Analysis of the complete nucleotide sequence of an Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae streptomycin-sulfonamide resistance plasmid, pMS260

pMS260 is an 8.1-kb non-conjugative but mobilizable plasmid that was isolated from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and encodes streptomycin (SM) and sulfonamide (SA) resistances. The analysis of the complete nucleotide sequence of the plasmid revealed a high degree of similarity between pMS260 and the broad-host-range IncQ family plasmids. pMS260 had a single copy of an origin of vegetative replication (oriV). This sequence was identical to a functional oriV of the IncQ-like plasmid pIE1130 that had been exogenously isolated from piggery manure. However, pMS260 did not carry the second IncQ plasmid RSF1010-like oriV region present in pIE1130. A pIE1130-identical transfer origin was also found in pMS260. In addition, the deduced amino acid sequences from 10 open reading frames identified in pMS260 were entirely or nearly identical to those from genes for the replication, mobilization, and SM-SA resistance of pIE1130, indicating that pMS260 belongs to the IncQ-1 gamma subgroup. pMS260 is physically indistinguishable from pIE1130 apart from two DNA regions that contain the chloramphenicol and kanamycin resistance genes (catIII and aphI, respectively) and the second oriV-like region of pIE1130. The codon bias analysis of each gene of pIE1130 and the presence of potential recombination sites in the sulII-strA intergenic regions suggest that pIE1130 seems to have acquired the catIII and aphI genes more recently than the other genes of pIE1130. Therefore, pMS260 may be the ancestor of pIE1130. Information regarding the broad-host-range replicon of pMS260 will be useful in the development of genetic systems for a wide range of bacteria including A. pleuropneumoniae.     

A single-step transconjugation system for the introduction of unmarked deletions into Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 7 using a sucrose sensitivity marker

Research on the porcine respiratory tract pathogen Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae requires the availability of improved genetic tools. Therefore, using the sacB gene of Bacillus subtilis, we developed a sucrose-based counterselection system that allows rapid curing of an Escherichia coli-A. pleuropneumoniae shuttle vector as well as the introduction of unmarked mutations into the A. pleuropneumoniae chromosome. A cassette containing the Tn903 kanamycin resistance determinant (km(r)) and the sacB gene expressed from the A. pleuropneumoniae omlA promoter was introduced by homologous recombination into the ureC gene of A. pleuropneumoniae. The resultant stable plasmid cointegrates were kanamycin-resistant, sucrose-sensitive, and urease-positive. A simple counterselection on sucrose-containing agar plates without an additional transconjugation step allowed the efficient isolation of urease-negative A. pleuropneumoniae mutants that had lost the km(r)-sacB cassette.     

构建胸膜肺炎放线杆菌apxIC基因插入突变株

目的：构建胸膜肺炎放线杆菌（APP）apxIC基因插入突变菌株,以鉴定ApxⅠ毒素的生物学特性。方法：根据apxⅠ核酸序列（U05042）设计1对引物,用于自APP血清10型参考菌株（D13039）基因组DNA中扩增apxIC基因及其上下游约2．8kb的基因片段,经克隆测序后在apxIC基因下游xbI酶切位点处插入约0．9kb的氯霉素（Chl）抗性基因表达盒,构建用于转化的转移载体pUIC-Chl^r,将转移载体DNA经电转化导入APP血清10型参考菌株中进行同源重组,以获得突变菌株。结果：在含有氯霉素的培养基中经筛选获得2株丧失溶血活性的突变菌株（D13039C-Chl^r）;利用PCR和Southern blot对突变菌株鉴定,显示氯霉素抗性基因已被插入细菌基因组中。结论：利用电转化和同源重组技术构建成功APP apxIC基因插入突变菌株,为分析ApxⅠ毒素的生物学特性,进而研制APP基因工程减毒活疫苗奠定了基础。     

Identification,cloning and characterization of rfaE of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 1, a gene involved in lipopolysaccharide inner-core biosynthesis

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is the causative agent of porcine pleuropneumonia and its lipopolysaccharides (LPS) have been identified as important adhesins involved in adherence to host cells. To better understand the role of LPS core in the virulence of this organism, the aim of the present study was to identify and clone genes involved in LPS core biosynthesis by complementation with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium mutants (rfaC, rfaD, rfaE and rfaF). Complementation with an A. pleuropneumoniae 4074 genomic library was successful with Salmonella mutant SL1102. This Salmonella deep-rough LPS mutant is defective for the rfaE gene, which is an ADP-heptose synthase. Novobiocin was used to select transformants that had the smooth-LPS type, since Salmonella strains with wild-type smooth-LPS are less permeable, therefore more resistant to hydrophobic antibiotics like novobiocin. We obtained a clone that was able to restore the wild-type smooth-LPS Salmonella phenotype after complementation. The wild-type phenotype was confirmed using phage (Felix-O, P22c.2 and Ffm) susceptibility and SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis). One of the open reading frames contained in the 3.3-kb insert in the plasmid encoded a 475-amino-acid protein with 71% identity and 85% similarity to the RfaE protein of S. enterica. We then attempted to generate an A. pleuropneumoniae rfaE mutant by gene replacement. The rfaE gene seems essential in A. pleuropneumoniae viability as we were unable to isolate a heptose-less knockout mutant.     

胸膜肺炎放线杆菌基因分型方法的建立及其临床应用

根据胸膜肺炎放线杆菌各血清型之间外毒素(Apx),外膜脂蛋白(OmlA),转铁蛋白B(TbpB)的基因差异,分别对各血清型进行PCR扩增,得到不同的特异性片段,可区分开生物Ⅰ型13个标准菌株血清型中的8个血清型。临床检测结果与血清学分型一致,将此分型系统用于临床送检的126份肺脏和42份扁桃体的病原学检测,可直接检测出胸膜肺炎放线杆菌感染。此方法还可以将一些尚未定型的菌株进行归类,弥补了血清学方法的不足,为细菌的流行病学调查提供了可靠的技术手段。     

Dispersal of a plasmid-borne chloramphenicol resistance gene in streptococcal and enterococcal plasmids

Plasmids coding for chloramphenicol resistance, five isolated from streptococci of groups A, B, and G, ten from enterococci (Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium), and two from staphylococci, were tested for sequence homology with the chloramphenicol resistance gene of pIP501, a 30-kb plasmid originally isolated from a group B Streptococcus. The 6.3-kb HindIII fragment of pIP501, known to carry the chloramphenicol resistance gene, was cloned into pBR322. A 1.6-kb portion of the cloned fragment, which included most of the chloramphenicol resistance gene, was used as probe in DNA-DNA hybridization experiments. Sequence homology was detected between the probe and four of the streptococcal, seven of the enterococcal, and one of the staphylococcal plasmids. The absence of hybridization between this probe and one plasmid isolated from a group B Streptococcus, as well as three isolated from E. faecalis, indicated that there are at least two different plasmid-borne chloramphenicol resistance determinants in the streptococci and in the enterococci.     

Construction and characterization of a live, attenuated apxIICA inactivation mutant of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae lacking a drug resistance marker

The apxIIC gene of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 7 was inactivated by homologous recombination using a sucrose counter-selectable marker system, resulting in a mutant strain that had no antibiotic resistance marker and expressed an inactivated ApxII toxin. The safety and immunogenicity of the mutant were evaluated in mice. The mutant strain caused no adverse effects in mice at doses up to 2 x 10(9) CFU via the intraperitoneal route while the parental strain induced total mortality at a dose of 2 x 10(7) CFU. Mice vaccinated intraperitoneally with the mutant strain had 100% and 70% protection against homologous (serotype 7) or heterologous (serotype 1, 3) challenge with A. pleuropneumoniae, respectively. The A. pleuropneumoniae mutant strain HB04C- and the counterselection method used in the study show promise in developing effective live vaccines for porcine pleuropneumonia and for other infections diseases of the respiratory system.     

Cloning of genes responsible for acetic acid resistance in Acetobacter aceti.

Five acetic acid-sensitive mutants of Acetobacter aceti subsp. aceti no. 1023 were isolated by mutagenesis with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine. Three recombinant plasmids that complemented the mutations were isolated from a gene bank of the chromosome DNA of the parental strain constructed in Escherichia coli by using cosmid vector pMVC1. One of these plasmids (pAR1611), carrying about a 30-kilobase-pair (kb) fragment that conferred acetic acid resistance to all five mutants, was further analyzed. Subcloning experiments indicated that a 8.3-kb fragment was sufficient to complement all five mutations. To identify the mutation loci and genes involved in acetic acid resistance, insertional inactivation was performed by insertion of the kanamycin resistance gene derived from E. coli plasmid pACYC177 into the cloned 8.3-kb fragment and successive integration into the chromosome of the parental strain. The results suggested that three genes, designated aarA, aarB, and aarC, were responsible for expression of acetic acid resistance. Gene products of these genes were detected by means of overproduction in E. coli by use of the lac promoter. The amino acid sequence of the aarA gene product deduced from the nucleotide sequence was significantly similar to those of the citrate synthases (CSs) of E. coli and other bacteria. The A. aceti mutants defective in the aarA gene were found to lack CS activity, which was restored by introduction of a plasmid containing the aarA gene. A mutation in the CS gene of E. coli was also complemented by the aarA gene. These results indicate that aarA is the CS gene.     

Association of the CAMP phenomenon in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae with the RTX toxins ApxI, ApxII and ApxIII

Abstract A non-hemolytic mutant of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 5 has a deletion spanning the entire apxI operon. Therefore it does not produce ApxI and is unable to secrete ApxII. This mutant also has lost the co-hemolytic CAMP effect which is characteristic of the species A. pleuropneumoniae . The CAMP effect is restored when the mutant is complemented in trans by the apxIBD genes cloned in a broad host range vector, thus permitting secretion of ApxII, or when the entire apxI operon is cloned in the mutant, thus restoring the original toxin phenotype ApxI⁺ ApxII⁺. When the toxins ApxI, ApxII or ApxIII individually are expressed and secreted from E. coli harboring recombinant plasmids containing the genes apxICA and apxIBD or apxIICA and apxIBD or apxIIICABD , respectively, the distinct CAMP phenomenon is produced by the recombinant strains. The CAMP phenomenon is strongest by the recombinant E. coli strain expressing the non-hemolytic ApxIII, somewhat less when ApxI is expressed, and weak when ApxII is expressed. In A. pleuropneumoniae the CAMP phenomenon is also strongest in those serotypes which express ApxIII. The CAMP phenomenon of A. pleuropneumoniae is assumed to be directly caused by any of the RTX-toxins ApxI, ApxII or ApxIII. A previously reported gene from A. pleuropneumoniae , named cfp or hlyX , which provides E. coli strains with a hemolytic character and a CAMP phenomenon, shows high similarity to the E. coli global regulation gene fnr , and which is able to complement a Δfnr mutant. This gene is assumed to have a regulatory effect on the expression of yet unknown genes giving the recombinant E. coli strains a hemolytic and CAMP phenomenon like appearance.     

Plasmid-encoded copper resistance in Lactococcus lactis

A 54-kb plasmid (pND306) from Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis 1252D encoded resistance to both Cu and Sn . The copper resistance determinant was subcloned on a 12.8-kb PvuII DNA fragment and mapped using a number of restriction endonucleases. Six other copper resistant lactococcal strains were also identified and all contained multiple plasmids. Plasmids in five of these strains showed strong hybridization with a probe made using the 12.8-kb DNA fragment, however no chromosomal homologs were detected. The copper resistance determinant was further isolated as a 10.6-kb SphI fragment and used to construct pND968 that expresses resistance to both copper and nisin.     

胸膜肺炎放线杆菌apxIC基因插入失活突变株构建及免疫原性分析

胸膜肺炎放线杆菌是引起猪传染性胸膜肺炎(APP)的呼吸道病原菌,其分泌的Apx毒素是最重要的毒力因子之一。为构建APP突变弱毒菌株,在apxIC基因下游XhoI酶切位点处插入氯霉素抗性基因(Chlr)制备转移载体,通过电转化导入APP血清10型参考菌株(D13039)进行同源重组,筛选获得apxIC基因插入突变菌株D13039C-Chlr。该突变菌株特性鉴定结果表明其溶血活性完全丧失,可正常增殖和分泌ApxI毒素,连续10次传代后基因组中插入的Chlr基因可稳定遗传,利用5个剂量(2×108CFU~2×106CFU)对每组3只小鼠腹腔攻毒结果显示突变菌株毒力较母源菌株降低至少100倍以上,将突变菌株作为弱毒活疫苗经滴鼻途径免疫仔猪后利用APP血清1型(4074)和血清10型(D13039)菌株攻毒进行免疫原性鉴定,结果显示血清1型攻毒后非免疫组4头仔猪全部死亡而免疫组4头中死亡2头,非免疫组肺损伤指数(34.4)显著高于免疫组(17.5),血清10型攻毒后非免疫组肺损伤指数(17.5)也高于免疫组(10.5),同时鼻拭子和肺组织样品的细菌重分离数及PCR检测阳性数非免疫组也明显高于免疫组,表明突变菌株作为弱毒活疫苗对仔猪具有一定的交叉免疫保护力。该突变菌株的构建为鉴定ApxI毒素活性及研制具有交叉保护活性的APP弱毒活疫苗奠定了基础。     

复合PCR鉴定胸膜肺炎放线杆菌方法的建立及初步应用

根据胸膜肺炎放线杆菌(Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae,App)apxIVA毒素基因序列和16SrRNA序列分别设计了一对特异性引物P1P4和一对通用引物S7S10,建立了检测App全部15个血清型的复合PCR方法。对App的15个血清型国际参考株和国内的11个App菌株进行检测,都能得到363bp和692bp的两个扩增片段。而放线杆菌等13株参考菌株只能得到692bp的扩增片段。该方法能将15个血清型的App菌株鉴定到种。检测的灵敏度达9pgDNA1300CFU。用建立的方法检测临床分离的302株可疑菌株,阳性4株,与其它鉴定方法相符。结果表明复合PCR可用于App菌株的鉴定。     

Cloning and analysis of the Clostridium perfringens tetracycline resistance plasmid, pCW3

Clostridium perfringens strain CW92 carries pCW3, a conjugative 47-kb plasmid that confers inducible resistance to tetracycline. The plasmid was examined by restriction endonuclease analysis and by cloning each of the five ClaI fragments of pCW3 in Escherichia coli, using pBR322. Analysis of the recombinant plasmids allowed the deduction of a detailed restriction map of pCW3. The tetracycline resistance determinant of pCW3 was mapped by examining the phenotype of recombinant E. coli clones derived from the cloning, into pUC vector plasmids, of EcoRI fragments from pCW3. The C. perfringens tetracycline resistance determinant was expressed in E. coli and was shown to be located on two juxtaposed EcoRI fragments which together encompass a 4-kb region of pCW3. Deletion experiments showed that the tetracycline resistance gene, and/or its control regions, contained internal EcoRI and SphI sites. E. coli strains that carried recombinant plasmids with only the 4-kb region were found to express tetracycline resistance constitutively. In contrast, recombinant plasmids harboring a 10.5-kb ClaI fragment of pCW3, that included the 4-kb region, coded for an inducible tetracycline resistance phenotype. The existence of a negatively regulated resistance gene, similar to that proposed for several other bacteria is postulated.     

Ohr, an in vivo-induced gene in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, is located on a genomic island and requires glutathione-S-transferase for activity

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is the causative agent of severe necrotizing pneumonia in swine. Previously, we identified the ohr gene encoding organic hydroperoxide reductase as specifically induced during infection of pigs, induced in vitro by organic peroxides but not other oxygen radicals, and present in A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes 1, 9 and 11 but not in other serotypes ( Shea & Mulks, 2002 ). Through analysis of flanking genomic sequence, we identify a homologue of gst , which encodes glutathione- S -transferase, immediately downstream of ohr and demonstrate that ohr-gst confers low but uninducible Ohr activity to serotype 5. We further identify a genomic island of 9.3 kb, flanked by lysR and araC homologues, in serotypes 1, 9 and 11, which contains ohr and gst . In serotypes 2–8, 10 and 12, this region of the genome contains a 1.1-kb islet with a putative transposase flanked by lysR and araC .     

Flagella and Motility in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae has been considered nonmotile and nonflagellate. In this work, it is demonstrated that A. pleuropneumoniae produces flagella composed of a 65-kDa protein with an N-terminal amino acid sequence that shows 100% identity with those of Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Shigella flagellins. The DNA sequence obtained through PCR of the fliC gene in A. pleuropneumoniae showed considerable identity (93%) in its 5' and 3' ends with the DNA sequences of corresponding genes in E. coli, Salmonella enterica, and Shigella spp. The motility of A. pleuropneumoniae was observed in tryptic soy or brain heart infusion soft agar media, and it is influenced by temperature. Flagella and motility may be involved in the survival and pathogenesis of A. pleuropneumoniae in pigs.     

Complete nucleotide sequences of 84.5- and 3.2-kb plasmids in the multi-antibiotic resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium U302 strain G8430

The multi-antibiotic resistant (MR) Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium phage type U302 strain G8430 exhibits the penta-resistant ACSSuT-phenotype (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfonamides and tetracycline), and is also resistant to carbenicillin, erythromycin, kanamycin, and gentamicin. Two plasmids, 3.2- and 84.5-kb in size, carrying antibiotic resistance genes were isolated from this strain, and the nucleotide sequences were determined and analyzed. The 3.2-kb plasmid, pU302S, belongs to the ColE1 family and carries the aph(3')-I gene (Kan(R)). The 84.5-kb plasmid, pU302L, is an F-like plasmid and contains 14 complete IS elements and multiple resistance genes including aac3, aph(3')-I, sulII, tetA/R, strA/B, bla(TEM-1), mph, and the mer operon. Sequence analyses of pU302L revealed extensive homology to various plasmids or transposons, including F, R100, pHCM1, pO157, and pCTX-M3 plasmids and TnSF1 transposon, in regions involved in plasmid replication/maintenance functions and/or in antibiotic resistance gene clusters. Though similar to the conjugative plasmids F and R100 in the plasmid replication regions, pU302L does not contain oriT and the tra genes necessary for conjugal transfer. This mosaic pattern of sequence similarities suggests that pU302L acquired the resistance genes from a variety of enteric bacteria and underscores the importance of a further understanding of horizontal gene transfer among the enteric bacteria.     

Worldwide distribution of the conjugative Clostridium perfringens tetracycline resistance plasmid, pCW3

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that all conjugative R-plasmids of Clostridium perfringens are closely related to the previously characterized tetracycline resistance plasmid, pCW3. Fourteen conjugative R-plasmids derived from 11 C. perfringens strains isolated in Australia, the United States, France, Belgium, and Japan were analyzed. Eleven of the plasmids encoded tetracycline resistance while three carried both tetracycline and chloramphenicol resistance. Each of these plasmids was compared, by restriction analysis, to the reference plasmid, pCW3. Seven of the tetracycline resistance plasmids had EcoRI, XbaI, and ClaI restriction profiles that were identical to those of the corresponding pCW3 digests. The seven remaining R-plasmids were different from pCW3. Comparison of partial restriction maps of these plasmids with a complete map of pCW3 indicated that they contained at least 17 kb of DNA that also was present in pCW3. Hybridization analysis confirmed that these plasmids shared substantial homology with pCW3. The three tetracycline and chloramphenicol resistance plasmids frequently lost a 6-kb chloramphenicol resistance segment during conjugation. Cloning experiments showed that the chloramphenicol resistance determinant was expressed in Escherichia coli and that the chloramphenicol resistance gene of one of these plasmids, pIP401, was contained within a 1.5-kb region of the 6-kb deletion segment. Hybridization analysis indicated that the deletion segment of pIP401 was related to those of the other two chloramphenicol resistance plasmids. During the course of this study, conjugative R-plasmids which appear to be identical to pCW3 or closely related to pCW3 were identified from C. perfringens strains from human, animal and environmental sources in five countries. It is concluded that C. perfringens strains in humans and animals throughout the world have overlapping gene pools and that all the conjugative C. perfringens R-plasmids examined probably evolved from a pCW3-like element.     

Application of the resident plasmid integration technique to construct a strain of Streptococcus godronii able to express the Bacillus circulans cycloisomaltooligosaccharide glucanotransferase gene,and secrete its active gene product

A novel transformation technique, resident plasmid integration, for the cloning of foreign DNA in oral streptococci was described recently (T. Shiroza and H. K. Kuramitsu, Plasmid, 1995, 34, 85–95). This technique is based on the integration of linearized foreign genes by recombination-proficient bacteria onto a resident plasmid, if an appropriate selection marker is flanked by the same anchor sites present in the resident plasmid. Since the transforming vehicles for this system included a pUC-derived replication origin, the high level expression in Escherichia coli cells hindered the cloning of certain genes. In the present study, new plasmids were constructed, two resident plasmids, four integration plasmids, and four cloning plasmids, all of which possess the medium-copy number replication origin, p15A ori, isolated from pACYC177. The resident plasmids consisted of the following three components: the p15A ori (0.65-kb BglII fragment), the pVA380-1 basic replicon functional in mutans streptococci (2.5-kb BamHI fragment), and either an erythromycin resistance or a spectinomycin resistance gene (0.9- or 1.1-kb BamHI fragment, respectively). Most of the basic replicon of pVA380-1, except for the 3′-portion of the 0.2-kb region, in the resident plasmid was replaced with a kanamycin resistance gene to construct the four integration plasmids. Therefore, the upstream and downstream anchor sites for the double cross-over event in this new system were 0.65-kb p15A ori and the 0.2-kb portion of the 3′-end of pVA380-1 replicon, respectively. This system was used to clone the gene coding for cycloisomaltooligosaccharide glucanotransferase which produces cycloisomaltooligosaccharide, a potent inhibitor of oral streptococcal glucosyltransferase, isolated from Bacillus circulans chromosome, into Streptococcus gordonii, and its gene product was successfully secreted into the culture media. Plasmids described here should be useful tools for introducing heterologous DNA into resident plasmids following integration in oral streptococci.     

表达ApxIA的血清7型胸膜肺炎放线杆菌弱毒菌株的构建及特性分析

猪传染性胸膜肺炎是由胸膜肺炎放线杆菌引起的一种高度接触传染疾病,严重阻碍着全球养猪业的发展,疫苗接种是控制该病的有效措施。为提高胸膜肺炎放线杆菌弱毒疫苗的免疫效力,以及探索胸膜肺炎放线杆菌弱毒疫苗作为呼吸系统病原疫苗载体的可行性,通过穿梭质粒pJFF224-XN将完整的apxIA基因导入apxIIC基因缺失突变株HB04C-中,构建了含有apxIA和apxIIA基因的弱毒疫苗菌株HB04C2(apxIIC-/apxIIA+/apxIA+)。通过对HB04C2的生物学特性分析发现,穿梭质粒可稳定传代,并表达ApxIA,其生长特性未受穿梭质粒的影响。将HB04C2以气管接种方式免疫仔猪,可产生针对ApxIA和ApxIIA的抗体。二免后2周以高致病性的血清1型胸膜肺炎放线杆菌攻毒,该弱毒疫苗可提供良好的免疫保护效果。