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  • 1
    In: mSphere, American Society for Microbiology, Vol. 2, No. 4 ( 2017-08-30)
    Abstract: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a major threat to public health, causing significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The emergence of highly drug-resistant strains is particularly concerning. There has been a recognition and division of Klebsiella pneumoniae into three distinct phylogenetic groups: Klebsiella pneumoniae , Klebsiella variicola , and Klebsiella quasipneumoniae . K. variicola and K. quasipneumoniae have often been described as opportunistic pathogens that have less virulence in humans than K. pneumoniae does. We recently sequenced the genomes of 1,777 extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing K. pneumoniae isolates recovered from human infections and discovered that 28 strains were phylogenetically related to K . variicola and K. quasipneumoniae . Whole-genome sequencing of 95 additional non-ESBL-producing K. pneumoniae isolates recovered from patients found 12 K. quasipneumoniae strains. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis initially identified all patient isolates as K. pneumoniae , suggesting a potential pitfall in conventional clinical microbiology laboratory identification methods. Whole-genome sequence analysis revealed extensive sharing of core gene content and plasmid replicons among the Klebsiella species. For the first time, strains of both K. variicola and K. quasipneumoniae were found to carry the Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) gene, while another K. variicola strain was found to carry the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1 (NDM-1) gene. K. variicola and K. quasipneumoniae infections were not less virulent than K. pneumoniae infections, as assessed by in-hospital mortality and infection type. We also discovered evidence of homologous recombination in one K. variicola strain, as well as one strain from a novel Klebsiella species, which challenge the current understanding of interrelationships between clades of Klebsiella . IMPORTANCE Klebsiella pneumoniae is a serious human pathogen associated with resistance to multiple antibiotics and high mortality. K. variicola and K. quasipneumoniae are closely related organisms that are generally considered to be less-virulent opportunistic pathogens. We used a large, comprehensive, population-based strain collection and whole-genome sequencing to investigate infections caused by these organisms in our hospital system. We discovered that K. variicola and K. quasipneumoniae isolates are often misidentified as K. pneumoniae by routine clinical microbiology diagnostics and frequently cause severe life-threatening infections similar to K. pneumoniae . The presence of KPC in K. variicola and K. quasipneumoniae strains as well as NDM-1 metallo-beta-lactamase in one K. variicola strain is particularly concerning because these genes confer resistance to many different beta-lactam antibiotics. The sharing of plasmids, as well as evidence of homologous recombination, between these three species of Klebsiella is cause for additional concern.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2379-5042
    Language: English
    Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
    Publication Date: 2017
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2844248-9
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  • 2
    In: mSphere, American Society for Microbiology, Vol. 2, No. 2 ( 2017-04-26)
    Abstract: Serum opacity factor (SOF) is a cell surface virulence factor made by the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes . We found that S. pyogenes strains with naturally occurring truncation mutations in the sof gene have markedly enhanced beta-hemolysis. Moreover, deletion of the sof gene in a SOF-positive parental strain resulted in significantly increased beta-hemolysis. Together, these observations suggest that SOF is an inhibitor of beta-hemolysis. SOF has two major functional domains, including an opacification domain and a fibronectin-binding domain. Using a SOF-positive serotype M89 S. pyogenes parental strain and a panel of isogenic mutant derivative strains, we evaluated the relative contribution of each SOF functional domain to beta-hemolysis inhibition and bacterial virulence. We found that the opacification domain, rather than the fibronectin-binding domain, is essential for SOF-mediated beta-hemolysis inhibition. The opacification domain, but not the fibronectin-binding domain of SOF, also contributed significantly to virulence in mouse models of bacteremia and necrotizing myositis. Inasmuch as the opacification domain of SOF is known to interact avidly with host high-density lipoprotein (HDL), we speculate that SOF-HDL interaction is an important process underlying SOF-mediated beta-hemolysis inhibition and SOF-mediated virulence. IMPORTANCE Streptococcus pyogenes is a major human pathogen causing more than 700 million infections annually. As a successful pathogen, S. pyogenes produces many virulence factors that facilitate colonization, proliferation, dissemination, and tissue damage. Serum opacity factor (SOF), an extracellular protein, is one of the virulence factors made by S. pyogenes . The underlying mechanism of how SOF contributes to virulence is not fully understood. SOF has two major features: (i) it opacifies host serum by interacting with high-density lipoprotein, and (ii) it inhibits beta-hemolysis on blood agar. In this study, we demonstrate that the domain of SOF essential for opacifying serum is also essential for SOF-mediated beta-hemolysis inhibition and SOF-mediated virulence. Our results shed new light on the molecular mechanisms of SOF-host interaction.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2379-5042
    Language: English
    Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
    Publication Date: 2017
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2844248-9
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  • 3
    In: mSphere, American Society for Microbiology, Vol. 2, No. 6 ( 2017-12-27)
    Abstract: Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus [GAS]) causes 600 million cases of pharyngitis each year. Despite this considerable disease burden, the molecular mechanisms used by GAS to infect, cause clinical pharyngitis, and persist in the human oropharynx are poorly understood. Saliva is ubiquitous in the human oropharynx and is the first material GAS encounters in the upper respiratory tract. Thus, a fuller understanding of how GAS survives and proliferates in saliva may provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms at work in the human oropharynx. We generated a highly saturated transposon insertion mutant library in serotype M1 strain MGAS2221, a strain genetically representative of a pandemic clone that arose in the 1980s and spread globally. The transposon mutant library was exposed to human saliva to screen for GAS genes required for wild-type fitness in this clinically relevant fluid. Using transposon-directed insertion site sequencing (TraDIS), we identified 92 genes required for GAS fitness in saliva. The more prevalent categories represented were genes involved in carbohydrate transport/metabolism, amino acid transport/metabolism, and inorganic ion transport/metabolism. Using six isogenic mutant strains, we confirmed that each of the mutants w as significantly impaired for growth or persistence in human saliva ex vivo . Mutants with an inactivated Spy0644 ( sptA ) or Spy0646 ( sptC ) gene had especially severe persistence defects. This study is the first to use of TraDIS to study bacterial fitness in human saliva. The new information we obtained will be valuable for future translational maneuvers designed to prevent or treat human GAS infections. IMPORTANCE The human bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus [GAS]) causes more than 600 million cases of pharyngitis annually worldwide, 15 million of which occur in the United States. The human oropharynx is the primary anatomic site for GAS colonization and infection, and saliva is the first material encountered. Using a genome-wide transposon mutant screen, we identified 92 GAS genes required for wild-type fitness in human saliva. Many of the identified genes are involved in carbohydrate transport/metabolism, amino acid transport/metabolism, and inorganic ion transport/metabolism. The new information is potentially valuable for developing novel GAS therapeutics and vaccine research. Podcast : A podcast concerning this article is available.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2379-5042
    Language: English
    Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
    Publication Date: 2017
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2844248-9
    Location Call Number Limitation Availability
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