that adaptive traits that evolve in pathogens in response to environmental predatory pressure impact the colonisation of eukaryotic organisms by these pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Mozammel Hoque
- grid.117476.20000 0004 1936 7611The iThree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Parisa Noorian
- grid.117476.20000 0004 1936 7611The iThree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Gustavo Espinoza-Vergara
- grid.117476.20000 0004 1936 7611The iThree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Pradeep Manuneedhi Cholan
- grid.1013.30000 0004 1936 834XTuberculosis Research Program at the Centenary Institute, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW Australia ,grid.1013.30000 0004 1936 834XFaculty of Medicine and Health & Marie Bashir Institute, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW Australia
| | - Mikael Kim
- grid.117476.20000 0004 1936 7611Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Md Hafizur Rahman
- grid.117476.20000 0004 1936 7611School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Maurizio Labbate
- grid.117476.20000 0004 1936 7611School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Scott A. Rice
- grid.117476.20000 0004 1936 7611The iThree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia ,grid.59025.3b0000 0001 2224 0361Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Mathieu Pernice
- grid.117476.20000 0004 1936 7611Climate Change Cluster, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
| | - Stefan H. Oehlers
- grid.1013.30000 0004 1936 834XTuberculosis Research Program at the Centenary Institute, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW Australia ,grid.1013.30000 0004 1936 834XFaculty of Medicine and Health & Marie Bashir Institute, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW Australia
| | - Diane McDougald
- grid.117476.20000 0004 1936 7611The iThree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia ,grid.59025.3b0000 0001 2224 0361Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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Ismail MH, Michie KA, Goh YF, Noorian P, Kjelleberg S, Duggin IG, McDougald D, Rice SA. The Repressor C Protein, Pf4r, Controls Superinfection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 by the Pf4 Filamentous Phage and Regulates Host Gene Expression. Viruses 2021; 13:1614. [PMID: 34452479 PMCID: PMC8402870 DOI: 10.3390/v13081614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been shown that the filamentous phage, Pf4, plays an important role in biofilm development, stress tolerance, genetic variant formation and virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. These behaviours are linked to the appearance of superinfective phage variants. Here, we have investigated the molecular mechanism of superinfection as well as how the Pf4 phage can control host gene expression to modulate host behaviours. Pf4 exists as a prophage in PAO1 and encodes a homologue of the P2 phage repressor C and was recently named Pf4r. Through a combination of molecular techniques, ChIPseq and transcriptomic analyses, we show a critical site in repressor C (Pf4r) where a mutation in the site, 788799A>G (Ser4Pro), causes Pf4r to lose its function as the immunity factor against reinfection by Pf4. X-ray crystal structure analysis shows that Pf4r forms symmetric homo-dimers homologous to the E.coli bacteriophage P2 RepC protein. A mutation, Pf4r*, associated with the superinfective Pf4r variant, found at the dimer interface, suggests dimer formation may be disrupted, which derepresses phage replication. This is supported by multi-angle light scattering (MALS) analysis, where the Pf4r* protein only forms monomers. The loss of dimerisation also explains the loss of Pf4r's immunity function. Phenotypic assays showed that Pf4r increased LasB activity and was also associated with a slight increase in the percentage of morphotypic variants. ChIPseq and transcriptomic analyses suggest that Pf4r also likely functions as a transcriptional regulator for other host genes. Collectively, these data suggest the mechanism by which filamentous phages play such an important role in P. aeruginosa biofilm development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Hafiz Ismail
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Singapore 637551, Singapore; (M.H.I.); (Y.F.G.); (S.K.); (D.M.)
- The School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore
| | - Katharine A. Michie
- Structural Biology Facility, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia;
| | - Yu Fen Goh
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Singapore 637551, Singapore; (M.H.I.); (Y.F.G.); (S.K.); (D.M.)
| | - Parisa Noorian
- The iThree Institute, The University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; (P.N.); (I.G.D.)
| | - Staffan Kjelleberg
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Singapore 637551, Singapore; (M.H.I.); (Y.F.G.); (S.K.); (D.M.)
- The School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore
| | - Iain G. Duggin
- The iThree Institute, The University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; (P.N.); (I.G.D.)
| | - Diane McDougald
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Singapore 637551, Singapore; (M.H.I.); (Y.F.G.); (S.K.); (D.M.)
- The iThree Institute, The University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; (P.N.); (I.G.D.)
| | - Scott A. Rice
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Singapore 637551, Singapore; (M.H.I.); (Y.F.G.); (S.K.); (D.M.)
- The School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore
- The iThree Institute, The University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia; (P.N.); (I.G.D.)
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Espinoza-Vergara G, Hoque MM, McDougald D, Noorian P. The Impact of Protozoan Predation on the Pathogenicity of Vibrio cholerae. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:17. [PMID: 32038597 PMCID: PMC6985070 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In the aquatic environment, Vibrio spp. interact with many living organisms that can serve as a replication niche, including heterotrophic protists, or protozoa. Protozoa engulf bacteria and package them into phagosomes where the cells are exposed to low pH, antimicrobial peptides, reactive oxygen/nitrogen species, proteolytic enzymes, and low concentrations of essential metal ions such as iron. However, some bacteria can resist these digestive processes. For example, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio harveyi can resist intracellular digestion. In order to survive intracellularly, bacteria have acquired and/or developed specific factors that help them to resist the unfavorable conditions encountered inside of the phagosomes. Many of these intra-phagosomal factors used to kill and digest bacteria are highly conserved between eukaryotic cells and thus are also expressed by the innate immune system in the gastrointestinal tract as the first line of defense against bacterial pathogens. Since pathogenic bacteria have been shown to be hypervirulent after they have passed through protozoa, the resistance to digestion by protist hosts in their natural environment plays a key role in enhancing the infectious potential of pathogenic Vibrio spp. This review will investigate the current knowledge in interactions of bacteria with protozoa and human host to better understand the mechanisms used by both protozoa and human hosts to kill bacteria and the bacterial response to them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo Espinoza-Vergara
- Faculty of Science, The ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - M Mozammel Hoque
- Faculty of Science, The ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Diane McDougald
- Faculty of Science, The ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Faculty of Science, Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Parisa Noorian
- Faculty of Science, The ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Sun S, Noorian P, McDougald D. Dual Role of Mechanisms Involved in Resistance to Predation by Protozoa and Virulence to Humans. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:1017. [PMID: 29867902 PMCID: PMC5967200 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Most opportunistic pathogens transit in the environment between hosts and the environment plays a significant role in the evolution of protective traits. The coincidental evolution hypothesis suggests that virulence factors arose as a response to other selective pressures rather for virulence per se. This idea is strongly supported by the elucidation of bacterial-protozoal interactions. In response to protozoan predation, bacteria have evolved various defensive mechanisms which may also function as virulence factors. In this review, we summarize the dual role of factors involved in both grazing resistance and human pathogenesis, and compare the traits using model intracellular and extracellular pathogens. Intracellular pathogens rely on active invasion, blocking of the phagosome and lysosome fusion and resistance to phagocytic digestion to successfully invade host cells. In contrast, extracellular pathogens utilize toxin secretion and biofilm formation to avoid internalization by phagocytes. The complexity and diversity of bacterial virulence factors whose evolution is driven by protozoan predation, highlights the importance of protozoa in evolution of opportunistic pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuyang Sun
- ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Parisa Noorian
- ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Diane McDougald
- ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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Noorian P, Hu J, Chen Z, Kjelleberg S, Wilkins MR, Sun S, McDougald D. Pyomelanin produced by Vibrio cholerae confers resistance to predation by Acanthamoeba castellanii. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2018; 93:4582896. [PMID: 29095994 PMCID: PMC5812506 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fix147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Protozoan predation is one of the main environmental factors constraining bacterial growth in aquatic environments, and thus has led to the evolution of a number of defence mechanisms that protect bacteria from predation. These mechanisms may also function as virulence factors in infection of animal and human hosts. Whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing of Vibrio cholerae biofilms during predation by the amoebae, Acanthamoeba castellanii, revealed that 131 transcripts were significantly differentially regulated when compared to the non-grazed control. Differentially regulated transcripts included those involved in biosynthetic and metabolic pathways. The transcripts of genes involved in tyrosine metabolism were down-regulated in the grazed population, which indicates that the tyrosine metabolic regulon may have a role in the response of V. cholerae biofilms to A. castellanii predation. Homogentisate 1, 2-dioxygenase (HGA) is the main intermediate of the normal L-tyrosine catabolic pathway which is known to auto-oxidize, leading to the formation of the pigment, pyomelanin. Indeed, a pigmented mutant, disrupted in hmgA, was more resistant to amoebae predation than the wild type. Increased grazing resistance was correlated with increased production of pyomelanin and thus reactive oxygen species (ROS), suggesting that ROS production is a defensive mechanism used by bacterial biofilms against predation by amoebae A. castellanii.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parisa Noorian
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.,The ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Jie Hu
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore
| | - Zhiliang Chen
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.,Systems Biology Initiative, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Staffan Kjelleberg
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore
| | - Marc R Wilkins
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.,Systems Biology Initiative, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Shuyang Sun
- The ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Diane McDougald
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.,The ithree Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia.,Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore
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Lutz C, Erken M, Noorian P, Sun S, McDougald D. Environmental reservoirs and mechanisms of persistence of Vibrio cholerae. Front Microbiol 2013; 4:375. [PMID: 24379807 PMCID: PMC3863721 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2013.00375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 153] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2013] [Accepted: 11/21/2013] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
It is now well accepted that Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the water-borne disease cholera, is acquired from environmental sources where it persists between outbreaks of the disease. Recent advances in molecular technology have demonstrated that this bacterium can be detected in areas where it has not previously been isolated, indicating a much broader, global distribution of this bacterium outside of endemic regions. The environmental persistence of V. cholerae in the aquatic environment can be attributed to multiple intra- and interspecific strategies such as responsive gene regulation and biofilm formation on biotic and abiotic surfaces, as well as interactions with a multitude of other organisms. This review will discuss some of the mechanisms that enable the persistence of this bacterium in the environment. In particular, we will discuss how V. cholerae can survive stressors such as starvation, temperature, and salinity fluctuations as well as how the organism persists under constant predation by heterotrophic protists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Lutz
- Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Martina Erken
- Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore
| | - Parisa Noorian
- Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Shuyang Sun
- The Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore
| | - Diane McDougald
- Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Science, University of New South Wales Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Centre, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore
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