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Müller P, de la Cuesta-Zuluaga J, Kuhn M, Baghai Arassi M, Treis T, Blasche S, Zimmermann M, Bork P, Patil KR, Typas A, Garcia-Santamarina S, Maier L. High-throughput anaerobic screening for identifying compounds acting against gut bacteria in monocultures or communities. Nat Protoc 2024; 19:668-699. [PMID: 38092943 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00926-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
The human gut microbiome is a key contributor to health, and its perturbations are linked to many diseases. Small-molecule xenobiotics such as drugs, chemical pollutants and food additives can alter the microbiota composition and are now recognized as one of the main factors underlying microbiome diversity. Mapping the effects of such compounds on the gut microbiome is challenging because of the complexity of the community, anaerobic growth requirements of individual species and the large number of interactions that need to be quantitatively assessed. High-throughput screening setups offer a promising solution for probing the direct inhibitory effects of hundreds of xenobiotics on tens of anaerobic gut bacteria. When automated, such assays enable the cost-effective investigation of a wide range of compound-microbe combinations. We have developed an experimental setup and protocol that enables testing of up to 5,000 compounds on a target gut species under strict anaerobic conditions within 5 d. In addition, with minor modifications to the protocol, drug effects can be tested on microbial communities either assembled from isolates or obtained from stool samples. Experience in working in an anaerobic chamber, especially in performing delicate work with thick chamber gloves, is required for implementing this protocol. We anticipate that this protocol will accelerate the study of interactions between small molecules and the gut microbiome and provide a deeper understanding of this microbial ecosystem, which is intimately intertwined with human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Müller
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence 'Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections', University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jacobo de la Cuesta-Zuluaga
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence 'Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections', University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Michael Kuhn
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maral Baghai Arassi
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of Pediatrics I, University Children's Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tim Treis
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Center München, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Sonja Blasche
- Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Peer Bork
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
- Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany
- Yonsei Frontier Lab (YFL), Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
- Department of Bioinformatics, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Kiran Raosaheb Patil
- Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | | | - Lisa Maier
- Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- Cluster of Excellence 'Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections', University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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Britton BM, Yovanno RA, Costa SF, McCausland J, Lau AY, Xiao J, Hensel Z. Conformational changes in the essential E. coli septal cell wall synthesis complex suggest an activation mechanism. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4585. [PMID: 37524712 PMCID: PMC10390529 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39921-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [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: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The bacterial divisome is a macromolecular machine composed of more than 30 proteins that controls cell wall constriction during division. Here, we present a model of the structure and dynamics of the core complex of the E. coli divisome, supported by a combination of structure prediction, molecular dynamics simulation, single-molecule imaging, and mutagenesis. We focus on the septal cell wall synthase complex formed by FtsW and FtsI, and its regulators FtsQ, FtsL, FtsB, and FtsN. The results indicate extensive interactions in four regions in the periplasmic domains of the complex. FtsQ, FtsL, and FtsB support FtsI in an extended conformation, with the FtsI transpeptidase domain lifted away from the membrane through interactions among the C-terminal domains. FtsN binds between FtsI and FtsL in a region rich in residues with superfission (activating) and dominant negative (inhibitory) mutations. Mutagenesis experiments and simulations suggest that the essential domain of FtsN links FtsI and FtsL together, potentially modulating interactions between the anchor-loop of FtsI and the putative catalytic cavity of FtsW, thus suggesting a mechanism of how FtsN activates the cell wall synthesis activities of FtsW and FtsI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brooke M Britton
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Remy A Yovanno
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Sara F Costa
- ITQB NOVA, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Av. da República, 2780-157, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Joshua McCausland
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Albert Y Lau
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Jie Xiao
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
| | - Zach Hensel
- ITQB NOVA, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Lisbon, Av. da República, 2780-157, Oeiras, Portugal.
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Gatchell M, Ameixa J, Ji M, Stockett MH, Simonsson A, Denifl S, Cederquist H, Schmidt HT, Zettergren H. Survival of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon knockout fragments in the interstellar medium. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6646. [PMID: 34789760 PMCID: PMC8599666 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26899-0] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Laboratory studies play a crucial role in understanding the chemical nature of the interstellar medium (ISM), but the disconnect between experimental timescales and the timescales of reactions in space can make a direct comparison between observations, laboratory, and model results difficult. Here we study the survival of reactive fragments of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) coronene, where individual C atoms have been knocked out of the molecules in hard collisions with He atoms at stellar wind and supernova shockwave velocities. Ionic fragments are stored in the DESIREE cryogenic ion-beam storage ring where we investigate their decay for up to one second. After 10 ms the initially hot stored ions have cooled enough so that spontaneous dissociation no longer takes place at a measurable rate; a majority of the fragments remain intact and will continue to do so indefinitely in isolation. Our findings show that defective PAHs formed in energetic collisions with heavy particles may survive at thermal equilibrium in the interstellar medium indefinitely, and could play an important role in the chemistry in there, due to their increased reactivity compared to intact or photo-fragmented PAHs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Gatchell
- Department of Physics, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
| | - João Ameixa
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020, Innsbruck, Austria
- Atomic and Molecular Collisions Laboratory, CEFITEC, Department of Physics, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal
| | - MingChao Ji
- Department of Physics, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mark H Stockett
- Department of Physics, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ansgar Simonsson
- Department of Physics, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Stephan Denifl
- Institut für Ionenphysik und Angewandte Physik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstr. 25, A-6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Henrik Cederquist
- Department of Physics, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Henning T Schmidt
- Department of Physics, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden
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