Project description:<p>The study of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in infectious diarrhea has generally been limited to cultivation, antimicrobial susceptibility testing and targeted PCR assays. When individual strains of significance are identified, whole genome shotgun (WGS) sequencing of important clones and clades is performed. Genes that encode resistance to antibiotics have been detected in environmental, insect, human and animal metagenomes and are known as "resistomes". While metagenomic datasets have been mined to characterize the healthy human gut resistome in the Human Microbiome Project and MetaHIT and in a Yanomani Amerindian cohort, directed metagenomic sequencing has not been used to examine the epidemiology of AMR. Especially in developing countries where sanitation is poor, diarrhea and enteric pathogens likely serve to disseminate antibiotic resistance elements of clinical significance. Unregulated use of antibiotics further exacerbates the problem by selection for acquisition of resistance. This is exemplified by recent reports of multiple antibiotic resistance in Shigella strains in India, in Escherichia coli in India and Pakistan, and in nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) in South-East Asia. We propose to use deep metagenomic sequencing and genome level assembly to study the epidemiology of AMR in stools of children suffering from diarrhea. Here the epidemiology component will be surveillance and analysis of the microbial composition (to the bacterial species/strain level where possible) and its constituent antimicrobial resistance genetic elements (such as plasmids, integrons, transposons and other mobile genetic elements, or MGEs) in samples from a cohort where diarrhea is prevalent and antibiotic exposure is endemic. The goal will be to assess whether consortia of specific mobile antimicrobial resistance elements associate with species/strains and whether their presence is enhanced or amplified in diarrheal microbiomes and in the presence of antibiotic exposure. This work could potentially identify clonal complexes of organisms and MGEs with enhanced resistance and the potential to transfer this resistance to other enteric pathogens.</p> <p>We have performed WGS, metagenomic assembly and gene/protein mapping to examine and characterize the types of AMR genes and transfer elements (transposons, integrons, bacteriophage, plasmids) and their distribution in bacterial species and strains assembled from DNA isolated from diarrheal and non-diarrheal stools. The samples were acquired from a cohort of pediatric patients and controls from Colombia, South America where antibiotic use is prevalent. As a control, the distribution and abundance of AMR genes can be compared to published studies where resistome gene lists from healthy cohort sequences were compiled. Our approach is more epidemiologic in nature, as we plan to identify and catalogue antimicrobial elements on MGEs capable of spread through a local population and further we will, where possible, link mobile antimicrobial resistance elements with specific strains within the population.</p>
Project description:Many clinically relevant bacterial pathogens are encapsulated, as exemplified by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. S. Typhi, the causative agent of the life-threatening systemic disease enteric fever, expresses Vi as the outermost surface glycan that protects the bacteria from host immune responses. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) S. Typhi strains, as well as Vi variants, are widespread globally. Our WGS analyses indicate that almost all S. Typhi clinical isolates are susceptible to rifamycins and azithromycin. Rifampin, even at sub-MIC levels, eliminates the protective capsule Vi, a process referred to as ‘decapsulation’, thereby enhancing bacterial clearance. Antibiotic-mediated decapsulation of S. Typhi appears specific to rifamycins, since azithromycin does not decapsulate S. Typhi. Rifampin mediated decapsulation occurs at the transcriptional level, where both high AT content and specific RpoB residues play a crucial role. Rifampin also effectively decapsulates Vi variants, which accounts for 1 in 5 S. Typhi isolates at the global level. A mechanistic explanation for rifampin mediated decapsulation of S. Typhi appears to be applicable to other encapsulated pathogens, including S. Paratyphi C.
Project description:Antibiotic resistance is increasingly becoming a serious challenge to public health. The regulation of metabolism by post-translational modifications (PTMs) has been widely studied; however, the comprehensive mechanism underlying the regulation of acetylation in bacterial resistance against antibiotics is unknown. Herein, with Escherichia coli as the model, we performed quantitative analysis of the acetylated proteome of wild-type sensitive strain (WT) and ampicillin- (Re-Amp), kanamycin- (Re-Kan), and polymyxin B-resistant (Re-Pol) strains. Based on bioinformatics analysis combined with biochemical validations, we found that a common regulatory mechanism exists between the different resistant strains. Acetylation negatively regulates bacterial metabolism to maintain antibiotic resistance, but positively regulates bacterial motility. Further analyses revealed that key enzymes in various metabolic pathways were differentially acetylated. Particularly, pyruvate kinase (PykF), a key glycolytic enzyme regulating bacterial metabolism, and its acetylated form were highly expressed in the three resistant types and were identified as reversibly acetylated by the deacetylase CobB and the acetyl-transferase PatZ, and also could be acetylated by non-enzyme AcP in vitro. Further, the deacetylation of Lys413 of PykF increased the enzyme activity by changing the conformation of ATP binding site of PykF, resulting in an increase in energy production, which in turn increased the sensitivity of drug-resistant strains to antibiotics. This study provides novel insights for understanding bacterial resistance and lays the foundation for future research on regulation of acetylation in antibiotic-resistant strains.
Project description:Protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) play crucial roles in various biological processes across prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Lysine acetylation (Kac), which is observed in different bacteria species and is known to be a dynamic and reversible PTM involved in numerous physiological functions. However, limited research has been conducted to explore the connection between Kac and bacterial antibiotic resistance. In this investigation, we employed advanced 4D label-free quantitative proteomics technology to examine the differential expression of Kac-modified proteins in Staphylococcus aureus strains: one susceptible to erythromycin (Ery-S) and another induced to be resistant (Ery-R). Our systematic analysis identified a total of 1808 acetylated proteins with 6791 specific Kac sites. Notably, we quantified 1907 of these sites across 483 proteins. A total of 548 Kac sites were affected by erythromycin pressure on 316 acetylated proteins. Functional analyses uncovered a notable presence of differentially acetylated proteins (DAPs) within pathways associated with ribosome assembly, glycolysis, and lysine biosynthesis. Moreover, our findings indicate a significant acetylation of ribosomal proteins in antibiotic-resistant strains, implying a potential regulatory role of this modification in translation processes. Further investigations using polysome profiling experiments revealed that Kac modification of ribosomal and ribosome-associated proteins can maintain translation in response to antibiotic stress. Our data provides support for the link between protein lysine acetylation and bacterial antibiotic resistance, highlighting the potential involvement of ribosome translation. These findings collectively unveil a novel mechanism that enhances our understanding of bacterial antibiotic resistance and offer valuable insights for the development of antibiotic treatment strategies.
Project description:Fluoroquinolone antibiotics, a common antibiotic for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, are facing challenges due to the rapid evolution of bacterial resistance. Through designed evolutionary experiments in vitro, we find that there are significant differences in evolutionary trajectories and outcomes of resistant bacteria obtained in different induction modes, among which fitness benefit of resistant strains obtained in high-dose induction mode under high level of antibiotic is significantly higher than that of wild-type strain, and collateral sensitivity to aminoglycosides and some other antibiotics will be obtained. Resistance strains obtained in the low-dose induction mode exhibit higher heterogeneity, which is accompanied by multiple drug resistance (MDR). Through second generation resequencing and proteomic techniques, overexpression of MexCD-OprJ efflux pump induced by mutations in the nfxB gene significantly improved the fitness benefit of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 under high level of fluoroquinolones. This is the precondition of the further evolution of the fleroxacin-resistant strains in the high dose induction mode, the addition of the efflux pump inhibitor phenylalanyl arginyl β-naphthylamide (PAβN) could effectively repress the evolution of bacterial resistance in the high dose induction mode. Fleroxacin use followed by gentamicin helped drive infectious P.aeruginosa to extinction, causing nfxB mutation to cause collateral sensitivity to gentamicin.
Project description:Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a common acute otitis media pathogen, with an incidence that is increased by previous antibiotic treatment. NTHi is also an emerging causative agent of other chronic infections in humans, some linked to morbidity, and all of which impose substantial treatment costs. In this study we explore the possibility that antibiotic exposure may stimulate biofilm formation by NTHi bacteria. We discovered that sub-inhibitory concentrations of beta-lactam antibiotic (i.e., amounts that partially inhibit bacterial growth) stimulated the biofilm-forming ability of NTHi strains, an effect that was strain and antibiotic dependent. When exposed to sub-inhibitory concentrations of beta-lactam antibiotics NTHi strains produced tightly packed biofilms with decreased numbers of culturable bacteria but increased biomass. The ratio of protein per unit weight of biofilm decreased as a result of antibiotic exposure. Antibiotic-stimulated biofilms had altered ultrastructure, and genes involved in glycogen production and transporter function were up regulated in response to antibiotic exposure. Down-regulated genes were linked to multiple metabolic processes but not those involved in stress response. Antibiotic-stimulated biofilm bacteria were more resistant to a lethal dose (10µg/mL) of cefuroxime. Our results suggest that beta-lactam antibiotic exposure may act as a signaling molecule that promotes transformation into the biofilm phenotype. Loss of viable bacteria, increase in biofilm biomass and decreased protein production coupled with a concomitant up-regulation of genes involved with glycogen production might result in a biofilm of sessile, metabolically inactive bacteria sustained by stored glycogen. These biofilms may protect surviving bacteria from subsequent antibiotic challenges, and act as a reservoir of viable bacteria once antibiotic exposure has ended.
Project description:Non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a common acute otitis media pathogen, with an incidence that is increased by previous antibiotic treatment. NTHi is also an emerging causative agent of other chronic infections in humans, some linked to morbidity, and all of which impose substantial treatment costs. In this study we explore the possibility that antibiotic exposure may stimulate biofilm formation by NTHi bacteria. We discovered that sub-inhibitory concentrations of beta-lactam antibiotic (i.e., amounts that partially inhibit bacterial growth) stimulated the biofilm-forming ability of NTHi strains, an effect that was strain and antibiotic dependent. When exposed to sub-inhibitory concentrations of beta-lactam antibiotics NTHi strains produced tightly packed biofilms with decreased numbers of culturable bacteria but increased biomass. The ratio of protein per unit weight of biofilm decreased as a result of antibiotic exposure. Antibiotic-stimulated biofilms had altered ultrastructure, and genes involved in glycogen production and transporter function were up regulated in response to antibiotic exposure. Down-regulated genes were linked to multiple metabolic processes but not those involved in stress response. Antibiotic-stimulated biofilm bacteria were more resistant to a lethal dose (10M-BM-5g/mL) of cefuroxime. Our results suggest that beta-lactam antibiotic exposure may act as a signaling molecule that promotes transformation into the biofilm phenotype. Loss of viable bacteria, increase in biofilm biomass and decreased protein production coupled with a concomitant up-regulation of genes involved with glycogen production might result in a biofilm of sessile, metabolically inactive bacteria sustained by stored glycogen. These biofilms may protect surviving bacteria from subsequent antibiotic challenges, and act as a reservoir of viable bacteria once antibiotic exposure has ended. 12 samples
Project description:Polymyxin B is considered as a last-resort antibiotic for multidrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant gram-negative bacterial infections. Addressing Salmonella resistance to polymyxin B is crucial for global public health. In this study, transcriptomic detection and analysis were used to clarify the mechanisms by which CpxA-deleted S.typhimurium is involved in resistance to polymyxin B stress, which may be related to processes such as increased assembly of bacterial flagella.
Project description:Isonitrile natural products exhibit promising antibacterial activities, however, their mode of action (MoA) remains largely unknown. Based on the nanomolar potency of xanthocillin X (Xan) against diverse difficult-to-treat Gram-negative bacteria, including the critical priority pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii, we performed in-depth studies to decipher its MoA. While neither metal binding nor cellular protein targets were relevant for Xan´s antibiotic effects, sequencing of resistant strains revealed a conserved mutation in the heme biosynthesis enzyme porphobilinogen synthase (PbgS). This mutation caused impaired enzymatic efficiency indicative of reduced heme production. This discovery led to the validation of an untapped mechanism by which direct heme sequestration of Xan prevents its binding into cognate enzyme pockets resulting in uncontrolled cofactor biosynthesis, accumulation of porphyrins and corresponding stress with deleterious effects for bacterial viability. Thus, Xan represents a promising antibiotic displaying activity even against multidrug resistant strains while exhibiting low toxicity to human cells.