EVOLUTION OF TRANSPOSONS: NATURAL SELECTION FOR Tn5 IN ESCHERICHIA COLI K12

Genetics ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-592
Author(s):  
Susan Wurster Biel ◽  
Daniel L Hartl
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Rate Effect ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
The Right ◽  
Derivatives Of ◽  
Intact Element ◽  
Prior Adaptation

ABSTRACT A novel in vivo effect of the transposable element Tn5 has been observed in chemostats when certain isogenic Tn5 and non-Tn5 strains of Escherichia coli compete for a limiting carbon source in the absence of kanamycin. The Tn5-bearing strain has a more rapid growth rate and increases in frequency from 50% to 90% within the first 15 to 20 generations. The effect occurs when Tn5 is inserted at a variety of chromosomal locations or when the element is carried by an episome, but it is strain specific, having been observed in two out of three strains examined. (For reasons unknown, the effect has not been observed with derivatives of strain CSH12.) Although the growth-rate advantage of Tn5 is independent of nutrient concentration and generation time, it can be reduced by prior adaptation of the strains to limiting conditions, and the amount of reduction is proportional to the length of prior adaptation. The growth-rate effect is evidently not caused by beneficial mutations induced by Tn5 transposition, as Tn5-bearing strains selected in chemostats retain their initial Tn5 position and copy number. However, the effect does not occur in Tn5-112, a transpositionless deletion mutation missing the transposase-coding region of the right-hand IS sequence flanking the element. Since Tn5-112 retains a functional kanamycin-phosphotransferase gene, this gene is not responsible for the growth-rate effect. Thus, the effect evidently requires transposase function, but it does not involve actual transposition of the intact element. Altogether, these data provide a mechanism for the maintenance of Tn5 in bacterial populations in the absence of kanamycin, and they suggest a model for the proliferation and the maintenance of IS sequences and transposable elements in the absence of other identifiable selection pressures.

Effect of Tannins on the In Vitro Growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and In Vivo Growth of Generic Escherichia coli Excreted from Steers

2007 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 543-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
BYENG R. MIN ◽  
WILLIAM E. PINCHAK ◽  
ROBIN C. ANDERSON ◽  
TODD R. CALLAWAY
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Bacterial Growth ◽  
Escherichia Coli O157 ◽  
Tannin Extract ◽  
Bacterial Growth Rate ◽  
Linear Effect ◽  
E Coli

The effect of commercially available chestnut and mimosa tannins in vitro (experiment 1) or in vivo (experiment 2) on the growth or recovery of Escherichia coli O157:H7 or generic fecal E. coli was evaluated. In experiment 1, the mean growth rate of E. coli O157:H7, determined via the measurement of optical density at 600 nm during anaerobic culture in tryptic soy broth at 37°C, was reduced (P < 0.05) with as little as 400 μg of either tannin extract per ml of culture fluid. The addition of 200, 400, 600, 800, and 1,200 μg of tannins per ml significantly (P < 0.01) reduced the specific bacterial growth rate when compared with the nontannin control. The specific growth rate decreased with increasing dose levels up to 800 μg of tannins per ml. Bacterial growth inhibition effects in chestnut tannins were less pronounced than in mimosa tannins. Chestnut tannin extract addition ranged from 0 to 1,200 μg/ml, and a linear effect (P < 0.05) was observed in cultures incubated for 6 h against the recovery of viable cells, determined via the plating of each strain onto MacConkey agar, of E. coli O157:H7 strains 933 and 86-24, but not against strain 6058. Similar tests with mimosa tannin extract showed a linear effect (P < 0.05) against the recovery of E. coli O157:H7 strain 933 only. The bactericidal effect observed in cultures incubated for 24 h with the tannin preparations was similar, although it was less than that observed from cultures incubated for 6 h. When chestnut tannins (15 g of tannins per day) were infused intraruminally to steers fed a Bermuda grass hay diet in experiment 2, fecal E. coli shedding was lower on days 3 (P < 0.03), 12 (P = 0.08), and 15 (P < 0.001) when compared with animals that were fed a similar diet without tannin supplementation. It was concluded that dietary levels and sources of tannins potentially reduce the shedding of E. coli from the gastrointestinal tract.

scholarly journals In Vivo Bioluminescence Imaging for the Study of Intestinal Colonization by Escherichia coli in Mice

2009 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 264-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.-L. Foucault ◽  
L. Thomas ◽  
S. Goussard ◽  
B. R. Branchini ◽  
C. Grillot-Courvalin
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Bioluminescence Imaging ◽  
Light Emission ◽  
Direct Method ◽  
Firefly Luciferase ◽  
Intestinal Colonization ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Bioluminescence Signal

ABSTRACT Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) is emerging as a powerful tool for real-time monitoring of infections in living animals. However, since luciferases are oxygenases, it has been suggested that the requirement for oxygen may limit the use of BLI in anaerobic environments, such as the lumen of the gut. Strains of Escherichia coli harboring the genes for either the bacterial luciferase from Photorhabdus luminescens or the PpyRE-TS and PpyGR-TS firefly luciferase mutants of Photinus pyralis (red and green thermostable P. pyralis luciferase mutants, respectively) have been engineered and used to monitor intestinal colonization in the streptomycin-treated mouse model. There was excellent correlation between the bioluminescence signal measured in the feces (R 2 = 0.98) or transcutaneously in the abdominal region of whole animals (R 2 = 0.99) and the CFU counts in the feces of bacteria harboring the luxABCDE operon. Stability in vivo of the bioluminescence signal was achieved by constructing plasmid pAT881(pGB2ΩPamiluxABCDE), which allowed long-term monitoring of intestinal colonization without the need for antibiotic selection for plasmid maintenance. Levels of intestinal colonization by various strains of E. coli could be compared directly by simple recording of the bioluminescence signal in living animals. The difference in spectra of light emission of the PpyRE-TS and PpyGR-TS firefly luciferase mutants and dual bioluminescence detection allowed direct in vitro and in vivo quantification of two bacterial populations by measurement of red and green emitted signals and thus monitoring of the two populations simultaneously. This system offers a simple and direct method to study in vitro and in vivo competition between mutants and the parental strain. BLI is a useful tool to study intestinal colonization.

scholarly journals Overproduction of Penicillin-Binding Protein 2 and Its Inactive Variants Causes Morphological Changes and Lysis in Escherichia coli

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (14) ◽  
pp. 4975-4983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine A. Legaree ◽  
Calvin B. Adams ◽  
Anthony J. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Signal Sequence ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Penicillin Binding Protein ◽  
Prolonged Incubation ◽  
Lytic Transglycosylases ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Derivatives Of

ABSTRACT Penicillin-binding protein 2 (PBP 2) has long been known to be essential for rod-shaped morphology in gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the course of earlier studies with P. aeruginosa PBP 2, we observed that E. coli was sensitive to the overexpression of its gene, pbpA. In this study, we examined E. coli overproducing both P. aeruginosa and E. coli PBP 2. Growth of cells entered a stationary phase soon after induction of gene expression, and cells began to lyse upon prolonged incubation. Concomitant with the growth retardation, cells were observed to have changed morphologically from typical rods into enlarged spheres. Inactive derivatives of the PBP 2s were engineered, involving site-specific replacement of their catalytic Ser residues with Ala in their transpeptidase module. Overproduction of these inactive PBPs resulted in identical effects. Likewise, overproduction of PBP 2 derivatives possessing only their N-terminal non-penicillin-binding module (i.e., lacking their C-terminal transpeptidase module) produced similar effects. However, E. coli overproducing engineered derivatives of PBP 2 lacking their noncleavable, N-terminal signal sequence and membrane anchor were found to grow and divide at the same rate as control cells. The morphological effects and lysis were also eliminated entirely when overproduction of PBP 2 and variants was conducted with E. coli MHD79, a strain lacking six lytic transglycosylases. A possible interaction between the N-terminal domain of PBP 2 and lytic transglycosylases in vivo through the formation of multienzyme complexes is discussed.

scholarly journals Rapid Growth of UropathogenicEscherichia coliduring Human Urinary Tract Infection

mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie S. Forsyth ◽  
Chelsie E. Armbruster ◽  
Sara N. Smith ◽  
Ali Pirani ◽  
A. Cody Springman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Urinary Tract ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Replication Forks ◽  
Chromosomal Replication ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Tract Infections

ABSTRACTUropathogenicEscherichia coli(UPEC) strains cause most uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). These strains are a subgroup of extraintestinal pathogenicE. coli(ExPEC) strains that infect extraintestinal sites, including urinary tract, meninges, bloodstream, lungs, and surgical sites. Here, we hypothesize that UPEC isolates adapt to and grow more rapidly within the urinary tract than otherE. coliisolates and survive in that niche. To date, there has not been a reliable method available to measure their growth ratein vivo. Here we used two methods: segregation of nonreplicating plasmid pGTR902, and peak-to-trough ratio (PTR), a sequencing-based method that enumerates bacterial chromosomal replication forks present during cell division. In the murine model of UTI, UPEC strain growth was robustin vivo, matching or exceedingin vitrogrowth rates and only slowing after reaching high CFU counts at 24 and 30 h postinoculation (hpi). In contrast, asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) strains tended to maintain high growth ratesin vivoat 6, 24, and 30 hpi, and population densities did not increase, suggesting that host responses or elimination limited population growth. Fecal strains displayed moderate growth rates at 6 hpi but did not survive to later times. By PTR,E. coliin urine of human patients with UTIs displayed extraordinarily rapid growth during active infection, with a mean doubling time of 22.4 min. Thus, in addition to traditional virulence determinants, including adhesins, toxins, iron acquisition, and motility, very high growth ratesin vivoand resistance to the innate immune response appear to be critical phenotypes of UPEC strains.IMPORTANCEUropathogenicEscherichia coli(UPEC) strains cause most urinary tract infections in otherwise healthy women. While we understand numerous virulence factors are utilized byE. colito colonize and persist within the urinary tract, these properties are inconsequential unless bacteria can divide rapidly and survive the host immune response. To determine the contribution of growth rate to successful colonization and persistence, we employed two methods: one involving the segregation of a nonreplicating plasmid in bacteria as they divide and the peak-to-trough ratio, a sequencing-based method that enumerates chromosomal replication forks present during cell division. We found that UPEC strains divide extraordinarily rapidly during human UTIs. These techniques will be broadly applicable to measurein vivogrowth rates of other bacterial pathogens during host colonization.

scholarly journals Ribosomal stalling landscapes revealed by high-throughput inverse toeprinting of mRNA libraries

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. e201800148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Britta Seip ◽  
Guénaël Sacheau ◽  
Denis Dupuy ◽  
C Axel Innis
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Amino Acid Sequence ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Quantitative Measure ◽  
Ribosome Profiling ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Versatile Tool

Although it is known that the amino acid sequence of a nascent polypeptide can impact its rate of translation, dedicated tools to systematically investigate this process are lacking. Here, we present high-throughput inverse toeprinting, a method to identify peptide-encoding transcripts that induce ribosomal stalling in vitro. Unlike ribosome profiling, inverse toeprinting protects the entire coding region upstream of a stalled ribosome, making it possible to work with random or focused transcript libraries that efficiently sample the sequence space. We used inverse toeprinting to characterize the stalling landscapes of free and drug-boundEscherichia coliribosomes, obtaining a comprehensive list of arrest motifs that were validated in vivo, along with a quantitative measure of their pause strength. Thanks to the modest sequencing depth and small amounts of material required, inverse toeprinting provides a highly scalable and versatile tool to study sequence-dependent translational processes.

scholarly journals Overexpression of tnaC of Escherichia coli Inhibits Growth by Depleting tRNA2Pro Availability

2006 ◽  
Vol 188 (5) ◽  
pp. 1892-1898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Gong ◽  
Feng Gong ◽  
Charles Yanofsky
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Growth Inhibition ◽  
Leader Peptide ◽  
Multicopy Plasmid ◽  
Coding Region ◽  
Rate Reduction ◽  
Growth Rate Reduction ◽  
Transcription Antitermination ◽  
Sense Codon

ABSTRACT Transcription of the tryptophanase (tna) operon of Escherichia coli is regulated by catabolite repression and tryptophan-induced transcription antitermination. Induction results from ribosome stalling after translation of tnaC, the coding region for a 24-residue leader peptide. The last sense codon of tnaC, proline codon 24 (CCU), is translated by tRNA2 Pro. We analyzed the consequences of overexpression of tnaC from a multicopy plasmid and observed that under inducing conditions more than 60% of the tRNA2 Pro in the cell was sequestered in ribosomes as TnaC-tRNA2 Pro. The half-life of this TnaC-tRNA2 Pro was shown to be 10 to 15 min under these conditions. Plasmid-mediated overexpression of tnaC, under inducing conditions, reduced cell growth rate appreciably. Increasing the tRNA2 Pro level relieved this growth inhibition, suggesting that depletion of this tRNA was primarily responsible for the growth rate reduction. Growth inhibition was not relieved by overexpression of tRNA1 Pro, a tRNAPro that translates CCG, but not CCU. Replacing the Pro24CCU codon of tnaC by Pro24CCG, a Pro codon translated by tRNA1 Pro, also led to growth rate reduction, and this reduction was relieved by overexpression of tRNA1 Pro. These findings establish that the growth inhibition caused by tnaC overexpression during induction by tryptophan is primarily a consequence of tRNAPro depletion, resulting from TnaC-tRNAPro retention within stalled, translating ribosomes.

scholarly journals Evolved Cobalamin-Independent Methionine Synthase (MetE) Improves the Acetate and Thermal Tolerance of Escherichia coli

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (24) ◽  
pp. 7905-7915 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena A. Mordukhova ◽  
Jae-Gu Pan
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Defined Medium ◽  
Methionine Synthase ◽  
Mutant Enzyme ◽  
Content Type ◽  
E Coli ◽  
K 12

ABSTRACTAcetate-mediated growth inhibition ofEscherichia colihas been found to be a consequence of the accumulation of homocysteine, the substrate of the cobalamin-independent methionine synthase (MetE) that catalyzes the final step of methionine biosynthesis. To improve the acetate resistance ofE. coli, we randomly mutated the MetE enzyme and isolated a mutant enzyme, designated MetE-214 (V39A, R46C, T106I, and K713E), that conferred accelerated growth in theE. coliK-12 WE strain in the presence of acetate. Additionally, replacement of cysteine 645, which is a unique site of oxidation in the MetE protein, with alanine improved acetate tolerance, and introduction of the C645A mutation into the MetE-214 mutant enzyme resulted in the highest growth rate in acetate-treatedE. colicells among three mutant MetE proteins.E. coliWE strains harboring acetate-tolerant MetE mutants were less inhibited by homocysteine inl-isoleucine-enriched medium. Furthermore, the acetate-tolerant MetE mutants stimulated the growth of the host strain at elevated temperatures (44 and 45°C). Unexpectedly, the mutant MetE enzymes displayed a reduced melting temperature (Tm) but an enhancedin vivostability. Thus, we demonstrate improvedE. coligrowth in the presence of acetate or at elevated temperatures solely due to mutations in the MetE enzyme. Furthermore, when anE. coliWE strain carrying the MetE mutant was combined with a previously found MetA (homoserineo-succinyltransferase) mutant enzyme, the MetA/MetE strain was found to grow at 45°C, a nonpermissive growth temperature forE. coliin defined medium, with a similar growth rate as if it were supplemented byl-methionine.

scholarly journals Influence of ferrocene and its derivatives on growth of Escherichia coli (ATTC 25922)

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 251-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjana Zabic ◽  
Zoran Kukric ◽  
Ljiljana Topalic-Trivunovic
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Carboxylic Acid ◽  
Generation Time ◽  
Inhibitory Action ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Trypsin Activity ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Derivatives Of ◽  
Strong Inhibitory Action

This study is a continued investigation of the influence of ferrocene and its derivatives on trypsin activity. The goal was to examine the effect in vivo, by monitoring the growth of the bacteria Escherichia coli. The growth of the bacteria with the addition of ferrocene and derivatives of various concentrations was followed up spectrophotometrically, measuring changes in OD, correlating OD with the number of formed bacterial colonies and comparing the results as the mean generation time. The obtained results in relation to control experiments indicate a very strong inhibitory action of ferrocene and (dimethylaminomethyl) ferrocene, a medium or modest inhibitory effect of methyl 1'-acetamidoferrocene- 1-carboxylate and benzyl 1'-methoxycarbonyl-1-ferrocenecarbamate; influence of benzyl 1'-carboxy-1-ferrocenecarbamate is negligible, while 1'-acetamidoferrocene-1-carboxylic acid causes the increase in the growth of Escherichia coli.

scholarly journals Comparative Activity of Ceftriaxone, Ciprofloxacin, and Gentamicin as a Function of Bacterial Growth Rate Probed by Escherichia coli Chromosome Replication in the Mouse Peritonitis Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. e02133-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Schei Haugan ◽  
Anders Løbner-Olesen ◽  
Niels Frimodt-Møller
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Bacterial Growth ◽  
Bacterial Population ◽  
Chromosome Replication ◽  
Bacterial Growth Rate ◽  
Peritonitis Model

ABSTRACT Commonly used antibiotics exert their effects predominantly on rapidly growing bacterial cells; yet, the growth dynamics taking place during infection in a complex host environment remain largely unknown. Hence, a means to measure in situ bacterial growth rate is essential to predict the outcome of antibacterial treatment. We have recently validated chromosome replication as a readout of in situ bacterial growth rate during Escherichia coli infection in the mouse peritonitis model. By the use of two complementary methods (quantitative PCR and fluorescence microscopy) for differential genome origin and terminus copy number quantification, we demonstrated the ability to track bacterial growth rate, both on a population average level and on a single-cell level, from one single biological specimen. Here, we asked whether the in situ growth rate predicts antibiotic treatment effect during infection in the same model. Parallel in vitro growth experiments were conducted as a proof of concept. Our data demonstrate that the activities of the commonly used antibiotics ceftriaxone and gentamicin correlated with pretreatment bacterial growth rate; both drugs performed better during rapid growth than during slow growth. Conversely, ciprofloxacin was less sensitive to bacterial growth rate, both in a homogenous in vitro bacterial population and in a more heterogeneous in vivo bacterial population. The method serves as a platform to test any antibiotic’s dependency on active in situ bacterial growth. Improved insight into this relationship in vivo could ultimately prove helpful in evaluating future antibacterial strategies.

scholarly journals Biological Costs and Mechanisms of Fosfomycin Resistance in Escherichia coli

2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 2850-2858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annika I. Nilsson ◽  
Otto G. Berg ◽  
Olle Aspevall ◽  
Gunnar Kahlmeter ◽  
Dan I. Andersson
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Growth Rate ◽  
Urinary Tract ◽  
Clinical Isolates ◽  
Resistance Development ◽  
Resistant Strains ◽  
Fosfomycin Resistance ◽  
Tract Infections

ABSTRACT Fosfomycin is a cell wall inhibitor used mainly for the treatment of uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections. As shown here, resistance to fosfomycin develops rapidly in Escherichia coli under experimental conditions, but in spite of the relatively high mutation rate in vitro, resistance in clinical isolates is rare. To examine this apparent contradiction, we mathematically modeled the probability of resistance development in the bladder during treatment. The modeling showed that during a typical episode of urinary tract infection, the probability of resistance development was high (>10−2). However, if resistance was associated with a reduction in growth rate, the probability of resistance development rapidly decreased. To examine if fosfomycin resistance causes a reduced growth rate, we isolated in vitro and in vivo a set of resistant strains. We determined their resistance mechanisms and examined the effect of the different resistance mutations on bacterial growth in the absence and presence of fosfomycin. The types of mutations found in vitro and in vivo were partly different. Resistance in the mutants isolated in vitro was caused by ptsI, cyaA, glpT, uhpA/T, and unknown mutations, whereas no cyaA or ptsI mutants could be found in vivo. All mutations caused a decreased growth rate both in laboratory medium and in urine, irrespective of the absence or presence of fosfomycin. According to the mathematical model, the reduced growth rate of the resistant strains will prevent them from establishing in the bladder, which could explain why fosfomycin resistance remains rare in clinical isolates.

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