Gut inflammation can boost horizontal gene transfer between pathogenic and commensal Enterobacteriaceae
Gut inflammation can boost horizontal gene transfer between pathogenic and commensal Enterobacteriaceae
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.1113246109
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发表时间：
2012-01-24
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Hardt, Wolf-Dietrich
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Stecher, Baerbel;Denzler, Remy;Hardt, Wolf-Dietrich
The mammalian gut harbors a dense microbial community interacting in multiple ways, including horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Pangenome analyses established particularly high levels of genetic flux between Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae. However, the mechanisms fostering intraenterobacterial HGT are incompletely understood. Using a mouse colitis model, we found that Salmonella-inflicted enteropathy elicits parallel blooms of the pathogen and of resident commensal Escherichia coli. These blooms boosted conjugative HGT of the colicin-plasmid p2 from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to E. coli. Transconjugation efficiencies of similar to 100% in vivo were attributable to high intrinsic p2-transfer rates. Plasmid-encoded fitness benefits contributed little. Under normal conditions, HGT was blocked by the commensal microbiota inhibiting contact-dependent conjugation between Enterobacteriaceae. Our data show that pathogen-driven inflammatory responses in the gut can generate transient enterobacterial blooms in which conjugative transfer occurs at unprecedented rates. These blooms may favor reassortment of plasmid-encoded genes between pathogens and commensals fostering the spread of fitness-, virulence-, and antibiotic-resistance determinants.
