ICEberg 3.0: functional categorization and analysis of the integrative and conjugative elements in bacteria.

ICEberg 3.0 (https://tool2-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/ICEberg3/) is an upgraded database that provides comprehensive insights into bacterial integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs). In comparison to the previous version, three key enhancements were introduced: First, through text mining and manual curation, it now encompasses details of 2065 ICEs, 607 IMEs and 275 CIMEs, including 430 with experimental support. Secondly, ICEberg 3.0 systematically categorizes cargo gene functions of ICEs into six groups based on literature curation and predictive analysis, providing a profound understanding of ICEs'diverse biological traits. The cargo gene prediction pipeline is integrated into the online tool ICEfinder 2.0. Finally, ICEberg 3.0 aids the analysis and exploration of ICEs from the human microbiome. Extracted and manually curated from 2405 distinct human microbiome samples, the database comprises 1386 putative ICEs, offering insights into the complex dynamics of Bacteria-ICE-Cargo networks within the human microbiome. With the recent updates, ICEberg 3.0 enhances its capability to unravel the intricacies of ICE biology, particularly in the characterization and understanding of cargo gene functions and ICE interactions within the microbiome. This enhancement may facilitate the investigation of the dynamic landscape of ICE biology and its implications for microbial communities.

TADB 3.0: an updated database of bacterial toxin-antitoxin loci and associated mobile genetic elements.

TADB 3.0 (https://bioinfo-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/TADB3/) is an updated database that provides comprehensive information on bacterial types I to VIII toxin-antitoxin (TA) loci. Compared with the previous version, three major improvements are introduced: First, with the aid of text mining and manual curation, it records the details of 536 TA loci with experimental support, including 102, 403, 8, 14, 1, 1, 3 and 4 TA loci of types I to VIII, respectively; Second, by leveraging the upgraded TA prediction tool TAfinder 2.0 with a stringent strategy, TADB 3.0 collects 211 697 putative types I to VIII TA loci predicted in 34 789 completely sequenced prokaryotic genomes, providing researchers with a large-scale dataset for further follow-up analysis and characterization; Third, based on their genomic locations, relationships of 69 019 TA loci and 60 898 mobile genetic elements (MGEs) are visualized by interactive networks accessible through the user-friendly web page. With the recent updates, TADB 3.0 may provide improved in silico support for comprehending the biological roles of TA pairs in prokaryotes and their functional associations with MGEs.

VRprofile2: detection of antibiotic resistance-associated mobilome in bacterial pathogens.

VRprofile2 is an updated pipeline that rapidly identifies diverse mobile genetic elements in bacterial genome sequences. Compared with the previous version, three major improvements were made. First, the user-friendly visualization could aid users in investigating the antibiotic resistance gene cassettes in conjunction with various mobile elements in the multiple resistance region with mosaic structure. VRprofile2 could compare the predicted mobile elements to the collected known mobile elements with similar architecture. A new mobilome indicator was proposed to give an overall estimation of the mobilome size in individual bacterial genomes. Second, the relationship between antibiotic resistance genes, mobile elements, and host strains would be efficiently examined with the aid of predicted strain's sequence typing, the incompatibility group and the transferability of plasmids. Finally, the updated back-end database, MobilomeDB2, now collected nearly a thousand active mobile elements retrieved from literature or based on prediction. The pre-computed results of the antibiotic resistance gene-carrying mobile elements of >5500 ESKAPEE genomes were also provided. We expect that VRprofile2 will provide better support for researchers interested in bacterial mobile elements and the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. VRprofile2 is freely available to all users without any login requirement at https://tool2-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/VRprofile.

Antibiotic-induced degradation of antitoxin enhances the transcription of acetyltransferase-type toxin-antitoxin operon.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial toxin-antitoxin (TA) modules respond to various stressful conditions. The Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase-type toxin (GNAT) protein encoded by the GNAT-RHH TA locus is involved in the antibiotic tolerance of Klebsiella pneumoniae. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the transcriptional mechanism of the GNAT-RHH operon kacAT under antibiotic stress. METHODS: The transcriptional level of the kacAT operon of K. pneumoniae was measured by quantitative real-time (qRT) PCR assay. The degradation of antitoxin KacA was examined by western blot and fluorescent protein. The ratio of [KacA]:[KacT] was calculated by the fluorescence intensity of KacA-eGFP and mCherry-KacT. Mathematical modelling predicted protein and transcript synthesis dynamics. RESULTS: A meropenem-induced increase in transcript levels of kacA and kacT resulted from the relief from transcriptional autoregulation of the kacAT operon. Meropenem induces the degradation of KacA through Lon protease, resulting in a reduction in the ratio of [KacA]:[KacT]. The decreased ratio causes the dissociation of the KacAT complex from its promoter region, which eliminates the repression of kacAT transcription. In addition, our dynamic model of kacAT expression regulation quantitatively reproduced the experimentally observed reduction of the [KacA]:[KacT] ratio and a large increase in kacAT transcript levels under the condition of strong promoter autorepression by the KacAT complex. CONCLUSIONS: Meropenem promotes the degradation of antitoxin by enhancing the expression of Lon protease. Degradation of antitoxin reduces the ratio of intracellular [antitoxin]:[toxin], leading to detachment of the TA complex from its promoter, and releasing repression of TA operon transcription. These results may provide an important insight into the transcriptional mechanism of GNAT-RHH TA modules under antibiotic stress.

Marker-Independent Food Identification Enabled by Combing Machine Learning Algorithms with Comprehensive GC × GC/TOF-MS.

Reliable methods are always greatly desired for the practice of food inspection. Currently, most food inspection techniques are mainly dependent on the identification of special components, which neglect the combination effects of different components and often lead to biased results. By using Chinese liquors as an example, we developed a new food identification method based on the combination of machine learning with GC × GC/TOF-MS. The sample preparation methods SPME and LLE were compared and optimized for producing repeatable and high-quality data. Then, two machine learning algorithms were tried, and the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm was finally chosen for its better performance. It is shown that the method performs well in identifying both the geographical origins and flavor types of Chinese liquors, with high accuracies of 91.86% and 97.67%, respectively. It is also reasonable to propose that combining machine learning with advanced chromatography could be used for other foods with complex components.

ICEberg 2.0: an updated database of bacterial integrative and conjugative elements.

ICEberg 2.0 (http://db-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/ICEberg/) is an updated database that provides comprehensive information about bacterial integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs). Compared with the previous version, three major improvements were made. First, with the aid of text mining and manual curation, it now recorded the details of 1032 ICEs, including 270 with experimental supports and 762 from bioinformatics prediction. Second, as increasing evidence has shown that ICEs frequently mobilize the so-called 'hitchhikers', such as integrative and mobilizable elements (IMEs) and cis-mobilizable elements (CIMEs), 83 known transfer interactions between 49 IMEs and 7 CIMEs with 19 ICEs taken from the literature were included and illustrated with visually intuitive directed graphs. An expanded collection of 260 chromosome-borne IMEs and 235 CIMEs was also added. At last, ICEberg 2.0 provides an online tool ICEfinder to predict ICEs or IMEs in bacterial genome sequences. It combines a similarity search for the integrase, relaxase and/or type IV secretion system and the co-localization of these corresponding homologous genes. With the recent updates, ICEberg 2.0 might provide better support for understanding the biological traits of ICEs, especially as their interaction with cognate mobilizable elements may further promote horizontal gene flow.

Toxin-antitoxin operon kacAT of Klebsiella pneumoniae is regulated by conditional cooperativity via a W-shaped KacA-KacT complex.

Bacterial toxin-antitoxin pairs play important roles in bacterial multidrug tolerance. Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) toxins inhibit translation by acetylation of aminoacyl-tRNAs and are counteracted by direct contacts with cognate ribbon-helix-helix (RHH) antitoxins. Our previous analysis showed that the GNAT toxin KacT and RHH antitoxin KacA of Klebsiella pneumoniae form a heterohexamer in solution and that the complex interacts with the cognate promoter DNA, resulting in negative autoregulation of kacAT transcription. Here, we present the crystal structure of DNA-bound KacAT complex at 2.2 Å resolution. The crystal structure revealed the formation of a unique heterohexamer, KacT-KacA2-KacA2-KacT. The direct interaction of KacA and KacT involves a unique W-shaped structure with the two KacT molecules at opposite ends. Inhibition of KacT is achieved by the binding of four KacA proteins that preclude the formation of an active KacT dimer. The kacAT operon is auto-regulated and we present an experimentally supported molecular model proposing that the KacT:KacA ratio controls kacAT transcription by conditional cooperativity. These results yield a profound understanding of how transcription GNAT-RHH pairs are regulated.

VRprofile: gene-cluster-detection-based profiling of virulence and antibiotic resistance traits encoded within genome sequences of pathogenic bacteria.

VRprofile is a Web server that facilitates rapid investigation of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes, as well as extends these trait transfer-related genetic contexts, in newly sequenced pathogenic bacterial genomes. The used backend database MobilomeDB was firstly built on sets of known gene cluster loci of bacterial type III/IV/VI/VII secretion systems and mobile genetic elements, including integrative and conjugative elements, prophages, class I integrons, IS elements and pathogenicity/antibiotic resistance islands. VRprofile is thus able to co-localize the homologs of these conserved gene clusters using HMMer or BLASTp searches. With the integration of the homologous gene cluster search module with a sequence composition module, VRprofile has exhibited better performance for island-like region predictions than the other widely used methods. In addition, VRprofile also provides an integrated Web interface for aligning and visualizing identified gene clusters with MobilomeDB-archived gene clusters, or a variety set of bacterial genomes. VRprofile might contribute to meet the increasing demands of re-annotations of bacterial variable regions, and aid in the real-time definitions of disease-relevant gene clusters in pathogenic bacteria of interest. VRprofile is freely available at http://bioinfo-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/VRprofile.

oriTfinder: a web-based tool for the identification of origin of transfers in DNA sequences of bacterial mobile genetic elements.

oriTfinder is a web server that facilitates the rapid identification of the origin of transfer site (oriT) of a conjugative plasmid or chromosome-borne integrative and conjugative element. The utilized back-end database oriTDB was built upon more than one thousand known oriT regions of bacterial mobile genetic elements (MGEs) as well as the known MGE-encoding relaxases and type IV coupling proteins (T4CP). With a combination of similarity searches for the oriTDB-archived oriT nucleotide sequences and the co-localization of the flanking relaxase homologous genes, the oriTfinder can predict the oriT region with high accuracy in the DNA sequence of a bacterial plasmid or chromosome in minutes. The server also detects the other transfer-related modules, including the potential relaxase gene, T4CP gene and the type IV secretion system gene cluster, and the putative genes coding for virulence factors and acquired antibiotic resistance determinants. oriTfinder may contribute to meeting the increasing demands of re-annotations for bacterial conjugative, mobilizable or non-transferable elements and aid in the rapid risk accession of disease-relevant trait dissemination in pathogenic bacteria of interest. oriTfinder is freely available to all users without any login requirement at http://bioinfo-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/oriTfinder.

TADB 2.0: an updated database of bacterial type II toxin-antitoxin loci.

TADB2.0 (http://bioinfo-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/TADB2/) is an updated database that provides comprehensive information about bacterial type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) loci. Compared with the previous version, the database refined and the new data schema is employed. With the aid of text mining and manual curation, it recorded 6193 type II TA loci in 870 replicons of bacteria and archaea, including 105 experimentally validated TA loci. In addition, the newly developed tool TAfinder combines the homolog searches and the operon structure detection, allowing the prediction for type II TA pairs in bacterial genome sequences. It also helps to investigate the genomic context of predicted TA loci for putative virulence factors, antimicrobial resistance determinants and mobile genetic elements via alignments to the specific public databases. Additionally, the module TAfinder-Compare allows comparing the presence of the given TA loci across the close relative genomes. With the recent updates, TADB2.0 might provide better support for understanding the important roles of type II TA systems in the prokaryotic life activities.

Identification and characterization of acetyltransferase-type toxin-antitoxin locus in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

A type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) system, in which the toxin contains a Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) domain, has been characterized recently. GNAT toxin acetylates aminoacyl-tRNA and blocks protein translation. It is abolished by the cognate antitoxin that contains the ribbon-helix-helix (RHH) domain. Here, we present an experimental demonstration of the interaction of the GNAT-RHH complex with TA promoter DNA. First, the GNAT-RHH TA locus kacAT was found in Klebsiella pneumoniae HS11286, a strain resistant to multiple antibiotics. Overexpression of KacT halted cell growth and resulted in persister cell formation. The crystal structure also indicated that KacT is a typical acetyltransferase toxin. Co-expression of KacA neutralized KacT toxicity. Expression of the bicistronic kacAT locus was up-regulated during antibiotic stress. Finally, KacT and KacA formed a heterohexamer that interacted with promoter DNA, resulting in negative autoregulation of kacAT transcription. The N-terminus region of KacA accounted for specific binding to the palindromic sequence on the operator DNA, whereas its C-terminus region was essential for the inactivation of the GNAT toxin. These results provide an important insight into the regulation of the GNAT-RHH family TA system.

Mapping the resistance-associated mobilome of a carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strain reveals insights into factors shaping these regions and facilitates generation of a 'resistance-disarmed' model organism.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the landscape of the mobile genome, with a focus on antibiotic resistance-associated factors in carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. METHODS: The mobile genome of the completely sequenced K. pneumoniae HS11286 strain (an ST11, carbapenem-resistant, near-pan-resistant, clinical isolate) was annotated in fine detail. The identified mobile genetic elements were mapped to the genetic contexts of resistance genes. The blaKPC-2 gene and a 26 kb region containing 12 clustered antibiotic resistance genes and one biocide resistance gene were deleted, and the MICs were determined again to ensure that antibiotic resistance had been lost. RESULTS: HS11286 contains six plasmids, 49 ISs, nine transposons, two separate In2-related integron remnants, two integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) and seven prophages. Sixteen plasmid-borne resistance genes were identified, 14 of which were found to be directly associated with Tn1721-, Tn3-, Tn5393-, In2-, ISCR2- and ISCR3-derived elements. IS26 appears to have actively moulded several of these genetic regions. The deletion of blaKPC-2, followed by the deletion of a 26 kb region containing 12 clustered antibiotic resistance genes, progressively decreased the spectrum and level of resistance exhibited by the resultant mutant strains. CONCLUSIONS: This study has reiterated the role of plasmids as bearers of the vast majority of resistance genes in this species and has provided valuable insights into the vital role played by ISs, transposons and integrons in shaping the resistance-coding regions in this important strain. The 'resistance-disarmed' K. pneumoniae ST11 strain generated in this study will offer a more benign and readily genetically modifiable model organism for future extensive functional studies.

SecReT4: a web-based bacterial type IV secretion system resource.

SecReT4 (http://db-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/SecReT4/) is an integrated database providing comprehensive information of type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) in bacteria. T4SSs are versatile assemblages that promote genetic exchange and/or effector translocation with consequent impacts on pathogenesis and genome plasticity. T4SSs have been implicated in conjugation, DNA uptake and release and effector translocation. The effectors injected into eukaryotic target cells can lead to alteration of host cellular processes during infection. SecReT4 offers a unique, highly organized, readily exploreable archive of known and putative T4SSs and cognate effectors in bacteria. It currently contains details of 10 752 core components mapping to 808 T4SSs and 1884 T4SS effectors found in representatives of 289 bacterial species, as well as a collection of more than 900 directly related references. A broad range of similarity search, sequence alignment, phylogenetic, primer design and other functional analysis tools are readily accessible via SecReT4. We propose that SecReT4 will facilitate efficient investigation of large numbers of these systems, recognition of diverse patterns of sequence-, gene- and/or functional conservation and an improved understanding of the biological roles and significance of these versatile molecular machines. SecReT4 will be regularly updated to ensure its ongoing maximum utility to the research community.

ICEberg: a web-based resource for integrative and conjugative elements found in Bacteria.

ICEberg (http://db-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/ICEberg/) is an integrated database that provides comprehensive information about integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) found in bacteria. ICEs are conjugative self-transmissible elements that can integrate into and excise from a host chromosome. An ICE contains three typical modules, integration and excision, conjugation, and regulation modules, that collectively promote vertical inheritance and periodic lateral gene flow. Many ICEs carry likely virulence determinants, antibiotic-resistant factors and/or genes coding for other beneficial traits. ICEberg offers a unique, highly organized, readily explorable archive of both predicted and experimentally supported ICE-relevant data. It currently contains details of 428 ICEs found in representatives of 124 bacterial species, and a collection of >400 directly related references. A broad range of similarity search, sequence alignment, genome context browser, phylogenetic and other functional analysis tools are readily accessible via ICEberg. We propose that ICEberg will facilitate efficient, multi-disciplinary and innovative exploration of bacterial ICEs and be of particular interest to researchers in the broad fields of prokaryotic evolution, pathogenesis, biotechnology and metabolism. The ICEberg database will be maintained, updated and improved regularly to ensure its ongoing maximum utility to the research community.

TADB: a web-based resource for Type 2 toxin-antitoxin loci in bacteria and archaea.

TADB (http://bioinfo-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/TADB/) is an integrated database that provides comprehensive information about Type 2 toxin-antitoxin (TA) loci, genetic features that are richly distributed throughout bacterial and archaeal genomes. Two-gene and much less frequently three-gene Type 2 TA loci code for cognate partners that have been hypothesized or demonstrated to play key roles in stress response, bacterial physiology and stabilization of horizontally acquired genetic elements. TADB offers a unique compilation of both predicted and experimentally supported Type 2 TA loci-relevant data and currently contains 10,753 Type 2 TA gene pairs identified within 1240 prokaryotic genomes, and details of over 240 directly relevant scientific publications. A broad range of similarity search, sequence alignment, genome context browser and phylogenetic tools are readily accessible via TADB. We propose that TADB will facilitate efficient, multi-disciplinary and innovative exploration of the bacteria and archaea Type 2 TA space, better defining presently recognized TA-related phenomena and potentially even leading to yet-to-be envisaged frontiers. The TADB database, envisaged as a one-stop shop for Type 2 TA-related research, will be maintained, updated and improved regularly to ensure its ongoing maximum utility to the research community.

CpxR promotes the carbapenem antibiotic resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae by directly regulating the expression and the dissemination of blaKPC on the IncFII conjugative plasmid.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an important human pathogen known for its resistance to carbapenem antibiotics, especially the increasing carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent variants. The carbapenem resistance is mainly caused by the carbapenemase gene blaKPC which was commonly found on the IncFII transferable plasmids in K. pneumoniae ST11 isolates in regions of China. However, the mechanisms of the plasmid-carrying blaKPC regulation by the host strain are not clear. To investigate the chromosome-encoded two-component system (TCS) that regulates the carbapenem resistance of K. pneumoniae caused by blaKPC, twenty-four TCSs of a carbapenem-resistant classical K. pneumoniae ST11 clinical isolate were knocked out. The deletion mutation of the TCS regulator cpxR exhibited increased sensitivity to carbapenem, which could be restored by complementation with cpxR in trans. Electrophoretic mobility shift, isothermal titration calorimetry and DNase I footprinting results revealed that CpxR directly bound to the promoter DNA of blaKPC and the binding was abolished by disrupting the DNA-binding domain in CpxR. The subsequent in vivo assays using the lacZ reporter system and qPCR showed that CpxR upregulates the transcription of blaKPC. Notably, CpxR was also found to activate the transfer of the blaKPC-carrying IncFII plasmid between the hypervirulent K. pneumoniae and E. coli isolates, in which CpxR promoted the transcription of the tra operon via binding to its promoter region. These results provide an important insight into the regulation of the host factor CpxR in the plasmid-carrying carbapenemase gene in the classical and hypervirulent K. pneumoniae.

SecReT6 update: a comprehensive resource of bacterial Type VI Secretion Systems.

Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) plays significant roles in microbial activities via injecting effectors into adjacent cells or environments. T6SS increasingly gained attention due to its important influence on pathogenesis, microbial competition, etc. T6SS-associated research is explosively expanding on numerous grounds that call for an efficient resource. The SecReT6 version 3 provides comprehensive information on T6SS and the interactions between T6SS and T6SS-related proteins such as T6SS regulators and T6SS effectors. To assist T6SS researches like microbial competition and regulatory mechanisms, SecReT6 v3 developed online tools for detection and analysis of T6SS and T6SS-related proteins and estimation of T6SS-dependent killing risk. We have identified a novel T6SS regulator and T6SS-dependent killing capacity in Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates with the aid of SecReT6 v3. 17,212 T6SSs and plentiful T6SS-related proteins in 26,573 bacterial complete genomes were also detected, analyzed and incorporated into the database. The database is freely available at https://bioinfo-mml.sjtu.edu.cn/SecReT6/ .

Complete genome sequence of Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae HS11286, a multidrug-resistant strain isolated from human sputum.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an important pathogen commonly associated with opportunistic infections. Here we report the genome sequence of a strain, HS11286, isolated from human sputum in 2011 in Shanghai, China. It contains one chromosome (5.3 Mb), three multidrug resistance plasmids (∼110 kb), including a carbapenemase producer, and three small plasmids (∼3 kb).

Genome sequence of Klebsiella pneumoniae LZ, a potential platform strain for 1,3-propanediol production.

Klebsiella pneumoniae LZ is a bacterium isolated from soil which can produce 1,3-propanediol from glycerol. Here we present a 5,431,750-bp assembly of its genome sequence. We annotated 9 coding sequences (CDSs) responsible for glycerol fermentation to 1,3-propanediol, 19 CDSs encoding glycerol utilization, and 134 CDSs related to its virulence and defense.

Genome sequence of a novel nicotine-degrading strain, Pseudomonas geniculata N1.

A newly isolated bacterium, Pseudomonas geniculata N1, can efficiently degrade nicotine. Here we present a 4.51-Mb assembly of its genome, which is the first sequence of the P. geniculata group. The sequence contains the genes related to nicotine catabolism and may provide insights into its molecular mechanism for N-heterocyclic degradation.