Biology subjects

Clay, M. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Clay, M. E..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Within-host population structure, migration, and parallel adaptive evolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis lung disease

Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) are comprised of heterogeneous populations, most often tracing ancestry back to a single recent common ancestor. What is not clear is the physical spatial structure within the lung infection population, its stability over time and whether this physical structure leads to different evolutionary trajectories in different adaptive environments. To compare the P. aeruginosa populations across a single lung, we performed whole genome sequence analyses of 450 isolates recovered from lavage samples of the three different lobes of the right lung from a person with mild-to-moderate CF lung disease at three time points over the course of [~]1.5 years. We found that isolates fell into five distinct phylogenetic lineages with evidence for repeated translocation of isolates from different lineages across lobes and loss-of-function mutations in lasR and mucA were present in all 450 isolates. The well-resolved phylogenetic analyses revealed a structured population in which we find the coexistence of a slowly evolving lineage and more rapidly evolving lineages. There is also support for numerous migration events. Further, strong evidence for parallel adaptive mutations in multiple genes revealed distinct evolutionary paths affecting mucoid phenotypes and genetic variation in antibiotic resistance-associated pathways across coexisting populations within a single individual over time. These results provide an example of within-host evolution leading to microheterogeneity that may be useful to consider in future study of infection metapopulations dynamics over the course of chronic infection. IMPORTANCEIndividuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) commonly have chronic lung infections that contain clonally derived Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations with genotypic and phenotypic diversity. This study describes a substantial dataset containing 450 isolates from different lobes of the right lung across three timepoints from an individual with mild-to-moderate CF lung disease. Some regional enrichment for specific lineages with parallel mutations among individual lobes of the lung was observed, but longitudinal analysis also demonstrated that compartmentalization is not strictly maintained and that isolates migrate between lobes of the lung over time. Perspectives on within lung evolution will be important for understanding the pathogen populations in chronic respiratory infections in CF and other diseases.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2019

Pseudomonas aeruginosa lasR mutant fitness in microoxia is supported by an Anr-regulated oxygen-binding hemerythrin

Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains with loss-of-function mutations in the transcription factor are frequently encountered in the clinic and the environment. Among the characteristics common to LasR-defective (LasR-) strains is increased activity of the transcription factor Anr, relative to their LasR+ counterparts, in low oxygen conditions. One of the Anr-regulated genes that was highly induced in the LasR-strains encoded a putative oxygen-binding hemerythrin encoded by PA14_42860 (PA1673) which we named mhr for microoxic hemerythrin. Purified P. aeruginosa Mhr protein contained the predicted di-iron center and binds oxygen with a Kd of 1 {micro}M. Both Anr and Mhr were necessary for fitness in lasR+ and lasR mutant strains in colony biofilms grown in microoxic conditions, and the effects were more striking in the lasR mutant. Among genes in the Anr regulon, mhr was most closely co-regulated with the Anr-controlled high affinity cytochrome c oxidase genes and in the absence of high affinity cytochrome c oxidase activity, deletion of mhr no longer caused a fitness disadvantage suggesting that Mhr works in concert with microoxic respiration. We demonstrate that Anr and Mhr contribute to LasR-strain fitness even in the normoxic biofilm conditions, and metabolomics data indicate that in a lasR mutant, expression of Anr-regulated mhr leads to differences in metabolism in cells grown on LB and artificial sputum medium. Together these data indicate that increased Anr activity in microoxically-grown lasR mutants confers an advantage in part for its regulation of the O2 binding protein Mhr.\n\nSignificancePseudomonas aeruginosa, a versatile bacterium that both lives in environmental habitats and causes life-threatening opportunistic infections, uses quorum sensing to coordinate gene expression with cell density. The lasR gene, which encodes a quorum sensing regulator, is often deleteriously mutated in clinical isolates. Interestingly, LasR-strains have high activity of the oxygen-sensitive transcription factor Anr in microoxic conditions. This report identifies and characterizes an Anr-regulated microoxic hemerythrin that reversibly binds oxygen. We showed both anr and mhr are critical to fitness in microoxia, and these genes uniquely benefit LasR-strains in normoxia. Our findings enrich our understanding of the success of P. aeruginosa as a pulmonary resident through its propensity to lose LasR functionality in the context of low-oxygen infection environments.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2019

Ethanol stimulates trehalose production through a SpoT-DksA-AlgU dependent pathway in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa frequently resides among ethanol-producing microbes, making its response to these microbially-produced concentrations of ethanol relevant to understanding its biology. Our ranscriptome analysis found that the genes involved in trehalose metabolism were induced by low concentrations of ethanol, and levels of intracellular trehalose increased significantly upon growth with ethanol. The increase in trehalose was dependent on the TreYZ pathway, but not other trehalose metabolic enzymes TreS or TreA. The sigma factor AlgU (AlgT), a homolog of RpoE in other species, was required for increased expression of the treZ gene and trehalose levels, but induction was not controlled by the well-characterized proteolysis of its antisigma factor MucA. Growth with ethanol led to increased SpoT-dependent (p)ppGpp accumulation, which stimulates AlgU-dependent transcription of treZ and other AlgU-regulated genes through DksA, a (p)ppGpp and RNA polymerase binding protein. Ethanol stimulation of trehalose also required acylhomoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated quorum sensing, as induction was not observed in a {Delta}lasR{Delta}rhlR strain. A network analysis using a model, eADAGE, built from publicly available P. aeruginosa transcriptome datasets (1) provided strong support for our model that treZ and co-regulated genes are controlled by both AlgU and AHL-mediated QS (QS). Consistent with (p)ppGpp and AHL-mediated quorum sensing regulation, ethanol, even when added at the time of culture inoculation, stimulated treZ transcript levels and trehalose production in cells from post-exponential phase cultures but not from exponential phase cultures. These data highlight the integration of growth and cell density cues in the P. aeruginosa transcriptional response to ethanol.\n\nImportancePseudomonas aeruginosa is often found with bacteria and fungi that produce fermentation products including ethanol. At concentrations similar to those produced by environmental microbes, we found that ethanol stimulated expression of trehalose biosynthetic genes and cellular levels of trehalose, a disaccharide that protects against environmental stresses. The induction of trehalose by ethanol required the alternative sigma factor AlgU through DksA and SpoT-dependent (p)ppGpp. Trehalose accumulation also required AHL quorum sensing and only occurred in post-exponential phase cultures. This work highlights how cells integrate cell-density and growth cues in their responses to products made by other microbes and a reveals a new role for (p)ppGpp in the regulation of AlgU activity.

microbiology↗