Environmental Free-Living Amoebae Can Predate on Diverse Antibiotic-Resistant Human Pathogens.

Here, we sought to test the resistance of human pathogens to unaltered environmental free-living amoebae. Amoebae are ubiquitous eukaryotic microorganisms and important predators of bacteria. Environmental amoebae have also been proposed to serve as both potential reservoirs and training grounds for human pathogens. However, studies addressing their relationships with human pathogens often rely on a few domesticated amoebae that have been selected to feed on rich medium, thereby possibly overestimating the resistance of pathogens to these predatory phagocytes. From an open-air composting site, we recovered over 100 diverse amoebae that were able to feed on Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In a standardized and quantitative assay for predation, the isolated amoebae showed a broad predation spectrum, killing clinical isolates of A. baumannii, K. pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. Interestingly, A. baumannii, which was previously reported to resist predation by laboratory strains of Acanthamoeba, was efficiently consumed by closely related environmental amoebae. The isolated amoebae were capable of feeding on highly virulent carbapenem-resistant or methicillin-resistant clinical isolates. In conclusion, the natural environment is a rich source of amoebae with broad-spectrum bactericidal activities, including against antibiotic-resistant isolates. IMPORTANCE Free-living amoebae have been proposed to play an important role in hosting and disseminating various human pathogens. The resistance of human pathogens to predation by amoebae is often derived from in vitro experiments using model amoebae. Here, we sought to isolate environmental amoebae and to test their predation on diverse human pathogens, with results that challenge conclusions based on model amoebae. We found that the natural environment is a rich source of diverse amoebae with broad-spectrum predatory activities against human pathogens, including highly virulent and antibiotic-resistant clinical isolates.

Transposon Insertion Sequencing in a Clinical Isolate of Legionella pneumophila Identifies Essential Genes and Determinants of Natural Transformation.

Legionella pneumophila is a Gram-negative bacterium ubiquitous in freshwater environments which, if inhaled, can cause a severe pneumonia in humans. The emergence of L. pneumophila is linked to several traits selected in the environment, the acquisition of some of which involved intra- and interkingdom horizontal gene transfer events. Transposon insertion sequencing (TIS) is a powerful method to identify the genetic basis of selectable traits as well as to identify fitness determinants and essential genes, which are possible antibiotic targets. TIS has not yet been used to its full power in L. pneumophila, possibly because of the difficulty of obtaining a high-saturation transposon insertion library. Indeed, we found that isolates of sequence type 1 (ST1), which includes the commonly used laboratory strains, are poorly permissive to saturating mutagenesis by conjugation-mediated transposon delivery. In contrast, we obtained high-saturation libraries in non-ST1 clinical isolates, offering the prospect of using TIS on unaltered L. pneumophila strains. Focusing on one of them, we then used TIS to identify essential genes in L. pneumophila We also revealed that TIS could be used to identify genes controlling vertical transmission of mobile genetic elements. We then applied TIS to identify all the genes required for L. pneumophila to develop competence and undergo natural transformation, defining the set of major and minor type IV pilins that are engaged in DNA uptake. This work paves the way for the functional exploration of the L. pneumophila genome by TIS and the identification of the genetic basis of other life traits of this species.IMPORTANCELegionella pneumophila is the etiologic agent of a severe form of nosocomial and community-acquired pneumonia in humans. The environmental life traits of L. pneumophila are essential to its ability to accidentally infect humans. A comprehensive identification of their genetic basis could be obtained through the use of transposon insertion sequencing. However, this powerful approach had not been fully implemented in L. pneumophila Here, we describe the successful implementation of the transposon-sequencing approach in a clinical isolate of L. pneumophila We identify essential genes, potential drug targets, and genes required for horizontal gene transfer by natural transformation. This work represents an important step toward identifying the genetic basis of the many life traits of this environmental and pathogenic species.

Diversity of free-living amoebae in soils and their associated human opportunistic bacteria.

Free-living amoebae (FLA) are ubiquitous protozoa found worldwide in the environment. They feed by phagocytosis on various microorganisms. However, some bacteria, i.e., amoebae-resistant bacteria (ARB) or bacterial endocytobionts, can resist phagocytosis and even multiply inside FLA. This study investigated the diversity of culturable FLA in various soils from agricultural and mining sites and their bacterial endocytobionts. FLA were cultured on non-nutrient agar with alive Escherichia coli and identified by PCR and sequencing. Amoebae were lysed and bacterial endocytobionts were cultured on TSA 1/10 and Drigalski medium. Bacterial isolates were identified by PCR and 16S rDNA sequencing and characterized for their antibiotic resistance properties. To measure bacterial virulence, the amoebal model Dictyostelium discoideum was used. The analysis of FLA diversity showed that Tetramitus was the most prevalent genus in agricultural soil from Burkina Faso (73%) and garden soil from Vietnam (42%) while Naegleria and Acanthamoeba were dominant genera in mining soil from Vietnam (55%) and French alpine soil (77%). Some genera were only present in one out of the four soils analyzed. The bacterial endocytobiont included Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Human opportunistic pathogens identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Burkholderia cepacia were found associated with amoebae including Micriamoeba, Tetramitus, Willaertia, or Acanthamoeba. Some of these bacteria showed various antibiotic resistance phenotypes and were virulent. Our study confirms that the occurrence of these opportunistic bacteria with FLA in soils may be important for the survival, multiplication, and spread of pathogens in the environment.

Population Structure in Naegleria fowleri as Revealed by Microsatellite Markers.

Naegleria sp. is a free living amoeba belonging to the Heterolobosea class. Over 40 species of Naegleria were identified and recovered worldwide in different habitats such as swimming pools, freshwater lakes, soil or dust. Among them, N. fowleri, is a human pathogen responsible for primary amoeboic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Around 300 cases were reported in 40 years worldwide but PAM is a fatal disease of the central nervous system with only 5% survival of infected patients. Since both pathogenic and non pathogenic species were encountered in the environment, detection and dispersal mode are crucial points in the fight against this pathogenic agent. Previous studies on identification and genotyping of N. fowleri strains were focused on RAPD analysis and on ITS sequencing and identified 5 variants: euro-american, south pacific, widespread, cattenom and chooz. Microsatellites are powerful markers in population genetics with broad spectrum of applications (such as paternity test, fingerprinting, genetic mapping or genetic structure analysis). They are characterized by a high degree of length polymorphism. The aim of this study was to genotype N. fowleri strains using microsatellites markers in order to track this population and to better understand its evolution. Six microsatellite loci and 47 strains from different geographical origins were used for this analysis. The microsatellite markers revealed a level of discrimination higher than any other marker used until now, enabling the identification of seven genetic groups, included in the five main genetic groups based on the previous RAPD and ITS analyses. This analysis also allowed us to go further in identifying private alleles highlighting intra-group variability. A better identification of the N. fowleri isolates could be done with this type of analysis and could allow a better tracking of the clinical and environmental N. fowleri strains.

Genotyping and phylogenetic analysis of Acanthamoeba isolates associated with keratitis.

We examined a partial SSU-rDNA sequence from 20 Acanthamoeba isolates associated with keratitis infections. The phylogenetic tree inferred from this partial sequence allowed to assign isolates to genotypes. Among the 20 isolates examined, 16 were found to be of the T4 genotype, 2 were T3, 1 was a T5, and 1 was a T2, confirming the predominance of T4 in infections. However, the study highlighted other genotypes more rarely associated with infections, particularly the T2 genotype. Our study is the second one to detect that this genotype is associated with keratitis. Additionally, the phylogenetic analyses showed five main emerging clusters, T4/T3/T11, T2/T6, T10/T12/T14, T13/T16, and T7/T8/T9/T17, regularly obtained whichever method was used. A similar branching pattern was found when the full rDNA sequence was investigated.

Micriamoeba tesseris nov. gen. nov. sp.: a new taxon of free-living small-sized Amoebae non-permissive to virulent Legionellae.

Investigation of soil amoebae in 11 cooling towers allowed us to isolate a major unknown small-sized amoeba population (SZA). However, SZA did not appear to be specific to cooling tower ecosystems since they are also a major amoeba population found in muds isolated from different points of a water treatment plant. The SSU-rDNA sequences from SZA strains did not match any known database sequences, suggesting that SZA constitutes a new amoeba taxon. We isolated and further described one of the SZA that we named Micriamoeba tesseris. The phylogenetic analyses showed that Micriamoeba tesseris belongs to the Amebozoa and branched together with genus Echinamoeba+Vermamoeba vermiformis. Phylogenetic analyses within the Micriamoeba group distinguished different subgroups of Micriamoeba strains according to their origin, i.e. cooling tower or mud. Although Micriamoeba are able to feed on viable E. coli cells, they do not uptake virulent Legionella pneumophila strains, thus enabling them to avoid infection by Legionella. Consequently, Micriamoeba is not directly involved in L. pneumophila multiplication. However, an indirect role of Micriamoeba in Legionella risk is discussed.

Ralstonia solanacearum virulence increased following large interstrain gene transfers by natural transformation.

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a major driving force of evolution and is also likely to play an important role in the threatening emergence of novel pathogens, especially if it involves distantly related strains with substantially different pathogenicity. In this study, the impact of natural transformation on pathogenicity in six strains belonging to the four phylotypes of the plant-pathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum was investigated. The study focused on genomic regions that vary between donor and recipient strains and that carry genes involved in pathogenicity such as type III effectors. First, strains from R. solanacearum species complex were naturally transformed with heterologous genomic DNA. Transferred DNA regions were then determined by comparative genomic hybridization and polymerase chain reaction sequencing. We identified three transformant strains that acquired large DNA regions of up to 80 kb. In one case, strain Psi07 (phylotype IV tomato isolate) acquired 39.4 kb from GMI1000 (phylotype I tomato isolate). Investigations revealed that i) 24.4 kb of the acquired region contained 20 new genes, ii) an allelic exchange of 12 genes occurred, and iii) 27 genes (33.4 kb) formerly present in Psi07 were lost. Virulence tests with the three transformants revealed a significant increase in the aggressiveness of BCG20 over its Psi07 parent on tomato. These findings demonstrate the potential importance of HGT in the pathogenic evolution of R. solanacearum strains and open new avenues for studying pathogen emergence.

Genomes of three tomato pathogens within the Ralstonia solanacearum species complex reveal significant evolutionary divergence.

BACKGROUND: The Ralstonia solanacearum species complex includes thousands of strains pathogenic to an unusually wide range of plant species. These globally dispersed and heterogeneous strains cause bacterial wilt diseases, which have major socio-economic impacts. Pathogenicity is an ancestral trait in R. solanacearum and strains with high genetic variation can be subdivided into four phylotypes, correlating to isolates from Asia (phylotype I), the Americas (phylotype IIA and IIB), Africa (phylotype III) and Indonesia (phylotype IV). Comparison of genome sequences strains representative of this phylogenetic diversity can help determine which traits allow this bacterium to be such a pathogen of so many different plant species and how the bacteria survive in many different habitats. RESULTS: The genomes of three tomato bacterial wilt pathogens, CFBP2957 (phy. IIA), CMR15 (phy. III) and PSI07 (phy. IV) were sequenced and manually annotated. These genomes were compared with those of three previously sequenced R. solanacearum strains: GMI1000 (tomato, phy. I), IPO1609 (potato, phy. IIB), and Molk2 (banana, phy. IIB). The major genomic features (size, G+C content, number of genes) were conserved across all of the six sequenced strains. Despite relatively high genetic distances (calculated from average nucleotide identity) and many genomic rearrangements, more than 60% of the genes of the megaplasmid and 70% of those on the chromosome are syntenic. The three new genomic sequences revealed the presence of several previously unknown traits, probably acquired by horizontal transfers, within the genomes of R. solanacearum, including a type IV secretion system, a rhi-type anti-mitotic toxin and two small plasmids. Genes involved in virulence appear to be evolving at a faster rate than the genome as a whole. CONCLUSIONS: Comparative analysis of genome sequences and gene content confirmed the differentiation of R. solanacearum species complex strains into four phylotypes. Genetic distances between strains, in conjunction with CGH analysis of a larger set of strains, revealed differences great enough to consider reclassification of the R. solanacearum species complex into three species. The data are still too fragmentary to link genomic classification and phenotypes, but these new genome sequences identify a pan-genome more representative of the diversity in the R. solanancearum species complex.