High-Frequency Variation of Purine Biosynthesis Genes Is a Mechanism of Success in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Campylobacter jejuni</named-content>

ABSTRACT Phenotypic variation is prevalent in the zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter jejuni, the leading agent of enterocolitis in the developed world. Heterogeneity enhances the survival and adaptive malleability of bacterial populations because variable phenotypes may allow some cells to be protected...

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Autores principales: Andrew Cameron, Steven Huynh, Nichollas E. Scott, Emilisa Frirdich, Dmitry Apel, Leonard J. Foster, Craig T. Parker, Erin C. Gaynor
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Publicado: American Society for Microbiology 2015
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:f48db7d96d2c42b0b50bd4d46f96d2592021-11-15T15:41:30ZHigh-Frequency Variation of Purine Biosynthesis Genes Is a Mechanism of Success in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Campylobacter jejuni</named-content>10.1128/mBio.00612-152150-7511https://doaj.org/article/f48db7d96d2c42b0b50bd4d46f96d2592015-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.00612-15https://doaj.org/toc/2150-7511ABSTRACT Phenotypic variation is prevalent in the zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter jejuni, the leading agent of enterocolitis in the developed world. Heterogeneity enhances the survival and adaptive malleability of bacterial populations because variable phenotypes may allow some cells to be protected against future stress. Exposure to hyperosmotic stress previously revealed prevalent differences in growth between C. jejuni strain 81-176 colonies due to resistant or sensitive phenotypes, and these isolated colonies continued to produce progeny with differential phenotypes. In this study, whole-genome sequencing of isolated colonies identified allelic variants of two purine biosynthesis genes, purF and apt, encoding phosphoribosyltransferases that utilize a shared substrate. Genetic analyses determined that purF was essential for fitness, while apt was critical. Traditional and high-depth amplicon-sequencing analyses confirmed extensive intrapopulation genetic variation of purF and apt that resulted in viable strains bearing alleles with in-frame insertion duplications, deletions, or missense polymorphisms. Different purF and apt alleles were associated with various stress survival capabilities under several niche-relevant conditions and contributed to differential intracellular survival in an epithelial cell infection model. Amplicon sequencing revealed that intracellular survival selected for stress-fit purF and apt alleles, as did exposure to oxygen and hyperosmotic stress. Putative protein recognition direct repeat sequences were identified in purF and apt, and a DNA-protein affinity screen captured a predicted exonuclease that promoted the global spontaneous mutation rate. This work illustrates the adaptive properties of high-frequency genetic variation in two housekeeping genes, which influences C. jejuni survival under stress and promotes its success as a pathogen. IMPORTANCE C. jejuni is an important cause of bacterial diarrheal illness. Bacterial populations have many strategies for stress survival, but phenotypic variation due to genetic diversity has a powerful advantage: no matter how swift the change in environment, a fraction of the population already expresses the survival trait. Nonclonality is thus increasingly viewed as a mechanism of population success. Our previous work identified prominent resistant/sensitive colonial variation in C. jejuni bacteria in response to hyperosmotic stress; in the work presented here, we attribute that to high-frequency genetic variation in two purine biosynthesis genes, purF and apt. We demonstrated selective pressure for nonlethal mutant alleles of both genes, showed that single-cell variants had the capacity to give rise to diverse purF and apt populations, and determined that stress exposure selected for desirable alleles. Thus, a novel C. jejuni adaptive strategy was identified, which was, unusually, reliant on prevalent genetic variation in two housekeeping genes.Andrew CameronSteven HuynhNichollas E. ScottEmilisa FrirdichDmitry ApelLeonard J. FosterCraig T. ParkerErin C. GaynorAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmBio, Vol 6, Iss 5 (2015)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Microbiology
QR1-502
spellingShingle Microbiology
QR1-502
Andrew Cameron
Steven Huynh
Nichollas E. Scott
Emilisa Frirdich
Dmitry Apel
Leonard J. Foster
Craig T. Parker
Erin C. Gaynor
High-Frequency Variation of Purine Biosynthesis Genes Is a Mechanism of Success in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Campylobacter jejuni</named-content>
description ABSTRACT Phenotypic variation is prevalent in the zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter jejuni, the leading agent of enterocolitis in the developed world. Heterogeneity enhances the survival and adaptive malleability of bacterial populations because variable phenotypes may allow some cells to be protected against future stress. Exposure to hyperosmotic stress previously revealed prevalent differences in growth between C. jejuni strain 81-176 colonies due to resistant or sensitive phenotypes, and these isolated colonies continued to produce progeny with differential phenotypes. In this study, whole-genome sequencing of isolated colonies identified allelic variants of two purine biosynthesis genes, purF and apt, encoding phosphoribosyltransferases that utilize a shared substrate. Genetic analyses determined that purF was essential for fitness, while apt was critical. Traditional and high-depth amplicon-sequencing analyses confirmed extensive intrapopulation genetic variation of purF and apt that resulted in viable strains bearing alleles with in-frame insertion duplications, deletions, or missense polymorphisms. Different purF and apt alleles were associated with various stress survival capabilities under several niche-relevant conditions and contributed to differential intracellular survival in an epithelial cell infection model. Amplicon sequencing revealed that intracellular survival selected for stress-fit purF and apt alleles, as did exposure to oxygen and hyperosmotic stress. Putative protein recognition direct repeat sequences were identified in purF and apt, and a DNA-protein affinity screen captured a predicted exonuclease that promoted the global spontaneous mutation rate. This work illustrates the adaptive properties of high-frequency genetic variation in two housekeeping genes, which influences C. jejuni survival under stress and promotes its success as a pathogen. IMPORTANCE C. jejuni is an important cause of bacterial diarrheal illness. Bacterial populations have many strategies for stress survival, but phenotypic variation due to genetic diversity has a powerful advantage: no matter how swift the change in environment, a fraction of the population already expresses the survival trait. Nonclonality is thus increasingly viewed as a mechanism of population success. Our previous work identified prominent resistant/sensitive colonial variation in C. jejuni bacteria in response to hyperosmotic stress; in the work presented here, we attribute that to high-frequency genetic variation in two purine biosynthesis genes, purF and apt. We demonstrated selective pressure for nonlethal mutant alleles of both genes, showed that single-cell variants had the capacity to give rise to diverse purF and apt populations, and determined that stress exposure selected for desirable alleles. Thus, a novel C. jejuni adaptive strategy was identified, which was, unusually, reliant on prevalent genetic variation in two housekeeping genes.
format article
author Andrew Cameron
Steven Huynh
Nichollas E. Scott
Emilisa Frirdich
Dmitry Apel
Leonard J. Foster
Craig T. Parker
Erin C. Gaynor
author_facet Andrew Cameron
Steven Huynh
Nichollas E. Scott
Emilisa Frirdich
Dmitry Apel
Leonard J. Foster
Craig T. Parker
Erin C. Gaynor
author_sort Andrew Cameron
title High-Frequency Variation of Purine Biosynthesis Genes Is a Mechanism of Success in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Campylobacter jejuni</named-content>
title_short High-Frequency Variation of Purine Biosynthesis Genes Is a Mechanism of Success in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Campylobacter jejuni</named-content>
title_full High-Frequency Variation of Purine Biosynthesis Genes Is a Mechanism of Success in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Campylobacter jejuni</named-content>
title_fullStr High-Frequency Variation of Purine Biosynthesis Genes Is a Mechanism of Success in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Campylobacter jejuni</named-content>
title_full_unstemmed High-Frequency Variation of Purine Biosynthesis Genes Is a Mechanism of Success in <named-content content-type="genus-species">Campylobacter jejuni</named-content>
title_sort high-frequency variation of purine biosynthesis genes is a mechanism of success in <named-content content-type="genus-species">campylobacter jejuni</named-content>
publisher American Society for Microbiology
publishDate 2015
url https://doaj.org/article/f48db7d96d2c42b0b50bd4d46f96d259
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