Detection and differentiation of Burkholderia pseudomallei, Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia thailandensis by multiplex PCR

Burkholderia pseudomallei, a Gram-negative bacterium that causes melioidosis may be differentiated from closely related species of Burkholderia mallei that causes glanders and non-pathogenic species of Burkholderia thailandensis by multiplex PCR. The multiplex PCR consists of primers that flank a 10-bp repetitive element in B. pseudomallei and B. mallei amplifying PCR fragment of varying sizes between 400-700 bp, a unique sequence in B. thailandensis amplifying a PCR fragment of 308 bp and the metalloprotease gene amplifying a PCR fragment of 245 bp in B. pseudomallei and B. thailandensis. The multiplex PCR not only can differentiate the three Burkholderia species but can also be used for epidemiological typing of B. pseudomallei and B. mallei strains.     

prhKLM genes of Ralstonia solanacearum encode novel activators of hrp regulon and are required for pathogenesis in tomato

Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, exploits the Bsa type III secretion system (T3SS) to deliver effector proteins into host cells. These effectors manipulate host cell functions; thus, contributing to the ability of the bacteria to evade the immune response and cause disease. Only two Bsa-secreted effectors have been conclusively identified to date. Here, we report the identification of the third B. pseudomallei type III secreted effector protein, designated BopC. BopC is encoded by the bpss1516 gene abutting bpss1517, which encodes its putative chaperone. The genes are located in the close proximity to the bsa T3SS gene cluster of B. pseudomallei K96243 (Fig. 1). BopC was secreted into culture supernatant by the wild-type B. pseudomallei strain, but its secretion was abolished in the bsaZ T3SS mutant. Using pull down and co-purification assays, we confirmed that BopC interacts with its putative chaperone, BPSS1517, in vitro. Furthermore, the first 20 N-terminal amino acids of BopC were found to be sufficient to mediate the T3SS-dependent translocation of a reporter protein from a heterologous enteropathogenic Escherichia coli host into mammalian cells. Finally, bopC mutant was found to be less invasive than the wild-type strain in the epithelial cells.     

Identification of new transposable genetic elements in Burkholderia pseudomallei using subtractive hybridisation

A subtraction library of Burkholderia pseudomallei was constructed by subtractive hybridisation of B. pseudomallei genomic DNA with Burkholderia thailandensis genomic DNA. Two clones were found to have significant sequence similarity to insertion sequences which have previously not been found in B. pseudomallei (designated ISA and ISB); and two clones showed sequence similarity to different regions of Burkholderia cepacia IS407 that has recently been detected in B. pseudomallei. The former, though possibly non-functional, represents new transposable genetic elements of B. pseudomallei. All three sequences were found to be present in multi-copy in the genomes of a number of B. pseudomallei strains and in B. thailandensis, which are the first transposable elements identified in this species.     

Effects of Burkholderia pseudomallei and other Burkholderia species on eukaryotic cells in tissue culture

Burkholderia pseudomallei causes melioidosis, a serious and often fatal bacterial infection. B. pseudomallei can behave as a facultatively intracellular organism and this ability may be important in the pathogenesis of both acute and chronic infection. The uptake of B. pseudomallei and other Burkholderia spp. by cells in tissue culture was examined by electron microscopy. B. pseudomallei can invade cultured cell lines including phagocytic lines such as RAW264, J774 and U937, and non-phagocytic lines such as CaCO-2, Hep2, HeLa, L929, McCoy, Vero and CHO. Uptake was followed by the intracellular multiplication of B. pseudomallei and the induction of cell fusion and multinucleate giant cell formation. Similar effects were produced by B. mallei and B. thailandensis.     

Burkholderia thailandensis: biological properties, identification and taxonomy

Burkholderia pseudomallei-like microorganisms have been isolated from soil and water in regions with endemic melioidosis. These strains have biochemical and antigenic profiles identical to melioidosis agents, except that they differ by virulence and L-arabinose (vir-, ara+). There are minor differences between these species by rRNA sequence. DNA hybridization and, more so, positive transformation of DNA auxotrophic mutants of B. pseudomallei by cell lysates of B. thailandensis and B. mallei confirmed the homology of these species' genomes. These members of the Burkholderia genus (pseudomallei, mallei, and thailandensis) can be regarded as a supraspecies taxon: pseudomallei group. B. thailandensis strains are not virulent for guinea pigs and slightly virulent for golden hamsters. Immunization with live cultures of B. thailandensis protected more than 50% guinea pigs challenged with 200 LD50 B. pseudomallei 100. B. thailandensis is suggested as a potential melioidosis vaccine.     

Effect of Chemical Factors on Natural Biocontrol of the Melioidosis Agent by AMP1-Like Bacteriophages in Agricultural Ecosystems

Microbiology - The causative agent of melioidosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei, as well as closely related nonpathogenic bacteria of the B. pseudomallei/thailandensis complex of species, are found in...     

Actin-binding proteins from Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia thailandensis can functionally compensate for the actin-based motility defect of a Burkholderia pseudomallei bimA mutant

Recently we identified a bacterial factor (BimA) required for actin-based motility of Burkholderia pseudomallei. Here we report that Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia thailandensis are capable of actin-based motility in J774.2 cells and that BimA homologs of these bacteria can restore the actin-based motility defect of a B. pseudomallei bimA mutant. While the BimA homologs differ in their amino-terminal sequence, they interact directly with actin in vitro and vary in their ability to bind Arp3.     

Burkholderia pseudomallei kills the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans using an endotoxin-mediated paralysis

We investigated a non-mammalian host model system for fitness in genetic screening for virulence-attenuating mutations in the potential biowarfare agents Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei . We determined that B. pseudomallei is able to cause 'disease-like' symptoms and kill the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans . Analysis of killing in the surrogate disease model with B. pseudomallei mutants indicated that killing did not require lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen, aminoglycoside/macrolide efflux pumping, type II pathway-secreted exoenzymes or motility. Burkholderia thailandensis and some strains of Burkholderia cepacia also killed nematodes. Manipulation of the nematode host genotype suggests that the neuromuscular intoxication caused by both B. pseudomallei and B. thailandensis acts in part through a disruption of normal Ca²⁺ signal transduction. Both species produce a UV-sensitive, gamma-irradiation-resistant, limited diffusion, paralytic agent as part of their nematode pathogenic mechanism. The results of this investigation suggest that killing by B. pseudomallei is an active process in C. elegans , and that the C. elegans model might be useful for the identification of vertebrate animal virulence factors in B. pseudomallei .     

Novel lytic bacteriophages from soil that lyse Burkholderia pseudomallei

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative saprophytic bacterium that causes severe sepsis with a high mortality rate in humans and a vaccine is not available. Bacteriophages are viruses of bacteria that are ubiquitous in nature. Several lysogenic phages of Burkholderia spp. have been found but information is scarce for lytic phages. Six phages, ST2, ST7, ST70, ST79, ST88 and ST96, which lyse B. pseudomallei, were isolated from soil in an endemic area. The phages belong to the Myoviridae family. The range of estimated genome sizes is 24.0-54.6 kb. Phages ST79 and ST96 lysed 71% and 67% of tested B. pseudomallei isolates and formed plaques on Burkholderia mallei but not other tested bacteria, with the exception of closely related Burkholderia thailandensis which was lysed by ST2 and ST96 only. ST79 and ST96 were observed to clear a mid-log culture by lysis within 6 h when infected at a multiplicity of infection of 0.1. As ST79 and ST96 phages effectively lysed B. pseudomallei, their potential use as a biocontrol of B. pseudomallei in the environment or alternative treatment in infected hosts could lead to benefits from phages that are available in nature.     

Inflammation patterns induced by different Burkholderia species in mice

Burkholderia pseudomallei , which causes melioidosis, a severe, mainly pulmonary disease endemic in South-East Asia, is considered to be the most pathogenic of the Burkholderia genus. B. thailandensis , however, is considered avirulent. We determined differences in patterns of inflammation of B. pseudomallei 1026b (clinical virulent isolate), B. pseudomallei AJ1D8 (an in vitro invasion-deficient mutant generated from strain 1026b by Tn5-OT182 mutagenesis) and B. thailandensis by intranasally inoculating C57BL/6 mice with each strain. Mice infected with B. thailandensis showed a markedly decreased bacterial outgrowth from lungs, spleen and blood 24 h after inoculation, compared with infection with B. pseudomallei and the invasion mutant AJ1D8. Forty-eight hours after inoculation, B. thailandensis was no longer detectable. This was consistent with elevated pulmonary cytokine and chemokine concentrations after infection with B. pseudomallei 1026b and AJ1D8, and the absence of these mediators 48 h, but not 24 h, after inoculation with B. thailandensis . Histological examination, however, did show marked pulmonary inflammation in the mice infected with B. thailandensis , corresponding with substantial granulocyte influx and raised myeloperoxidase levels. Survival experiments showed that infection with 1 × 10³ cfu B. thailandensis was not lethal, whereas inoculation with 1 × 10⁶ cfu B. thailandensis was equally lethal as 1 × 10³ cfu B. pseudomallei 1026b or AJ1D8. These data show that B . pseudomallei AJ1D8 is just as lethal as wild-type B. pseudomallei in an in vivo mouse model, and B. thailandensis is perhaps more virulent than is often recognized.     

The wbiA locus is required for the 2-O-acetylation of lipopolysaccharides expressed by Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia thailandensis

Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia thailandensis express similar O-antigens (O-PS II) in which their 6-deoxy-alpha-L-talopyranosyl (L-6dTalp) residues are variably substituted with O-acetyl groups at the O-2 or O-4 positions. In previous studies we demonstrated that the protective monoclonal antibody, Pp-PS-W, reacted with O-PS II expressed by wild-type B. pseudomallei strains but not by a B. pseudomallei wbiA null mutant. In the present study we demonstrate that WbiA activity is required for the acetylation of the L-6dTalp residues at the O-2 position and that structural modification of O-PS II molecules at this site is critical for recognition by Pp-PS-W.     

Type III secretion system cluster 3 is required for maximal virulence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in a hamster infection model

Burkholderia pseudomallei, the etiological agent of melioidosis, is an animal pathogen capable of inducing a highly fatal septicemia. B. pseudomallei possesses three type III secretion system (TTSS) clusters, two of which (TTSS1 and TTSS2) are homologous to the TTSS of the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum, and one (TTSS3) is homologous to the Salmonella SPI-1 mammalian pathogenicity island. We have demonstrated that TTSS3 is required for the full virulence of B. pseudomallei in a hamster model of infection. We have also examined the virulence of B. pseudomallei mutants deficient in several putative TTSS3 effector molecules, and found no significant attenuation of B. pseudomallei virulence in the hamster model.     

Burkholderia thailandensis E125 harbors a temperate bacteriophage specific for Burkholderia mallei

Burkholderia thailandensis is a nonpathogenic gram-negative bacillus that is closely related to Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia pseudomallei. We found that B. thailandensis E125 spontaneously produced a bacteriophage, termed phiE125, which formed turbid plaques in top agar containing B. mallei ATCC 23344. We examined the host range of phiE125 and found that it formed plaques on B. mallei but not on any other bacterial species tested, including B. thailandensis and B. pseudomallei. Examination of the bacteriophage by transmission electron microscopy revealed an isometric head and a long noncontractile tail. B. mallei NCTC 120 and B. mallei DB110795 were resistant to infection with phiE125 and did not produce lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O antigen due to IS407A insertions in wbiE and wbiG, respectively. wbiE was provided in trans on a broad-host-range plasmid to B. mallei NCTC 120, and it restored LPS O-antigen production and susceptibility to phiE125. The 53,373-bp phiE125 genome contained 70 genes, an IS3 family insertion sequence (ISBt3), and an attachment site (attP) encompassing the 3' end of a proline tRNA (UGG) gene. While the overall genetic organization of the phiE125 genome was similar to lambda-like bacteriophages and prophages, it also possessed a novel cluster of putative replication and lysogeny genes. The phiE125 genome encoded an adenine and a cytosine methyltransferase, and purified bacteriophage DNA contained both N6-methyladenine and N4-methylcytosine. The results presented here demonstrate that phiE125 is a new member of the lambda supergroup of Siphoviridae that may be useful as a diagnostic tool for B. mallei.     

Development of a multiplex PCR assay for rapid identification of Burkholderia pseudomallei, Burkholderia thailandensis, Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia cepacia complex

We have developed a multiplex PCR assay for rapid identification and differentiation of cultures for Burkholderia pseudomallei, Burkholderia thailandensis, Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia cepacia complex. The assay is valuable for use in clinical and veterinary laboratories, and in a deployable laboratory during outbreaks.     

A possible pitfall in the identification of Burkholderia mallei using molecular identification systems based on the sequence of the flagellin fliC gene

Amotile Burkholderia mallei and motile Burkholderia pseudomallei display a high similarity with regard to phenotype and clinical syndromes, glanders and melioidosis. The aim of this study was to establish a fast and reliable molecular method for identification and differentiation. Despite amotility, the gene of the filament forming flagellin (fliC) could be completely sequenced in two B. mallei strains. Only one mutation was identified discriminating between B. mallei and B. pseudomallei. A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay was designed making use of the absence of an AvaII recognition site in B. mallei. All seven B. mallei, 12 out of 15 B. pseudomallei and 36 closely related apathogenic Burkholderia thailandensis strains were identified correctly. However, in three B. pseudomallei strains a point mutation at gene position 798 (G to C) disrupted the AvaII site. Therefore, molecular systems based on the fliC sequence can be used for a reliable proof of strains of the three species but not for the differentiation of B. mallei and B. pseudomallei isolates.     

HrpB7 from Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria is an essential component of the type III secretion system and shares features of HrpO/FliJ/YscO family members

The Gram‐negative bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria translocates effector proteins via a type III secretion system (T3SS) into eukaryotic cells. The T3SS spans both bacterial membranes and consists of more than 20 proteins, 9 of which are conserved in plant and animal pathogens and constitute the core subunits of the secretion apparatus. T3S in X. campestris pv. vesicatoria also depends on nonconserved proteins with yet unknown function including HrpB7, which contains predicted N‐ and C‐terminal coiled‐coil regions. In the present study, we provide experimental evidence that HrpB7 forms stable oligomeric complexes. Interaction and localisation studies suggest that HrpB7 interacts with inner membrane and predicted cytoplasmic (C) ring components of the T3SS but is dispensable for the assembly of the C ring. Additional interaction partners of HrpB7 include the cytoplasmic adenosinetriphosphatase HrcN and the T3S chaperone HpaB. The interaction of HrpB7 with T3SS components as well as complex formation by HrpB7 depends on the presence of leucine heptad motifs, which are part of the predicted N‐ and C‐terminal coiled‐coil structures. Our data suggest that HrpB7 forms multimeric complexes that associate with the T3SS and might serve as a docking site for the general T3S chaperone HpaB.     

Flagellar glycosylation in Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia thailandensis

Glycosylation of proteins is known to impart novel physical properties and biological roles to proteins from both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. In this study, gel-based glycoproteomics were used to identify glycoproteins of the potential biothreat agent Burkholderia pseudomallei and the closely related but nonpathogenic B. thailandensis. Top-down and bottom-up mass spectrometry (MS) analyses identified that the flagellin proteins of both species were posttranslationally modified by novel glycans. Analysis of proteins from two strains of each species demonstrated that B. pseudomallei flagellin proteins were modified with a glycan with a mass of 291 Da, while B. thailandensis flagellin protein was modified with related glycans with a mass of 300 or 342 Da. Structural characterization of the B. thailandensis carbohydrate moiety suggests that it is an acetylated hexuronic acid. In addition, we have identified through mutagenesis a gene from the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen biosynthetic cluster which is involved in flagellar glycosylation, and inactivation of this gene eliminates flagellar glycosylation and motility in B. pseudomallei. This is the first report to conclusively demonstrate the presence of a carbohydrate covalently linked to a protein in B. pseudomallei and B. thailandensis, and it suggests new avenues to explore in order to examine the marked differences in virulence between these two species.