Project description:The opportunistic pathogen A. actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) expereinces fluctuating oxygen levels in its natural habitat, the gingival crevice of the human oral cavity. Since oxygen influences metabolic interactions between Aa and other oral microbes, we sought to characterize oxygen-dependent Aa gene expression.
Project description:Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a commensal microorganism of the normal human nasopharyngeal flora, yet also an opportunistic pathogen of the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Changes in gene expression patterns in response to host microenvironments are likely critical for persistence. One such system of gene regulation is the ability to carefully regulate iron uptake. A central regulatory system that controls iron uptake, mediated by the ferric uptake regulator Fur, is present in multiple bacteria, including NTHi. To understand the regulation of iron homeostasis in NTHi, fur was deleted in the prototypic NTHi clinical isolate, 86-028NP. Using an NTHi-specific microarray, we identified genes whose expression was repressed or activated by Fur.
Project description:Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a commensal microorganism of the normal human nasopharyngeal flora, yet also an opportunistic pathogen of the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Changes in gene expression patterns in response to host microenvironments are likely critical for persistence. One such system of gene regulation is the ability to carefully regulate iron uptake. A central regulatory system that controls iron uptake, mediated by the ferric uptake regulator Fur, is present in multiple bacteria, including NTHi. To understand the regulation of iron homeostasis in NTHi, fur was deleted in the prototypic NTHi clinical isolate, 86-028NP. Using an NTHi-specific microarray, we identified genes whose expression was repressed or activated by Fur. These data comprise transcriptional anaylses of a pediatric isolate of NTHi (86-028NP) an rpsL mutant of 86-028NP, a fur mutant of 86-028NP and a fur mutant of 86-028NPrpsL. NTHi parent and fur mutant strains were grown in defined medium containing 10 M-BM-5g /ml human hemoglobin to mid-log phase. Cells were then harvested and RNA extracted. A total of four biological replicates were generated for these analyses.
Project description:Transcriptome analysis of NTHi 86-028NPrpsL, NTHi 86-028NPrpsL∆fur, and NTHi 86-028NPrpsL∆fur(pT-fur) strains Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a commensal microorganism of the normal human nasopharyngeal flora, yet also an opportunistic pathogen of the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Changes in gene expression patterns in response to host microenvironments are likely critical for survival. One such system of gene regulation is the ability to carefully regulate iron uptake. A central regulatory system that controls iron uptake, mediated by the ferric uptake regulator Fur, is present in multiple bacteria, including NTHi. To understand the regulation of iron homeostasis in NTHi, fur was deleted in the NTHi strain 86-028NPrpsL. Using RNA-Seq, we identified both protein-encoding and small RNA genes whose expression was repressed or activated by Fur. Overall design: These data comprise transcriptional anaylses of an rpsL mutant of 86-028NP, an isogenic fur mutant of 86-028NPrpsL and a complemented fur mutant strain. All strains were grown in defined medium containing 10 µg/ml human hemoglobin to mid-log phase. Cells were then harvested and RNA extracted. A total of three biological replicates were generated for these analyses.
Project description:Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a commensal microorganism of the normal human nasopharyngeal flora, yet also an opportunistic pathogen of the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Changes in gene expression patterns in response to host microenvironments are likely critical for survival. One such system of gene regulation is the ability to carefully regulate iron uptake. A central regulatory system that controls iron uptake, mediated by the ferric uptake regulator Fur, is present in multiple bacteria, including NTHi. Previous work has identified a small RNA, HrrF, that is Fur-regulated in NTHi 86-028NPrpsL.To understand the contribution made by HrrF to gene regulation in NTHi, hrrF was deleted in the NTHi strain 86-028NPrpsL∆fur. Using RNA-Seq, we identified protein-encoding genes whose expression was repressed or activated by HrrF.
Project description:Transcriptome analysis of NTHi 86-028NPrpsL, NTHi 86-028NPrpsL∆fur, and NTHi 86-028NPrpsL∆fur(pT-fur) strains Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a commensal microorganism of the normal human nasopharyngeal flora, yet also an opportunistic pathogen of the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Changes in gene expression patterns in response to host microenvironments are likely critical for survival. One such system of gene regulation is the ability to carefully regulate iron uptake. A central regulatory system that controls iron uptake, mediated by the ferric uptake regulator Fur, is present in multiple bacteria, including NTHi. To understand the regulation of iron homeostasis in NTHi, fur was deleted in the NTHi strain 86-028NPrpsL. Using RNA-Seq, we identified both protein-encoding and small RNA genes whose expression was repressed or activated by Fur. Overall design: These data comprise transcriptional anaylses of an rpsL mutant of 86-028NP, an isogenic fur mutant of 86-028NPrpsL and a complemented fur mutant strain. All strains were grown in defined medium containing 10 µg/ml human hemoglobin to mid-log phase. Cells were then harvested and RNA extracted. A total of three biological replicates were generated for these analyses. Analysis of transcriptomes using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 of three strains of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae which include NTHi 86-028NPrpsL, NTHi 86-028NPrpsL∆fur, and NTHi 86-028NPrpsL∆fur(pT-fur) strains. For each strain three biological replicates were analyzed
Project description:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is an oral and systemic pathogen associated with aggressive forms of periodontitis, and with endocarditis. Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) released by this species have been demonstrated to deliver effector proteins such as cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) and leukotoxin (LtxA) into human host cells, and to act as triggers of innate immunity upon carriage of NOD1- and NOD2-active pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). To improve our understanding of the pathogenicity-associated functions that A. actinomycetemcomitans exports via OMVs, we have used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to characterize the OMV-associated proteome of a rough-colony type clinical isolate, strain 173 (serotype e). This yielded identification of 151 proteins overlapping in three out of four independent experiments, using density gradient-purified OMVs. Further to confirming the vesicle-associated release of LtxA, and of several proteins earlier demonstrated to act as immunoreactive antigens in the human host, we identified numerous additional putative virulence-related proteins in the A. actinomycetemcomitans OMV proteome, including proteins involved in immune evasion, drug targeting, and iron/nutrient acquisition. In summary our findings are consistent with an OMV-associated proteome that exhibits several offensive and defensive functions, and they provide a comprehensive basis to further disclose roles of A. actinomycetemcomitans OMVs in periodontal and systemic disease.