Cholera- and Anthrax-Like Toxins Are among Several New ADP-Ribosyltransferases

Fieldhouse, Robert J.; Turgeon, Zachari; White, Dawn; Merrill, A. Rod

doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1001029

Cited by 56 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 123 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These are reminiscent of the two principal virulence factors of pandemic O1/O139 V. cholerae, the toxin coregulated pilus and the cholera toxin (56). The pilus and toxin found in CC13 display strongest similarity to the type 4 pilus and the heat-labile enterotoxin (LT)-A, both elements of diarrhea-causing enterotoxic Escherichia coli (ETEC) (57).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Small Number of Phylogenetically Distinct Clonal Complexes Dominate a Coastal Vibrio cholerae Population

Kirchberger

Orata

Barlow

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vibrio cholerae is a ubiquitous aquatic microbe in temperate and tropical coastal areas. It is a diverse species, with many isolates that are harmless to humans, while others are highly pathogenic. Most notable among them are strains belonging to the pandemic O1/O139 serogroup lineage, which contains the causative agents of cholera. The environmental selective regimes that led to this diversity are key to understanding how pathogens evolve in environmental reservoirs. A local population of V. cholerae and its close relative Vibrio metoecus from a coastal pond and lagoon system was extensively sampled during two consecutive months across four size fractions (480 isolates). In stark contrast to previous studies, the observed population was highly clonal, with 60% of V. cholerae isolates falling into one of five clonal complexes, which varied in abundance in the short temporal scale sampled. V. cholerae clonal complexes had significantly different distributions across size fractions and the two environments sampled, the pond and the lagoon. Sequencing the genomes of 20 isolates representing these five V. cholerae clonal complexes revealed different evolutionary trajectories, with considerable variations in gene content with potential ecological significance. Showing genotypic differentiation and differential spatial distribution, the dominant clonal complexes are likely ecologically divergent. Temporal variation in the relative abundance of these complexes suggests that transient blooms of specific clones could dominate local diversity. IMPORTANCEVibrio cholerae is commonly found in coastal areas worldwide, with only a single group of this bacterium capable of causing severe cholera outbreaks. However, the potential to evolve the ability to cause disease exists in many strains of this species in its aquatic reservoir. Understanding how pathogenic bacteria evolve requires the study of their natural environments. By extensive sampling in a geographically restricted location in the United States, we found that most cells of a V. cholerae population belong to only a small number of strains. Analysis of their genome composition and spatial distribution indicates differential environmental adaptations between these strains. Other strains exist in smaller numbers, and the population was found to be temporally varied. This suggests frequent bloom and collapse cycles on a time scale of weeks. These population dynamics make it possible that more virulent strains could stochastically rise to large numbers, allowing for infection to occur. W hile long thought of as being specifically adapted to life as a pathogen in the human gut (1), numerous strains of Vibrio cholerae with varied degrees of virulence thrive in the brackish waters of lagoons and estuaries of the world (2), from the coast of Australia (3) to Iceland (4). The bacterium is believed to form close associations with aquatic invertebrates, preferentially living a life attached to the chitinous surfaces of those animals (5, 6). It is also regularly isolated f...

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Small Number of Phylogenetically Distinct Clonal Complexes Dominate a Coastal Vibrio cholerae Population

Kirchberger

Orata

Barlow

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Most of these factors have been shown to be associated with greater virulence or immune evasion in animal models of staphylococcal infections [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. We hypothesize that lysogeny has played a significant role in increasing the ability of the ST398 clone to cause infections in humans and to become rapidly established in hospital environments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Messages from the first International Conference on Clinical Metagenomics (ICCMg)

Ruppé

Schrenzel²

2017

Microbes and Infection

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: It has been suggested that prophages in the ST398 S. aureus clone are responsible for expanding ST398's spectrum of action and increasing its ability to cause human infections. We carried out the first characterization of the various prophages carried by 76 ST398 bloodstream infection (BSI) isolates obtained over 9 years of observation. Results: Whole-genome sequencing of 22 representative isolates showed (1) the presence of the φ3-prophage and diverse genetic features typical of animal-associated isolates (i.e., SCCmec XI element, Tn916 transposon and non φ3-prophages) in a majority of BSI isolates, (2) one BSI isolate devoid of the φ3-prophage but otherwise similar to an animal-infecting isolate, (3) 35 prophages carrying numerous genes previously associated with virulence or immune evasion in animal models of staphylococcal infections. The analysis of prophage content in all 76 BSI isolates showed an increasing prevalence of polylysogeny over time. Overall, over the course of the last 10 years, the BSI isolates appear to have acquired increasing numbers of genetic features previously shown to contribute to bacterial adaptation and virulence in animal models of staphylococcal infections. Conclusions: We hypothesize that lysogeny has played a significant role in increasing the ability of the ST398 clone to cause infections in humans. Our findings highlight the risk that the ST398 lineage will increase its threat to public health by continuing to acquire virulence and/or multiple antibiotic-resistance genes from hospitalassociated clones of Staphylococcus aureus.

show abstract

“…The Scabin catalytic core region shares common features with the mART CT toxin family (6,43), including the conserved Arg ␤-strand residue, an STT motif, and the catalytic Glu motif (QXE). The enzyme showed elevated GH activity compared with most mART toxins, nearly 100 min Ϫ1 compared with 0.2 min Ϫ1 for ExoA (1).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%