Genome Dynamics of Escherichia coli during Antibiotic Treatment: Transfer, Loss, and Persistence of Genetic Elements In situ of the Infant Gut

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Gumpert, Heidi¹  Kubicek-Sutherland, Jessica Z.²  Andersson, Dan I.²  Karami, Nahid³  Adlerberth, Ingegerd³  Wold, Agnes E.³  Porse, Andreas⁴  Sommer, Morten O. A.⁴ 

[1] Department of Clinical Microbiology, Hvidovre University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark;Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University Biomedical Centre, Uppsala, Sweden;Department of infectious Diseases, University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg, Sweden;Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark

关键词: Escherichia coli;    Virulence plasmid;    horizontal gene transfer;    persistance;    in situ;    infant gut;    antibiotic treatment;    evolution;    Urinary Tract Infections;    genome dynamics;    mobile elements;    Clinical Isolates;    fitness cost;    mouse models;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fcimb.2017.00126

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Elucidating the adaptive strategies and plasticity of bacterial genomes in situ is crucial for understanding the epidemiology and evolution of pathogens threatening human health. While much is known about the evolution of E. coli in controlled laboratory environments, less effort has been made to elucidate the genome dynamics of E. coli in its native settings. Here, we follow the genome dynamics of co-existing E. coli lineages in situ of the infant gut during the first year of life. One E. coli lineage causes a urinary tract infection (UTI) and experiences several alterations of its genomic content during subsequent antibiotic treatment. Interestingly, all isolates of this uropathogenic E. coli strain carried a highly stable plasmid implicated in virulence of diverse pathogenic strains from all over the world. While virulence elements are certainly beneficial during infection scenarios, their role in gut colonization and pathogen persistence is poorly understood. We performed in vivo competitive fitness experiments to assess the role of this highly disseminated virulence plasmid in gut colonization, but found no evidence for a direct benefit of plasmid carriage. Through plasmid stability assays, we demonstrate that this plasmid is maintained in a parasitic manner, by strong first-line inheritance mechanisms, acting on the single-cell level, rather than providing a direct survival advantage in the gut. These results expose the human gut as a melting pot of E. coli evolution, and suggest that virulence and antibiotic resistance factors can persist in the gut without direct selection.

【 授权许可】

CC BY