Strain-Dependent Inhibition of Clostridioides difficile by Commensal Clostridia Carrying the Bile Acid-Inducible (bai) Operon.

Clostridioides difficile is one of the leading causes of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Gut microbiota-derived secondary bile acids and commensal Clostridia that carry the bile acid-inducible (bai) operon are associated with protection from C. difficile infection (CDI), although the mechanism is not known. In this study, we hypothesized that commensal Clostridia are important for providing colonization resistance against C. difficile due to their ability to produce secondary bile acids, as well as potentially competing against C. difficile for similar nutrients. To test this hypothesis, we examined the abilities of four commensal Clostridia carrying the bai operon (Clostridium scindens VPI 12708, C. scindens ATCC 35704, Clostridium hiranonis, and Clostridium hylemonae) to convert cholate (CA) to deoxycholate (DCA) in vitro, and we determined whether the amount of DCA produced was sufficient to inhibit the growth of a clinically relevant C. difficile strain. We also investigated the competitive relationships between these commensals and C. difficile using an in vitro coculture system. We found that inhibition of C. difficile growth by commensal Clostridia supplemented with CA was strain dependent, correlated with the production of ∼2 mM DCA, and increased the expression of bai operon genes. We also found that C. difficile was able to outcompete all four commensal Clostridia in an in vitro coculture system. These studies are instrumental in understanding the relationship between commensal Clostridia and C. difficile in the gut, which is vital for designing targeted bacterial therapeutics. Future studies dissecting the regulation of the bai operon in vitro and in vivo and how this affects CDI will be important.IMPORTANCE Commensal Clostridia carrying the bai operon, such as C. scindens, have been associated with protection against CDI; however, the mechanism for this protection is unknown. Herein, we show four commensal Clostridia that carry the bai operon and affect C. difficile growth in a strain-dependent manner, with and without the addition of cholate. Inhibition of C. difficile by commensals correlated with the efficient conversion of cholate to deoxycholate, a secondary bile acid that inhibits C. difficile germination, growth, and toxin production. Competition studies also revealed that C. difficile was able to outcompete the commensals in an in vitro coculture system. These studies are instrumental in understanding the relationship between commensal Clostridia and C. difficile in the gut, which is vital for designing targeted bacterial therapeutics.

Short communication: Determination of Salmonella clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) diversity on dairy farms in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Salmonella enterica ssp. enterica is a foodborne pathogen able to cause disease in both humans and animals. Diverse serovars of this pathogen exist, some of which are host specific, causing a range of clinical symptoms from asymptomatic infection through morbidity and mortality. According to a 2007 survey by the USDA National Animal Health Monitoring System, fecal shedding of Salmonella from healthy cows occurs on 39.7% of dairy farms in the United States. Certain serovars are frequently isolated from dairy farms and the majority of isolates from the National Animal Health Monitoring System study were represented by 5 serovars; however, genotypic diversity was not examined. The objective of this study was to determine the diversity of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) loci in Salmonella collected from 8 dairy farms with a previous history of salmonellosis. None of the cows or calves sampled on 2 of the 8 dairy farms were shedding Salmonella, although Salmonella was detected in a cow bedding sample on 1 of these farms. Salmonella populations were discrete on each farm, according to CRISPR typing, with the exception of an Anatum var. 15+ type on farms 5 and 6 and the Montevideo type on farms 1 and 2. One to 4 distinct CRISPR genotypes were identified per farm. The CRISPR typing differed within serovars, as Montevideo, Anatum var. 15+, and Muenster serovars had no overlap of spacer content, even on the same farm, reflecting between- and within-serovar genetic diversity. The dynamic nature of Salmonella populations was shown in a farm that was sampled longitudinally over 13.5 mo. Changes in serovar from 3,19:-:z27 to Montevideo was observed between the first sampling time and 8 mo later, with concomitant change in CRISPR alleles. The results indicate that Salmonella strains present in smaller dairy herds (<500 head) are specific to that farm and new Salmonella strains may emerge over time.

Short communication: the complete genome sequence of Bifidobacterium animalis subspecies animalis ATCC 25527(T) and comparative analysis of growth in milk with B. animalis subspecies lactis DSM 10140(T).

The objective of this work was to sequence the genome of Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. animalis ATCC 25527(T), the subspecies most closely related to B. animalis ssp. lactis, some strains of which are widely added to dairy foods as probiotics. The complete 1,932,963-bp genome was determined by a combination of 454-shotgun sequencing and PCR gap closing, and the completed assembly was verified by comparison with a KpnI optical map. Comparative analysis of the B. animalis ssp. animalis ATCC 25527(T) and B. animalis ssp. lactis DSM 10140(T) genomes revealed high degrees of synteny and sequence homology. Comparative genomic analysis revealed 156 and 182 genes that were unique to and absent in the B. animalis ssp. animalis genome, respectively. Among these was a set of unique clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated genes and a novel CRISPR locus containing 30 spacers in the genome of B. animalis ssp. animalis. Although previous researchers have suggested that one of the defining phenotypic differences between B. animalis ssp. animalis and B. animalis ssp. lactis is the ability of the latter to grow in milk and milk-based media, the differential gene content did not provide insights to explain these differences. Furthermore, growth and acid production in milk and milk-based media did not differ significantly between B. animalis ssp. lactis (DSM 10140(T) and Bl04) and B. animalis ssp. animalis (ATCC 25527(T)). Growth of these strains in supplemented milk suggested that growth was limited by a lack of available low-molecular-weight nitrogen in the 3 strains examined.

Analysis of the human intestinal epithelial cell transcriptional response to Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus salivarius, Bifidobacterium lactis and Escherichia coli.

The complex microbial population residing in the human gastrointestinal tract consists of commensal, potential pathogenic and beneficial species, which are probably perceived differently by the host and consequently could be expected to trigger specific transcriptional responses. Here, we provide a comparative analysis of the global in vitro transcriptional response of human intestinal epithelial cells to Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM™, Lactobacillus salivarius Ls-33, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis 420, and enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC). Interestingly, L. salivarius Ls-33 DCE-induced changes were overall more similar to those of B. lactis 420 than to L. acidophilus NCFM™, which is consistent with previously observed in vivo immunomodulation properties. In the gene ontology and pathway analyses both specific and unspecific changes were observed. Common to all was the regulation of apoptosis and adipogenesis, and lipid-metabolism related regulation by the probiotics. Specific changes such as regulation of cell-cell adhesion by B. lactis 420, superoxide metabolism by L. salivarius Ls-33, and regulation of MAPK pathway by L. acidophilus NCFM™ were noted. Furthermore, fundamental differences were observed between the pathogenic and probiotic treatments in the Toll-like receptor pathway, especially for adapter molecules with a lowered level of transcriptional activation of MyD88, TRIF, IRAK1 and TRAF6 by probiotics compared to EHEC. The results in this study provide insights into the relationship between probiotics and human intestinal epithelial cells, notably with regard to strain-specific responses, and highlight the differences between transcriptional responses to pathogenic and probiotic bacteria.

Comparative genomics of the lactic acid bacteria.

Lactic acid-producing bacteria are associated with various plant and animal niches and play a key role in the production of fermented foods and beverages. We report nine genome sequences representing the phylogenetic and functional diversity of these bacteria. The small genomes of lactic acid bacteria encode a broad repertoire of transporters for efficient carbon and nitrogen acquisition from the nutritionally rich environments they inhabit and reflect a limited range of biosynthetic capabilities that indicate both prototrophic and auxotrophic strains. Phylogenetic analyses, comparison of gene content across the group, and reconstruction of ancestral gene sets indicate a combination of extensive gene loss and key gene acquisitions via horizontal gene transfer during the coevolution of lactic acid bacteria with their habitats.