Variation in transformation frequency and competence gene expression among serotype 3 Streptococcus pneumoniae
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PROVIDER: PRJNA1142460 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
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Project description:Streptococcus pneumoniae is a human commensal and the causative agent of pneumococcal disease. Pneumococci are naturally competent – able to uptake exogenous DNA from the environment and incorporate it into their genome through homologous and non-homologous recombination. Recombination has significantly shaped the evolutionary history of S. pneumoniae, as it allows pneumococci to rapidly adapt to interventions such as antibiotic therapy or vaccine introduction. Recombination frequencies vary considerably across pneumococcal populations; yet the underlying mechanisms for these variations are not well understood. Entry and exit into competence, a state in which the cell can uptake DNA, is tightly regulated through transcriptional changes. We observed consistent differences in transformation frequencies among groups, which correlated with variation in differentially expressed genes during competence. While all strains exhibited a similar response to competence stimulating peptide (CSP) for early competence genes, we observed variation in expression of late competence genes, which encode the DNA uptake apparatus, DNA repair and recombination proteins needed for recombination. We also observed differences in expression of genes linked to bacteriocin production, which may partially explain observed population-level differences. Further genomic analysis suggests variation in promoter sequences governing late competence genes may be slowing transition from early to late components of the competence pathway.
2025-07-01 | GSE273581 | GEO
Project description:In marine Vibrio species, chitin-induced natural transformation enables bacteria to take up DNA from the external environment and integrate it into their genome via homologous recombination. Expression of the master competence regulator TfoX bypasses the need for chitin induction and drives expression of the genes required for competence in several Vibrio species. Here, we show that TfoX expression in two Vibrio campbellii strains, DS40M4 and NBRC 15631, enables high frequencies of natural transformation. Conversely, transformation was not achieved in the model quorum-sensing strain V. campbellii BB120 (previously classified as Vibrio harveyi). Surprisingly, we find that quorum sensing is not required for transformation in V. campbellii DS40M4. This result is in contrast to Vibrio cholerae that requires the quorum-sensing regulator HapR to activate the competence regulator QstR. However, similar to V. cholerae, QstR is necessary for transformation in DS40M4. To investigate the difference in transformation frequencies between BB120 and DS40M4, we used previously studied V. cholerae competence genes to inform a comparative genomics analysis coupled with transcriptomics. BB120 encodes homologs of all known competence genes, but most of these genes were not induced by ectopic expression of TfoX, which likely accounts for the non-functional natural transformation in this strain. Comparison of transformation frequencies among Vibrio species indicates a wide disparity among even closely related strains, with Vibrio vulnificus having the lowest functional transformation frequency. We show that ectopic expression of both TfoX and QstR is sufficient to produce a significant increase in transformation frequency in Vibrio vulnificus.
2019-11-14 | GSE136941 | GEO
Project description:To perform natural transformation, one of the three main Horizontal Gene Transfer mechanisms, bacteria need to enter a physiological differentiated state called genetic competence. Interestingly, new bacteria displaying such aptitude are often discovered, and one of the latest is the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Here, we developed a new protocol, based on planktonic cells cultures, leading to a large percentage of the population activating competence development and a significant improvement of S. aureus natural transformation efficiencies. Taking advantage of these new conditions, we performed transcriptomics analyses to characterize each central competence regulators regulon. SigH and ComK1 were both found essential for activating natural transformation genes but also important for activation or repression of peripheral functions. Even though ComK2 was not found important for the control of transformation genes, its regulon showed an important overlap with that of SigH and ComK1. Finally, we showed how microaerobic conditions, sensed by the SrrAB two-component system, was key to activate competence in S. aureus.
2023-04-26 | PXD040550 | Pride
Project description:We applied a novel negative selection strategy called genomic array footprinting (GAF) to identify genes required for genetic transformation of the gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. Genome-wide mariner-transposon mutant libraries in S. pneumoniae strain R6 were challenged by transformation with an antibiotic resistance cassette and growth in the presence of the corresponding antibiotic. The GAF screen identified the enrichment of mutants in two genes, i.e., hexA and hexB, and the counter-selection of mutants in 21 different genes during the challenge. Eight of the counter-selected genes were known to be essential for pneumococcal transformation. Four other genes, i.e., radA, comGF, parB, and spr2011, have previously been linked to the competence regulon, and one, spr2014, was located adjacent to the essential competence gene comFA. Directed mutants in which seven of the eight remaining genes, i.e., spr0459/spr0460, spr0777, spr0838, spr1259/spr1260, and spr1357, were deleted, displayed reduced, albeit modest, transformation rates. No connection to pneumococcal transformation could be made for the eighth gene, which encodes the response regulator RR03. We further demonstrated that the gene encoding the putative DNA repair protein RadA is required for efficient transformation of chromosomal markers, whereas transformation with replicating plasmid DNA was not significantly affected. The radA mutant also displayed an increased sensitivity to treatment with the DNA-damaging agent methyl methanesulfonate. Hence, RadA is considered to have a role in recombination of donor DNA and DNA damage repair in S. pneumoniae. Keywords: GAF competence Selection for genes essential for transformation. Aliquots of a marinerT7 transposon library generated in S. pneumoniae R6 containing approximately 40,000 independent mutants were transformed with an antibiotic resistance marker and grown without (initial library) or with (challenged library) antibiotics for 25 generation until DNA extraction.
2007-09-04 | E-GEOD-8362 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Developmental competence and antigen switch frequency can be uncoupled in Trypanosoma brucei
| PRJNA556691 | ENA
Project description:We applied a novel negative selection strategy called genomic array footprinting (GAF) to identify genes required for genetic transformation of the gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. Genome-wide mariner-transposon mutant libraries in S. pneumoniae strain R6 were challenged by transformation with an antibiotic resistance cassette and growth in the presence of the corresponding antibiotic. The GAF screen identified the enrichment of mutants in two genes, i.e., hexA and hexB, and the counter-selection of mutants in 21 different genes during the challenge. Eight of the counter-selected genes were known to be essential for pneumococcal transformation. Four other genes, i.e., radA, comGF, parB, and spr2011, have previously been linked to the competence regulon, and one, spr2014, was located adjacent to the essential competence gene comFA. Directed mutants in which seven of the eight remaining genes, i.e., spr0459/spr0460, spr0777, spr0838, spr1259/spr1260, and spr1357, were deleted, displayed reduced, albeit modest, transformation rates. No connection to pneumococcal transformation could be made for the eighth gene, which encodes the response regulator RR03. We further demonstrated that the gene encoding the putative DNA repair protein RadA is required for efficient transformation of chromosomal markers, whereas transformation with replicating plasmid DNA was not significantly affected. The radA mutant also displayed an increased sensitivity to treatment with the DNA-damaging agent methyl methanesulfonate. Hence, RadA is considered to have a role in recombination of donor DNA and DNA damage repair in S. pneumoniae. Keywords: GAF competence
2007-09-05 | GSE8362 | GEO
Project description:Developmental competence and antigen switch frequency can be uncoupled in Trypanosoma brucei I
| PRJNA556694 | ENA
Project description:Developmental competence and antigen switch frequency can be uncoupled in Trypanosoma brucei II
| PRJNA556696 | ENA
Project description:Recent whole-genome sequencing of large populations of the same bacterial species has revealed significant disparity among genes in the frequency of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). For example, a previous analysis of invasive serotype M3 group A streptococci (GAS) found the highest frequency of SNPs in the gene (ropB) encoding the regulator of proteinase B (RopB). This finding led us to hypothesize that RopB polymorphisms contribute to altered GAS host-pathogen interactions. Sequencing of ropB in 171 invasive serotype M3 GAS strains from a surveillance study identified 19 distinct ropB alleles. Inactivation of the ropB gene in strains producing distinct RopB variants had dramatically different effects on GAS global gene expression. Further, analysis of laboratory-generated isoallelic GAS strains differing only by a single amino acid replacement in RopB confirmed that the variant protein affected the transcript level of the gene encoding streptococcal proteinase B, a major RopB-regulated virulence factor. Comparison of parental, RopB-inactivated, and RopB isoallelic strains in mouse infection models demonstrated that RopB polymorphisms significantly influence GAS virulence and disease manifestations. These studies detail a paradigm in which unbiased, whole-genome sequence analysis of populations of clinical bacterial isolates creates new avenues of productive investigation into the pathogenesis of common human infections.
2011-04-01 | GSE26655 | GEO
Project description:Small distortions in transcriptional networks might lead to drastic phenotypical changes, especially in cellular developmental programs such as competence for natural transformation. Here, we report a pervasive circuitry rewiring for competence and predation interplay in commensal streptococci. Canonically, in model species of streptococci such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus mutans, the pheromone-based two-component system BlpRH is a central node that orchestrates the production of antimicrobial compounds (bacteriocins) and incorporates signal from the competence activation cascade. However, the human commensal Streptococcus salivarius does not contain a functional BlpRH pair and in this species, the competence signaling system ComRS directly couples bacteriocin production and competence commitment. This network shortcut might account for an optimal reaction against microbial competitors and could explain the high prevalence of S. salivarius in the human digestive tract. Moreover, the broad spectrum of bacteriocin activity against pathogenic bacteria showcases the commensal and genetically tractable S. salivarius species as a user-friendly model for natural transformation and bacterial predation.
2018-01-10 | GSE100416 | GEO