Gene expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

Bacteria often adopt a sessile biofilm lifestyle that is resistant to antimicrobial treatment. Opportunistic pathogenic bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa can develop persistent infections. To gain insights into the differences between free-living P. aeruginosa cells and those in biofilms, and into the mechanisms underlying the resistance of biofilms to antibiotics, we used DNA microarrays. Here we show that, despite the striking differences in lifestyles, only about 1% of genes showed differential expression in the two growth modes; about 0.5% of genes were activated and about 0.5% were repressed in biofilms. Some of the regulated genes are known to affect antibiotic sensitivity of free-living P. aeruginosa. Exposure of biofilms to high levels of the antibiotic tobramycin caused differential expression of 20 genes. We propose that this response is critical for the development of biofilm resistance to tobramycin. Our results show that gene expression in biofilm cells is similar to that in free-living cells but there are a small number of significant differences. Our identification of biofilm-regulated genes points to mechanisms of biofilm resistance to antibiotics.     

A component of innate immunity prevents bacterial biofilm development

Antimicrobial factors form one arm of the innate immune system, which protects mucosal surfaces from bacterial infection. These factors can rapidly kill bacteria deposited on mucosal surfaces and prevent acute invasive infections. In many chronic infections, however, bacteria live in biofilms, which are distinct, matrix-encased communities specialized for surface persistence. The transition from a free-living, independent existence to a biofilm lifestyle can be devastating, because biofilms notoriously resist killing by host defence mechanisms and antibiotics. We hypothesized that the innate immune system possesses specific activity to protect against biofilm infections. Here we show that lactoferrin, a ubiquitous and abundant constituent of human external secretions, blocks biofilm development by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This occurs at lactoferrin concentrations below those that kill or prevent growth. By chelating iron, lactoferrin stimulates twitching, a specialized form of surface motility, causing the bacteria to wander across the surface instead of forming cell clusters and biofilms. These findings reveal a specific anti-biofilm defence mechanism acting at a critical juncture in biofilm development, the time bacteria stop roaming as individuals and aggregate into durable communities.     

环二鸟苷酸对细菌运动调控的研究进展

细菌中的第二信使环二鸟苷酸(c-di-GMP)对细菌的运动性有调节作用.c-di-GMP调控鞭毛的生物合成、菌毛形成和菌毛蛋白的组成,以及其他一些与运动相关的蛋白的合成.细菌的运动性与其毒力、致病性、粘附性、趋化性、生物膜组成等密切相关.在革兰氏阴性细菌中,关于c-di-GMP的信号通路的研究较为清晰,而在革兰氏阳性细菌中,关于该信号转导通路的研究较少.此外,有关c-di-GMP的信号通路的研究主要集中在病原菌.该文主要综述了一些常见病原菌中c-di-GMP对其运动性的调控机制,为研究其他细菌c-di-GMP信号通路提供思路.     

C-di-GMP signaling and implications for pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

C-di-GMP is a ubiquitous bacterial second messenger that regulates a wide range of bacterial physiological processes including biofilm formation, virulence, motility and cell differentiation. Here, we have summarized our current knowledge on the upstream signaling factors and downstream effectors of c-di-GMP in addition to the interaction between c-di-GMP and eukaryotic organisms. New discoveries in these areas have enriched our understanding of the diversity of c-di-GMP signaling pathways and provide important clues for us to explore the roles of c-di-GMP signaling in human pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis.     

WspR在大肠杆菌中的表达及其对c-di-GMP合成的影响

可得胶是土壤农杆菌ATCC31749分泌的一种胞外多糖,大多数细菌胞外多糖的合成受控于新近发现的第二信使环二鸟苷酸(c-di-GMP).细胞内c-di-GMP的产生受二鸟苷酸环化酶(diguanylate cyclase,DGC)合成和磷酸二酯酶(phosphodiesterase,PDE)降解两条途径调控.在结构上,通常DGC含有GGDEF结构域,PDE含有EAL结构域.研究表明从绿脓杆菌(P.aeruginosa)中得到的类趋化系统蛋白WspR具有GGDEF结构域,具有DGC活性.本实验将WspR转入大肠杆菌中得到了表达,并用颜色反应得到证实c-di-GMP在E.coli大量合成.为进一步研究ATCC31749中WspR的作用机制,促进可得胶的合成提供切实可行的依据.     

Pseudomonas biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance are linked to phenotypic variation

Colonization of the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients by the opportunistic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the principal cause of mortality in CF populations. Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections generally persist despite the use of long-term antibiotic therapy. This has been explained by postulating that P. aeruginosa forms an antibiotic-resistant biofilm consisting of bacterial communities embedded in an exopolysaccharide matrix. Alternatively, it has been proposed that resistant P. aeruginosa variants may be selected in the CF respiratory tract by antimicrobial therapy itself. Here we report that both explanations are correct, and are interrelated. We found that antibiotic-resistant phenotypic variants of P. aeruginosa with enhanced ability to form biofilms arise at high frequency both in vitro and in the lungs of CF patients. We also identified a regulatory protein (PvrR) that controls the conversion between antibiotic-resistant and antibiotic-susceptible forms. Compounds that affect PvrR function could have an important role in the treatment of CF infections.     

Quorum-sensing signals indicate that cystic fibrosis lungs are infected with bacterial biofilms

The bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa permanently colonizes cystic fibrosis lungs despite aggressive antibiotic treatment. This suggests that P. aeruginosa might exist as biofilms--structured communities of bacteria encased in a self-produced polymeric matrix--in the cystic fibrosis lung. Consistent with this hypothesis, microscopy of cystic fibrosis sputum shows that P. aeruginosa are in biofilm-like structures. P. aeruginosa uses extracellular quorum-sensing signals (extracellular chemical signals that cue cell-density-dependent gene expression) to coordinate biofilm formation. Here we found that cystic fibrosis sputum produces the two principal P. aeruginosa quorum-sensing signals; however, the relative abundance of these signals was opposite to that of the standard P. aeruginosa strain PAO1 in laboratory broth culture. When P. aeruginosa sputum isolates were grown in broth, some showed quorum-sensing signal ratios like those of the laboratory strain. When we grew these isolates and PAO1 in a laboratory biofilm model, the signal ratios were like those in cystic fibrosis sputum. Our data support the hypothesis that P. aeruginosa are in a biofilm in cystic fibrosis sputum. Moreover, quorum-sensing signal profiling of specific P. aeruginosa strains may serve as a biomarker in screens to identify agents that interfere with biofilm development.     

The prokaryote messenger c-di-GMP triggers stalk cell differentiation in Dictyostelium

Cyclic di-(3′:5′)-guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) is a major prokaryote signalling intermediate that is synthesized by diguanylate cyclases and triggers sessility and biofilm formation. We detected the first eukaryote diguanylate cyclases in all major groups of Dictyostelia. On food depletion, Dictyostelium discoideum amoebas collect into aggregates, which first transform into migrating slugs and then into sessile fruiting structures. These structures consist of a spherical spore mass that is supported by a column of stalk cells and a basal disk. A polyketide, DIF-1, which induces stalk-like cells in vitro, was isolated earlier. However, its role in vivo proved recently to be restricted to basal disk formation. Here we show that the Dictyostelium diguanylate cyclase, DgcA, produces c-di-GMP as the morphogen responsible for stalk cell differentiation. Dictyostelium discoideum DgcA synthesized c-di-GMP in a GTP-dependent manner and was expressed at the slug tip, which is the site of stalk cell differentiation. Disruption of the DgcA gene blocked the transition from slug migration to fructification and the expression of stalk genes. Fructification and stalk formation were restored by exposing DgcA-null slugs to wild-type secretion products or to c-di-GMP. Moreover, c-di-GMP, but not cyclic di-(3′:5′)-adenosine monophosphate, induced stalk gene expression in dilute cell monolayers. Apart from identifying the long-elusive stalk-inducing morphogen, our work also identifies a role for c-di-GMP in eukaryotes.     

Complete genome sequence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, an opportunistic pathogen

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous environmental bacterium that is one of the top three causes of opportunistic human infections. A major factor in its prominence as a pathogen is its intrinsic resistance to antibiotics and disinfectants. Here we report the complete sequence of P. aeruginosa strain PAO1. At 6.3 million base pairs, this is the largest bacterial genome sequenced, and the sequence provides insights into the basis of the versatility and intrinsic drug resistance of P. aeruginosa. Consistent with its larger genome size and environmental adaptability, P. aeruginosa contains the highest proportion of regulatory genes observed for a bacterial genome and a large number of genes involved in the catabolism, transport and efflux of organic compounds as well as four potential chemotaxis systems. We propose that the size and complexity of the P. aeruginosa genome reflect an evolutionary adaptation permitting it to thrive in diverse environments and resist the effects of a variety of antimicrobial substances.     

细菌环二鸟苷酸介导的信号转导途径研究进展

环二鸟苷酸(c-di-GMP)是在细菌中广泛存在的第二信使分子,它介导的信号转导途径涉及调控细菌的运动、致病性、生物膜形成、细胞周期进程和有机溶剂耐受性等多种重要功能.该文主要从c-di-GMP的合成与降解、c-di-GMP的效应子及c-di-GMP的生理作用3方面对c-di-GMP介导的信号转导途径进行总结,并对该信号转导途径的研究前景进行了展望.     

Natural conjugative plasmids induce bacterial biofilm development

Horizontal gene transfer is a principal source of evolution leading to change in the ecological character of bacterial species. Bacterial conjugation, which promotes the horizontal transfer of genetic material between donor and recipient cells by physical contact, is a phenomenon of fundamental evolutionary consequence. Although conjugation has been studied primarily in liquid, most natural bacterial populations are found associated with environmental surfaces in complex multispecies communities called biofilms. Biofilms are ideally suited to the exchange of genetic material of various origins, and it has been shown that bacterial conjugation occurs within biofilms. Here I investigate the direct contribution of conjugative plasmids themselves to the capacity of the bacterial host to form a biofilm. Natural conjugative plasmids expressed factors that induced planktonic bacteria to form or enter biofilm communities, which favour the infectious transfer of the plasmid. This general connection between conjugation and biofilms suggests that medically relevant plasmid-bearing strains are more likely to form a biofilm. This may influence both the chances of biofilm-related infection risks and of conjugational spread of virulence factors.     

A genetic basis for Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm antibiotic resistance

Biofilms are surface-attached microbial communities with characteristic architecture and phenotypic and biochemical properties distinct from their free-swimming, planktonic counterparts. One of the best-known of these biofilm-specific properties is the development of antibiotic resistance that can be up to 1,000-fold greater than planktonic cells. We report a genetic determinant of this high-level resistance in the Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We have identified a mutant of P. aeruginosa that, while still capable of forming biofilms with the characteristic P. aeruginosa architecture, does not develop high-level biofilm-specific resistance to three different classes of antibiotics. The locus identified in our screen, ndvB, is required for the synthesis of periplasmic glucans. Our discovery that these periplasmic glucans interact physically with tobramycin suggests that these glucose polymers may prevent antibiotics from reaching their sites of action by sequestering these antimicrobial agents in the periplasm. Our results indicate that biofilms themselves are not simply a diffusion barrier to these antibiotics, but rather that bacteria within these microbial communities employ distinct mechanisms to resist the action of antimicrobial agents.     

铜绿假单胞菌多重耐药性分子机制的研究

铜绿假单胞菌是重要的医院感染条件致病菌.由于各种抗生素的广泛使用,细菌耐药问题日趋严重,导致了铜绿假单胞菌产生了很强的耐药性而且多重耐药,铜绿假单胞菌通过多种途径产生耐药.而从分子水平对其耐药性机制进行研究具有重要意义.     

苦参与环丙沙星合用对铜绿假单胞菌生物膜的影响

采用体外复制铜绿假单胞菌生物膜模型,研究了苦参水煎液与环丙沙星联合应用对铜绿假单胞菌生物膜的影响及协同杀菌效果,结果显示,1/16、1/4最小抑菌浓度(Minimal Inhibitory Concentration MIC)的苦参水煎液可显著增加1/41、/2 MIC的环丙沙星对铜绿假单胞菌生物膜的抑菌活性,两药合用具有明显的协同作用.     

重症监护病房多重耐药铜绿假单胞菌Ⅰ型整合子的检测及鉴定

 整合子是介导细胞多重耐药的重要机制之一,鉴定了2008年某医院重症监护病房分离的23株多重耐药铜绿假单胞菌1型整合子,并应用脉冲场电泳分析其同源性。1型整合子的阳性率达成60.9%。3种1型整合子基因盒被鉴定,其中整合子blaOXA 10 acc6 Ⅱ cmlA8为首次发现报道。基因盒主要编码氨基糖苷类耐药基因,包括 aacA4, aadA2, aadB, aac6 Ⅱ。脉冲电泳结果表明,23株多重耐药铜绿假单胞菌分为5个基因型,A 型(n=5)、B型 (n=6)、C型 (n=4)、D型(n=2)和E型(n=2)。研究表明编码1型整合子是多重耐药铜绿单胞菌较为普遍的特征,且1型整合子与多重耐药表型存相关。研究结果同时也表明防止多重耐药铜绿单胞菌交叉感染仍然是ICU的一项挑战性工作。     

铜绿假单胞菌液体发酵产生絮凝现象的研究

对铜绿假单胞菌液体发酵产生的絮凝现象进行了研究。初步确定其由铜绿假单胞菌产生的生物膜引起,测得生物膜中多糖含量约为6.3%,蛋白质含量约为7.7%。考察了添加颗粒营养物质豆饼粉对絮凝现象的影响,分析了天然群体感应抑制剂水杨酸、丁香酚、儿茶素、姜黄素和大蒜提取物对生物膜和菌浓的影响以及群体感应淬灭酶对菌浓的影响。结果显示,添加颗粒营养物质对絮凝物影响不显著;天然群体感应抑制剂不能显著提高铜绿假单胞菌液体发酵菌浓,但对生物膜的分散具有一定作用;群体感应淬灭酶对铜绿假单胞菌液体发酵浓度无显著影响。     

Exploitation of syndecan-1 shedding by Pseudomonas aeruginosa enhances virulence

Cell-surface heparan sulphate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are ubiquitous and abundant receptors/co-receptors of extracellular ligands, including many microbes. Their role in microbial infections is poorly defined, however, because no cell-surface HSPG has been clearly connected to the pathogenesis of a particular microbe. We have previously shown that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, through its virulence factor LasA, enhances the in vitro shedding of syndecan-1-the predominant cell-surface HSPG of epithelia. Here we show that shedding of syndecan-1 is also activated by P. aeruginosa in vivo, and that the resulting syndecan-1 ectodomains enhance bacterial virulence in newborn mice. Newborn mice deficient in syndecan-1 resist P. aeruginosa lung infection but become susceptible when given purified syndecan-1 ectodomains or heparin, but not when given ectodomain core protein, indicating that the ectodomain's heparan sulphate chains are the effectors. In wild-type newborn mice, inhibition of syndecan-1 shedding or inactivation of the shed ectodomain's heparan sulphate chains prevents lung infection. Our findings uncover a pathogenetic mechanism in which a host response to tissue injury-syndecan-1 shedding-is exploited to enhance microbial virulence apparently by modulating host defences.     

铜绿假单孢菌yfa操纵子中α2-M基因与抵抗力的关系

目的研究铜绿假单孢菌yfa-α2M基因与其抵抗力的关系。方法通过基因敲除的方法,得到铜绿假单孢菌的突变株PAO1Δyfa-α2M。在不同的底物存在的条件下,比较突变株和野生型菌株的生长曲线。结果突变株PAO1Δyfa-α2M对Polymixin的抗性明显降低。结论基因yfa-α2M可能与铜绿假单胞菌的抗性有关。     

Natural polymorphisms in C. elegans HECW-1 E3 ligase affect pathogen avoidance behaviour

Heritable variation in behavioural traits generally has a complex genetic basis, and thus naturally occurring polymorphisms that influence behaviour have been defined only in rare instances. The isolation of wild strains of Caenorhabditis elegans has facilitated the study of natural genetic variation in this species and provided insights into its diverse microbial ecology. C. elegans responds to bacterial infection with conserved innate immune responses and, although lacking the immunological memory of vertebrate adaptive immunity, shows an aversive learning response to pathogenic bacteria. Here, we report the molecular characterization of naturally occurring coding polymorphisms in a C. elegans gene encoding a conserved HECT domain-containing E3 ubiquitin ligase, HECW-1. We show that two distinct polymorphisms in neighbouring residues of HECW-1 each affect C. elegans behavioural avoidance of a lawn of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Neuron-specific rescue and ablation experiments and genetic interaction analysis indicate that HECW-1 functions in a pair of sensory neurons to inhibit P. aeruginosa lawn avoidance behaviour through inhibition of the neuropeptide receptor NPR-1 (ref. 10), which we have previously shown promotes P. aeruginosa lawn avoidance behaviour. Our data establish a molecular basis for natural variation in a C. elegans behaviour that may undergo adaptive changes in response to microbial pathogens.     

不锈钢表面生物膜电化学性质与稳定性

以天然水体为挂膜介质,在304号不锈钢表面培养生物膜.以多糖、脂磷为生物量表征参数,研究开路电位和不锈钢表面生物膜生物量的相关性,并使用扫描电镜表征生物膜形貌.此外,利用紫外线处理生物膜样品.结果表明,在一定开路电位范围内,不锈钢表面生物膜生物量与开路电位具有很好的拟合关系,开路电位可以作为生物量的检测手段.不锈钢表面生物膜具有一定的抗剥离能力,一旦形成将难以剥离.