SARS-CoV-2 variant spike and accessory gene mutations alter pathogenesis.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a major public health crisis. Despite the development and deployment of vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the pandemic persists. The continued spread of the virus is largely driven by the emergence of viral variants, which can evade the current vaccines through mutations in the spike protein. Although these differences in spike are important in terms of transmission and vaccine responses, these variants possess mutations in the other parts of their genome that may also affect pathogenesis. Of particular interest to us are the mutations present in the accessory genes, which have been shown to contribute to pathogenesis in the host through interference with innate immune signaling, among other effects on host machinery. To examine the effects of accessory protein mutations and other nonspike mutations on SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, we synthesized both viruses possessing deletions in the accessory genes as well as viruses where the WA-1 spike is replaced by each variant spike gene in a SARS-CoV-2/WA-1 infectious clone. We then characterized the in vitro and in vivo replication of these viruses and compared them to both WA-1 and the full variant viruses. Our work has revealed that the accessory proteins contribute to SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and the nonspike mutations in variants can contribute to replication of SARS-CoV-2 and pathogenesis in the host. This work suggests that while spike mutations may enhance receptor binding and entry into cells, mutations in accessory proteins may alter clinical disease presentation.

Cross-Genus "Boot-Up" of Synthetic Bacteriophage in Staphylococcus aureus by Using a New and Efficient DNA Transformation Method.

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen that causes a wide range of infections and food poisoning in humans with antibiotic resistance, specifically to methicillin, compounding the problem. Bacteriophages (phages) provide an alternative treatment strategy, but these only infect a limited number of circulating strains and may quickly become ineffective due to bacterial resistance. To overcome these obstacles, engineered phages have been proposed, but new methods are needed for the efficient transformation of large DNA molecules into S. aureus to "boot-up" (i.e., rescue) infectious phages. We presented a new, efficient, and reproducible DNA transformation method, NEST (non-electroporation Staphylococcus transformation), for S. aureus to boot-up purified phage genomic DNA (at least 150 kb in length) and whole yeast-assembled synthetic phage genomes. This method was a powerful new tool for the transformation of DNA in S. aureus and will enable the rapid development of engineered therapeutic phages and phage cocktails against Gram-positive pathogens. IMPORTANCE The continued emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens has heightened the urgency for alternative antibacterial strategies. Phages provide an alternative treatment strategy but are difficult to optimize. Synthetic biology approaches have been successfully used to construct and rescue genomes of model phages but only in a limited number of highly transformable host species. In this study, we used a new, reproducible, and efficient transformation method to reconstitute a functional nonmodel Siphophage from a constructed synthetic genome. This method will facilitate the engineering of Staphylococcus and Enterococcus phages for therapeutic applications and the engineering of Staphylococcus strains by enabling transformation of higher molecular weight DNA to introduce more complex modifications.

Integration-dependent bacteriophage immunity provides insights into the evolution of genetic switches.

Genetic switches are critical components of developmental circuits. Because temperate bacteriophages are vastly abundant and greatly diverse, they are rich resources for understanding the mechanisms and evolution of switches and the molecular control of genetic circuitry. Here, we describe a new class of small, compact, and simple switches that use site-specific recombination as the key decision point. The phage attachment site attP is located within the phage repressor gene such that chromosomal integration results in removal of a C-terminal tag that destabilizes the virally encoded form of the repressor. Integration thus not only confers prophage stability but also is a requirement for lysogenic establishment. The variety of these self-contained integration-dependent immunity systems in different genomic contexts suggests that these represent ancestral states in switch evolution from which more-complex switches have evolved. They also provide a powerful toolkit for building synthetic biological circuits.

Genome-wide engineering of an infectious clone of herpes simplex virus type 1 using synthetic genomics assembly methods.

Here, we present a transformational approach to genome engineering of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), which has a large DNA genome, using synthetic genomics tools. We believe this method will enable more rapid and complex modifications of HSV-1 and other large DNA viruses than previous technologies, facilitating many useful applications. Yeast transformation-associated recombination was used to clone 11 fragments comprising the HSV-1 strain KOS 152 kb genome. Using overlapping sequences between the adjacent pieces, we assembled the fragments into a complete virus genome in yeast, transferred it into an Escherichia coli host, and reconstituted infectious virus following transfection into mammalian cells. The virus derived from this yeast-assembled genome, KOSYA, replicated with kinetics similar to wild-type virus. We demonstrated the utility of this modular assembly technology by making numerous modifications to a single gene, making changes to two genes at the same time and, finally, generating individual and combinatorial deletions to a set of five conserved genes that encode virion structural proteins. While the ability to perform genome-wide editing through assembly methods in large DNA virus genomes raises dual-use concerns, we believe the incremental risks are outweighed by potential benefits. These include enhanced functional studies, generation of oncolytic virus vectors, development of delivery platforms of genes for vaccines or therapy, as well as more rapid development of countermeasures against potential biothreats.

Efficient size-independent chromosome delivery from yeast to cultured cell lines.

The delivery of large DNA vectors (>100 000 bp) remains a limiting step in the engineering of mammalian cells and the development of human artificial chromosomes (HACs). Yeast is commonly used to assemble genetic constructs in the megabase size range, and has previously been used to transfer constructs directly into cultured cells. We improved this method to efficiently deliver large (1.1 Mb) synthetic yeast centromeric plasmids (YCps) to cultured cell lines at rates similar to that of 12 kb YCps. Synchronizing cells in mitosis improved the delivery efficiency by 10-fold and a statistical design of experiments approach was employed to boost the vector delivery rate by nearly 300-fold from 1/250 000 to 1/840 cells, and subsequently optimize the delivery process for multiple mammalian, avian, and insect cell lines. We adapted this method to rapidly deliver a 152 kb herpes simplex virus 1 genome cloned in yeast into mammalian cells to produce infectious virus.

Mutational analysis of the mycobacteriophage BPs promoter PR reveals context-dependent sequences for mycobacterial gene expression.

The PR promoter of mycobacteriophage BPs directs early lytic gene expression and is under the control of the BPs repressor, gp33. Reporter gene fusions showed that PR has modest activity in an extrachromosomal context but has activity that is barely detectable in an integrated context, even in the absence of its repressor. Mutational dissection of PR showed that it uses a canonical -10 hexamer recognized by SigA, and mutants with mutations to the sequence 5'-TATAMT had the greatest activities. It does not contain a 5'-TGN-extended -10 sequence, although mutants with mutations creating an extended -10 sequence had substantially increased promoter activity. Mutations in the -35 hexamer also influenced promoter activity but were strongly context dependent, and similar substitutions in the -35 hexamer differentially affected promoter activity, depending on the -10 and extended -10 motifs. This warrants caution in the construction of synthetic promoters or the bioinformatic prediction of promoter activity. Combinations of mutations throughout PR generated a calibrated series of promoters for expression of stably integrated recombinant genes in both Mycobacterium smegmatis and M. tuberculosis, with maximal promoter activity being more than 2-fold that of the strong hsp60 promoter.

An optimized approach for processing of frozen lung and lavage samples for microbiome studies.

The respiratory tract has a resident microbiome with low biomass and limited diversity. This results in difficulties with sample preparation for sequencing due to uneven bacteria-to-host DNA ratio, especially for small tissue samples such as mouse lungs. We compared effectiveness of current procedures used for DNA extraction in microbiome studies. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissue samples were collected to test different forms of sample pre-treatment and extraction methods to increase bacterial DNA yield and optimize library preparation. DNA extraction using a pre-treatment method of mechanical lysis (lung tissue) and one-step centrifugation (BALF) increased DNA yield and bacterial content of samples. In contrast, a significant increase of environmental contamination was detected after phenol chloroform isoamyl alcohol (PCI) extraction and nested PCR. While PCI has been a standard procedure used in microbiome studies, our data suggests that it is not efficient for DNA extraction of frozen low biomass samples. Finally, a DNA Enrichment kit was tested and found to improve the 16S copy number of lung tissue with a minor shift in microbial composition. Overall, we present a standardized method to provide high yielding DNA and improve sequencing coverage of low microbial biomass frozen samples with minimal contamination.

Gut and lung microbiome profiles in pregnant mice.

In recent years, microbiome research has expanded from the gastrointestinal tract to other host sites previously thought to be abacterial such as the lungs. Yet, the effects of pregnancy in the lung and gut microbiome remains unclear. Here we examined the changes in the gut and lung microbiome in mice at 14 days of gestation. Lung tissue and stool samples were collected from pregnant and non-pregnant female BALB/c mice, DNA was isolated, amplified, and bacterial specific V4 16S rRNA gene was sequenced. Using an in-house bioinformatic pipeline we assessed the microbial composition of each organ using stool and lung tissue samples. The stool data showed that Lachnospiraceae and Lactobacillaceae were more abundant in the pregnant mice. Likewise, Lactobacillaceae were dominant in the lungs of pregnant mice. However, Streptococcaceae were dominant in the lungs of non-pregnant mice with a low microbial abundance in the pregnant mice. A permutation test showed that pregnancy significantly contributes to the variance in both the lung and stool microbiome. At the same time, we estimate that 49% of the total detected operational taxonomic units were shared between the stool and lung data. After removing common stool-associated bacteria from the lung dataset, no microbial differential abundance was detected between the pregnant and non-pregnant lung microbial community. Thus, pregnancy contributes to variance to the lung and stool microbiome but not in the unique lung microbiota.

Spatiotemporal controls on septic system derived nutrients in a nearshore aquifer and their discharge to a large lake.

This study evaluates spatiotemporal variability in the behavior of septic system derived nutrients in a sandy nearshore aquifer and their discharge to a large lake. A groundwater nutrient-rich plume was monitored over a two-year period with the septic system origin of the plume confirmed using artificial sweeteners. High temporal variability in NO3-N attenuation in the nearshore aquifer prior to discharge to the lake (42-96%) reveals the complex behavior of NO3-N and potential importance of changing hydrological and geochemical conditions in controlling NO3-N discharge to the lake. While PO4-P was retarded in the nearshore aquifer, the PO4-P plume extended over 90 m downgradient of the septic system. It was estimated that the PO4-P plume may reach the lake within 10 years and represents a legacy issue whereby PO4-P loads to the lake may increase over time. To provide broader assessment of the contribution of septic systems to P and N loads to a large lake, a regional scale geospatial model was developed that considers the locations of individual septic systems along the Canadian Lake Erie shoreline. The estimated P and N loads indicate that septic systems along the shoreline are only a minor contributor to the annual P and N loads to Lake Erie. However, it is possible that nutrients from septic systems may contribute to localized algal blooms in shoreline areas with high septic system density. In addition, disproportionate P and N loads in discharging groundwater may change the N:P ratio in nearshore waters and promote growth of harmful cyanobacteria. The study provides new insights into factors controlling the function of the reaction zone near the groundwater-lake interface including its impact on groundwater-derived nutrient inputs to large lakes. Further, the study findings are needed to inform septic system and nutrient management programs aimed at reducing lake eutrophication.

Morphological and functional evidence for the contribution of the pudendal artery in aging-induced erectile dysfunction.

INTRODUCTION: Aging increases the risk of both erectile dysfunction (ED) and cardiovascular disease. These conditions have similar etiologies and commonly coexist. One unifying concept is the role of arterial insufficiency which is a primary factor in the onset of age-related ED. AIM: Based on the novel finding that the pudendal arteries contribute 70% of the total penile vascular resistance, our objective was to morphometrically and functionally characterize this vessel in young and old normotensive rats. METHODS: Erectile function was monitored in 15- and 77-week Sprague-Dawley rats using the apomorphine bioassay (80mg/kg, s.c.). Anesthetized animals were perfusion-fixed, aortic, renal, and internal pudendal arteries were excised, embedded, sectioned, stained, and morphometrically assessed using light microscopy. Hearts were excised, separated, and weighed prior to perfusion. Contractile and relaxation responses to acetylcholine (ACh) and phenylephrine (PE) were assessed by wire myograph. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Erectile function, morphological measurements, concentration response curves to ACh and PE. RESULTS: With age, there were marked decreases in erectile responses compared to younger rats (2.8±0.87 vs. 0.3±0.58). The pudendal arteries had a relatively small lumen (303±13.8µm) and a thick medial layer (47±2.2µm). In aged pudendal arteries, the lumen diameter did not change, and yet the medial layer, cross sectional area, and extracellular matrix were markedly increased. In contrast, the lumen diameter and wall thickness of the aorta and renal arteries in aged rats increased proportionally. An increase in small, round, smooth muscle cells was seen in aged pudendal arteries. Functionally, there were no differences in contractile responses to PE; however, ACh-induced relaxation decreased with age. CONCLUSIONS: In aged rats, erectile function was severely diminished when pudendal arteries had undergone marked phenotypic changes. Specifically, there was endothelial dysfunction and pathological remodeling of this vessel with age, characterized by medial thickening, impaired vasodilation and significantly reduced capacity for penile blood flow.

Optimization of qRT-PCR assay for zika virus detection in human serum and urine.

Zika Virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global concern due to the severity of infection. This study focuses on determining the level of detection of ZIKV RNA in human serum and urine. Known amounts of Zika virus were added to uninfected human serum and urine samples. Different reverse transcriptases were compared to select the optimal enzyme for this application. Zika RNA in these samples was then quantified with qRT-PCR to determine the lower limit of detection in these fluids and to construct a standard curve. Student's t-test of paired samples was used in order to identify statistical differences. The SuperScript III enzyme was able to produce more ZIKV cDNA when compared to PrimeScript. Zika virus RNA was found to be detectable at lower levels (2.5 PFU/mL) in urine than in serum (250 PFU/mL) when using SuperScript III. This study demonstrates how the selection of both the human clinical specimen, and the reverse transcriptase enzyme involved in the molecular detection of ZIKV by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), play an important role in enabling improved detection of the virus.

Rapid and efficient in vitro excision of BAC sequences from herpesvirus genomes using Cre-mediated recombination.

Cre-mediated recombination is a widely used technique for the re-arrangement of DNA sequences that are bracketed by loxP recognition sites. This bacteriophage P1 enzyme is commonly used to excise the bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) sequence, a vector sequence used for large herpesvirus genomes for the purposes of propagation and manipulation in Escherichia coli. Most methods utilize cell lines that can be induced for the expression of Cre enzyme to facilitate this excision. In addition, methods have been developed that express Cre from the virus genome and enable auto-excision of the BAC plasmid. We report a versatile and rapid in vitro method based on purified Cre enzyme to carry out the same process in a test tube and does not require cell line generation or cloning into the virus genome. This method greatly increases the repertoire of methods available to modify the genome prior to reconstitution of virus infectivity in a mammalian host.

Contemporary Circulating Enterovirus D68 Strains Have Acquired the Capacity for Viral Entry and Replication in Human Neuronal Cells.

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has historically been associated with respiratory illnesses. However, in the summers of 2014 and 2016, EV-D68 outbreaks coincided with a spike in polio-like acute flaccid myelitis/paralysis (AFM/AFP) cases. This raised concerns that EV-D68 could be the causative agent of AFM during these recent outbreaks. To assess the potential neurotropism of EV-D68, we utilized the neuroblastoma-derived neuronal cell line SH-SY5Y as a cell culture model to determine if differential infection is observed for different EV-D68 strains. In contrast to HeLa and A549 cells, which support viral infection of all EV-D68 strains tested, SH-SY5Y cells only supported infection by a subset of contemporary EV-D68 strains, including isolates from the 2014 outbreak. Viral replication and infectivity in SH-SY5Y were assessed using multiple assays: virus production, cytopathic effects, cellular ATP release, and VP1 capsid protein production. Similar differential neurotropism was also observed in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells, primary human neuron cultures, and a mouse paralysis model. Using the SH-SY5Y cell culture model, we determined that barriers to viral binding and entry were at least partly responsible for the differential infectivity phenotype. Transfection of genomic RNA into SH-SY5Y generated virions for all EV-D68 isolates, but only a single round of replication was observed from strains that could not directly infect SH-SY5Y. In addition to supporting virus replication and other functional studies, this cell culture model may help identify the signatures of virulence to confirm epidemiological associations between EV-D68 strains and AFM and allow for the rapid identification and characterization of emerging neurotropic strains.IMPORTANCE Since the EV-D68 outbreak during the summer of 2014, evidence of a causal link to a type of limb paralysis (AFM) has been mounting. In this article, we describe a neuronal cell culture model (SH-SY5Y cells) in which a subset of contemporary 2014 outbreak strains of EV-D68 show infectivity in neuronal cells, or neurotropism. We confirmed the difference in neurotropism in vitro using primary human neuron cell cultures and in vivo with a mouse paralysis model. Using the SH-SY5Y cell model, we determined that a barrier to viral entry is at least partly responsible for neurotropism. SH-SY5Y cells may be useful in determining if specific EV-D68 genetic determinants are associated with neuropathogenesis, and replication in this cell line could be used as rapid screening tool for identification of neurotropic EV-D68 strains. This may assist with better understanding of pathogenesis and epidemiology and with the development of potential therapies.

Whole genome sequencing, variant analysis, phylogenetics, and deep sequencing of Zika virus strains.

The recent emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) has been concentrated in the Caribbean, Southeastern United States, and South- and Central America; resulting in travel-based cases being reported around the globe. As multi-disciplinary collaborations are combatting the ZIKV outbreak, the need to validate the sequence of existing strains has become apparent. Here, we report high-quality sequence data for multiple ZIKV strains made publicly available through the National Institutes of Health- (NIH) funded biorepository, BEI Resources (www.beiresources.org). Next-generation sequencing, 3' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), and viral genome annotation pipelines generated GenBank sequence records for 16 BEI Resources strains. Minor variants, consensus mutations, and consensus insertions/deletions were identified within the viral stocks using next-generation sequencing (NGS) and consensus changes were confirmed with Sanger sequencing. Bioinformatics analyses of the sequencing results confirm that the virus stocks available to the scientific research community through BEI Resources adequately represent the viral population diversity of ZIKV.

Sequences of Zika Virus Genomes from a Pediatric Cohort in Nicaragua.

We report here the whole-genome sequence of 11 Zika virus (ZIKV) samples from six pediatric patients in Nicaragua. Serum samples were collected, and ZIKV was isolated in tissue culture. Both serum and virus isolates were sequenced. The consensus ZIKV genomes are greater than 99% identical to each other.

Whole-Genome Sequences of Zika Virus FLR Strains after Passage in Vero or C6/36 Cells.

We report 26 complete genomes of Zika virus (ZIKV) isolated after passaging the Zika virus strain FLR in mosquito (C6/36) and mammalian (Vero) cell lines. The consensus ZIKV genomes we recovered show greater than 99% nucleotide identify with each other and with the FLR strain used as input.

The Human Microbiome and Cancer.

Recent scientific advances have significantly contributed to our understanding of the complex connection between the microbiome and cancer. Our bodies are continuously exposed to microbial cells, both resident and transient, as well as their byproducts, including toxic metabolites. Circulation of toxic metabolites may contribute to cancer onset or progression at locations distant from where a particular microbe resides. Moreover, microbes may migrate to other locations in the human body and become associated with tumor development. Several case-control metagenomics studies suggest that dysbiosis in the commensal microbiota is also associated with inflammatory disorders and various cancer types throughout the body. Although the microbiome influences carcinogenesis through mechanisms independent of inflammation and immune system, the most recognizable link is between the microbiome and cancer via the immune system, as the resident microbiota plays an essential role in activating, training, and modulating the host immune response. Immunologic dysregulation is likely to provide mechanistic explanations as to how our microbiome influences cancer development and cancer therapies. In this review, we discuss recent developments in understanding the human gut microbiome's relationship with cancer and the feasibility of developing novel cancer diagnostics based on microbiome profiles. Cancer Prev Res; 10(4); 226-34. ©2017 AACR.

An Unusual Phage Repressor Encoded by Mycobacteriophage BPs.

Temperate bacteriophages express transcription repressors that maintain lysogeny by down-regulating lytic promoters and confer superinfection immunity. Repressor regulation is critical to the outcome of infection-lysogenic or lytic growth-as well as prophage induction into lytic replication. Mycobacteriophage BPs and its relatives use an unusual integration-dependent immunity system in which the phage attachment site (attP) is located within the repressor gene (33) such that site-specific integration leads to synthesis of a prophage-encoded product (gp33103) that is 33 residues shorter at its C-terminus than the virally-encoded protein (gp33136). However, the shorter form of the repressor (gp33103) is stable and active in repression of the early lytic promoter PR, whereas the longer virally-encoded form (gp33136) is inactive due to targeted degradation via a C-terminal ssrA-like tag. We show here that both forms of the repressor bind similarly to the 33-34 intergenic regulatory region, and that BPs gp33103 is a tetramer in solution. The BPs gp33103 repressor binds to five regulatory regions spanning the BPs genome, and regulates four promoters including the early lytic promoter, PR. BPs gp33103 has a complex pattern of DNA recognition in which a full operator binding site contains two half sites separated by a variable spacer, and BPs gp33103 induces a DNA bend at the full operator site but not a half site. The operator site structure is unusual in that one half site corresponds to a 12 bp palindrome identified previously, but the other half site is a highly variable variant of the palindrome.

BRED: a simple and powerful tool for constructing mutant and recombinant bacteriophage genomes.

Advances in DNA sequencing technology have facilitated the determination of hundreds of complete genome sequences both for bacteria and their bacteriophages. Some of these bacteria have well-developed and facile genetic systems for constructing mutants to determine gene function, and recombineering is a particularly effective tool. However, generally applicable methods for constructing defined mutants of bacteriophages are poorly developed, in part because of the inability to use selectable markers such as drug resistance genes during viral lytic growth. Here we describe a method for simple and effective directed mutagenesis of bacteriophage genomes using Bacteriophage Recombineering of Electroporated DNA (BRED), in which a highly efficient recombineering system is utilized directly on electroporated phage DNA; no selection is required and mutants can be readily detected by PCR. We describe the use of BRED to construct unmarked gene deletions, in-frame internal deletions, base substitutions, precise gene replacements, and the addition of gene tags.