DNA Uptake by the Nosocomial Pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii Occurs during Movement along Wet Surfaces
DNA Uptake by the Nosocomial Pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii Occurs during Movement along Wet Surfaces
复制标题
DOI：
10.1128/jb.00754-13
复制
发表时间：
2013-09-01
影响因子：
3.2
通讯作者：
Skiebe, Evelyn
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wilharm, Gottfried;Piesker, Janett;Skiebe, Evelyn
鲍曼不动杆菌的出现在很大程度上依赖于通过水平基因转移获得耐药基因。在这里，我们证明了许多鲍曼不动杆菌临床分离株在湿表面移动时携带DNA。我们发现，在PILT和comEC分别失活后，运动性和DNA摄取都被取消。PILT可能编码4型菌毛(T4P)收缩ATPase，而comEC可能编码DNA摄取通道。PILT的失活与菌毛数量和长度的增加有关，菌毛的平均直径为7.2 nm。在Galeria mellonella感染模型中，comEC突变体显著减弱，而PILT突变体则不显著，解剖了T4P和DNA摄取通道在生物学上的不同作用。总之，这些发现促进了我们对鲍曼不动杆菌DNA摄取和耐药性发展机制的理解，这也可能适用于其他重要的病原体。
The emergence of Acinetobacter baumannii as an increasingly multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogen largely relies on acquisition of resistance genes via horizontal gene transfer. Here, we demonstrate that many clinical isolates of A. baumannii take up DNA while they move along wet surfaces. We show that both motility and DNA uptake are abolished after inactivation of pilT, which putatively encodes the type 4 pilus (T4P) retraction ATPase, and comEC, which putatively encodes the DNA uptake channel, respectively. Inactivation of pilT correlates with an increase in the number and length of pili with an average diameter of 7.2 nm. In the Galleria mellonella infection model, the comEC mutant is significantly attenuated, whereas the pilT mutant is not, dissecting biologically distinct roles of T4P and the DNA uptake channel. Collectively, these findings promote our understanding of the mechanisms of DNA uptake and resistance development in A. baumannii, which may also apply to other important pathogens.