Adaptation Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogens to Their Host Niche

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology and Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 4370

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
EA DYNAMIC 7380, Faculté de Santé, Université Paris-Est Créteil (UPEC), Créteil, France
Interests: microbial adaptation; stress response; nutritional virulence; fungal pathogens; biofilm; host; antimicrobial treatment and resistance; host pathogen crosstalk

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microbes are able to infect almost all life forms, ranging from plants to animals and humans. The host range can be as diverse as the microbial adaptation mechanisms are multifaceted to invade and survive in the host and establish infection in different tissues. During this process, microorganisms encounter severe and rapid environmental challenges due to host defense mechanisms and the rapidly changing availability of nutrients, oxygen and temperature levels, or pH values. Understanding how bacteria and fungi sense and overcome host-imposed stress and antimicrobial treatment is of paramount importance to understand virulence and to improve treatment strategies. Host–microbe crosstalk at a molecular and cellular level requires transcriptional and metabolic adaptation.

This Special Issue will demonstrate distinct and common adaptation mechanisms of microbial pathogens to their host niches in an integrated manner. We cordially invite you to submit research articles, review articles, and short communications related to microbial adaptation mechanisms to host-imposed stressors.

Dr. Michael Blatzer
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Host pathogen cross talks
  • Polymicrobial infections—interspecies competition
  • Virulence
  • Stress response
  • Secreted compounds
  • Antimicrobial treatment and resistance
  • Nutrition

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2836 KiB  
Article
Influence of the Phagemid PfNC7401 on Cereulide-Producing Bacillus cereus NC7401
by Peiling Geng, Yunfei Gong, Xiaofu Wan and Xiaomin Hu
Microorganisms 2022, 10(5), 953; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10050953 - 30 Apr 2022
Viewed by 1541
Abstract
A phagemid-cured strain, NC7401-∆Pf, was constructed to survey the biological function of the plasmidal prophage PfNC7401 in cereulide-producing Bacillus cereus NC7401. The transcriptome analysis between the mutant and the wild strains revealed a series of differentially expressed genes mainly involved in different function [...] Read more.
A phagemid-cured strain, NC7401-∆Pf, was constructed to survey the biological function of the plasmidal prophage PfNC7401 in cereulide-producing Bacillus cereus NC7401. The transcriptome analysis between the mutant and the wild strains revealed a series of differentially expressed genes mainly involved in different function classifications, including the two-component signal transduction system, bacterial structure, transporters, related antibiotic response, purine biosynthesis, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) and related secondary metabolites, and aromatic or other amino acid synthesis. BIOLOG and phenotypic experiment analyses confirmed that PfNC7401 may affect phage immunity and the metabolism of several amino acids, including L-Alanine, which was suggested to be related to one precursor (D-Alanine) of cereulide synthesis. However, neither the transcription levels of the cereulide production-related genes (e.g., ilvB, cesA, cesB, and cesH) nor the cereulide production nor cell cytotoxicity were affected by the presence or absence of PfNC7401, corresponding with the transcriptome data, in which only four genes unrelated to cereulide synthesis on the plasmid-carrying ces gene cluster were affected by the curing of PfNC7401. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptation Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogens to Their Host Niche)
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13 pages, 3698 KiB  
Article
RpoE Facilitates Stress-Resistance, Invasion, and Pathogenicity of Escherichia coli K1
by Yu Fan, Jing Bai, Daoyi Xi and Bin Yang
Microorganisms 2022, 10(5), 879; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10050879 - 22 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2263
Abstract
Escherichia coli K1 is the most common Gram-negative bacterium that causes neonatal meningitis; thus, a better understanding of its pathogenic molecular mechanisms is critical. However, the mechanisms by which E. coli K1 senses the signals of the host and expresses toxins for survival [...] Read more.
Escherichia coli K1 is the most common Gram-negative bacterium that causes neonatal meningitis; thus, a better understanding of its pathogenic molecular mechanisms is critical. However, the mechanisms by which E. coli K1 senses the signals of the host and expresses toxins for survival are poorly understood. As an extracytoplasmic function sigma factor, RpoE controls a wide range of pathogenesis-associated pathways in response to environmental stress. We found that the ΔrpoE mutant strain reduced the binding and invasion rate in human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) in vitro, level of bacteremia, and percentage of meningitis in vivo. To confirm the direct targets of RpoE in vivo, we performed qRT-PCR and ChIP-qPCR on known toxic genes. RpoE was found to regulate pathogenic target genes, namely, ompA, cnf1, fimB, ibeA, kpsM, and kpsF directly and fimA, aslA, and traJ indirectly. The expression of these genes was upregulated when E. coli K1 was cultured with antibacterial peptides, whereas remained unchanged in the presence of the ΔrpoE mutant strain. Moreover, RpoE reduced IL-6 and IL-8 levels in E. coli K1-infected HBMECs. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that RpoE mediates the host adaptation capacity of E. coli K1 via a regulatory mechanism on virulence factors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptation Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogens to Their Host Niche)
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