Pseudolysogeny and sequential mutations build multiresistance to virulent bacteriophages in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

International audienceCoevolution between bacteriophages and their prey is the result of mutualistic interactions. Here we show that pseudolysogeny is a frequent outcome of infection by virulent phages of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and that selection of resistant bacterial mutants is favored by continuous production of phages. We investigated the frequency and characteristics of P. aeruginosa strain PAO1 variants resisting infection by different combinations of virulent phages belonging to four genera. The frequency of resistant bacteria was 10-5 for single phage infection and 10-6 for infections with combinations of two or four phages. The genome of 27 variants was sequenced and the comparison with the genome of the parental PAO1 strain allowed the identification of point mutations or small indels. Four additional variants were characterized by a candidate gene approach. In total, 27 independent mutations were observed affecting 14 genes and a regulatory region. The mutations affected genes involved in biosynthesis of type IV pilus, alginate, LPS and O-antigen. Half of the variants possessed changes in homopolymer tracts responsible for frameshift mutations, and these phase variation mutants were shown to be unstable. Eleven double mutants were detected. The presence of free phage DNA was observed in association with exclusion of superinfection in half of the variants, and in three of them no chromosomal mutation could be found. Upon further growth of these pseudolysogens, some variants with new chromosomal mutations were recovered presumably due to continuous evolutionary pressure

A carrier state is established in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by phage LeviOr01, a newly isolated ssRNA levivirus

International audiencessRNA bacteriophages are very abundant but poorly studied, particularly in relation to their effect on bacterial evolution. We isolated a new Pseudomonas aeruginosa levivirus, vB_PaeL_PcyII-10_LeviOr01, from hospital waste water. Its genome comprises 3669 nucleotides and encodes four putative proteins. Following bacterial infection, a carrier state is established in a fraction of the cells, conferring superinfection immunity. Such cells also resist other phages that use type IV pili as a receptor. The carrier population is composed of a mixture of cells producing phage, and susceptible cells that are non-carriers. Carrier cells accumulate phage until they burst, releasing large quantities of virions. The continuous presence of phage favours the emergence of host variants bearing mutations in genes involved in type IV pilus biogenesis, but also in genes affecting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) synthesis. The establishment of a carrier state in which phage particles are continuously released was previously reported for some dsRNA phages, but has not previously been described for a levivirus. The present results highlight the importance of the carrier state, an association that benefits both phages and bacteria and plays a role in bacterial evolution

Investigation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PcyII-10 variants resisting infection by N4-like phage Ab09 in search for genes involved in phage adsorption

International audienceBacteria and their bacteriophages coexist and coevolve for the benefit of both in a mutualistic association. Multiple mechanisms are used by bacteria to resist phages in a trade-off between survival and maintenance of fitness. In vitro studies allow inquiring into the fate of virus and host in different conditions aimed at mimicking natural environment. We analyse here the mutations emerging in a clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain in response to infection by Ab09, a N4-like lytic podovirus and describe a variety of chromosomal deletions and mutations conferring resistance. Some deletions result from illegitimate recombination taking place during long-term maintenance of the phage genome. Phage variants with mutations in a tail fiber gene are selected during pseudolysogeny with the capacity to infect resistant cells and produce large plaques. These results highlight the complex host/phage association and suggest that phage Ab09 promotes bacterial chromosome rearrangements. Finally this study points to the possible role of two bacterial genes in Ab09 phage adhesion to the cell, rpsB encoding protein S2 of the 30S ribosomal subunit and ORF1587 encoding a Wzy-like membrane protein involved in LPS biosynthesis

The Basis for Natural Multiresistance to Phage in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is responsible for long-term infections and is particularly resistant to treatments when hiding inside the extracellular matrix or biofilms. Phage therapy might represent an alternative to antibiotic treatment, but up to 10% of clinical strains appear to resist multiple phages. We investigated the characteristics of P. aeruginosa clinical strains naturally resistant to phages and compared them to highly susceptible strains. The phage-resistant strains were defective in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis, were nonmotile and displayed an important degree of autolysis, releasing phages and pyocins. Complete genome sequencing of three resistant strains showed the existence of a large accessory genome made of multiple insertion elements, genomic islands, pyocins and prophages, including two phages performing lateral transduction. Mutations were found in genes responsible for the synthesis of LPS and/or type IV pilus, the major receptors for most phages. CRISPR-Cas systems appeared to be absent or inactive in phage-resistant strains, confirming that they do not play a role in the resistance to lytic phages but control the insertion of exogenous sequences. We show that, despite their apparent weakness, the multiphage-resistant strains described in this study displayed selective advantages through the possession of various functions, including weapons to eliminate other strains of the same or closely related species

Implementation of a Nanopore metagenomic workflow for time-series of complex microbial communities: MAG catalog and functional annotation.

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Large Preferred Region for Packaging of Bacterial DNA by phiC725A, a Novel Pseudomonas aeruginosa F116-Like Bacteriophage.

Bacteriophage vB_PaeP_PAO1_phiC725A (short name phiC725A) was isolated following mitomycin C induction of C7-25, a clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain carrying phiC725A as a prophage. The phiC725A genome sequence shows similarity to F116, a P. aeruginosa podovirus capable of generalized transduction. Likewise, phiC725A is a podovirus with long tail fibers. PhiC725A was able to lysogenize two additional P. aeruginosa strains in which it was maintained both as a prophage and in an episomal state. Investigation by deep sequencing showed that bacterial DNA carried inside phage particles originated predominantly from a 700-800kb region, immediately flanking the attL prophage insertion site, whether the phages were induced from a lysogen or recovered after infection. This indicates that during productive replication, recombination of phage genomes with the bacterial chromosome at the att site occurs occasionally, allowing packaging of adjacent bacterial DNA

Investigation of the Phageome and Prophages in French Cider, a Fermented Beverage

International audiencePhageomes are known to play a key role in the functioning of their associated microbial communities. The phageomes of fermented foods have not been studied thoroughly in fermented foods yet, and even less in fermented beverages. Two approaches were employed to investigate the presence of phages in cider, a fermented beverage made from apple, during a fermentation process of two cider tanks, one from an industrial producer and one from a hand-crafted producer. The phageome (free lytic phages) was explored in cider samples with several methodological developments for total phage DNA extraction, along with single phage isolation. Concentration methods, such as tangential flow filtration, flocculation and classical phage concentration methods, were employed and tested to extract free phage particles from cider. This part of the work revealed a very low occurrence of free lytic phage particles in cider. In parallel, a prophage investigation during the fermentation process was also performed using a metagenomic approach on the total bacterial genomic DNA. Prophages in bacterial metagenomes in the two cider tanks seemed also to occur in low abundance, as a total of 1174 putative prophages were identified in the two tanks overtime, and only two complete prophages were revealed. Prophage occurrence was greater at the industrial producer than at the hand-crafted producer, and different dynamics of prophage trends were also observed during fermentation. This is the first report dealing with the investigation of the phageome and of prophages throughout a fermentation process of a fermented beverage

Complete Genome Sequence of PM105, a New Pseudomonas aeruginosa B3-Like Transposable Phage.

International audienceThe complete genome of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteriophage PM105 is 39,593 bp long. The phage belongs to the B3 family of transposable Mu-like phages, as confirmed by the presence of bacterial DNA joined to the phage genome ends. PM105, together with other B3-like phages, form a newly arising species