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Costantini PE, Firrincieli A, Fedi S, Parolin C, Viti C, Cappelletti M, Vitali B. Insight into phenotypic and genotypic differences between vaginal Lactobacillus crispatus BC5 and Lactobacillus gasseri BC12 to unravel nutritional and stress factors influencing their metabolic activity. Microb Genom 2021; 7. [PMID: 34096840 PMCID: PMC8461478 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [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] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The vaginal microbiota, normally characterized by lactobacilli presence, is crucial for vaginal health. Members belonging to L. crispatus and L. gasseri species exert crucial protective functions against pathogens, although a total comprehension of factors that influence their dominance in healthy women is still lacking. Here we investigated the complete genome sequence and comprehensive phenotypic profile of L. crispatus strain BC5 and L. gasseri strain BC12, two vaginal strains featured by anti-bacterial and anti-viral activities. Phenotype microarray (PM) results revealed an improved capacity of BC5 to utilize different carbon sources as compared to BC12, although some specific carbon sources that can be associated to the human diet were only metabolized by BC12, i.e. uridine, amygdalin, tagatose. Additionally, the two strains were mostly distinct in the capacity to utilize the nitrogen sources under analysis. On the other hand, BC12 showed tolerance/resistance towards twice the number of stressors (i.e. antibiotics, toxic metals etc.) with respect to BC5. The divergent phenotypes observed in PM were supported by the identification in either BC5 or BC12 of specific genetic determinants that were found to be part of the core genome of each species. The PM results in combination with comparative genome data provide insights into the possible environmental factors and genetic traits supporting the predominance of either L. crispatus BC5 or L. gasseri BC12 in the vaginal niche, giving also indications for metabolic predictions at the species level.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea Firrincieli
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBit), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Stefano Fedi
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBit), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Carola Parolin
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBit), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Carlo Viti
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Martina Cappelletti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBit), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Beatrice Vitali
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology (FaBit), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Petrova MI, Macklaim JM, Wuyts S, Verhoeven T, Vanderleyden J, Gloor GB, Lebeer S, Reid G. Comparative Genomic and Phenotypic Analysis of the Vaginal Probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:1278. [PMID: 29963028 PMCID: PMC6013579 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [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: 12/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Lactobacillus represents a versatile bacterial genus, which can adapt to a wide variety of ecological niches, including human body sites such as the intestinal and urogenital tract. In this study, the complete genome sequence of the vaginal probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 was determined and compared to other L. rhamnosus strains at genomic and phenotypic level. The strain GR-1 was originally isolated from a female urethra, and was assessed with L. rhamnosus GG from a feces sample of a healthy male, and L. rhamnosus LC705 from a dairy product. A key difference is the absence in GR-1 and LC705 of the spaCBA locus required for pili-mediated intestinal epithelial adhesion. In addition, the L. rhamnosus GR-1 genome contains a unique cluster for exopolysaccharide production, which is postulated to synthesize glucose-rich, rhamnose-lacking exopolysaccharide molecules that are different from the galactose-rich extracellular polysaccharide of L. rhamnosus GG. Compared to L. rhamnosus GG, L. rhamnosus GR-1 was also genetically predicted and experimentally shown to better metabolize lactose and maltose, and to better withstand oxidative stress, which is of relevance in the vagina. This study could thus provide a molecular framework for the selection of the optimal probiotic strain for each targeted niche and condition, but further substantiation of niche adaptation mechanisms of lactobacilli is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariya I. Petrova
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jean M. Macklaim
- Canadian Research and Development Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotics, Lawson Health Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Sander Wuyts
- Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Tine Verhoeven
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jos Vanderleyden
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Gregory B. Gloor
- Canadian Research and Development Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotics, Lawson Health Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Sarah Lebeer
- Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Gregor Reid
- Canadian Research and Development Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotics, Lawson Health Research Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
- Department of Surgery, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
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