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      N. elongata Produces Type IV Pili That Mediate Interspecies Gene Transfer with N. gonorrhoeae

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          Abstract

          The genus Neisseria contains at least eight commensal and two pathogenic species. According to the Neisseria phylogenetic tree, commensals are basal to the pathogens. N. elongata, which is at the opposite end of the tree from N. gonorrhoeae, has been observed to be fimbriated, and these fimbriae are correlated with genetic competence in this organism. We tested the hypothesis that the fimbriae of N. elongata are Type IV pili (Tfp), and that Tfp functions in genetic competence. We provide evidence that the N. elongata fimbriae are indeed Tfp. Tfp, as well as the DNA Uptake Sequence (DUS), greatly enhance N. elongata DNA transformation. Tfp allows N. elongata to make intimate contact with N. gonorrhoeae and to mediate the transfer of antibiotic resistance markers between these two species. We conclude that Tfp functional for genetic competence is a trait of a commensal member of the Neisseria genus. Our findings provide a mechanism for the horizontal gene transfer that has been observed among Neisseria species.

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          Defining the healthy "core microbiome" of oral microbial communities

          Egija Zaura, Bart JF Keijser, Susan M. Huse … (2009)
          Background Most studies examining the commensal human oral microbiome are focused on disease or are limited in methodology. In order to diagnose and treat diseases at an early and reversible stage an in-depth definition of health is indispensible. The aim of this study therefore was to define the healthy oral microbiome using recent advances in sequencing technology (454 pyrosequencing). Results We sampled and sequenced microbiomes from several intraoral niches (dental surfaces, cheek, hard palate, tongue and saliva) in three healthy individuals. Within an individual oral cavity, we found over 3600 unique sequences, over 500 different OTUs or "species-level" phylotypes (sequences that clustered at 3% genetic difference) and 88 - 104 higher taxa (genus or more inclusive taxon). The predominant taxa belonged to Firmicutes (genus Streptococcus, family Veillonellaceae, genus Granulicatella), Proteobacteria (genus Neisseria, Haemophilus), Actinobacteria (genus Corynebacterium, Rothia, Actinomyces), Bacteroidetes (genus Prevotella, Capnocytophaga, Porphyromonas) and Fusobacteria (genus Fusobacterium). Each individual sample harboured on average 266 "species-level" phylotypes (SD 67; range 123 - 326) with cheek samples being the least diverse and the dental samples from approximal surfaces showing the highest diversity. Principal component analysis discriminated the profiles of the samples originating from shedding surfaces (mucosa of tongue, cheek and palate) from the samples that were obtained from solid surfaces (teeth). There was a large overlap in the higher taxa, "species-level" phylotypes and unique sequences among the three microbiomes: 84% of the higher taxa, 75% of the OTUs and 65% of the unique sequences were present in at least two of the three microbiomes. The three individuals shared 1660 of 6315 unique sequences. These 1660 sequences (the "core microbiome") contributed 66% of the reads. The overlapping OTUs contributed to 94% of the reads, while nearly all reads (99.8%) belonged to the shared higher taxa. Conclusions We obtained the first insight into the diversity and uniqueness of individual oral microbiomes at a resolution of next-generation sequencing. We showed that a major proportion of bacterial sequences of unrelated healthy individuals is identical, supporting the concept of a core microbiome at health.
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            Type IV pili and twitching motility.

            John S. Mattick (2002)
            Twitching motility is a flagella-independent form of bacterial translocation over moist surfaces. It occurs by the extension, tethering, and then retraction of polar type IV pili, which operate in a manner similar to a grappling hook. Twitching motility is equivalent to social gliding motility in Myxococcus xanthus and is important in host colonization by a wide range of plant and animal pathogens, as well as in the formation of biofilms and fruiting bodies. The biogenesis and function of type IV pili is controlled by a large number of genes, almost 40 of which have been identified in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A number of genes required for pili assembly are homologous to genes involved in type II protein secretion and competence for DNA uptake, suggesting that these systems share a common architecture. Twitching motility is also controlled by a range of signal transduction systems, including two-component sensor-regulators and a complex chemosensory system.
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              DNA uptake during bacterial transformation.

              Inês Chen, David Dubnau (2004)
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                : Role: Editor
                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): PLoS One
                Journal ID (publisher-id): plos
                Journal ID (pmc): plosone
                Title: PLoS ONE
                Publisher: Public Library of Science (San Francisco, USA )
                ISSN (Electronic): 1932-6203
                Publication date Collection: 2011
                Publication date (Electronic): 22 June 2011
                Volume: 6
                Issue: 6
                Electronic Location Identifier: e21373
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Immunobiology and the BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
                [2 ]University Spectroscopy and Imaging Facilities, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
                [3 ]Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
                Monash University, Australia
                Author notes

                Conceived and designed the experiments: DLH NB NJW MS. Performed the experiments: DLH NB NJW AA JLS LMB. Analyzed the data: DLH NB JLS LMB MS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: LMB MS. Wrote the paper: DLH NB NJW AA LMB MS.

                Article
                Publisher ID: PONE-D-11-05996
                DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021373
                PMC ID: 3120873
                PubMed ID: 21731720
                SO-VID: 1b162fa7-4c81-4089-9217-4979fa49d9aa
                Copyright © Higashi et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
                History
                Date received : 31 March 2011
                Date accepted : 26 May 2011
                Page count
                Pages: 7
                Categories
                Subject: Research Article
                Subject: Biology
                Subject: Microbiology
                Subject: Bacterial Pathogens
                Subject: Gram Negative
                Subject: Bacteriology
                Subject: Bacterial Biofilms
                Subject: Bacterial Evolution
                Subject: Medical Microbiology

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Uncategorized
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                ScienceOpen disciplines: Uncategorized

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