The impact of motility on the localization of Lactobacillus agilis in the murine gastrointestinal tract

Abstract Background While the overall composition of the mammalian gut microbiota has been intensively studied, the characteristics and ecologies of individual gut species are incompletely understood. Lactobacilli are considered beneficial commensals in the gastrointestinal mucosa and are relatively well-studied except for the uncommon species which exhibit motility. In this study, we evaluate the importance of motility on gut colonization by comparing motile and non-motile strains of Lactobacillus agilis in mice models. Results A flagellated but non-motile L. agilis strain was constructed by mutation of the motB gene. Colonization of the wild type and the mutant strain was assessed in both antibiotic-treated female Balb/c mice and gnotobiotic mice. The results suggest that the motile strain is better able to persist and/or localize in the gut mucosa. Chemotaxis assays indicated that the motile L. agilis strain is attracted by mucin, which is a major component of the intestinal mucus layer in animal guts. Conclusions Motility and chemotactic ability likely confer advantages in gut colonization to L. agilis. These findings suggest that the motile lactobacilli have unique ecologies compared to non-motile commensals of the lactic acid bacteria

Negative chemotaxis of Ligilactobacillus agilis BKN88 against gut-derived substances

Abstract Ligilactobacillus agilis is a motile lactic acid bacterium found in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals. The findings of our previous study suggest that the motility of L. agilis BKN88 enables gut colonization in murine models. However, the chemotactic abilities of motile lactobacilli remain unknown. This study aimed to identify the gut-derived chemoeffectors and their corresponding chemoreceptors in L. agilis BKN88. Chemotaxis assays with chemotactic and non-chemotactic (ΔcheA) L. agilis strains revealed that low pH, organic acids, and bile salts served as repellents. L. agilis BKN88 was more sensitive to bile and acid than the gut-derived non-motile lactobacilli, implying that L. agilis might utilize motility and chemotaxis instead of exhibiting stress tolerance/resistance. L. agilis BKN88 contains five putative chemoreceptor genes (mcp1–mcp5). Chemotaxis assays using a series of chemoreceptor mutants revealed that each of the five chemoreceptors could sense multiple chemoeffectors and that these chemoreceptors were functionally redundant. Mcp2 and Mcp3 sensed all tested chemoeffectors. This study provides further insights into the interactions between chemoreceptors and ligands of motile lactobacilli and the unique ecological and evolutionary features of motile lactobacilli, which may be distinct from those of non-motile lactobacilli

Insights into Detoxification of Tolaasins, the Toxins Behind Mushroom Bacterial Blotch, by Microbacterium foliorum NBRC 103072T

Tolaasins are lipodepsipeptides secreted by Pseudomonas tolaasii, the causal agent of brown blotch disease of mushroom, and are the toxins that cause the brown spots. We previously reported that Microbacterium foliorum NBRC 103072T is an effective tolaasin-detoxifying bacterium. In this study, we aimed to characterize the tolaasin-detoxification process of M. foliorum NBRC 103072T. The tolaasin detoxification by M. foliorum NBRC 103072T was carried out by hydrolyzation of tolaasins at two specific sites in the peptide moiety of tolaasins by its cells, and the resulting fragments were released from bacterial cells. The tolaasin-hydrolyzing activity can be extracted by a neutral detergent solution from M. foliorum NBRC 103072T cells. Moreover, tolaasin adsorption to the bacterial cells occurred prior to hydrolyzation of tolaasins, which might contribute to the effective tolaasin detoxification by M. foliorum NBRC 103072T. It is notable that the tolaasin-degradation process by M. foliorum NBRC 103072T is carried out by hydrolyzation at specific sites in the peptide moiety of lipopeptide by bacterial cells as a novel biological degradation process of cyclic lipopeptides.[Graphic: see text] Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license

Detoxification process of tolaasins, lipodepsipeptides, by <i>Microbacterium</i> sp. K3-5

<p>Tolaasins are antimicrobial lipodepsipeptides. Here, we report the tolaasins-detoxifying properties of <i>Microbacterium</i> sp. K3-5 (K3-5). The detoxification of tolaasins by K3-5 was performed by hydrolyzation of cyclic structure of tolaasins depending on the tolaasin-K3-5 cell interaction. Our data suggest that the cyclic structure of tolaasins is critical for its interaction to target cells.</p

Induction of MPER-specific antibody production by long-term immunization.

<p>Mice received GAD19 orally every 2 weeks for 14 weeks. (a) Diluted serum (1/100) was analyzed by ELISA at each time point. Arrows represent timing of the gavage. (b) Endpoint titers (or absorbance at 450 nm) of MPER-specific serum IgG, cecal IgA, vaginal IgA, and vaginal IgG. Each symbol represents an individual mouse.</p

Mucosal Immunogenicity of Genetically Modified <i>Lactobacillus acidophilus</i> Expressing an HIV-1 Epitope within the Surface Layer Protein

<div><p>Surface layer proteins of probiotic lactobacilli are theoretically efficient epitope-displaying scaffolds for oral vaccine delivery due to their high expression levels and surface localization. In this study, we constructed genetically modified <i>Lactobacillus acidophilus</i> strains expressing the membrane proximal external region (MPER) from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) within the context of the major S-layer protein, SlpA. Intragastric immunization of mice with the recombinants induced MPER-specific and S-layer protein-specific antibodies in serum and mucosal secretions. Moreover, analysis of systemic SlpA-specific cytokines revealed that the responses appeared to be Th1 and Th17 dominant. These findings demonstrated the potential use of the <i>Lactobacillus</i> S-layer protein for development of oral vaccines targeting specific peptides.</p></div