茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571受体TlpA1对琥珀酸的感应机理

趋化作用在根瘤菌与宿主建立共生关系的起始阶段起着至关重要的作用。TlpA1是茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571重要的跨膜趋化受体,但其感应机理尚未清楚。考察茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571跨膜趋化受体TlpA1对趋化物的感应机理及生物学功能。通过平末端连接的方法构建N端表达菌株进行原核表达蛋白及纯化,利用等温滴定量热法（isothermal titration calorimetry）检测蛋白与趋化物的相互作用,测定野生型与突变株的生物膜及絮凝等表型。结果显示,跨膜趋化受体TlpA1通过胞外部分第29～183位氨基酸与琥珀酸结合。固氮条件下,突变株ΔTlpA1生物膜形成量相较于野生型下降约38%。絮凝量与野生型无显著性差异。跨膜趋化受体TlpA1通过感应琥珀酸调控茎瘤固氮根瘤菌ORS571生物膜的形成,对细胞絮凝无调控作用。     

Metabolites from Marine-Derived Fungi as Potential Antimicrobial Adjuvants

Marine-derived fungi constitute an interesting source of bioactive compounds, several of which exhibit antibacterial activity. These acquire special importance, considering that antimicrobial resistance is becoming more widespread. The overexpression of efflux pumps, capable of expelling antimicrobials out of bacterial cells, is one of the most worrisome mechanisms. There has been an ongoing effort to find not only new antimicrobials, but also compounds that can block resistance mechanisms which can be used in combination with approved antimicrobial drugs. In this work, a library of nineteen marine natural products, isolated from marine-derived fungi of the genera Neosartorya and Aspergillus, was evaluated for their potential as bacterial efflux pump inhibitors as well as the antimicrobial-related mechanisms, such as inhibition of biofilm formation and quorum-sensing. Docking studies were performed to predict their efflux pump action. These compounds were also tested for their cytotoxicity in mouse fibroblast cell line NIH/3T3. The results obtained suggest that the marine-derived fungal metabolites are a promising source of compounds with potential to revert antimicrobial resistance and serve as an inspiration for the synthesis of new antimicrobial drugs.     

Marine Fungal Cerebroside Flavuside B Protects HaCaT Keratinocytes against Staphylococcus aureus Induced Damage

Cerebrosides are glycosylated sphingolipids, and in mammals they contribute to the pro-/anti-inflammatory properties and innate antimicrobial activity of the skin and mucosal surfaces. Staphylococcus aureus infection can develop, not only from minor scratches of the skin, but this pathogen can also actively promote epithelial breach. The effect of cerebroside flavuside B from marine sediment-derived fungus Penicillium islandicum (Aniva Bay, the Sea of Okhotsk) on viability, apoptosis, total caspase activity, and cell cycle in human epidermal keratinocytes HaCaT line co-cultivated with S. aureus, as well as influence of flavuside B on LPS-treated HaCaT cells were studied. Influence of flavuside B on bacterial growth and biofilm formation of S. aureus and its effect on the enzymatic activity of sortase A was also investigated. It was found S. aureus co-cultivated with keratinocytes induces caspase-depended apoptosis and cell death, arrest cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase, and increases in cellular immune inflammation. Cerebroside flavuside B has demonstrated its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, substantially eliminating all the negative consequences caused by co-cultivation of keratinocytes with S. aureus or bacterial LPS. The dual action of flavuside B may be highly effective in the treatment of bacterial skin lesions and will be studied in the future in in vivo experiments.     

柑橘溃疡病菌gpd1基因在致病性中的功能分析

 甘油作为微生物重要的能量来源及抗逆因子,对其生存具有重要作用。gpd1基因编码甘油-3-磷酸脱氢酶(glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, G3PDH),是甘油合成代谢途径中关键的限速酶。本研究分析了gpd1基因在柑橘溃疡病菌(Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri, Xcc)致病性中的功能。对Xcc强毒菌株Xcc021和弱毒菌株Xcc049E分别进行了gpd1的缺失突变,发现gpd1缺失仅影响强毒菌株Xcc021在感病柑橘寄主上的毒性以及gpd1缺失影响Xcc在营养贫乏培养基中的生长能力,功能互补子能够恢复毒性和生长能力至野生型水平。其他毒性相关表型显示:与野生型Xcc021相比,gpd1突变体菌体的沉降能力增加,游动性降低,生物膜形成能力增强,功能互补子能够恢复这些表型至野生型水平。这表明gpd1基因在强毒菌株中是重要的毒性因子,其涉及的甘油代谢途径可能在强弱毒菌株对于寄主柑橘的毒性具有不同的作用。     

厌氧流化床反应器生物粒子的膨胀性能和混合性能研究

本文就氧厌流化床(AFB)反应器生物粒子的膨胀性能和混合性能作了研究。试验表明,载体挂膜形成生物粒子后,其膨胀性能得到改善。影响膨胀的因素有生物膜厚度、生物量和湿含量。生物粒子在反应器内在低膨胀率下存在明显的分层。     

Anti-Quorum-Sensing Activity of Tryptophan-Containing Cyclic Dipeptides

Quorum sensing (QS) can regulate the pathogenicity of bacteria and the production of some virulence factors. It is a promising target for screening to find anti-virulence agents in the coming post-antibiotics era. Cyclo (L-Trp-L-Ser), one variety of cyclic dipeptides (CDPs), isolated from a marine bacterium Rheinheimera aquimaris, exhibited anti-QS activity against Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Unlike the CDPs composed of phenylalanine or tyrosine, the anti-QS activity has been widely studied; however, cyclo (L-Trp-L-Ser) and derivatives, containing one tryptophan unit and one non-aromatic amino acid, have not been systematically explored. Herein, the cyclo (L-Trp-L-Ser) and seven derivatives were synthesized and evaluated. All tryptophane-contained CDPs were able to decrease the production of violacein in C. violaceum CV026 and predicted as binding within the same pocket of receptor protein CviR, but in lower binding energy compared with the natural ligand C₆HSL. As for P. aeruginosa PAO1, owning more complicated QS systems, these CDPs also exhibited inhibitory effects on pyocyanin production, swimming motility, biofilm formation, and adhesion. These investigations suggested a promising way to keep the tryptophan untouched and make modifications on the non-aromatic unit to increase the anti-QS activity and decrease the cytotoxicity, thus developing a novel CDP-based anti-virulence agent.     

Discovery of Marine Natural Products as Promising Antibiotics against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, one of the most intractable Gram-negative bacteria, has become a public health threat due to its outer polysaccharide layer, efflux transporter system, and high level of biofilm formation, all of which contribute to multi-drug resistance. Even though it is a pathogen of the highest concern, the status of the antibiotic development pipeline is unsatisfactory. In this review, we summarize marine natural products (MNPs) isolated from marine plants, animals, and microorganisms which possess unique structures and promising antibiotic activities against P. aeruginosa. In the last decade, nearly 80 such MNPs, ranging from polyketides to alkaloids, peptides, and terpenoids, have been discovered. Representative compounds exhibited impressive in vitro anti-P. aeruginosa activities with MIC values in the single-digit nanomolar range and in vivo efficacy in infectious mouse models. For some of the compounds, the preliminary structure-activity-relationship (SAR) and anti-bacterial mechanisms of selected compounds were introduced. Compounds that can disrupt biofilm formation or membrane integrity displayed potent inhibition of multi-resistant clinical P. aeruginosa isolates and could be considered as lead compounds for future development. Challenges on how to translate hits into useful candidates for clinical development are also proposed and discussed.     

培养基对微生物被膜形成和厚壳贻贝附着的影响

为探讨微生物被膜生物学特性、培养基以及大型生物附着三者之间的相互关系,本实验通过微生物分子生态学和海洋贝类生态学等方法调查了不同培养基对海洋细菌所形成微生物被膜的影响及其对厚壳贻贝幼虫附着的影响。结果显示,厚壳贻贝稚贝率与培养基类型和细菌初始密度显著相关,进一步分析表明,Zo Bell 2216E和Seawater Luriabertani(SWLB)条件下分别有6株和9株细菌形成的微生物被膜密度与稚贝率显著相关。扫描电镜结果显示,Staphylococcus sp.3在Zo Bell 2216E培养基条件下形成微生物被膜的细菌分布较为紧密,Pseudoalteromonas sp.8则在SWLB培养基条件下微生物被膜细菌分布较为紧密,且形态变为短杆状。SDS-PAGE结果显示,相比Zo Bell 2216E培养基,Staphylococcus sp.3在SWLB培养基条件下9条条带蛋白显著下降,其中2个条带完全消失;Pseudoalteromonas sp.8则在SWLB培养基条件下明显增加5条蛋白条带。研究表明,微生物被膜的形成受到培养基的影响,培养基的不同导致微生物被膜的形态结构、分布和蛋白有所差异,最终导致微生物被膜诱导厚壳贻贝幼虫附着变态的活性差异,本研究为后续开展厚壳贻贝附着的分子机制奠定良好基础。     

禽大肠杆菌毒力岛主要摄铁基因及生物膜的检测

以临床病禽分离17株E.coli为研究对象,分别检测分离菌株的毒力岛中irp2、irp3、irp4、irp5和生物膜形成能力。先用irp2 PCR扩增检出7株致病性大肠杆菌,并对其进行ERIC-PCR分型,结果分为2个类型。又对分离株进行irp3、irp4和irp5基因检测,结果分离株中irp2、irp3、irp4和irp5的阳性检出率分别为41.2%、64.7%、29.4%和35.3%;最后对分离株进行生物膜形成能力的检测,结果携带irp2的阳性菌株都有较强的生物膜形成能力。结果提示,禽致病性大肠杆菌的HPI中irp2与生物膜的形成有一定的关联。     

5-Episinuleptolide Decreases the Expression of the Extracellular Matrix in Early Biofilm Formation of Multi-Drug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

Nosocomial infections and increasing multi-drug resistance caused by Acinetobacter baumannii have been recognized as emerging problems worldwide. Moreover, A. baumannii is able to colonize various abiotic materials and medical devices, making it difficult to eradicate and leading to ventilator-associated pneumonia, and bacteremia. Development of novel molecules that inhibit bacterial biofilm formation may be an alternative prophylactic option for the treatment of biofilm-associated A. baumannii infections. Marine environments, which are unlike their terrestrial counterparts, harbor an abundant biodiversity of marine organisms that produce novel bioactive natural products with pharmaceutical potential. In this study, we identified 5-episinuleptolide, which was isolated from Sinularia leptoclados, as an inhibitor of biofilm formation in ATCC 19606 and three multi-drug resistant A. baumannii strains. In addition, the anti-biofilm activities of 5-episinuleptolide were observed for Gram-negative bacteria but not for Gram-positive bacteria, indicating that the inhibition mechanism of 5-episinuleptolide is effective against only Gram-negative bacteria. The mechanism of biofilm inhibition was demonstrated to correlate to decreased gene expression from the pgaABCD locus, which encodes the extracellular polysaccharide poly-β-(1,6)-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that extracellular matrix of the biofilm was dramatically decreased by treatment with 5-episinuleptolide. Our study showed potentially synergistic activity of combination therapy with 5-episinuleptolide and levofloxacin against biofilm formation and biofilm cells. These data indicate that inhibition of biofilm formation via 5-episinuleptolide may represent another prophylactic option for solving the persistent problem of biofilm-associated A. baumannii infections.