FimE-catalyzed off-to-on inversion of the type 1 fimbrial phase switch and insertion sequence recruitment in an Escherichia coli K-12 fimB strain

We have investigated the capacity of a well-defined Escherichia coli fimB strain, AAEC350 (a derivative of MG1655), to express type 1 fimbriae under various growth conditions. The expression of type 1 fimbriae is phase-variable due to the inversion of a 314-bp DNA segment. Two tyrosine recombinases, FimB and FimE, mediate the inversion of the phase switch. FimB can carry out recombination in both directions, whereas the current evidence suggests that FimE-catalyzed switching is on-to-off only. We show here that AAEC350 is in fact capable of off-to-on phase switching and type 1 fimbrial expression under aerobic static growth conditions. The phase switching is mediated by FimE, and allows emerging fimbriate AAEC350 to outgrow their non-fimbriate counterparts by pellicle formation. Following inversion of the phase switch, this element can remain phase-locked in the on orientation due to integration of insertion sequence elements, viz. IS1 or IS5, at various positions in either the fimE gene or the phase switch.     

De novo creation of MG1655-derived E. coli strains specifically designed for plasmid DNA production

The interest in plasmid DNA (pDNA) as a biopharmaceutical has been increasing over the last several years, especially after the approval of the first DNA vaccines. New pDNA production strains have been created by rationally mutating genes selected on the basis of Escherichia coli central metabolism and plasmid properties. Nevertheless, the highly mutagenized genetic background of the strains used makes it difficult to ascertain the exact impact of those mutations. To explore the effect of strain genetic background, we investigated single and double knockouts of two genes, pykF and pykA, which were known to enhance pDNA synthesis in two different E. coli strains: MG1655 (wild-type genetic background) and DH5α (highly mutagenized genetic background). The knockouts were only effective in the wild-type strain MG1655, demonstrating the relevance of strain genetic background and the importance of designing new strains specifically for pDNA production. Based on the obtained results, we created a new pDNA production strain starting from MG1655 by knocking out the pgi gene in order to redirect carbon flux to the pentose phosphate pathway, enhance nucleotide synthesis, and, consequently, increase pDNA production. GALG20 (MG1655ΔendAΔrecAΔpgi) produced 25-fold more pDNA (19.1 mg/g dry cell weight, DCW) than its parental strain, MG1655ΔendAΔrecA (0.8 mg/g DCW), in glucose. For the first time, pgi was identified as an important target for constructing a high-yielding pDNA production strain.     

NotI genomic cleavage map of Escherichia coli K-12 strain MG1655.

Several approaches were used to construct a complete NotI restriction enzyme cleavage map of the genome of Escherichia coli MG1655. The approaches included use of transposable element insertions that created auxotrophic mutations and introduced a NotI site into the genome, hybridization of NotI fragments to the ordered lambda library constructed by Kohara et al. (BioTechniques 10:474-477, 1991), Southern blotting of NotI digests with cloned genes as probes, and analysis of the known E. coli DNA sequence for NotI sites. In all, 22 NotI cleavage sites were mapped along with 26 transposon insertions. These sites were localized to clones in the lambda library and, when possible, sequenced genes. The map was compared with that of strain EMG2, a wild-type E. coli K-12 strain, and several differences were found, including a region of about 600 kb with an altered restriction pattern and an additional fragment in MG1655. Comparison of MG1655 with other strains revealed minor differences but indicated that this map was representative of that for many commonly used E. coli K-12 strains.     

转座因子IS10一个新的插入靶位点的序列分析

转座因子在生物体内广泛存在,它在研究基因的重组机理以及生物染色体的进化方面有着重要意义。IS10是细菌中的一种转座因子,它既能单独作为插入序列,也能作为Tn10的一部分进行转座。利用含sacB基因的质粒pXT3sacB,获得了由转座因子IS10插入而导致sacB基因失活的突变体。通过对插入突变体质粒DNA的序列测定（GenBank登记号为AY580883．1）,结果表明IS10两端分别包括22bp倒置重复区CTGAGAGATCCCCTCATAATTT和AAATCATTAGGGGATTCATCAG,这与前人的报道一致;而IS10两端的插入靶位点序列为TGCTTGGTT,该9bp靶位点序列与前人报道的序列NGCTNAGCN不同。根据文献资料,本研究中的靶位点序列是首次报道。此外,通过Southern blot杂交分析,插入sacB基因中的IS10来源于宿主大肠杆菌DH5α染色体DNA,并且IS10在DH5α染色体中为两个拷贝。此外,本研究利用sacB基因捕获到转座因子IS10,该方法为研究其他插入序列提供了一个有益的体系。     

Antibiotics shaping bacterial genome: deletion of an IS91 flanked virulence determinant upon exposure to subinhibitory antibiotic concentrations

The nucleoid-associated proteins Hha and YdgT repress the expression of the toxin α-hemolysin. An Escherichia coli mutant lacking these proteins overexpresses the toxin α-hemolysin encoded in the multicopy recombinant plasmid pANN202-312R. Unexpectedly, we could observe that this mutant generated clones that no further produced hemolysin (Hly(-)). Generation of Hly(-) clones was dependent upon the presence in the culture medium of the antibiotic kanamycin (km), a marker of the hha allele (hha::Tn5). Detailed analysis of different Hly(-) clones evidenced that recombination between partial IS91 sequences that flank the hly operon had occurred. A fluctuation test evidenced that the presence of km in the culture medium was underlying the generation of these clones. A decrease of the km concentration from 25 mg/l to 12.5 mg/l abolished the appearance of Hly(-) derivatives. We considered as a working hypothesis that, when producing high levels of the toxin (combination of the hha ydgT mutations with the presence of the multicopy hemolytic plasmid pANN202-312R), the concentration of km of 25 mg/l resulted subinhibitory and stimulated the recombination between adjacent IS91 flanking sequences. To further test this hypothesis, we analyzed the effect of subinhibitory km concentrations in the wild type E. coli strain MG1655 harboring the parental low copy number plasmid pHly152. At a km concentration of 5 mg/l, subinhibitory for strain MG1655 (pHly152), generation of Hly(-) clones could be readily detected. Similar results were also obtained when, instead of km, ampicillin was used. IS91 is flanking several virulence determinants in different enteric bacterial pathogenic strains from E. coli and Shigella. The results presented here evidence that stress generated by exposure to subinhibitory antibiotic concentrations may result in rearrangements of the bacterial genome. Whereas some of these rearrangements may be deleterious, others may generate genotypes with increased virulence, which may resume infection.     

Using genomic sequencing for classical genetics in E. coli K12

We here develop computational methods to facilitate use of 454 whole genome shotgun sequencing to identify mutations in Escherichia coli K12. We had Roche sequence eight related strains derived as spontaneous mutants in a background without a whole genome sequence. They provided difference tables based on assembling each genome to reference strain E. coli MG1655 (NC_000913). Due to the evolutionary distance to MG1655, these contained a large number of both false negatives and positives. By manual analysis of the dataset, we detected all the known mutations (24 at nine locations) and identified and genetically confirmed new mutations necessary and sufficient for the phenotypes we had selected in four strains. We then had Roche assemble contigs de novo, which we further assembled to full-length pseudomolecules based on synteny with MG1655. This hybrid method facilitated detection of insertion mutations and allowed annotation from MG1655. After removing one genome with less than the optimal 20- to 30-fold sequence coverage, we identified 544 putative polymorphisms that included all of the known and selected mutations apart from insertions. Finally, we detected seven new mutations in a total of only 41 candidates by comparing single genomes to composite data for the remaining six and using a ranking system to penalize homopolymer sequencing and misassembly errors. An additional benefit of the analysis is a table of differences between MG1655 and a physiologically robust E. coli wild-type strain NCM3722. Both projects were greatly facilitated by use of comparative genomics tools in the CoGe software package (http://genomevolution.org/).     

Definition of the Escherichia coli MC4100 genome by use of a DNA array

We have used an Escherichia coli K-12 whole-genome array based on the DNA sequence of strain MG1655 as a tool to identify deletions in another E. coli K-12 strain, MC4100, by probing the array with labeled chromosomal DNA. Despite the continued widespread use of MC4100 as an experimental system, the specific genetic relationship of this strain to the sequenced K-12 derivative MG1655 has not been resolved. MC4100 was found to contain four deletions, ranging from 1 to 97 kb in size. The exact nature of three of the deletions was previously unresolved, and the fourth deletion was altogether unknown.     

敲除aceE基因对大肠杆菌生长和丙酮酸代谢的影响

大肠杆菌aceE基因是编码丙酮酸脱氢酶多酶复合体PdhR的关键酶之一。利用Red重组系统敲除大肠杆菌MG1655的aceE基因后,阻断了丙酮酸流向TCA循环,导致丙酮酸的累积,也使菌体生长受到影响,在培养基中补加5 g/L KAc后可以在一定程度上弥补菌株在生长上的缺陷。摇瓶发酵36 h,MG1655没有积累丙酮酸,MG1655ΔaceE∷cat菌株可以积累26.77 g/L丙酮酸,为利用大肠杆菌发酵生产丙酮酸奠定了基础。     

Enhancing recombinant protein production with an Escherichia coli host strain lacking insertion sequences

The genomic stability and integrity of host strains are critical for the production of recombinant proteins in biotechnology. Bacterial genomes contain numerous jumping genetic elements, the insertion sequences (ISs) that cause a variety of genetic rearrangements, resulting in adverse effects such as genome and recombinant plasmid instability. To minimize the harmful effects of ISs on the expression of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli, we developed an IS-free, minimized E. coli strain (MS56) in which about 23 % of the genome, including all ISs and many unnecessary genes, was removed. Here, we compared the expression profiles of recombinant proteins such as tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) in MG1655 and MS56. Hopping of ISs (IS1, IS3, or IS5) into the TRAIL and BMP2 genes occurred at the rate of ~10^?8/gene/h in MG1655 whereas such events were not observed in MS56. Even though IS hopping occurred very rarely (10^?8/gene/h), cells containing the IS-inserted TRAIL and BMP2 plasmids became dominant (~52 % of the total population) 28 h after fermentation began due to their growth advantage over cells containing intact plasmids, significantly reducing recombinant protein production in batch fermentation. Our findings clearly indicate that IS hopping is detrimental to the industrial production of recombinant proteins, emphasizing the importance of the development of IS-free host strains.     

Type 1 fimbriation and fimE mutants of Escherichia coli K-12.

We reexamined the influence of fimE, also referred to as hyp, on type 1 fimbriation in Escherichia coli K-12. We found that one strain used previously and extensively in the analysis of type 1 fimbriation, strain CSH50, is in fact a fimE mutant; the fimE gene of CSH50 contains a copy of the insertion sequence IS1. Using a recently described allelic exchange procedure, we transferred the fimE::IS1 allele from CSH50 to our present wild-type strain, MG1655. Characterization of this IS1-containing strain (AAEC137), together with another fimE mutant of MG1655 (AAEC143), led to two conclusions about the role of fimE. First, the formation of phase variant colony types, reported widely in strains of E. coli, depends on mutation of fimE, at least in K-12 strain MG1655. Here we showed that this phenomenon reflects the ability of fimE to stimulate the rapid inversion of the fim invertible element from on to off when the bacteria are grown on agar. Second, our analysis of fimE mutants, which is limited to chromosomal constructs, provided no evidence that they are hyperfimbriate. We believe that these results, which are at odds with a previous study using fim-containing multicopy plasmids, reflect differences in gene copy number.     

Physiological studies of Escherichia coli strain MG1655: growth defects and apparent cross-regulation of gene expression

Escherichia coli strain MG1655 was chosen for sequencing because the few mutations it carries (ilvG rfb-50 rph-1) were considered innocuous. However, it has a number of growth defects. Internal pyrimidine starvation due to polarity of the rph-1 allele on pyrE was problematic in continuous culture. Moreover, the isolate of MG1655 obtained from the E. coli Genetic Stock Center also carries a large deletion around the fnr (fumarate-nitrate respiration) regulatory gene. Although studies on DNA microarrays revealed apparent cross-regulation of gene expression between galactose and lactose metabolism in the Stock Center isolate of MG1655, this was due to the occurrence of mutations that increased lacY expression and suppressed slow growth on galactose. The explanation for apparent cross-regulation between galactose and N-acetylglucosamine metabolism was similar. By contrast, cross-regulation between lactose and maltose metabolism appeared to be due to generation of internal maltosaccharides in lactose-grown cells and may be physiologically significant. Lactose is of restricted distribution: it is normally found together with maltosaccharides, which are starch degradation products, in the mammalian intestine. Strains designated MG1655 and obtained from other sources differed from the Stock Center isolate and each other in several respects. We confirmed that use of other E. coli strains with MG1655-based DNA microarrays works well, and hence these arrays can be used to study any strain of interest. The responses to nitrogen limitation of two urinary tract isolates and an intestinal commensal strain isolated recently from humans were remarkably similar to those of MG1655.     

Sequence Analysis of a Novel Insertion Site of Transposon IS10

A sacB mutant was obtained by transposon IS10 inactivation of a plasmid pXT3sacB carrying the sacB gene. Sequencing of this mutant plasmid DNA (GenBank accession No. AY580883.1) showed that the IS10 flanking the 22 bp inverted repeats were 5′-CTGAGAGATCCCCTCATAATTT-3′ and 5′-AAATCATTAGGGGATTCATCAG-3′, which were the similar to those published in reports previously. However, the target sequence adjacent to IS10 was 5′-TGCTTGGTT-3′ instead of the previously reported 5′-NGCTNAGCN-3′. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the novel insertion site of IS10. In addition, Southern blot hybridization confirmed that the mobile IS10 originated from the chromosomal DNA of the host strain Escherichia coli DH5α and that there were two copies in the DH5α genome.     

Recombinant protein production in an Escherichia coli reduced genome strain

Recently, efforts have been made to improve the properties of Escherichia coli as a recombinant host by 'genomic surgery'-deleting large segments of the E. coli K12 MG1655 genome without scars. These excised segments included K-islands, which contain a high proportion of transposons, insertion sequences, cryptic phage, damaged, and unknown-function genes. The resulting multiple-deletion strain, designated E. coli MDS40, has a 14% (about 700 genes) smaller genome than the parent strain, E. coli MG1655. The multiple-deletion and parent E. coli strains were cultured in fed-batch fermenters to high cell densities on minimal medium to simulate industrial conditions for evaluating growth and recombinant protein production characteristics. Recombinant protein production and by-product levels were quantified at different controlled growth rates. These results indicate that the multiple-deletion strain's growth behavior and recombinant protein productivity closely matched the parent stain. Thus, the multiple-deletion strain E. coli MDS40 provides a suitable foundation for further genomic reduction.     

In vivo excision and amplification of large segments of the Escherichia coli genome.

In vivo excision and amplification of large segments of a genome offer an alternative to heterologous DNA cloning. By obtaining predetermined fragments of the chromosome directly from the original organism, the problems of clone stability and clone identification are alleviated. This approach involves the insertion of two recognition sequences for a site-specific recombinase into the genome at predetermined sites, 50-100 kb apart. The integration of these sequences, together with a conditional replication origin (ori), is targeted by homologous recombination. The strain carrying the insertions is stably maintained until, upon induction of specifically engineered genes, the host cell expresses the site-specific recombinase and an ori-specific replication protein. The recombinase then excises and circularizes the genomic segment flanked by the two insertions. This excised DNA, which contains ori, is amplified with the aid of the replication protein and can be isolated as a large plasmid. The feasibility of such an approach is demonstrated here for E. coli. Using the yeast FLP/FRT site-specific recombination system and the pi/gamma-ori replication initiation of plasmid R6K, we have devised a procedure that should allow the isolation of virtually any segment of the E. coli genome. This was shown by excising, amplifying and isolating the 51-kb lacZ--phoB and the 110-kb dapX--dsdC region of the E. coli MG1655 genome.     

Construction and manipulation of an infectious clone of the bovine herpesvirus 1 genome maintained as a bacterial artificial chromosome

The complete genome of bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) strain V155 has been cloned as a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC). Following electroporation into Escherichia coli strain DH10B, the BoHV-1 BAC was stably propagated over multiple generations of its host. BAC DNA recovered from DH10B cells and transfected into bovine cells produced a cytopathic effect which was indistinguishable from that of the parent virus. Analysis of the replication kinetics of the viral progeny indicated that insertion of the BAC vector into the thymidine kinase gene did not affect viral replication. Specific manipulation of the BAC was demonstrated by deleting the gene encoding glycoprotein E by homologous recombination in DH10B cells facilitated by GET recombination. These studies illustrate that the propagation and manipulation of herpesviruses in bacterial systems will allow for rapid and accurate characterization of BoHV-1 genes. In turn, this will allow for the full utilization of BoHV-1 as a vaccine vector.     

A genetic mechanism for deletion of the ser2 gene cluster and formation of rough morphological variants of Mycobacterium avium

A major phenotypic trait of the Mycobacterium avium complex is the ability to produce rough and smooth colony variants. The chemical basis of this morphological variation is the loss of an antigenic surface structure, termed glycopeptidolipid (GPL), by rough variants. Using M. avium serovar 2 strain 2151 as a model system, this laboratory previously reported that rough variants arise via the deletion of large genomic regions encoding GPL biosynthesis. One such deletion encompasses the gene cluster (ser2) responsible for production of the serovar 2 GPL haptenic oligosaccharide. In this study, nucleotide sequencing revealed that both ends of the ser2 gene cluster are flanked by a novel insertion sequence (IS1601) oriented as direct repeats. Detailed analyses of the site of deletion in the genome of M. avium 2151 Rg-1 demonstrated that a single copy of IS1601 remained and that the ser2 gene cluster was deleted by homologous recombination. This same deletion pattern was observed for 10 out of 15 rough colony variants tested. Additionally, these studies revealed that IS1601 contains portions of three independent insertion sequences. This report is the first to define the precise genetic basis of colony variation in Mycobacterium spp. and provides further evidence that homologous recombination between insertion sequence elements can be a primary determinant of genome plasticity in these bacteria.