Characterization of the recA gene regions of Spiroplasma citri and Spiroplasma melliferum.

In previous studies (A. Marais, J. M. Bove, and J. Renaudin, J. Bacteriol. 178:862-870, 1996), we have shown that the recA gene of Spiroplasma citri R8A2 was restricted to the first 390 nucleotides of the N-terminal part. PCR amplification and sequencing studies of five additional strains of S. citri have revealed that these strains had the same organization at the recA region as the R8A2 strain. In contrast to S. citri, Spiroplasma melliferum was found to contain a full-length recA gene. However, in all five S. melliferum strains tested, a TAA stop codon was found within the N-terminal region of the recA reading frame. Our results suggest that S. melliferum, as well as S. citri, is RecA deficient. In agreement with the recA mutant genotype of S. citri and S. melliferum, we have shown that these organisms are highly sensitive to UV irradiation.     

Probable insensitivity of mollicutes to rifampin and characterization of spiroplasmal DNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

The effect of rifampin on five mollicutes (Spiroplasma citri, Spiroplasma melliferum, Spiroplasma apis, Acholeplasma laidlawii, and Mycoplasma mycoides) was compared with that on Escherichia coli. We found that, in contrast to wild-type E. coli, mollicutes were insensitive to rifampin. DNA-dependent RNA polymerases from S. melliferum and S. apis were purified to the stage where the enzymes were dependent on the addition of exogenous templates for activity. The enzymes were then tested for their sensitivity to rifampin. Spiroplasmal enzymes were at least 1,000 times less sensitive to rifampin than the corresponding E. coli enzyme. This result provides a molecular basis for the resistance of mollicutes to rifampin. The RNA polymerase of S. melliferum was further purified and its subunit composition was investigated. The RNA polymerase has one small and two large subunits. The structure of S. melliferum RNA polymerase therefore resembles that of the eubacterial enzymes in spite of its insensitivity to rifampin.     

Antigenic relatedness between the spiralins of Spiroplasma citri and Spiroplasma melliferum.

Four spiralins were compared by rocket immunoelectrophoresis, quantitative immunoblotting techniques, and the spiroplasma deformation test with the use of antispiralin (polyclonal) monospecific antibodies. This investigation revealed that the spiralins of Spiroplasma citri and S. melliferum are antigenically related and that probably no more than two epitopes simultaneously saturable with antibodies are shared by the two proteins. One at least of these epitopes is accessible to antibodies on the spiroplasma cell surface.     

Spiralins of Spiroplasma citri and Spiroplasma melliferum: amino acid sequences and putative organization in the cell membrane

Spiralin is the major membrane protein of the helical mollicute Spiroplasma citri. A similar protein occurs in the membrane of Spiroplasma melliferum, an organism related to S. citri. The gene encoding spiralin has been sequenced. A restriction fragment of the spiralin gene has been used as a probe to detect the gene encoding S. melliferum spiralin. A 4.6-kilobase-pair ClaI DNA fragment from S. melliferum strongly hybridized with the probe. This fragment was inserted in pBR322 and cloned in Escherichia coli. It was further subcloned in the replicative forms of M13mp18 and M13mp19, and its nucleotide sequence was determined (GenBank accession number M33991). An open reading frame showing 88.6% base sequence homology with the S. citri spiralin gene could be identified and was assumed to be the gene encoding S. melliferum spiralin. The deduced amino acid sequence of the protein had 75% homology with the spiralin sequence. In particular, the two proteins possess a stretch of 20 amino acids which can form an alpha-helix, in which all polar amino acids occupy approximately one-third of the axial projection down the helix. On the basis of these data and published data, we propose a topological model for the structural organization of the spiralin in the cell membrane of spiroplasmas.     

分离自我国蜜蜂的一株新的致病螺原体及其基本特性

【目的】通过分析分离自我国患病蜜蜂体内的螺原体MF1006的基本生物学特征,初步确定其分类地位及致病性。【方法】应用暗视野显微镜和透射电子显微镜观察螺原体形态,运用常规螺原体分离和培养方法、分子生物学方法和血清学方法研究螺原体分离菌株可能的分类地位,并采用饲喂接种法研究其致病性。【结果】菌株MF1006具有典型的螺旋形和运动性,能通过0.22μm孔径的滤膜,与我国之前发现的引起蜜蜂螺原体病的参比菌株Spiroplasma melliferum CH-1的基本生物学特征差异较大。S.melliferum CH-1抗血清对其没有抑制作用。根据16S rDNA、ITS序列构建系统发育树显示,菌株MF1006与在法国发现的引起蜜蜂"五月病"的Spiroplasma apis的亲缘关系最近。此外,菌株MF1006对供试意蜂有较强的致病性。【结论】分离菌株MF1006是在我国蜜蜂体内发现的除S.melliferum以外的另一种致病螺原体。     

蜜蜂螺原体细胞骨架相关基因mreB的克隆表达及在螺原体二种形态时的表达差异

【目的】在大肠杆菌中克隆表达蜜蜂螺原体细胞骨架相关基因mreB1?5,并预测所编码蛋白的理化性质,分析这些基因在螺原体螺旋状和非螺旋状时的表达水平,为进一步分析该基因的功能奠定基础。【方法】通过PCR扩增,从Spiroplasma melliferum CH-1基因组中获得mreB1?5基因,构建的重组表达载体pETmreB1?5分别在大肠杆菌BL21中诱导表达,利用镍亲和树脂纯化重组蛋白,通过在线工具预测MreB蛋白质的理化性质和功能域。利用Real-Time PCR比较螺原体CH-1在两种不同形态时mreB1?5基因的表达量。【结果】成功克隆到5个mreB基因,并在大肠杆菌BL21中高效表达。MreB蛋白分子量分别为36、23、23、37和25 kD,可能均为疏水性的蛋白,属于MreB/Mbl蛋白质家族。荧光定量PCR结果显示,螺原体在非螺旋状时mreB1?5基因的表达水平均远低于在螺旋状时基因的表达水平。【结论】本文第一次克隆表达了螺原体细胞骨架相关基因mreB1?5,初步表明这些基因在螺原体形态方面可能具有重要作用,为后续研究螺原体mreB基因在其运动和形态方面的功能提供了重要信息。     

Application of Spiroplasma melliferum proteogenomic profiling for the discovery of virulence factors and pathogenicity mechanisms in host-associated spiroplasmas

To date, no genome of any of the species from the genus Spiroplasma has been completely sequenced. Long repetitive sequences similar to mobile units present a major obstacle for current genome sequencing technologies. Here, we report the assembly of the Spiroplasma melliferum KC3 genome into 4 contigs, followed by proteogenomic annotation and metabolic reconstruction based on the discovery of 521 expressed proteins and comprehensive metabolomic profiling. A systems approach allowed us to elucidate putative pathogenicity mechanisms and to discover major virulence factors, such as Chitinase utilization enzymes and toxins never before reported for insect pathogenic spiroplasmas.     

Biosafety of an Experimentally Proven Mosquito Vector Pathogen,Spiroplasma taiwanense

A candidate biocontrol agent of mosquito vectors Spiroplasma taiwanense, was demonstrated not to persist (31 days post‐inoculation) or to reduce body weight of intra‐cerebrally inoculated suckling Swiss mice or suckling Sprague‐Dawley rats. It did not multiply or persist in mouse neuroblastoma 2A cells in vitro, nor did it reduce survival of the domestic honey bee Apis mellifera caucasica (a beneficial insect species). Preparations of this organism used throughout this study were verified for pathogenicity in female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. S. taiwanense, originally isolated from mosquitoes, may thus prove to possess pathogenicity restricted to mosquitoes. S. melliferum was used as a positive control for intra‐cerebral re‐isolation and pathogenicity in mice, rats and mouse neuroblastoma cells.     

A 57-kilodalton protein associated with Spiroplasma melliferum fibrils undergoes reversible phosphorylation.

Phosphorylation of a major 57-kilodalton protein substrate was observed in cell lysates of Spiroplasma melliferum BC3 incubated with [gamma-32P]ATP. Only serine phosphates have been isolated from the acid hydrolysate of the phosphorylated protein. The 57-kilodalton protein substrate was found, to a large extent, in the cytosolic fraction and, to a lesser extent, associated with cell membranes and was detected in the Triton X-100-insoluble fraction that contained fibrils.     

蜜蜂螺原体的分离鉴定及致病性研究

从患"爬蜂病"的蜜蜂体内分离到一株螺原体M10,具有典型的螺原体形态和运动性,能透过0.22μm孔径的滤膜,在含青霉素浓度为2000U/mL的R-2培养基中生长良好。该菌株生长需要血清,能利用葡萄糖、精氨酸、不能利用尿素,其16S rDNA序列与Spiroplasma melliferum BC-3(=ATCC33219)同源性为99.86%。通过饲喂菌液的方式,发现供试蜜蜂4d开始出现"爬蜂病"病症,15d内71%的蜜蜂死亡,说明M10对蜜蜂具有较强的致病性,且感染致死的蜜蜂体内螺原体的分离率为100%,利用螺原体特异性16S rDNA引物在感染致死的蜜蜂的不同部位(头、胸、腹、足)均能扩增出螺原体16S rDNA,反映了螺原体对蜜蜂的系统性侵染。     

Procaryotic and eucaryotic traits of DNA methylation in spiroplasmas (mycoplasmas).

Differences in the type of base methylated (cytosine or adenine) and in the extent of methylation were detected by high-pressure liquid chromatography in the DNAs of five spiroplasmas. Nearest neighbor analysis and digestion by restriction enzyme isoschizomers also revealed differences in methylation sequence specificity. Whereas in Spiroplasma floricola and Spiroplasma sp. strain PPS-1 5-methylcytosine was found on the 5' side of each of the four major bases, the cytosine in Spiroplasma apis DNA was methylated only when its 3' neighboring base was adenine or thymine. In Spiroplasma sp. strain MQ-1 over 95% of the methylated cytosine was in C-G sequences. Essentially all of the C-G sequences in the MQ-1 DNA were methylated. Partially purified extracts of S. apis and Spiroplasma sp. strain MQ-1 were used to study substrate and sequence specificity of the methylase activity. Methylation by the MQ-1 enzyme was exclusively at C-G sequences, resembling in this respect eucaryotic DNA methylases. However, the MQ-1 methylase differed from eucaryotic methylases by showing high activity on nonmethylated DNA duplexes, low activity with hemimethylated DNA duplexes, and no activity on single-stranded DNA.     

Spiralin Diversity Within Iranian Strains of Spiroplasma citri

The first-cultured and most-studied spiroplasma is Spiroplasma citri, the causal agent of citrus stubborn disease, one of the three plant-pathogenic, sieve-tube-restricted, and leafhopper vector-transmitted mollicutes. In Iranian Fars province, S. citri cultures were obtained from stubborn affected citrus trees, sesame and safflower plants, and from the leafhopper vector Circulifer haematoceps. Spiralin gene sequences from different S. citri isolates were amplified by PCR, cloned, and sequenced. Phylogenetic trees based on spiralin gene sequence showed diversity and indicated the presence of three clusters among the S. citri strains. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of eleven spiralins from Iranian strains and those from the reference S. citri strain GII-3 (241 aa), Palmyre strain (242 aa), Spiroplasma kunkelii (240 aa), and Spiroplasma phoeniceum (237 aa) confirmed the conservation of general features of the protein. However, the spiralin of an S. citri isolate named Shiraz I comprised 346 amino acids and showed a large duplication of the region comprised between two short repeats previously identified in S. citri spiralins. We report in this paper the spiralin diversity in Spiroplasma strains from southern Iran and for the first time a partial internal duplication of the spiralin gene.     

Sequence Analysis of Spiroplasma phoeniceum and Spiroplasma kunkelii Spiralin Genes and Comparison with Other Spiralin Genes

The spiralin genes from two phytopathogenic spiroplasmas, Spiroplasma phoeniceum and Spiroplasma kunkelii, were amplified by PCR, cloned, and sequenced. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of the five spiralins analyzed to date confirm that the spiralins have a general amphiphilic character and possess a conserved lipoprotein signal peptide. It also shows that a conserved central region and an amino acid repetition, including a VTKXE consensus sequence, are present in all spiralins analyzed. Received: 11 March 1997 / Accepted: 14 April 1997     

Asymmetrical interactions between Wolbachia and Spiroplasma endosymbionts coexisting in the same insect host

We investigated the interactions between the endosymbionts Wolbachia pipientis strain wMel and Spiroplasma sp. strain NSRO coinfecting the host insect Drosophila melanogaster. By making use of antibiotic therapy, temperature stress, and hemolymph microinjection, we established the following strains in the same host genetic background: the SW strain, infected with both Spiroplasma and Wolbachia; the S strain, infected with Spiroplasma only; and the W strain, infected with Wolbachia only. The infection dynamics of the symbionts in these strains were monitored by quantitative PCR during host development. The infection densities of Spiroplasma exhibited no significant differences between the SW and S strains throughout the developmental course. In contrast, the infection densities of Wolbachia were significantly lower in the SW strain than in the W strain at the pupal and young adult stages. These results indicated that the interactions between the coinfecting symbionts were asymmetrical, i.e., Spiroplasma organisms negatively affected the population of Wolbachia organisms, while Wolbachia organisms did not influence the population of Spiroplasma organisms. In the host body, the symbionts exhibited their own tissue tropisms: among the tissues examined, Spiroplasma was the most abundant in the ovaries, while Wolbachia showed the highest density in Malpighian tubules. Strikingly, basically no Wolbachia organisms were detected in hemolymph, the principal location of Spiroplasma. These results suggest that different host tissues act as distinct microhabitats for the symbionts and that the lytic process in host metamorphosis might be involved in the asymmetrical interactions between the coinfecting symbionts.     

Chemical analysis of processing of spiralin, the major lipoprotein of Spiroplasma melliferum

The plasma membrane of Spiroplasma melliferum contains a major membrane-associated lipoprotein called spiralin. In this study, the processing pathway of spiralin was investigated by chemical analysis of the purified protein and by using [35S]cysteine, [35S]methionine, [14C]myristic acid (14C-14:0), [14C]palmitic acid (14C-16:0), and globomycin. SDS-PAGE analysis of membrane proteins showed the leader peptide cleavage of prospiralin and provided evidence for an apparent selectivity in the acylation: the unprocessed protein was labelled with 14C-16:0 only (O-ester-linked acyl chains), and the mature form with both 14C-labelled fatty acids (O-ester-linked + amide-linked chains). Chemical analysis of the purified protein revealed that spiralin contains S-glycerylcysteine and is covalently modified with two O-ester-linked acyl chains and one amide-linked fatty acid chain. However, a specific selectivity in the O- and the N-acylations was not confirmed; palmitate and stearate were the major components. The amounts of O-ester- and amide-linked acyl chains, the resistance to Edman degradation and the presence of S-glycerylcysteine together indicate that spiralin is a "classical" lipoprotein (i.e. is triacylated) and is probably processed by a mechanism similar to that described for gram-negative eubacteria. On the basis of these findings, a biogenesis pathway for spiralin is proposed.     

Spiroplasma membrane lipids.

Membranes of six spiroplasma strains belonging to different Spiroplasma species and subgroups were isolated by a combination of osmotic lysis and sonication in the presence of EDTA to block endogenous phospholipase activity. Analysis of membrane lipids showed that in addition to free and esterified cholesterol the spiroplasmas incorporated exogenous phospholipids from the growth medium. Sphingomyelin was preferentially incorporated from phosphatidylcholine-sphingomyelin vesicles or from the serum used to supplement the growth medium. Palmitate was incorporated better than oleate into membrane lipids synthesized by the organisms during growth. The major phospholipid synthesized by the spiroplasmas was phosphatidylglycerol. The positional distribution of the fatty acids in phosphatidylglycerol of Spiroplasma floricola resembled that found in Mycoplasma species, in which the saturated fatty acids prefer position 2 in the glycerol backbone and not position 1 as found in Acholeplasma species and elsewhere in nature. Electron paramagnetic resonance analysis of spin-labeled fatty acids incorporated into S. floricola membranes exhibited homogeneous single-component spectra without immobilized regions. The S. floricola membranes were more rigid than those of Acholeplasma laidlawii and less rigid than those of Mycoplasma gallisepticum.     

分离自蜜蜂(Apis mellifera)的三株螺原体的基本特性

【目的】调查我国蜜蜂螺原体的种类,研究它们的基本生物学特性,初步确定其分类地位,为研究螺原体在自然界中的传播途径提供依据。【方法】螺原体的分离、培养方法,应用暗视野显微镜和透射电子显微镜观察螺原体形态,运用分子生物学方法(选16S rDNA、ITS、rpoB基因进行系统发育分析)和血清学方法(生长抑制试验、代谢抑制试验、菌体变形试验)研究螺原体分离菌株可能的分类地位。【结果】从健康的意蜂(Apis mellifera)体内分离到3株螺原体MF0903、MF0904、MF0905。3株螺原体都呈典型的螺旋状,但菌株MF0905的菌体短小,螺旋数较少;MF0903和MF0904菌落呈规则的圆形,MF0905菌落近圆形、较大;它们都能利用葡萄糖、D-果糖作为碳源,不能利用尿素;菌株MF0903、MF0904能强烈代谢精氨酸、不能利用蔗糖作为碳源,而MF0905不能代谢精氨酸、能利用蔗糖作为碳源;根据16S rDNA、ITS、rpoB基因序列构建系统发育树显示,分离菌株MF0903、MF0904与Spiroplasma melliferum聚类较近,而MF0905与Spiroplasma clarkii聚类较近。生长抑制试验、代谢抑制试验、菌体变形试验结果均表明标准菌株Spiroplasma melliferum CH-1的抗血清对菌株MF0905没有抑制作用,而能抑制菌株MF0903和MF0904生长。【结论】分离菌株MF0903、MF0904属于Spiroplasma melliferum,而MF0905可能是Spiroplasma clarkii,这表明我国蜜蜂中存在的螺原体不仅仅是Spiroplasma melliferum。     

Resistance of Spiroplasma citri Lines to the Virus SVTS2 Is Associated with Integration of Viral DNA Sequences into Host Chromosomal and Extrachromosomal DNA

Spiroplasmavirus SVTS2, isolated from Spiroplasma melliferum TS2, produces plaques when inoculated onto lawns of Spiroplasma citri M200H, a derivative of the type strain Maroc R8A2. S. citri strains MR2 and MR3, originally selected as colonies growing within plaques on a lawn of M200H inoculated with SVTS2, were resistant to SVTS2. Genomic DNA fingerprints and electrophoretic protein profiles of M200H, MR2, and MR3 were similar, but three proteins present in M200H were missing or significantly reduced in both resistant lines. None of these three polypeptides reacted with antiserum against S. citri membrane proteins, indicating that they probably are not surface-located virus receptors. Electroporation with SVTS2 DNA produced 1.5 x 10(sup5) transfectants per (mu)g of DNA in M200H but none in MR2 or MR3, suggesting that resistance may result from inhibition of viral replication. The digestion patterns of the extrachromosomal double-stranded (ds) DNA of these lines were similar. Three TaqI fragments of MR2 extrachromosomal DNA that were not present in M200H extrachromosomal DNA hybridized strongly to an SVTS2 probe, and two of these fragments plus an additional one hybridized with the MR3 extrachromosomal DNA, indicating that a fragment of SVTS2 DNA was present in the extrachromosomal ds DNA of MR2 and MR3 but not of M200H. When the restricted genomes of all three lines were probed with SVTS2 DNA, strong hybridization to two EcoRI fragments of chromosomal MR2 and MR3 DNA but not M200H DNA indicated that SVTS2 DNA had integrated into the genomes of MR2 and MR3 but not of M200H. When MR3 extrachromosomal ds DNA containing a 2.1-kb SVTS2 DNA fragment was transfected into M200H, the transformed spiroplasmas were resistant to SVTS2. These results suggest that SVTS2 DNA fragments, possibly integrated into the chromosomal or extrachromosomal DNA of a previously susceptible spiroplasma, may function as viral incompatibility elements, providing resistance to superinfection by SVTS2.