Project description:Background: The uncontrolled and widespread use of (nano)silver compounds has led to the increased release of these compounds into the environment, raising concerns about their negative impact on ecosystems. Concomitantly, silver resistance determinants are widely spread among environmental and clinically relevant bacteria although the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Results: In this study, we show that Cupriavidus metallidurans is able to adapt to toxic silver concentrations and explicate the genetic circuit responsible for this adaptation. None of the known silver resistant determinants present in C. metallidurans are involved in the adapted response. Instead, increased silver resistance is achieved by the concerted action of a two-component system AgrR-AgrS, previously not associated with metal resistance, and two intrinsically disordered proteins PrsQ1 and PrsQ2. Both belong to an unique group of small, uncharacterized, extracellular proteins restricted to the genera Cupriavidus and Ralstonia. This system seems to be much more efficient as it gives C. metallidurans the ability to withstand much higher silver concentrations. The latter could be facilitated by the accumulation of silver ions and the formation of silver nanoparticles. Conclusions: Detailed knowledge and exploitation of this protein family could result in novel routes for metal nanoparticle formation and metal processing relevant for biotechnical and biomedical applications.
Project description:Silver-resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant was obtained by evolutionary engineering method. Briefly, genetic diversity in reference strain, CEN.PK.113-7D, was increased by ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS)-mutagenesis. The mutant population was passaged several times in gradually increasing silver stress. Several mutant individuals were selected from the final population. Among selected mutant individuals, one of them was much more resistant to silver stress than the reference strain, called as 2E. Whole-genome transcriptomic analysis was performed to identify the silver resistance mechanisms in the silver-resistant mutant strain.
2020-01-09 | GSE143335 | GEO
Project description:Colistin-resistant Gram-negative bacteria isolated from the hospital water environment
Project description:Infections associated with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria now represent a significant threat to human health using conventional therapy, necessitating the development of alternate and more effective antibacterial compounds. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been proposed as potential antimicrobial agents to combat infections. A complete understanding of their antimicrobial activity is required before these molecules can be used in therapy. Lysozyme coated Ag NPs were synthesized and characterized by TEMEDS, XRD, UV-vis, FTIR spectroscopy, zeta potential, and oxidative potential assay. Biochemical assays and deep level transcriptional analysis using RNA sequencing were used to decipher how Ag NPs exert their antibacterial action against multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae MGH78578. RNAseq data revealed that Ag NPs induced a triclosan-like bactericidal mechanism responsible for the inhibition of the type II fatty acid biosynthesis. Additionally, released AgC generated oxidative stress both extra and intracellularly in K. pneumoniae. The data showed that triclosan-like activity and oxidative stress cumulatively underpinned the antibacterial activity of Ag NPs. This result was confirmed by the analysis of the bactericidal effect of Ag NPs against the isogenic K. pneumoniae MGH78578 1soxS mutant, which exhibits a compromised oxidative stress response compared to the wild type. Silver nanoparticles induce a triclosan like antibacterial action mechanism in multi-drug resistant K. pneumoniae. This study extends our understanding of anti-Klebsiella mechanisms associated with exposure to Ag NPs. This allowed us to model how bacteria might develop resistance against silver nanoparticles, should the latter be used in therapy.
Project description:Nanoparticles are more and more used in industrial process, food, medicinal or daily goods. At the end of their life, most of them are discharged in the environment where they impact the ecological equilibrium. Bacteria are one of the first targets of the nanoparticles in the environment. To evaluate the impact of silver nanoparticles on the physiology of Bacillus subtilis, we studied the intracellular proteome of bacteria exposed to different nanoparticles during the stationary phase.
Project description:Incomplete antibiotic removal in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment plants (PWWTPs) could lead to the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARBs) and genes (ARGs) in the environment, posing a growing public health threat. In this study, two multiantibiotic-resistant bacteria, Ochrobactrum intermedium (N1) and Stenotrophomonas acidaminiphila (N2), were isolated from the sludge of a PWWTP in Guangzhou, China. The N1 strain was highly resistant to ampicillin, cefazolin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and norfloxacin, while the N2 strain exhibited high resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and cefazolin. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that N1 and N2 had genome sizes of 0.52 Mb and 0.37 Mb, respectively, and harbored 33 and 24 ARGs, respectively. The main resistance mechanism in the identified ARGs included efflux pumps, enzymatic degradation, and target bypass, with the N1 strain possessing more multidrug-resistant efflux pumps than the N2 strain (22 vs 12). This also accounts for the broader resistance spectrum of N1 than of N2 in antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Additionally, both genomes contain numerous mobile genetic elements (89 and 21 genes, respectively) and virulence factors (276 and 250 factors, respectively), suggesting their potential for horizontal transfer and pathogenicity. Overall, this research provides insights into the potential risks posed by ARBs in pharmaceutical wastewater and emphasizes the need for further studies on their impact and mitigation strategies.
Project description:The rapid emergence of drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), in particular, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) poses a serious threat to public health globally. Reuse of metal-based antimicrobials stands for one of the most promising strategies to resensitize drug resistant bacteria to conventional antibiotics. Silver (Ag) has been used as an antimicrobial agent since antiquity, yet its molecular mechanism of action is elusive largely owing to technical challenges to identify the direct silver-binding protein targets accountable for its action. Herein, using an in-house developed hyphenated technique LC-GE-ICP-MS, we successfully separated and identified 38 authentic Ag+-binding proteins (Ag+-proteome) in S. aureus at the whole-cell scale for the first time. By integration with bioinformatic analysis and systematic biochemical characterizations, we captured the first snapshot on the dynamic action of Ag+ against S. aureus at the molecular level, i.e., Ag+ primarily targets glycolysis via inhibiting multiple enzymes and induces the elevation of ROS through functional disruption of redox homeostasis system at the late stage, leading to an upregulation of oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (oxPPP) to alleviate Ag+ stress. However, the activation of oxPPP is ultimately futile due to key oxPPP enzymes being inhibited by Ag+. We further validated that Ag+ could inhibit 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, a key target from oxPPP through binding to His185 at the active site and morphing the shape of catalytic pocket by X-ray crystallography. Significantly, the multi-target mode of action of silver is accountable for its suppression of antibiotic selection effects towards S. aureus as well as its sustainable antimicrobial activity. Such a unique mode of action of Ag+ (and silver nanoparticles) led to enhanced efficacy of a broad range of antibiotics and resensitization of MRSA to antibiotics. Our study resolves the long-standing question of the molecular targets of silver in S. aureus and offers a novel insight into the sustainable bacterial susceptibility of silver, providing a potential approach for combating antimicrobial resistance.