Genome-wide analysis reveals loci encoding anti-macrophage factors in the human pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei K96243
Abstract
Burkholderia pseudomallei is an important human pathogen whose infection biology is still poorly understood. The bacterium is endemic to tropical regions, including South East Asia and Northern Australia, where it causes melioidosis, a serious disease associated with both high mortality and antibiotic resistance. B. pseudomallei is a Gram-negative facultative intracellular pathogen that is able to replicate in macrophages. However despite the critical nature of its interaction with macrophages, few anti-macrophage factors have been characterized to date. Here we perform a genome-wide gain of function screen of B. pseudomallei strain K96243 to identify loci encoding factors with anti-macrophage activity. We identify a total of 113 such loci scattered across both chromosomes, with positive gene clusters encoding transporters and secretion systems, enzymes/toxins, secondary metabolite, biofilm, adhesion and signal response related factors. Further phenotypic analysis of four of these regions shows that the encoded factors cause striking cellular phenotypes relevant to infection biology, including apoptosis, formation of actin 'tails' and multi-nucleation within treated macrophages. The detailed analysis of the remaining host of loci will facilitate genetic dissection of the interaction of this important pathogen with host macrophages and thus further elucidate this critical part of its infection cycle.
Citation
Dowling , A J , Wilkinson , P A , Holden , M T G , Quail , M A , Bentley , S D , Reger , J , Waterfield , N R , Titball , R W & Ffrench-Constant , R H 2010 , ' Genome-wide analysis reveals loci encoding anti-macrophage factors in the human pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei K96243 ' , PLoS ONE , vol. 5 , no. 12 , 15693 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0015693
Publication
PLoS ONE
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1932-6203Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2010 Dowling 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.
Description
This work was supported by the UK government under BBSRC grant BB/E021182/1 to R.H.ff-C and N.R.W. and by the European Community Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 223328 (GAMEXP) to R.H.ff-C and N.W. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.